Editing Obotrites

{{Expand German|Abodriten|date=March 2014}}
{{Short description|Confederation of West Slavic tribes in present-day northern Germany (8th century – 1167)}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = Obotritic confederation
| common_name            = Obotrites
| status                 = Independent [[confederation]] of [[Polabian Slavs|Polabian Slavic]] tribes
| year_start             = 8th century
| date_start             = 
| event_start            = Formed
| year_end               = 1167
| date_end               = 
| event_end              = Accepted Saxon suzerainty
| p1                     = Polabian Slavs
| p2                     = Nordalbingia{{!}}{{nowrap|Nordalbingia<br/>{{small|(Duchy of Saxony)}}}}
| image_p2               = 
| p3                     = Billung March{{!}}{{nowrap|Billung March<br/>{{small|(Duchy of Saxony)}}}}
| image_p3               = [[File:CoA Tübingen, BW.svg|18px|link=Billung March]]
| s1                     = Holy Roman Empire
| image_s1               = [[File:Shield and Coat of Arms of the Holy Roman Emperor (c.1200-c.1300).svg|18px|link=Holy Roman Empire]]
| s2                     = Principality of Mecklenburg{{!}}'''∟'''Principality of Mecklenburg
| image_s2               = [[File:Wappen Mecklenburg 2.svg|18px|link=Duchy of Mecklenburg]]
| s3                     = Duchy of Saxony{{!}}'''∟'''Duchy of Saxony
| image_s3               = [[File:Arms of the house of Ascania (ancient).svg|18px|link=Duchy of Saxony]]
| s4                     = Kingdom of Denmark (Middle Ages){{!}}Kingdom of Denmark
| image_s4               = [[File:Coat of arms of Danish shield (14c).svg|20px|link=History of Denmark]]
| image_flag             = [[File:Heraldic biull's head.png|110px]]
| flag_type              = A black bull's head,<br/>the alleged symbol of<br/>the Obotrites and their<br/>princes (chieftains)
| image_coat             = Wappen Mecklenburg 1.svg
| symbol_type            = Arms of the [[House of Mecklenburg|House<br/>of Nikloting]], princes of<br/>the Obotritic confederation
| coa_size               = 75px
| image_map              = Siedlungsgebiet Abodriten leer.png
| image_map_caption      = Main territory of the Obotritic confederation
| image_map2             = Siedlungsgebiet Abodriten2.png
| image_map2_caption     = Expansion of the Obotritic confederation under Prince [[Thrasco (Obotrite prince)|Thrasco]] († 809) [[Battle of Bornhöved (798)|after victory]] over the [[Nordalbingia]]n [[Saxons]]
| capital                = [[Mecklenburg Castle|Veligard or Veligrad {{nowrap|{{small|(German: ''Michelenburg'')}}}}]]
| stat_area1             = 
| leader1                = [[Witzlaus (Obotrite prince)|Witzlaus]]
| year_leader1           = ?–ca. 795 (first)
| leader2                = [[Pribislav of Mecklenburg|Pribislav]]
| year_leader2           = 1160–1167 (last)
| title_leader           = Prince
| government_type        = [[Hereditary monarchy]] ([[Principality]])
| religion               = {{nowrap|Polabian{{Efn|Compared to the original old [[Slavic paganism|Slavic religion]], the pagan religion of [[Polabian Slavs]] was "reformed" (improved) by wooden temples and priesthood as a high social class with political influence. Almost every Polabian tribe had its own pagan cult of a deity of military function or some version of the supreme god, whose high priests had sometimes military retinue and were equal to the chiefs or politically stronger. This made a pagan cults more organized and the [[Polabian Slavs]] more resistant to [[Christianization]] than other Slavic peoples who had less organized paganism and was practiced as a [[folk religion]]. It also caused the creation of a local [[Theocracy|theocracies]].}} [[Slavic paganism]]}}, the known major cults:
* [[Prove (mythology)|Prove]] in [[Oldenburg in Holstein|Stargard]], [[Wagria]]
* [[Podaga]] in [[Plön]], [[Wagria]]
* [[Živa (mythology)|Zhiva]] according to [[Chronica Slavorum|Helmold]]
* [[Svarozhich]]/[[Radegast (god)|Radegast]] according to [[Chronica Slavorum|Helmold]]
* [[Folk religion|folk]] [[polytheism]] of minor cults
* [[Chernobog]] according to [[Chronica Slavorum|Helmold]]
[[Germanic paganism|Saxon paganism]] {{small|([[Nordalbingia]]n [[Saxons]])}}<br/>[[Chalcedonian Christianity]] {{small|(missionaries, some nobles)}}
| common_languages       = [[Polabian language|Polabian]], [[Old Saxon]]
| today                  = [[Germany]]
| category               = 
}}

The '''Obotrites''' ({{langx|la|Obotriti}}, ''Abodritorum'', ''Abodritos'') or '''Obodrites''', also spelled '''Abodrites''' ({{langx|de|Abodriten}}), were a [[confederation]] of medieval [[West Slavs|West Slavic]] tribes within the territory of modern [[Mecklenburg]] and [[Holstein]] in northern [[Germany]] (see [[Polabian Slavs]]).<ref name="crusade-en">{{cite encyclopedia | last = Jensen | first = Carsten Selch | title = Abodrites | editor = Alan V. Murray | encyclopedia = The Crusades: An Encyclopedia | volume = 1 | pages = 3 | publisher = [[ABC-CLIO]] | location = [[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara]] | year = 2006 | url = http://lukashevichus.info/knigi/murray_crusades_encycl.pdf | oclc = 70122512}}</ref> For decades, they were allies of [[Charlemagne]] in his wars against the Germanic [[Saxons]] and the Slavic [[Veleti]]. The Obotrites under Prince [[Thrasco (Obotrite prince)|Thrasco]] defeated the [[Saxons]] in the [[Battle of Bornhöved (798)]]. The still-[[Germanic paganism|Pagan]] Saxons were dispersed by the emperor, and the part of their former land in [[Holstein]] north of [[Elbe]] was awarded to the Obotrites in 804, as a reward for their victory. This however was soon reverted through an invasion of the [[Danes]]. The Obotrite regnal style was abolished in 1167, when [[Pribislav of Mecklenburg|Pribislav]] was restored to power by Duke [[Henry the Lion]], as Prince of Mecklenburg, thereby founding the Germanized [[House of Mecklenburg]].

==Obotritic confederation==
The [[Bavarian Geographer]], an anonymous medieval document compiled in [[Regensburg]] in 830, contains a list of the tribes in Central Eastern Europe to the east of the Elbe. The list includes the Nortabtrezi (Obotrites) - with 53 ''civitates''.
[[Adam of Bremen]] referred to them as the '''Reregi''' because of their lucrative trade emporium [[Reric]]. In common with other Slavic groups, they were often described by Germanic sources as [[Wends]].
[[File:Billunger Mark 1000.PNG|thumb|left|upright|Map of the [[Billunger Mark]] (c. 1000) showing different tribes of the Obotritic confederation]]
The main tribes of the Obotritic confederation were:<ref name=Herrman-7-8>Herrmann 1970, pp. 7–8</ref>

*the Obotrites proper ([[Wismar Bay]] to [[Schweriner See|Lake Schwerin]]);
*the [[Wagrians]] (the eastern [[Holstein]] as part of [[Old Saxony|Saxony]]);
*the [[Warnower]] (the upper [[Warnow]] and [[Mildenitz (river)|Mildenitz]]);
*the [[Polabians (tribe)|Polabians proper]] (between the [[Trave]] and the [[Elbe]]).

Other tribes associated with the confederation include:<ref name=Herrman-7-8/>
*the [[Linonen]] near [[Lenzen]],
*the [[Travnjane]] near the [[Trave]],
*the [[Drevani]] in the [[Lüchow-Dannenberg|Hanoverian Wendland]].
*the [[Ukrani]] in [[Prenzlau]].

==History==
[[Image:Limes.saxoniae.wmt.png|thumb|upright=0.8|left|The ''[[Limes Saxoniae]]'' forming the border between the Saxons to the west and the Obotrites to the east]]
As allies of the [[Carolingian]] kings and the empire of their [[Ottonian dynasty|Ottonian]] successors, the Obotrites fought from 808 to 1200 against the [[kings of Denmark]], who wished to rule the [[Baltic region]] independently of the empire. When opportunities arose, for instance upon the death of an emperor, they would seek to seize power; and in 983 [[Hamburg]] was destroyed by the Obotrites under their king, [[Mstivoj]]. At times they levied tribute from the [[Danes]] and [[Saxons]]. Under the leadership of [[Niklot]], they resisted a Christian assault during the [[Wendish Crusade]].

German missionaries such as [[Vicelinus]] converted the Obotrites to [[Christianity]]. In 1170 they acknowledged the suzerainty of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], leading to [[Germanisation]] and assimilation over the following centuries. However, up to the late 15th century most villagers in the Obotritic area were still speaking Slavic dialects ([[Polabian language]]), although subsequently their language was displaced by [[German language|German]]. The Polabian language survived until the beginning of the 19th century in Hanoverian Wendland, eastern Lower Saxony (bordering modern Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania).<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-466672/Polabian-language Polabian language]</ref>
The ruling clan of the Obotrites kept its power throughout the Germanisation and ruled their country (except during a short interruption in [[Thirty Years' War]]) as [[House of Mecklenburg]] until the end of monarchies in Germany in [[German Revolution of 1918–1919|November Revolution 1918]]. Previously, the Obodrites were dominated by the [[Naconids]]; Eastern (Far) Pomerania was ruled by the [[House of Griffin|Pomeranian House]] (Grifichi).

==List of Obotrite leaders==
[[File:Niklot statue.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|[[Niklot]] (1090–1160), prince of the Obotritic confederation and founder of the [[House of Mecklenburg|Mecklenburg House]], [[Schwerin Castle]]]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Ruler
! Reign
! Notes
|-
| [[Witzlaus (Obotrite prince)|Witzlaus]]
| ?–ca. 795
|-
| [[Thrasco (Obotrite prince)|Thrasco]]
| ?–ca. 795–810
|-
| [[Slavomir (Obotrite prince)|Slavomir]]
| ?–810–819
|Ally of the Frankish Empire. In 816, he joined the rebellion of the [[Sorbs]]. Eventually captured and abandoned by his own people, being replaced by Ceadrag in 818.
|-
| [[Ceadrag (Obotrite prince)|Ceadrag]]
|819–after 826
| Ally of the Frankish Empire. He rebelled against the Franks with alliance with the Danes, but later was reconciled with Franks.
|-
| [[Selibur]]
|-
| [[Nako (Obotrite leader)|Nako]]
| 954–966
| Nako and his brother Stoigniew were defeated at the [[Battle on the Raxa|Raxa river (955)]] by [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]], after which Stoigniew was beheaded and Nako accepted Christianity, resulting in thirty years of peace.
|-
| [[Mstivoj]] and Mstidrag
| 966–995
| Sons of Nako. They abandoned Christianity and revolted against the Germans ([[Great Slav Rising]]).
|-
| Mieceslas III
| 919–999
| in 995 defeated by [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor]].
|-
| [[Mistislaw|Mstislav]]
| 996–1018
|-
| [[Udo (Obotrite prince)|Udo]] or Przybigniew
| 1018–1028
|-
| [[Ratibor (Polabian prince)|Ratibor]]
| 1028–1043
|-
| [[Gottschalk (Obotrite prince)|Gottschalk]]
| 1043 to 1066
|-
| [[Budivoj]]
| 1066 and 1069
|-
| [[Kruto]]
| 1066–1069 and 1069–1093
|-
| [[Henry (Obotrite prince)|Henry]]
| 1093–1127
|-
| Canute & Sviatopolk
| 1127–1128
|-
| Sviatopolk
| 1128–1129
|-
| Zwinike
| 1129–1129
|-
| [[Canute Lavard|Canute]]
| 1129–1131
| Great-great-great-great-grandson of Mstivoj
|-
| [[Niklot]]
| 1131–1160
| Born around 1090. Also ruled the subdued Polabian Slav tribes of [[Kessinians]] and [[Circipania]]ns. 
|-
| [[Pribislav of Mecklenburg|Pribislav]]
| 1160–1167
| Last Obotrite prince. Accepted Saxon suzerainty in 1167.
|}

The rulers of Obotrite lands were later the [[dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg]].

==See also==
*[[List of Medieval Slavic tribes]]
*[[Praedenecenti]]
* [[Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Literature==
*{{cite book |last= Herrmann|first= Joachim|title= Die Slawen in Deutschland|year= 1970|publisher= Akademie-Verlag GmbH|location= Berlin|language=de}}
* Müller-Wille, Michael (2002). "Zwischen Kieler Förde und Wismarbucht: Archäologie der Obodriten vom späten 7. bis zur Mitte des 12. Jahrhunderts." In: ''Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission'', vol. 83, pp. 243–264.
*Turasiewicz A., Dzieje polityczne Obodrzyców od IX wieku do utraty niepodległości w latach 1160–1164, Warszawa, 2004, {{ISBN|83-88508-65-2}} {{in lang|pl}}

==External links==
{{wikisource-inline|la:Geographus Bavarus|Geographus Bavarus}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEaSdNBL0sgC&dq=obodrites+804&pg=PA207 Emperor Charles the Great in 804 gave Saxon land to Obodrites], dispersed Saxons

{{Slavic ethnic groups}}
{{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century)}}
{{Bavarian Geographer}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Obotrites| ]]
[[Category:Lechites]]
[[Category:West Slavs]]
[[Category:Tribal confederacies]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 8th century]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 1160s]]