WI: The House of Griffins Survives

And by survives, I mean just barely hanging on.

For a pod with minimum butterflies, Boguslaw XIV marries someone other than his 35/45yo (depending on which source you take) wife. I'd say he can simply marry her earlier, but considering that his brother and father married two of her sisters, and all of them left no issue, it seems to me that there was a problem on one or both sides. Or it could just be the age gap.

Be that as it may, he marries someone else. But because he possibly is at least partially at fault for the lack of children, let's assume either he has some STD (like syphilis which was all the rage among the royals of the day :p) or just a low-sperm count. Either way, they have a kid - who happens to be their only child, and, as luck would have it, the child is healthy and male. So, the Griffins putter on into the next generation, with this kid (Ernst II Bogislaw b.1615/1616) becoming duke of all Pomerania (perhaps he can finally step in to avoid further partitioning of the place if he has more than one son).

Ernie II in turn grows up and succeeds as duke. He gets married (suggest a bride, I like the duke of Courland's niece/cousin, Theodora von Kettler, who OTL married a prince of Croy - if not for the age gap she would've made a nice match for OTL Ernst de Croy, son of Anna of Pomerania) and they have a couple kids - including two boys, Bogislaw (b.1641) and Philipp (b.1645). However, tragedy strikes when Bogislaw predeceases his dad without being married or having issue (although I was thinking of an engagement to Karoline of Brieg, OTL duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg). Still, never mind, there's Philipp. One problem, Phil went on his Grand Tour of Europe and while he's in Rome, what do you know, he converts and becomes a Jesuit priest. Ernie II disinherits Philipp, thinking that Bogislaw will marry and sire heirs in any case, but he doesn't prepare for the hunting accident when his son and heir is thrown from a horse. Philipp is now the heir, but he's Catholic, and as a priest, not likely to marry.

Philipp succeeds as duke of Pomerania. But while he gets released from his clerical vows (he joined up like most nobles' second sons - minor orders nothing more), and marries, but outlives three of his sons, although his youngest son leaves a seven-year-old son when he shuffles off).

That's all I've got for now (and most of it is based on the OTL shenanigans going on, like Ernst de Croy's bastard son, Ernst von Croyengreiff, really did end up being converting and being disinherited, although he died in a monastery in Bavaria without issue). But what would the impact be of Pomerania not going to Sweden? Or would it still end up under Swedish dominance? AIUI the capital (Rügenwalde?) was quite the cultural hotspot under Bogislaw XIV. Of course, with the 30 Years War (yes, it's still happening as OTL) going on this seems unlikely to remain the case. How would the 30 Years War affect Pomerania? Would it be Tom Tiddler's fleecing ground to the invading armies (Wallenstein and Gustaf Adolf)? Could it preserve some semblance of independence or is it doomed to be turned into a Swedish satellite?
 
So, credit to @alexmilman for inspiring this idea, but what if Ernst II Boguslaw were to marry a Vasa princess (say Kristina of Sweden or one of her Pfalz cousins; or Anna Constancja Wasa)? He marries Anna Constancja (for instance) who gets to keep her religion as per the marriage contract, and who influences her younger son, Philipp Sigmund's decision to convert. Of course, when the Wasa go extinct in the male line, the Pomeranian heir, who is also a Catholic by this point, throws his hat in the Polish royal election ring.

Of course, Kristina of Sweden is still less likely. At least, the marriage promise is no more likely to be honoured than her engagement either to the Elector of Brandenburg or her Pfalz cousin, or Prince Valdemar of Denmark or anyone else. Which gets me thinking, if Sweden goes in, turns Pomerania into a beach-head stomping ground, might Pomerania go along with a Danish "princess" (i.e. one of Kristen Munck's daughters) for a match for Ernst II?
 
Aren't there other potential Griffins floating around who could take the dynasty to new heights?

Hence why I proposed that Bogislaw has a kid (he was sort of last man standing) and said kid makes Pomerania an important state (for it's size, anyway) in the region. It need not be a Griffin-wank, but they just need to be doing better than OTL.

Or what would you suggest?
 
John Frederick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Frederick,_Duke_of_Pomerania negotiated marriage with Catherine Jagiellon, OTL wife of John III of Sweden. Would this marriage talks be successful, John Frederick would get Polish throne.

Interesting and interestinger.

I'd prefer a Pomerania that isn't in PU with a larger power (Poland/Sweden/Denmark) in the region, but I'll take what I can get. Out of curiosity, I know that several of the duchesses of Pomerania were Protestant but what was the actual state religion in Pomerania? And would Katarzyna (who was reputedly "all papist", but that came from a Swedish Protestant standpoint, so I'll take it with a couple tablespoons of salt) being Catholic have much of an effect? i.e. her son converting Pomerania back to Catholic.
 
Interesting and interestinger.

I'd prefer a Pomerania that isn't in PU with a larger power (Poland/Sweden/Denmark) in the region, but I'll take what I can get. Out of curiosity, I know that several of the duchesses of Pomerania were Protestant but what was the actual state religion in Pomerania? And would Katarzyna (who was reputedly "all papist", but that came from a Swedish Protestant standpoint, so I'll take it with a couple tablespoons of salt) being Catholic have much of an effect? i.e. her son converting Pomerania back to Catholic.
It depends on personality of that potential son, if you don't want lasting PU, solution is easy-Johann Friedrich and Katarzyna have two sons, say Zygmunt, born 1563, and Filip, born 1565. Zygmunt predeceased his father, but left surviving sons born around 1590, that line would be genealogically older, but Zygmunt's sons would be too young to win royal election in PLC, their uncle Filip would get Polish throne.
 
Hence why I proposed that Bogislaw has a kid (he was sort of last man standing) and said kid makes Pomerania an important state (for it's size, anyway) in the region. It need not be a Griffin-wank, but they just need to be doing better than OTL.

Or what would you suggest?
I think that the dynasty throughout much of its history was rife with possibilities. Two people really come to mind for me in the fourteenth century, if we can go back that far; A different match/different circumstances for Boguslaw, who, as Eric of Pomerania, ruled Sweden, and, slightly earlier, and arguably much more interesting, Casimir IV, who, as a grandson of Casimir the Great, might have been well positioned had he lived longer, had children and a better marriage, say to Elizabeth of Bohemia had she lived longer, could have ruled Poland. There are also some of the much later people in the dynasty for whom possibilities exist, such as Ulrich, Francis, Philip II, Philipp Julius, Barnim X(II), or Casimir VI/IX.
 
Casimir IV of Pomerania would get Polish crown if his cousin, Louis I of Hungary, predeceased Casimir the Great of died short after him. That would be easy POD.
 
I think that the dynasty throughout much of its history was rife with possibilities. Two people really come to mind for me in the fourteenth century, if we can go back that far; A different match/different circumstances for Boguslaw, who, as Eric of Pomerania, ruled Sweden, and, slightly earlier, and arguably much more interesting, Casimir IV, who, as a grandson of Casimir the Great, might have been well positioned had he lived longer, had children and a better marriage, say to Elizabeth of Bohemia had she lived longer, could have ruled Poland. There are also some of the much later people in the dynasty for whom possibilities exist, such as Ulrich, Francis, Philip II, Philipp Julius, Barnim X(II), or Casimir VI/IX.

Casimir IV of Pomerania would get Polish crown if his cousin, Louis I of Hungary, predeceased Casimir the Great of died short after him. That would be easy POD.

To turn the conversation back to my broadstrokes scenario fleshed out above, any suggestions for who would be a good mother for Ernst II Boguslaw?
 
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