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Kruto

Kruto (1035-1093) was High Chief of the Obotrites from 7 June 1066 to 1093, succeeding Gottschalk and preceding Henry

Biography[]

Kruto was born in 1035, the son of High Chief Gryn of the Obotrites. In 1066, he and the pagan Obotrite nobility rebelled against the Christian High Chief Gottschalk and his Saxon allies, killing Gottschalk and seizing power for himself. In 1075, he killed Gottschalk's son Budivoj and massacred his Saxon allies in an ambush at the undefended fortress of Plon, and he conquered Holstein and parts of southern Jutland from the Holy Roman Empire. However, the Christian Obotrites allied with the Saxons against him, and his pagan vassal lords continued to resist his authority. In 1093, he was assassinated at a banquet by his own wife and by Gottschalk's other son Henry, who seized power and restored Christian rule over the Obotrites.

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