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Polabian Slavs, also known as Elbe Slavs and more broadly as Wends, is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites (West Slavs) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germany. The approximate territory stretched from the Baltic Sea in the north, the SaaleDe Vere, 353 and the Limes SaxoniaeChristiansen, 18 in the west, the Ore Mountains and the Western Sudetes in the south, and medieval Poland in the east.
The Polabian Slavs, largely conquered by Saxons and Danish people from the 9th century onwards, were included and gradually assimilated within the Holy Roman Empire. The tribes became gradually Germanization and assimilated in the following centuries; the Sorbs are the only descendants of the Polabian Slavs to have retained their identity and culture.
The Polabian language is now extinct. However, the two Sorbian languages are spoken by approximately 22,000–30,000 inhabitants of the region. The government of Germany regards Upper and Lower Sorbian as official regional languages.
The main tribesHerrmann, 7 of the Obotritic confederation were the Obotrites proper (Wismar Bay to the Schweriner See); the Wagrians (eastern Holstein); the Warnabi ( Warnower) (the upper Warnow and Mildenitz); and the Polabians proper (between the Trave and the Elbe). Other tribes associated with the confederation include the Linones ( Linonen) near Lenzen, the Travnjane near the Trave, and the Drevani in the Hanoverian Wendland and the northern Altmark.Herrmann, 8
The Veleti, also known as the Liutizians or Wilzians, included the Kessinians ( Kessiner, Chyzzini) along the lower Warnow and Rostock; the Circipani ( Zirzipanen) between the Recknitz, Trebel, and Peene Rivers; the Tollenser east and south of the Peene along the Tollense River; and the Redarier south and east of the Tollensesee on the upper Havel. The Redarier were the most important of the Veleti tribes. The Rani of Rügen, not to be confused with the older Germanic Rugians, are sometimes considered to be part of the Veleti.Christiansen, 27 South of the Rani were the Ucri ( Ukranen) along the Ucker and the Morici ( Morizani, Müritzer) along the Müritz; the former gave their name to the Uckermark. Smaller tribes included the Došane along the Dosse, the Zamzizi in the Ruppin Land, and the Rěčanen on the upper Havel. Along the lower Havel and near the confluence of the Elbe and the Havel lived the Nelětici, the Liezizi, the Zemzizi, the Smeldingi ( Smeldinger), and the Bethenici. The middle Havel region and the Havelland were settled by the Hevelli, a tribe loosely connected to the Veleti. East of the Hevelli lived the Sprevane of the lower Dahme and Spree rivers. Small tribes on the middle Elbe included the Morizani and the Zerwisti.
The Sorbs confederation in the Elbe-Saale region included Citici, Serimunt, Colodici, Siusler, Nizici, Glomaci ( Daleminzier) and Nisanen who lived along the upper Elbe, while the Chutici, Plisni, Gera, Puonzowa, Tucharin, Weta, and groups of Nelětici lived near the Saale.Herrmann, 9 Joachim Herrmann considered that the core Sorbian tribes surely were Colodici, Siusler and Glomaci, and that they also settled and influenced around Magdeburg, Havelland, Thuringia and northeast Bavaria.Herrmann, 26–27, 32 To the East possibly later included the Lusatia of Lower Lusatia and the Milceni of Upper Lusatia, while to the East of them were the Selpoli and the Besunzanen, and on the middle Oder the Leubuzzi who were associated with medieval Poland.Herrmann, 9
Small groups of West Slavs lived on the Main and the Regnitz near Bamberg, in northeastern Bavaria.
Slavic settlement area was largely stable by the 8th century. Charlemagne enlisted the Obotrites as allies in his campaign against the rebellious Saxons of Holstein. Many of the Slavic tribes became dependencies of the Carolingian Empire and the Franks created the Sorbian March to defend against the Sorbs. Einhard in Vita Karoli Magni describes an expedition into Slavic territory led by Charlemagne himself, in 798. The Veleti noted as Wilzi (referred to themselves as Welatabians) were invaded by the Franks because of their continuous expeditions into Obodrite lands, with the Obodrites being allies of the Franks against the Saxons. Full Latin text at the Latin Library
German campaigns against the Slavs began in earnest during the Ottonian dynasty. Henry the Fowler attacked the Slavs in several campaigns with his cavalry. During the reigns of Henry and his son Otto I, several marches were established to guard the eastern acquisitions, such as the Billung March to the north and the Marca Geronis to the south. After Gero's death in 965, the Marca Geronis was divided into the Northern March, the March of Lusatia, and the Thuringian March, the latter being divided into the marches of Zeitz, Merseburg, and Meissen. Bishoprics such as Magdeburg, Brandenburg, and Havelberg were founded to support the conversion of the Slavs to Christianity.
After the defeat of Otto II at the Battle of Stilo in 982, the pagan Slavs rebelled against the Germans the following year; the Hevelli and Liutizi destroyed the Bishoprics of Havelberg and Brandenburg, and Obotrites (Mstivoj) destroyed Hamburg.Barkowski, 152–155 Some Slavs advanced across the Elbe into Saxon territory, but retreated when the Christian Duke of Poland, Mieszko I, attacked them from the east. The Holy Roman Empire retained only nominal control over the Slavic territories between the Elbe and the Oder. Despite the efforts of Christian missionaries, most Polabian Slavs saw Jesus as a "German god" and remained Slavic mythology.
The Obotrite prince Udo and his son Gottschalk expanded their realm by unifying the Obotrite tribes and conquering some Liutizi tribes in the 11th century. They encouraged the establishments of bishoprics to support Christian missionary activity. However, a revolt in 1066 led to the murder of Gottschalk and his replacement by the pagan Kruto of Wagria. Gottschalk's son Henry eventually killed Kruto in 1093.
From 1140 to 1143 Holstein nobles advanced into Wagria to permanently settle in the lands of the pagan Wagri. Count Adolf II of Holstein and Henry of Badewide took control of Polabian settlements at Liubice and Racisburg. Impressed with the success of the First Crusade, Saxons began calling for a crusade against their Slav neighbors. The Wendish Crusade of 1147, concurrent to the Second Crusade, was largely unsuccessful, resulting in devastation to the Liutizi lands and forced . The campaign did secure Saxon control of Wagria and Polabia, however. The Obotrites were largely at peace with the Saxons during the following decade, although Slavic pirates raided Denmark.
Beginning in the late 1150s, King Valdemar the Great of Denmark enlisted the aid of Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony against the Slavs; their cooperation led to the death of the Obotrite prince, Niklot, in 1160. The two Christian lords distributed much of the conquered territory among their vassals. When Niklot's exiled son, Pribislav, engineered an Obotrite rebellion, the pair retaliated by occupying Demmin and warding off Pribislav's Liutizian allies.
After conquering Wagria and Polabia during the 1140s, Saxon nobles attempted to expel the "native" Slavs and replace them with Saxon and Flemish people settlers. The 1164 Obotrite revolt led by Niklot's son Pribislav convinced Henry the Lion that keeping the Slavs as allies would be less troublesome. The duke returned the Christian Pribislav to power as Prince of Mecklenburg, Kessin, and Rostock, and a vassal of the Saxons.
Tactics and weaponry were decisive in Denmark's campaigns against the eastern Polabian Slavs. The Danes utilized quick coastal and river raids, tactics similar to those of the Vikings. Although they lacked siege experience, the Danes were able to cripple Slavic regions by burning crops and unwalled suburbs. Slav counterattacks were repulsed by and Norwegian . The Danes occupied Rugia in 1168, conquering the Rani stronghold of Cape Arkona. Similar to Henry's reinstatement of Pribislav as a Saxon vassal, Valdemar allowed the Rani prince Jaromar to rule as a Christian Danish vassal. After Valdemar refused to share Rugia with Henry, the Saxon duke enlisted the aid of the Obotrite confederacy and the Liutizi against the Danes; Valdemar ended the conflict by paying Henry in 1171.
Alarmed at the expansion of Henry the Lion's power, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa deposed the Saxon duke and redistributed his lands in 1180/81. The withdrawal of Saxon support left the Liutizi and their Pomeranian supporters vulnerable to the Danish fleet. A Slavic fleet attempting to reclaim Rugia was crushed at the Bay of Greifswald on 19 May 1184. Danish monks engaged in missionary activity in Pomeranian abbeys, and Prince Bogislaw I surrendered to King Canute VI in 1185 to become the Danish king's vassal.
Pribislav, a Christian prince of the Hevelli, bequeathed his lands to the Saxon Albert the Bear upon his death, thereby leading to the establishment of the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
The Lusatian Sorbs remained independent to a large extent. They were temporarily subdued by Charlemagne, but upon his death the links with the Franks were broken. In a series of bloody wars between 929 and 963 their lands were conquered by King Henry the Fowler and his son Otto the Great and were incorporated into the Kingdom of Germany. By the 14th century, the majority of Slavs living there had been Germanization and assimilated. However, the Sorbs, the descendants of the Milceni and the Lusici, have retained their identity within Lusatia, a region divided between the German states of Brandenburg and Saxony.
The Slavic language was spoken by the descendants of the Drevani in the area of the lower Elbe until the early 18th century.
Princely power often differed between tribes. The Obodrite prince Henryk was able to maintain a sizable army ca. 1100 at the expense of the towns, and the importance of knez within the Obodrites only increased after his death.Christiansen, 32 The prince of the Rani, on the other hand, was limited by the local senate, which was led by the Golden hat at Cape Arkona; the Rani knez was essentially first among the tribe's landowners.Christiansen, 33
The magnates often raided Germanic territories or engaged in piracy. In times of large-scale war, the knes took overall command. The prince's voivot ensured military service from the warriors and taxes from the peasantry. While the countryside provided land forces, the towns were known for their , which were lighter and lower than those used by the Danish people and Swedish people.Christiansen, 15
From a distance, Polabian fleets resembled those of the Scandinavians, although targets would recognize the Slavs' closely cropped hair and shrieking Battle cry when they grew close.Christiansen, 34 Polabian cavalry used small horses which were effective in quick raiding campaigns, but less effective against the Saxon and Danish heavy cavalry.Christiansen, 35
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