Category Archives: Polabians

All the Wends of Saxo Grammaticus – Book VII

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This Book has few Wends per se other than the two warrior generals Duk and Dal mentioned as having been incorporated, after a defeat, into Harald’s army.

Book VII

Chapter 2

2. Even so, Halfdan was defeated and had to slip away into Hälsingland, where he went to demand attention for his injured body from one of the old Harald’s former soldiers, Vitolf.* The latter, who had spent most of his life under canvas, had eventually retired to this lonely province after his leader’s sad end and there relaxed his wonted martial zeal to live as a peasant. Since his foes had often pursued him with their missiles, he had gathered no mean skill in medicine through continually having to doctor his own wounds, If anyone tried to wheedle help out of him, he would secretly administer something to hurt rather than yea the man, reckoning it much more creditable to extract gavours by threat than cajolery. When Erik’s militia, bent on seizing Halfdan, menaced Vitolf‘s home, he robbed them of their vision so that they could neither catch a glimpse of the nearby building nor trace its position with any certainty. A mist of delusion had so dulled their eyesight.

* note: notice similarities with Lithuanian Vitautas or Polish Vitold.

Chapter 8

2. Haki, however, felt that his brothers’ death was more of a loss to him than his champions desertion and collected a fleet in the harbour which is called Hservig in Danish, in Latin the Bay of Armies; after landing his troops, he drew up the lines of foot soldiers at a point where the town built by Esbern now gives protection with its fortifications to those who dwell in that neighborhood and rebuffs the entry of ferocious barbarians. Then, having split his forces into three, he sent on two-thirds of his ships, appointing a few men to row to the River Susa,* where they must steer hither and thither along its meandering course in order to supply help to the infantry as and when necessary. Haki journeyed in person with the remainder overland, marching mostly through wooded countryside to escape being seen. The road, once hemmed in by thick forest, is now partly arable land and bordered only by thinly scattered shrubs. To avoid missing the shade of the trees when they emerged into the plain, he gave his men orders to cut off branches and carry them. In addition he instructed them to throw away some items of clothing together with their scabbards, and bear naked swords, so that they should not be overburdened in their rapid progress. To record this act he bequeathed an unforgotten name to a mountain and a ford.

* note: consider Susa with Susli. The river is Suså River (Susåen), in Zealand.

5.The death of Sigar and affection for Sigvald roused the people’s feelings so generally that both sexes engaged in fighting and you would have believed that even the women were giving assistance to the combat. The next morning Haki and Sigvald clashed in a battle which lasted two whole days. The contest was cruel and decisive; each general fell and the honours of victory were won by a Danish remnant. During the night following the encounter, the fleet which had penetrated the Susa reached the shelter of its appointed haven. At one time navigable by rowers, the river bed is now choked up with solid material, so that its narrow channel has become sluggish and restricted and allows access to very few craft.

Chapter 9

7. At that time Røth, a Rus pirate, was devastating our homeland with barbarous pillage and violence. His behaviour was so inhuman that, whereas others would spare their prisoners from going completely naked, he found nothing objectionable in stripping the clothing from the most intimate parts of their bodies. We stilTgive the name ‘røthoran’ to harsh and cruel plundering. Sometimes he would put people to death by this torture: their right feet were clamped firmly to the ground, while their left were tied to branches bent down for the purpose; when these sprang back into place, it ripped their bodies up the middle. Hani, ruler of Funen, anxious to secure a brilliant name for himself, tried to attack Roth with his naval forces, but found himself fleeing with a single companion. A saying in his reproach has come down to us: ‘The cock is stronger on home territory.’

8. As Borkar could no longer bear to see more of his countrymen lost, he confronted Røth; they encountered one another and killed one another. Report has it that Halfdan was seriously hurt in that battle and for some time was enfeebled by the wounds he had received; one gash was more apparent as he had taken it on the mouth and its scar was so conspicuous that it remained an open blemish after the rest had healed through medical care. Part of his lip had been crushed and was so badly ulcerated that the skin would not grow again to mend the cracked, putrescent surface. This feature stamped him with a most insulting nickname, even though wounds received on one’s front normally confer praise rather than disgrace. Sometimes popular estimates of courage can take a malicious turn.

12. When he [Harald] learnt that war had flared up between the Swedish king, Alver, and the Rus, he instantly journeyed to Russia and offered aid to the inhabitants, who all received him with highest honour. Alver was active in the locality, so that he had only to cross a little ground to cover the distance between them. His warrior Hildiger, Gunnar’s son, had challenged the Rus champions to combat him; but when he observed they were putting forward Halfdan, knowing this was his half-brother, he set fraternal loyalty before considerations of valour and announced that he would not join battle with a man who had had so little testing, where he himself was famed as the vanquisher of seventy men-at-arms. He therefore ordered Halfdan to find his own level by less arduous experiments and then pursue objects equal to his strength. He furnished these suggestions not because he doubted his own courage but through a desire to keep himself blameless, for he was not only very brave but had the knack of blunting swords by magic. Although he remembered that his father had been overthrown by Halfdan’s, he felt two impulses, desire to avenge his father and affection for his brother; he decided it was better to back out of the challenge than become involved in an abysmal crime.

Chapter 10

8. After this he [Harald] heard that a struggle over the kingdom must occur between Olaf, king of the Thronds, and two women, Stikla and Rusla; utterly enraged at such female brashness, he went to the king unobserved by the royal retinue and, assuming apparel which would obscure his long teeth, made an attack on these amazons. Each of them was quashed and he bequeathed to twin harbors a name related to thetis. It was then that he showed a very striking proof of his bravery. Wearing a shirt which only reached up to his armpits, he faced spears with his chest unprotected. When Olaf offered him reward of this victory he refused the favor, making it a problem to decide whether he set an example more of valor or self-restraint.

9. Next he attacked a champion of Frisian stock called Ubbi, who was ravaging the confines of Jutland and inflicting wholesale massacre on the populace; since he was unable to subdue him with weapons, he encouraged his soldiers to grip him with their hands, threw him to the ground, bound him, and put him in chains. Even though he had imagined shortly beforehand that Ubbi would bring him heavy defeat, he asserted his superiority through this humiliating form of assault. Nevertheless he gave him his sister in marriage, made him one of his lieutenants, and went on to lay the neighbouring Rhenish peoples under tribute, choosing, however, the most valiant of that race to serve in his army. Harald used these to overthrow the Wends, but made sure that its generals, Duk and Dal, because of their courage, were captured and not killed. As soon as he had incorporated them in his military fraternity, he vanquished France and, turning to Britain shortly afterwards overcame the king of the Northumbrians and among his troops all the most likely young men he had subdued. Of these one known as Orm the Briton was held pre-eminent.

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September 22, 2018

Histories of Rodulfus Glaber

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Rodulfus Glaber (985–1047) was a French monk and a contemporary of  Adémar de Chabannes. Rodulfus’ main work is his Histories in Five Books (Rodulfi Glabri Historiarum Libri Quinque). This work was translated by the medieval scholar John France. Here are some excerpts that mention the Slavs and the Prussians.

Also, interestingly, in one of the chapters Rodulfus describes a certain fraudster deceiving the good people of France with his alleged healing techniques (“a common fellow, a cunning pedlar whose name and country of origin were unknown because in the many lands where he sought refuge he took false names and lied about his origins lest he be recognized.”). That fraudster apparently managed to perform some miracles (to “test” the Christians in their faith) and did so in the bishoprics of Maurienne, Uzes and Grenoble. What is interesting are the names of these which are listed as follows (Book IV, chapter 3 (6)): “Nec tamen Morianne uel Utzetice sue Gratinone…”


Book I
Chapter 4 (10)

At this time the Emperor Otto died, and his son Otto II succeeded to the empire; while he lived he ruled well. During his reign the venerable pontiff Adalbert (Voytech) left the province which the Slavs call Bohemia, where he ruled the church of St Vitus in the city of Prague, in order to preach the word of God to the Prussians. After he had preached many sermons to them and made many converts to the faith of Christ, he revealed to his companions that he was to receive the crown of martyrdom in that country; to save them from fear he gave assurances that none but he was to die. One day, at the order of this bishop, a certain evil tree situated by a river was cut down, for the common people had been accustomed in their superstition to sacrifice to it. The bishop built and consecrated an altar in that same place and he himself prepared to solemnize the mass. When he was engrossed in the sacrament he was pierced by javelins thrown by pagans; at the very moment that mass ended, his life ended too. Then his disciples, taking up the body of their lord, bore it back to his own country By his merits any men have received great benefits, even to this day.

Ipso igitur in tempore mortuus est predictus Otto imperator, suscepitque filiys eius, secundus uidelicet Otto, eundem imperium, quod satis strenue dum aduiueret rexit. Eodem ergo imperante, uenerabilis pontifex Adalbertus, ex prouintia qua lingua Sclauorum uocatur Bethem, in ciuitate Braga regens ecclesiam sancti martiris Vitisclodi, egressus ad gentem Bruscorum ut eis uerbum salutis predicaret. Dumque apud eosdem plurimam egisset predicationem, multique ex eis conuerterentur ad fidem Christi, predixit suis quoniam in eadem regione martirii coronam esset accepturus, ac ne pauerent eis pariter indicauit quia preter eum ibidem nemo ex eis erat perimendus. Contigit enim ut die quadam, precipiente eodem episcopo, quedam profana arbor sita iuxta fluuium, cui etiam superstitiose immolabat uniuersum uulgus, uidelicet excisa conuelleretur. Constructoque ac sacrato in eodem loco altare, missarum sollempnia per se episcopus explere parauit. Qui dum in ipsis sacramentis peragendis esset constitutus, ictibus iaculorum ab impiis perfossus, tandemque sacrum sollempne peractum, slmulque presentis uite imposuit terminum. Denique discipuli eius, accepto corpore sui domini, illud secum ferentes in propriam sunt reuersi patriam. Cuius etiam meritis usque in presens largiuntur hominibus plurima beneficia.

Book IV
Chapter 8 (23)
A battle between the Ljutici and the Christians of the north

Germany extends from the River Rhine to the northern parts of the world, and it is inhabited by many ferocious and intermingled tribes. The cruellest of all these lives in the furthest part of Second Raetia. First Raetia,* although both are called after the River Rhine, lies along its west bank and is vulgarly, though quite wrongly, called the kingdom of Lothar [Lotahringia]. It is in the other province of that name that the barbarous, cruel, and ferocious Ljutici live; their name comes from the word lutum meaning ‘mud’. They all live close to the northern sea amongst squalid marshes and that is why they are called ‘the muddy ones’. In the millennial year of the Lord’s Passion these people left their lairs and cruelly devastated the neighbouring provinces of Saxony and Bavaria, destroying Christian properties down to the bare earth, and slaughtering men and women. The Emperor Conrad raised a great army against them and in frequent skirmishes killed many of them, though not without loss to himself. Because of this the clergy and people of every church in his realm mortified themselves and prayed to the Lord that He might grant him vengeance upon this rabid people, and, for the glory of His name, grant victory over them to the Christians. Then the emperor flung himself upon the enemy and crushed the greater part of them. The remainder, completely terrified, sought safety in flight back to their inaccessible haunts amongst the marshes. This victory gave the emperor confidence, and so he raised a new army and marched through Italy to the very city of Rome, where he spent a year crushing all those who tried to rebel against him, He concluded a treaty of peace and friendship with Henry king of the Franks, son of that King Robert with whom the Emperor Henry had likewise made a pact; as a mark of friendship he sent a great lion to the king.** Later he married a virtuous woman called Matilda who came from one of the most noble families of his kingdom in Germany.

* This took place in 1035. The translator thinks the reference to Raetia is really to Redaria noting that Raetia was in the South but does not explain why another (or first) Raetia is identified with Lotharingia.  For the Raetio-Norican origin of the Suavs, just see Nestor.
** The translator thinks this probably a reference pact between Conrad II and Henry I of France. 

viii. De Leuticorum prelio aduersus Christianos in partibus aquilonis

Germania igitur, que a Reno flumine sursum uersus ad aquilonarem orbis plagam tendens sumit exordium, gentibus incolitur qualplurimis, ferocissimis tamen atque promiscuis. Inter quas una ceteris crudelior commanens in ultima parte secunde Retie. Nam prima Retia, licet a Reno utreque dicantur, in parte eiusdem Reni coniacet occidentali. Que scilicet corrupte regnum Lotharii uulgo nuncupatur. In altera, ut diximus, gens Leuticorum barbara omni crudelitate ferocior; cuius uocabulum a luto deriuatur. Est enim omnis illorum habitatio circa mare aquilonare in paludibus sordentibus, et iccirco Leutici quasi lutei uocantur. Hi quoque, anno a passione Domini millesimo, de suis egressi latibulis, uicinas sibi prouintias Saxonum ac Baioariorum nimium crudeliter deuastantes, Christianorum res ad | solum usque deleuerunt; uiros ac mulieres trucidantes exterminabant; aduersus quos imperator Chounradus cum exercitu permaximo egrediens multotiens plures ex illis cede prostrauit, non tamen sine dampno suomm; ob quam rem totius ecclesie clerus ac plebs regni sui, semet affligentes, Dominum rogauerunt, ut ultionis uindictam de tanta barbarorum uesania illi concederet, ut ad sui nominis honorem Christianis foret ex illis uictoria. Dehinc uero irruens super eos, maximam illorum partem contriuit. Ceteri fuge presidium arripientes, ad loca suarum paludum inaccessibilia nimium perterriti euaserunt; de qua uictoria isdem imperator accepta confidentia, rursum collecto exercitu, Italiam pergens, ad ipsam urbem Romam progrediens uniuersos rebelliones, qui contra eum insurgere temptauerant, anno integro ibidem degens, proterendo compescuit. Pactum etiam securitatis et amicitie, ueluti Heinricus cum patre illius egerat, cum rege Francorum Heinrico, filio Roberti, statuit, cui etiam leonem pergrandem amicitie gratia misit. Qui postmodum uxorem nomine Mathildem, moribus egregiam, de regno eius ex Germanie nobilioribus accepit.

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September 21, 2018

All the Wends of Saxo Grammaticus – Books IX & X

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As before, to conform to current understanding “Russians” are Ruthenians. They could have been the “Rus” but, since they may have included Slavs, we use Ruthenians. Also, Jensen and Fisher use the term Wends where the text actually says “Sclavi” but we retained the translators’ terminology.


Book IX
Chapter 4

21. His sons Dian and Daxon, who in the past had been apportioned the daughters of the Ruthenian king in marriage, obtained the troops they requested from their father-in-law and with blazing enthusiasm sped to execute the business of their father’s revenge. On noting the vast army of his foes, Ragnar felt uneasy about his own forces; he therefore constructed bronze horses mounted on small wheels and had them brought round on easily manoeuvred carriages; then he gave orders for them to be launched with maximum velocity into the thick of the enemy. Their power broke up the opposing lines so well that prospective victory appeared to rest more on his machinery than his soldiery, for their irresistible weight smashed everything it struck. One general fell, the other slipped away, whereupon the entire Hellespontine army retreated. The Scythians too, attached to Daxon by close ties of blood on his mother’s side, are reported to have been crushed in that defeat. Their province was assigned to Hvitserk, while the king of the Ruthenians, diffident of his strength, hastened to fly off before Ragnar’s awe-inspinng weapons.

23. Once Ragnar realized that he had been hampered by severe weather that was not natural but contrived, he pursued his voyage as best he could till he reached the regions of KurIand and Samland; the peoples there deeply reverenced his majesty as if he were the greatest and most glorious of conquerors. Their favour maddened Ragnar all the more against the Biarmians‘ arrogance and he sought to avenge his slighted dignity in a surprise attack. Their king, whose name is unknown to us, was thrown into consternation by his foes’ sudden invasion and, having at the same time no heart for an engagement, took refuge with Matul, prince of Finnmark. Depending on the accomplished marksmanship of Matul’s archers, he harried Ragnar’s army as it wintered in Biarmaland and remained unscathed himself.

29. Meanwhile Daxon, following a long spell of futile attempts to overthrow Hvitserk, who was ruling Scythia, at last made his bid after deceiving him with a feigned truce. Though he was hospitably welcomed by Hvitserk, Daxon had secretly armed a crowd of warriors, who had ridden to the city in waggons as though coming to market, with the intention of wrecking his host’s palace in a night attack. Hvitserk beat down this gang of cut-throats with such slaughter that, enclosed as he was by a heap of the enemies’ bodies, they had to prop ladders up to the top in order to seize him. When his twelve comrades, captured by their foes at the same time, were given the chance of returning to their home country, they consecrated their lives to their sovereign, preferring to share another’s danger rather than escape their own.

30. Nevertheless Daxon, moved to pity by Hvitserk’s distinguished figure, had not the heart to pluck the budding flower of that noble nature. Not only did he offer him safety, but also his daughter’s hand together with a dowry of half the kingdom; he had rather preserve such a fine creature than punish him for his manliness. But the other, through the dignity of his spirit, sniffed at a life granted on sufferance and, scoffing at freedom as if it were some trifling gratuity, embraced the death sentence of his own accord; he told Daxon that Ragnar would be less ruthless in avenging his son when he learnt that Hvitserk had chosen this manner of dying of his own free will. His foe, in wonder at this nonchalant attitude, promised that he should be destroyed with whatever type of end he had in mind to be inflicted on him. The young man accepted the freedom of choice as a great favour and asked if he could be bound and burnt along with his comrades. Daxon submitted with no hesitation to these eager requests for death, dealing the desired method of execution as though it were some kindness.

32. After putting Ivar in charge of the kingdom and restoring Ubbi to his former favour with affectionate paternal embraces, he sailed with his navy over to Ruthenia; there he captured Daxon, entwined him with penal chains and removed him to confinement in Utgarth. Ragnar undeniably handled his dearest son’s slayer with the most merciful restraint when he chose to allow his appetite for the cherished revenge to be satisfied by exiling the culprit instead of killing him. His lenience struck deep shame into the Ruthenians for venting their rage further upon a king whom even their harsh wrongs could not drive into executing his prisoners. In a short time Ragnar actually took Daxon back into his favour and restored him to his country, on the promise that he would come to him barefoot once a year with twelve unshod elders and humbly render tribute. He believed it finer to chastise a penitent prisoner mildly rather than swing the bloody axe, to sentence a proud neck to unremitting servitude In preference to cleaving it once and for all.


Book X
Chapter 2

1. At that period Styrbjorn, son of the Swedish ruler, Bjorn, was robbed of his realm by Erik, his uncle Olof’s son; in order to beg assistance he travelled as a suppliant with his sister Gyrith to Harald, Thyra’s son; inasmuch as he found him quite ready to offer friendship, he granted Harald the hand of this sister in marriage all the more freely. After this, Harald took control of Wendish territory with his troops and settled an appropriate garrison of soldiers at Julin, the most celebrated town of that province, putting Styrbjorn in charge. Their piratical raids were conducted with a fine strength and spirit and gradually increased as victories were won round about; eventually they rose to such a harsh pitch that they brought uninterrupted disasters to sailors throughout the northern Ocean. This policy added more to Danish power than was gained by any military strategy on land. Among the fighters were Bo, Ulf, Karisevne, Sigvald and a great many others; my pen refrains from writing a comprehensive catalogue, since this would sooner weary the reader than give pleasure. Meanwhile Styrbjorn, spurred by the prick pf revenge, yearned to repay the wrong he had received and, calling Harald to his aid, let loose against Erik’s hated tyranny the wrath he felt at the recollection of his injuries.

Chapter 5

1. History tells us that Gyrith had borne Harald two sons. The elder, Hakon, outshone his brother, Sven, in the wonderful quality of his talents and the happy enhancements conferred on him by Nature. Hakon attacked the Samlanders, but when he noticed that his soldiers’ spirits were rather subdued as they considered the dangers attending this war, he set fire to the fleet, which had been drawn up on to the shore; his intention was to remove the hope of flight more effectively from their wavering minds, and by such firm compulsion he did indeed rid them of their feeble cowardice.* With the possibility of sailing gone they were made to perceive that their return had to be engineered through victory. In being complacent about despoiling himself of his vessels, he was all the more secure in seizing booty from the enemy. There was no doubt that Fortune then took pity on the Danish leader, procuring as he did the assistance of his sailors through the loss of their ships and seeing complete want of a navy as the means to military success. So he brought about a happy outcome by a plan as intelligent as it was risky. Once the Danes had conquered Samland, they slaughtered the males but forced the women to marry them; in this way they severed loyalty to their marriages at home and engaged eagerly enough in foreign unions, so that” they shared their blessings with the foe through the common bond of wedlock. The Samlanders are therefore quite right to count themselves as having a direct blood-relationship with the Danish race. So much did love for their captives seize the hearts of these warriors that they abandoned their desire to return home and settled in an uncivilized region in preference to their native land, feeling more akin to other men’s wives than their own.

* note: before even Cortez.

Chapter 8

3. While this was happening, Harald, preoccupied with hauling stone, started to interrogate closely one of his navy who had just come up to him asking if he had ever seen anywhere’else such a gigantic object handled by men’s labour. The other said he remembered setting eyes lately on the drawing of an enormous weight, accomplished by human strength. The king bombarded him with questions to find out what this was; ‘I was there when Denmark was recently taken away from you’ he replied; ‘you can judge youself which needed the heavier effort of pulling.’ That was how Harald, looking to another’s opinion for praise of his undertaking, received the news that his realm had been stolen. Only then did this ruler repent that he had fixed cattle yokes on the necks of human beings. For when he had abandoned his scheme for transporting the huge mass and wished to turn from dragging the boulder to preparation for war, he met with the severest frowns from his soldiery. Wounded by such a humiliating affront in that employment, the army refused to take up arms on behalf of someone who had required it to bear the yoke. No regal order or entreaty could induce these men to procure safety for the head of one whose shaming command had condemned their necks to this affliction. There were some, however, who did not share the popular feeling, and amid the turbulence of public upheaval preserved their customary regard for their sovereign. Relying on their support as he strove to use his power to crush his son’s initiative, Harald was himself vehemently assaulted by martial forces belonging to his own blood. Having been overcome in warfare by Sven, he pinned his faith on escape to Zealand, where he recruited a further battalion, but came away with the same kind of fortune as before, this time after a sea contest. Now that he and been stripped of fighters at home, all that was left was for him to call on a foreign contingent for aid. So, quitting his homeland, he sought exile in Julin, because it was packed with Danish warriors and could be regarded as the military nucleus most loyal to him.

4. In the meantime Sven, not yet satisfied with having dishonoured filial loyalty by animosity against his father, tried to court the people’s favour; giving rein to impiety, he resolutely bent his attentions to the abolition of holy rites and, after expelling every trace of Christian worship from the land, restored sacrificial priests to the temples and offerings to the altars of the gods. Once again his father attacked him, on the coast at Helgenaes, with a mixed band of Danes and Wends, but dragged out the day in fighting without experiencing either flight or victory. As both armies were exhausted by their struggle, they devoted the next day to a conference so that they might knit together a peace; but as luck would have it, Harald, convinced that they would come to terms, wandered off independently and disappeared into a small neck of the forest. Here he was crouching among the trees to empty his bowels, when he was hit by an arrow from the bow of Toki, who had been thirsting to avenge the injustices he had suffered; Harald was carried back wounded to julin by his retinue and there his life quickly came to an end. His body was dispatched to Roskilde, where it was given a consecrated burial place in a church founded by him not long before. His native country, at one time ungrateful for the benefits it had received from him, now gave overdue consideration to its conscientious leader’s deeds, and what it had rendered in smaller measure to the living man, it thought fit to offer him more amply now that he was dead; by paying reverence at his funeral with all their warm strength of feeling,the Danes cherished his ashes with a humanity which displaced the arrogant hate they had shown him during life.

Chapter 9

1. After Harald’s decease Sven rejoiced that a favourable opportunity had arrived when he could vent his fury on Christian practices, and he tore up the whole of this religion, root and branch; at his instigation, having already embarked on worship of the Godhead, the Danes returned to superstitious beliefs, embracing this regression to their old error all the more openly because they were secure in the knowledge that its harshest critic had perished. This foolhardy behaviour, however, was repaid with misfortunes of considerable stringency by a Divinity retaliating against men’s scorn of Him, and He hounded its originator with the most depressing twists of fate. The man who had led his people to abandon their faith was stricken with grievous severity, insasmuch as the Lord never ceased to embroil him in the worst of violent catastrophes, so that, divested of any favourable success, Sven was compelled to undergo a life of bitter experiences. When the inhabitants of the town of julin initiated a marauding raid on Denmark, its ruler was taken prisoner and found it possible to gain ransom only after promising to purchase it with his weight in gold and twice his weight in silver. The Danes, who had lavished affection on him for his desertion of holy rites, contributed the sum which restored him to his homeland, yet even then his eyes were clouded with dense mists of ignorance and he still disdained to lift them towards the rays of shining light. For this monster crammed with wickedness, whose heart was so unlike his father’s, was not ashamed to separate himself from Harald’s uncommon splendour and move towards the depths of darkness. But although his personal defects were his undoing, he profited by others’ altruism. Destiny dealt him a similar blow a second time, and after the children of noblemen had been given as security on his behalf and an agreement introduced stipulating the same amount as before, he sought and obtained assistance for his ransom. Since he was unable to meet the promised debt from his own treasury, he offered for sale woods and forests, sometimes publicly, sometimes privately, to all who had surrendered sons, dearer than their own lives, as surety for his safety; the money he then received for these estates was immediately counted out to those who had taken him into captivity. The Scanians and Zealanders bought woodlands for common use by public subscription, In Jutland, however, it was done by families closely related to each other, who participated in the purchase.

2. At this period our race frequently engaged in viking expeditions, but this was extremely rare for the Wends; nevertheless such ventures began to spread more widely amongst them because the pirates of Julin, displaying their Danish zeal against Denmark herself, were particularly harmful to its countrymen through the selfsame vigour they had derived from the national character. These regular incursions have been put down in our own day through the patrols, alert on the citizens’ behalf, of King Valdemar and Archbishop Absalon. The energetic involvement of these two has ensured that peaceful cultivation is maintained on land and safe navigation on the waters.

3. Avid to take revenge for the acts of violence against him, and, more than anything, bent on using his troops to demolish Julin, which he regarded as a den infested by a gang of cutthroats, Sven filled the sound which separates the islands of Men and Falster with his royal fleet. As soon as it appeared that he shortly intended to overrun the territory of the Wends, the dwellers in Julin boldly calculated that any attack from this cunning enemy should be anticipated by stratagem. When they found out that Danish guards patrolled the fleet at night for its protection, they chose and equipped a number of oarsmen for the assignment. At daybreak they arrived before the customary appearance of the sentinels and pretended to have just returned from their watch; rowing in a small skiff across the harbour, which was bristling with longships, they ventured right alongside the king’s vessel, where the steersman announced that he had some confidential information which Sven really ought to know about. Believing that he was bringing a report of some matter discovered in the night, the king drew back the awning which covered the ship and, poking his head out, leant forward towards the caller, expecting a friendly conversation. When the other saw that Sven was ripe for his treachery, he suddenly gripped his neck in a brutally savage clasp, dragged him from the ship and with the help of his assistants tossed him into their pirate boat. Then they sped away in flight with rapid strokes of their oars. So, by getting their nimble wits to aid them, they effected by guile what was impossible by the use of weapons. Consequently someone who a little while before had shone out from the pinnacle of grandeur was then transformed by a derisive jest of Fate into the miserable slave of barbarians; whether he had done greater wrong to his father or to religion I cannot say, but he saw the province he had dishonoured with his parent’s exile now the provider of a prison and the avenger of patricide; he also found himself obliged to strip of its wealth the motherland he had robbed of its Christian worship. Nor could his followers be very quick to help him, for they first had to roll back the tarpaulins that screened the ships, fit oars into the rowlocks and draw up their anchors from the waves. So the campaign yielded to deceit and, since its participants did not have the courage to pursue the barbarians without royal leadership, the fleet set sail and restored the soldiers to their native shores.

Chapter 13

2. Now Sven, although weary with the toils of an old man’s existence, still paid unflagging attention to divine worship during his last years, and his reverence for the Lord lasted as long as he drew breath. Free of all human perturbation, he passed away in the full glow of an excellent life. Certainly he had been divided between two fates, for a shifting fortune bandied him to and fro between derision and distinction, substituting captivity for his kingship, and exile for his captivity. Who would have imagined that he would progress from the most elevated throne to the fetters of the Wends? Who could guess that he would return from Wendish chains to a monarch’s regalia? Yet he went from ruler to prisoner and from prisoner to ruler. A companion now’to abject sorrow, now to the highest felicity, he set side by side a double measure of each destiny in the conflicting situations of his career

Chapter 14

1. At Sven’s death the English and Norwegians, not wanting their country’s highest station to be under the control of a foreign power, deemed it more satisfactory to choose kings within their own ranks instead of borrowing them from neighbours; they accordingly shrugged off their deference to Danish power and placed Edward and Olav respectively at the peak of royal grandeur. Cnut, who had taken over the throne of Denmark, was reluctant to challenge the imposing strength of these two kings in his early days of leadership, but was not keen either to see his dominion confined to the bounds of his own country; as a result he did not neglect the idea of regaining his father’s empire, but at the same time disguised the fact and made it his first objective to carry the sword into Wendish territory and Samland, on the grounds that these were weaker realms. Though he had suffered harsh wrongs from them, Sven had been wary of striking at the former people, hindered as he was by scruples about his oath, and the latter, once overcome by Hakon, had turned their hands to rebellion against the Danes after his decease. This new successor to the Danish crown skilfully contrived to punish the offence of the one, the vexation they had caused his father, and of the other for their revolt. He was quite aware that a gifted individual can gather the strength to expand his capabilities by starting with a smaller-scale enterprise, and for this reason he wished during this apprenticeship in warfare to mark the beginning of his early manhood with some noble feat. For that reason he vigorously used his force against the insurgents, perhaps with greater promptness in that active spirits, as they are putting themselves more on trial, show superior daring and so are successful in performing some remarkable task.

Chapter 16

1. But let me go back to the path from which I digressed: because Olav, backed by his brother Harald, posed a cruel threat to the Danes, Cnut mounted a naval attack from England and forced him to depart into exile to his father-in-law, Yaroslav, a prince of the Eastern peoples; having thus regained Norway, he then returned to drive from his homeland Richard, who had conceived a bitter hatred for Estrith, his wife; once she had been restored to Zealand, her brother allowed her to discharge royal duties. In the meantime occurred the death of Olof, king of Sweden, and he was succeeded by Omund, who received a name from his longevity. When Olof died, the Norwegian Olav found the confidence to return to his native soil where, enlisting aid from the Swedes, he made a daring and successful bid to seize the throne of Norway,68 for he observed that Cnut had now lost his half-brother’s assistance and was deprived of the most notable component of his forces.

Chapter 17

3. At that time, Gottschalk,* a young Wend of outstanding qualities, arrived to perform hls military service in the king’s regiment. His father, Pribignev, a strong devotee of Christian worship, was vainly attempting to recall the Wends to the faith they had revoked; contrary to the custom of his tribe, Gottschalk had been entrusted to teachers so that he could obtain instruction in letters; yet when he realized that his father had been murdered by Saxons intent on gaining possession of his country, he did not allow his fierce spirit to grow tame in such calm pursuits. He suddenly exchanged books for weapons and turned from his cultivation of knowledge to recruitment in arms, afraid that he might follow the customs of his ancestors too feebly by applying himself to foreign mental exercises; relinquishing his scholarly endeavours, he chose to play the brisk avenger before the sedentary student, because he believed it fitter to use his mind more with audacity than with diligence. So, obeying the dictates of Nature in preference to those of his instructor, he at length secured his revenge and then sought out Cnut’s corps of soldiery. In this way the young man’s mind, brought up short by a ferocious incentive when it was at the very threshold of learning, was unable to overcome the inborn harshness of his blood by the fundamental procedures of education.

* note: as the translators point out “Gottschalk was a member of the Nakkonid dynasty, powerful among the Wagrians and Western Abotrites of Western Germany. He found refuge with Cnut when his family was overthrown by King Ratibor, their rival. After varying fortunes he returned subsequently taking successful revenge on Ratibor and his sons in 1035. Saxo’s story about Gottschalk’s sudden turn from scholarly studies to arms functions as an example of how nature is more powerful than civilization.” The source of this is probably Adam of Bremen’s reference where Adam wrote “Gottschalk in his wrath and indignation, rejected the faith along with his letters and seized his arms.”  However, as the translators point out, there are two differences: Adam says he Gottschalk rejected the Christian faith and says nothing of Gottschalk having been part of Sven’s retinue.

Chapter 22

2. While Magnus kept up a dogged pursuit by land and sea, a Wendish host poured unexpectedly into Jutland. Their invasion made it difficult for the victorious Norwegian to know whether he should continue the expulsion of his routed foe or counter the new threat. After a certain Wend of very noble birth had lost his twelve buccaneering sons in Denmark, he resolved to avenge his bereavement with the sword and made an attack on Jutland. Magnus therefore, at the persistent entreaties of the common people, consented to take the initiative and open hostilities; ignoring his rival, he turned his weapons from an internal enemy towards an adversary from outside and, seemingly content to forget a personal grudge, took upon himself a public grievance, since he had no wish to give the impression of pursuing his own ends too assiduously at the expense of the country’s interests. Even though the position of pre-eminence still lay in the balance and his authority was uncertain, this leader of foreign blood did not hesitate to transfer the danger to his own shoulders. Now on the night preceding the day of conflict, a truly prophetic shape overshadowed his slumbers. As he was taking rest, the ghost of someone hovered before him and foretold that he would beat his opponent and could be assured of his victory from an omen, the death of an eagle.

3. On waking the following morning King Magnus made known his dream sequence, to everyone’s deep amazement. And the portent accorded with his vision. When his troops marched forward, he sighted, alighting nearby, the eagle which had been revealed to him in his sleep; galloping towards it on his rapid steed, he launched a spear and forestalled the bird’s flight with the swift-moving missile. The strangeness of the incident raised the onlookers’ expectations of victory. Consequently the army seized on this sign to infer that the fortuitous end of the eagle spelt inevitable destruction for their opponents. Indeed, once they had all seen how the circumstances matched the dream, they were, in a way, sure of the outcome and interpreted the occurrence they had witnessed as an augury in their favour; jumping swiftly to the same conclusion, everyone assumed that it meant an almost foolproof chance of winning. Their belief in the portent carried them to such a pitch of daring that, imagining the prospect of victory already before their eyes, with complete disregard for peril they raced with one another to leap into the fray. Because they snatched the earliest opportunity of fighting, the result of the battle corresponded exactly with the auspice and the Wends were massacred to a man.

5. Furthermore there was a Wend, Gottschalk, one among many others who had abandoned military service under the unfortunate Sven; for a long period this man had been reflecting how badly his fortunes had fared beneath another’s command, and when he perceived that no good prospects remained for his lord, he relinquished his soldiership and deserted without shame; it was safer in his view to experiment with his own luck rather than subscribe to someone else’s, so that, when he despaired of the king’s ever anticipating a brighter future, he at least did not flinch from taking vengeance for the death of his father. Things turned out according to his scheme. For after he had conducted wars with varying results, he brought the Wends under his sway and, as external threats left him unbroken, so it became clear that he could not be overthrown by events at home. Yet blessed with the rule he had sought, he was not happy until, in revenge for his father’s murder, he had crushed the Saxons; a kingdom and its riches by his reckoning yielded little honour unless retribution were added to such effects.

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September 20, 2018

Interessant

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Here is the River Zaber. Way out West.

First mentioned in 793 as giving the name to the “pagus” (GauZabernahgouwe. Then we have Zabernogouui (1003), Zaberenkowe (1188), Zaberkou (1246) und, as they say, so weiter. What is the etymology of this name? It’s supposed that it comes from a hypothetical Old High German *Zaberna. This, in turn, comes from a Latin Taberna meaning an inn or, well, a tavern. A similar name is Zabern in Alsace-Lorraigne (today’s Saverne) which was reported as Zabarnam (841) but earlier, apparently, as Tres Tabernae Cesaris (4th century – Ammianus Marcellinus).

Problem solved?

Well, since we are doing so well, how about we pull in:

  • Zabernovo – near Burgas, Bulgaria
  • Zaberezh – Ukraine
  • Zabrega – Serbia
  • Zabreh – Czechia
  • Zabreznica – Slovenia
  • Zabrze – Poland
  • Zaberbach – near Bolzano, Italy (former Veneti and Suav territory)

More, generally, what sorts of names begin with a prefix Za-. This is not meant to be a trick question.

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August 1, 2018

Chronicle of Utrecht (in Latin for now)

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The Chronicle of Utrecht (Cronica de Traiecto) features some interesting mentions of Slavs. Much of this stuff may come from such earlier works as these:

Or perhaps the slightly earlier (than the Cronica de Traiecto) Chronicle of Gouda or Chronicle of Tiel. (That is, “perhaps” – the Chronicle of Gouda is dated to 1478 but the Chronicle of Utrecht covers the years through 1456 but has been dated to 1470-1500).

In any case, here are the relevant references (this time only in Latin) from the Chronicle of Utrecht (this is from the 1738 Matthaeus edition – the manuscript of the chronicle burned down in 1914 during WWI in Leuwen/Louvain):

…Quia quod modo est Hollandia fuit tota nemorosa ac silvestris & haec primo possessa fuit a feris hominibus, qui ex Anglia venerunt, quae tunc Albion, postea Britannia, modo Anglia vocatur, & Brutus veniens de Graecia, qui fuit genitus de Troja, vastavit eam, & Occidit multos generis gigantei, & de reliquiis illius populi expulsi fuit Hollandia prius possessa, ac incolata, ac ipsi nomen acceperunt, quod Slavi essent. Et hoc fuit ante incarnationem Christi circa annos mille vel DCCCC. & tempore Samuelis, qui fuit Judex in Israel, & David Regis Israhel. Et iste populus contraxit matrimonia cum inferioribus Saxonibus & Frisonibus & populus multiplicatus est. Et divisus est populus, sic quod quidam profecti sunt ad illas partes, quae modo Australis Hollandia est, & quidam ad partem inferiorem Gelriae, qui populus tunc vocatus est de Wilten.

Post hoc tempore Julii Caesaris & LVIII. annis ante incarnatiomen Christi missus fuit idem Caesar a Senatu, ut omnes istas inferiores Regiones Romano Imperio subjugaret, & sic venit ad istos Slavos & Wilten, & dextras dedit eis, & in gratiam recepit, quia Julius Caesar eorum Capitaneum vicit & occidit, qui fuit gigas magnus nomine Braban.

Deinde post tempore Claudii circa annos Domini XL. Claudius profectus est Britanniam, quia solitum tributum dare detrectabant, & in reditu pugnavit cum Slavis & Wilten, & vastavit eos, & ipse Imperator nominavit illud magnum nemus, quod modo est Hollandia, & Flandria, nemus sine misericordia, quod fuit diu sic vocatum…

…Et hoc fecit circa annum LXV. Et Antonius cum suis posteris possedit illud multis annis, usque dum isti Slavi & Wilti Anthoniam vastaverunt. Et stetit Antonia c. & XXI . annis.

Dein post anno Domini CLXXXVI . tunc congregati sunt Wilti, hoc est, illi de auilonari Hollandia, & Slavi potenti manu, & obsederunt Antoniam, & vastaverunt eam, & multis interfectis ad solum usque dejecerunt, & construxerunt ibidem aliud valde firmum castellum, & vocatum est Wiltenburch, & habitaverunt ibi. Et erat populus inquietus & bella nutriens.

De hinc anno Domini CCC. tempore Valentiniani pace facta inter has omnes nationes, scilicet Frisones, Wiltones, & Saxones, collectis navibus multis profecti sunt super Renum in Almaengen, & multa damna ibi fecerunt, & etiam in Gallia, & multos occiderunt.

Quo audito Valentinianus adunato exercitu festinabat tali gentili populo obviare, quod & fecit. Nam captis omnibus navibus venit in inferiorem Saxoniam per Rhenum, & destruxit castrum Wiltenburg, & perdomuit Frisones, & omnem illum populum, & reversus est cum gloria ad sua anno Domini ccc.  LXXXVII. Et propter nimia frigora ibidem existentia vocata est a Romanis tunc Frisia. Et terra ista mansit tunc infidelis usque ccc. annos. Et anno Domini  ccc. XVI. tunc illi de inferiori Saxonia conglobati cum suo Rege Engisto & Horses fratre suo, & cum Slavis, profecti sunt in Britanniam, & expulsis Britannis dominati sunt ibidem, & regnaverunt illic…

Dein post coeperunt Frisones, & Saxones, & Wilti creare Capitaneos, & Wilti praefecerunt unum Capitaneum nomine Lemmen, & ipse reaedificavit Wiltanburch, & habuit filium nomine Dibbaut, qui postea factus est Rex Frisonum, & habuit conjugem de genere giganteo, de qua habuit filios plurimos. De eo etiam descendit Richardus, quem Slavi in Regem elegerunt, & vocatus est Eseloor, eo quod aures habuit afininas…

…Quod videntes Slavi, vel Hollandini, & Wilti, dextras petierunt & acceperunt. Quas tamen dextras non servaverunt memores Regis nimiae crudelitatis. 

Circa annum DC. & XLI. fuit in Francia Rex Dagobertus primus, & fuit filius Lotharii. Iste Dagobertus perdomuit omnes Frisones & Slaves & Wiltos. Iste iterum destruxit WIltenburch, & fecit construi castellum cum magno ambitu in gyro super Rhenum, & vocavit Trajectum, & stetit Wiltenburch ab initio usque huc quingentis annis. Iste Dagobertus fecit fieri infra ambitum istius Trajecti primam Ecclesiam in honore Sancti Thomae Apostoli, & ordinavit ibi Presbyteros, qui converterent Frisones, quod tamen frustra fuit, & ista Ecclesia fuit facta anno Domini DC. & XLII. Et iste durus populus noluit converti tamen, sed destruxerunt istam Ecclesiam…

…Iste Pippinus ex parte Regis Franciae fecit Slavoniam vel Hollandiam vocari tunc orientalem Franciam. Et hoc fuit anno Domini DC. LXXXVIII…

…Et applicuerunt primo ad insulam, quae Walcheren vocatur, quae modo Zelandia dicitur, ad villam, quae Wstcappel vocatur, & ibi invenerunt idolum Mercurii, & Willibrordus confregit illud idolum in frusta, & cultos idoli percussit Willibrordum cum gladio, & vulneravit caput ejus, & conservatus a morte curatus fuit in brevi…

…Tunc  fuit ibi Rex nomine Radbodus…

…Videns autem beatus Willibrordus, quod Radbodum cum suo populo non posset convertere, recessit inde, & rediit in Hollandiam, ut neophytum populum in fide confortaret, & dedicavit ecclesiam apud antiquam Slavenburgch, quae nunc Vleerdingen est, & collegit presbyteros multos, & sic venit Trajectum, quod venit sub Dominio Franciae…

…Interim quum S. WIllibrordus fuit Romae, ventus urens surrexit, & orientalis, & evertit omnes arbores, & una nocte per totam Frisiam & Slaviam, quae fuit orientalis Francia, quod fuit mirabile multum…

…In anno Domini DCC. & LII. Bonifacius imminere martyrium suum ordinavit sibi successsorem Sanctum Gregorium, & Bonifacius cum suo suffraganeo Eobano, & Wintingo, Waltero, & Alberto sacerdotibus, & Haymundo, Sacbaldo, & Basato diaconibus, & Wackero, Gundato, Hidero, & Tulso monachis. Isti triginta viri descenderunt per Slaviam, & venerunt ad populum incredilum, ibique explicabant tentoria sua, & paululum quieti se dederunt… 

Interestingly, Gouda was previously known as Tergouw or Ter Gouw. The Gouwe is the name of a river nearby (terram quandam junta Goldam) but that is not the only explanation of the name.

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July 19, 2018

Bernard of Clairvaux Calls For Yet Another Crusade

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One of the more noxious characters from the Middle Ages was the fanatical Frankish Cistercian monk (Saint) Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153). Here is a letter calling for a Crusade against Niklot and the Suavic Wends. It was written sometime in March, 1147. The idea was that the same privileges would apply to the actions of these northern crusaders as those accorded to the crusaders of the Second Crusade. Interestingly, the Wends rebelled at the time of that crusade was taking place and it is likely that they did so with the knowledge that Frankish armies would be otherwise occupied in their pillaging of Canaan giving the Wends a chance to free themselves.

The brutal language of the letter is particularly striking given that just the year before Bernard spoke against the persecution of Jews in the Mainz area (“Is it not a far better triumph of the Chiurch to convince and convert the Jews than to put them all to the sword?…Who is this man that he should make out the Prophet to be a liar and render void the treasures of Christ’s love and pity?”)

Interestingly, the Cistercians later made similar haughty statements about Polish Suavs.

Miriam squirting breast milk into Bernard’s mouth (not kidding – some weird shit)

The translation is from Bruno Scott James.


“To his lords and reverend fathers, the archbishops, bishops, and princes, and to all the faithful of God, the spirit of strength and deliverance, from Bernard, styled Abbot of Clairvaux.”

“Without doubt it has been heard in your land, without doubt the news has gone forth in oft repeated words that God has stirred up the spirit of kings and princes to take vengeance on the pagans and to wipe out from Christian lands… [MS. defective]. How good and great is the bounty of God’s mercy! But the evil one sees this and resents it, he gnashes his teeth and withers away in fury, for he is losing many of those whom he held bound by various crimes and enormities. Abandoned men are now being converted, turning aside from evil and making ready to do good. But the evil one feared far more the damage he would incur from the conversion of the pagans, when he heard that their tale was to be completed, and that the whole of Israel was to find salvation. This is what he believes to be threatening him now at this very time, and with all his evil cunning he is endeavoring to see how he can best oppose such a great good. He has raised up evil seed, wicked pagan sons, whom, if I may say so, the might of Christendom has endured too long, shutting its eyes to those who with evil intent lie in wait, without crushing their poisoned heads under its heel. But the Scriptures say: ‘Presumption comes first, and ruin close behind it.’ And so God grant that the pride of these peoples may be speedily humbled and the road to Jerusalem not closed on their account. Because the Lord has committed to our insignificance the preaching of this crusade, we make known to you that at the council of the king, bishops, and princes who had come together at Frankfort, the might of Christians was armed against them, and that for the complete wiping out or, at any rate, the conversion of these peoples, they have put on the Cross, the sign of our salvation; and we, by virtue of our authority, promised them the same spiritual privileges as those enjoy who set out towards Jerusalem. Many took the Cross on the spot, the rest we encouraged to do so, so that all Christians who have not yet taken the Cross for Jerusalem may know that they will obtain the same spiritual privileges by undertaking this expedition, if they do so according to the advice of the bishops and princes. We utterly forbid that for any reason whatsoever a truce should be made with these peoples, either for the sake of money or for the sake of tribute, until such a time as, by God’s help, they shall be either converted or wiped out. We speak to you, archbishops and bishops, and urge you to oppose any such plan for a truce with all your strength, and to watch with the greatest care this matter, and to apply all the zeal of which you are capable to seeing that it is carried through manfully. You are the ministers of Christ, and therefore it is demanded of you with all the more confidence that you should watch faithfully over God’s work, which, because it is his work, should be especially your concern. And this is what we too pray for from God with our whole heart. The uniform of this army, in clothes, in arms, and in all else, will be the same as the uniform of the other, for it is fortified with the same privileges. It has pleased gathered together at Frankfort to decree that a copy of this letter should be carried everywhere and that the bishops and priests should proclaim it to the people of God, and arm them with the holy Cross against the enemies of the Cross of Christ, and that they should all meet at Magdeburg on the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul.”

Genschow’s Niklot – Schwerin Castle

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July 14, 2018

The Sacramentary of Henry II – Bamberg Anno Domini 1059

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The year was 1059.  Bolesław II the Bold had been duke of Poland for a year now having taken over from his father Casimir the Restorer who passed away in 1058.  Whatever pagan rebellion may have happened in the 1020s and 1030s in Poland was long over.  Poland was once again “Christian” even if worship of the Old Gods persisted for hundreds of years more.  Its southern neighbor, Bohemia had not had major issues with “pagans” since at least 935.

And yet…

Henry II’s Sacramentary

To the southwest of Bohemia, in Upper Franconia, on April 13, 1059 a diocesan synod was taking place at Bamberg and what was firmly on the bishops’ minds were Slavs and, especially, Slav paganism.  It would seem that as late as 1059, the Bamberg province was still predominantly Slavic and largely pagan.

The synodal notes from that meeting were noticed by Philipp Jaffé in time for his edition of Monumenta Bambergensia in 1869 and were later reedited by Erich von Guttenberg,  They reside in the first few folios of the Sacramentary of Henry II’s.  (This is the same Henry II who as Emperor from 1002 till 1024 was engaged in three wars with Bolesław I the Great).  The sacrementary was given by Henry II to the Bamberg Cathedral and resided there as part of the Treasury until the Napoleonic Wars.

Henry II had a special relationship with the Bamberg Archbishopric as he was instrumental to setting it up back in 1007 at the synod in Frankfurt where one of the main reasons for setting up the Bamberg bishopric in the first place (from pieces of bishoprics Würzburg (founded 741) and Eichstätt (founded 745-746)) was the conversion of the Slavs.

Bamberg Slavs

We have previously looked a bit at some of those “Bamberg” Slavs who were known as the Moinu-Winidi and Ratanz-Winidi.  They may have been mentioned in the Life of Saint Emmeram as residing in the area about the year 650.

We’ve also come across them when examining Charlemagne’s Order to Bishop Bernwelf regarding missionary activity to the Slavs of the River Main and Regnitz.  That was about the years 793-794.

Some of the trading emporia established by the Carolingians were located in the nearby Slav area as well as discussed in the Double Capitulary of Thionville (aka the Diedenhofener Kapitular Karls des Grossen).  That was in 805.

Slavs were mentioned too – as a people from whom the bishopric was allowed to collect taxes – in a document issued by Arnulf of Carinthia in 889. That document is allegedly a reconfirmation of the same rights to be found in the foundational documents of the bishopric of Würzburg from the year 741 – see here.

They are also mentioned in the documents from the Frankfurt Synod establishing the Bamberg Bishopric in the year 1007 – another topic for later discussion.

For now, here is a simple document mentioning what happened at the Bamberg synod in 1059.

(This is just a sampling of the documents and these same Bamberg Slavs are further mentioned in various land deeds and diplomata throughout the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th centuries). (The last mention of the Bamberg Slavs appears to be from 1111).

The Bamberg Synod
April 13, 1059

In nomine sanctae et individuae trinitatis.  Notum sit omnibus tam praesentis aetatis quam futurae posteritatis, qualiter ego Guntharius quintus Babenbergensis episcopus propter multimoda meae aecclesiae negocia synodum universorum mihi subiectorum tenui.

Erat enim  plebs huius episcopii, utpote ex maxima parte Sclavonica, ritibus gentilium dedita, abhorrens a religione Chistiana, tam in cognatarum conubiis quam in decimationum contradictione decretis patrum omnino contraria.  Quapropter communi omnium iudicio confirmatum est, ut, qui sponte canonicis decretis nollent obedire, compellerentur intrare; et qui canonice banno constrictus non decimaret, bonis suis a domino suo abdicaretur, donec resipiscere compelleretur.

Huic synodo Eberhardus comes, Wirzeburgensis advocatus, superveniens, decimationes quasdam novalium nostrorum per prolocutorem suum Aepelin de Constat Wirzeburgensi aecclesiae expostulavit.  Sed emo advocato Wolframmo per prolocutorem suum Kaezelinum de Hamfenfeld respondente ac domno Meinardo cartam de eadem re coram omnibus perlegente, synodali iudicio expostulatio illa infirmata est et supradicta decimatio nostrae aecclesiae adiudicata, sucit ego meique fideles protestati sunt domnum nostrum imperatorem Heinricum huius episcopii terminos suo praedio a Wirzeburgensi aecclesia commutasse.

Hii autem sunt testes, qui huic synodo interfuerunt: Herimannus huius Babenbergensis aecclesiae praepositus, qui canonice interrogatus omnium assensu iudicium fecit; Poppo decanus; Kazelin, Penno, Luizo, Adelunc, Gozbreht, Hartunic, Gundolt, Icco, Uodalric, Gunzo, Hartuuic; Meinnard scolasticus; Adalbero decanus de Duristat; Huno, Arnold de Sieslice, Oze de Stafelestein, Sigelo, Ruothart, Nencer, Adalbreht, Uodalric et fere omnis clerus Babenbergensis aecclesiae.

Laici autem isti erant: Cuono palatinus comes, Pertolt et Fridericus filius eius, Gotescalc et Frideric filius eius, Eppo de Nuheim, Gozuuin comes, Adalbreht de Vorst, Sterchere comes, Gozwin comes, Reginboto comes et filius eius Diemar, Kraft comes, Immo, Walpoto.

Iudices isti affuerunt: Gumpreht et filius eius Meingoz, Heriman et Volferat, Ebo, Vocho, Aescuuin, Adelolt de Trubaha et frater eius Hemmo, Erbo de Wizenaha.

Ministeriales autem isti: Wiccer, Mazelin, Arnolt de Sichendorf, Teimo, Toticho et frater eius Babo, Deipolt et alii plures quos nominare longum est.

Acta Idibus Aprilis indictione IIII, anno dominicae incarnationis MLVIII, anno episcopatus domni Guntharii III.

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July 8, 2018

The Fulda Donation

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In a deed from the year 824 issued at Fulda we have the following interesting language testifying to the presence of Slavs on the River Main at that time (consistent with other reports from the area):

“I, in the name of God, Nidgoz, deliver to Saint Boniface, whose body rests in the sacred Fulda monastery where the venerable man Hrabanus is abbot and presides over a community of monks, given that I want to forever, for the remedy of the soul of Huswart, to deliver whatever property I have in the village which is called Thurpfilin, which lies on the bank of the river Main, in the country of the Slavs, on the condition that, from the present day the aforesaid abbot and then his successors, thanks to the charity of Huswart, and for all their uses, should own, hold and possess – [and Huswart’s] descendants relinquish perpetual possession – without any impediment or hindrance from others.”

“Done in the monastery of Fulda, on the 11th year of the reign of the Emperor Louis [the Pious], in the month of February, on the 16th of that month, in front of these witnesses: Nidgoz, who asked for this document to be produced, Abolt, Bernolf, Erming, Masso, Herirat, Nandgis, Gerperaht, Nordpraht, Gadumar, Hruodolf, the unworthy deacon who wrote down this document.”


Ego, in Dei nomine Nidgoz, trado ad sanctum Bonifatium, qui in monasterio Fulda sacro requiescit corpore, ubi vir venerabilis, Hrabanus abbas, multitudini praeest monachorum, traditum que in perpetuum esse volo, ob remedium animae Huswarti, quicquid proprietatis habeo in villa, quae vocatur Thurpfilin [aka Thurphilun/Thurpfilun], iuxta ripam fluminis Moin, in regione Sclavorum, ea conditione, ut à die praesente tam praedictus abbas, quàm successores eius, in eleemosynam Huswartes, & in ipsorum utilitatem, habeant, teneant, atque possideant, suisque posteris perpetuo possidendum relinquant, absque ulla contradictione vel impedimento aliorum. Actum in monasterio Fulda, anno XI. regni Hludouici Imperatoris mense Februario, die XVI. eiusdem mensis, eoram istis testibus, signum Nidgozi, qui hanc traditionis chartulam fieri rogavit, signum Albolti, signum Bernolfi , Ermingi, signum Massonis, Herirati, signum Nandgisi, Gerperahti, signum Nordprahti, Gadumari. Hruodolf, indignus subdiaconus, iussus scripsit.


The language seems to indicate that Huswart had died and that his soul needed some help on the way to Heaven. So, in order to help this Huswart, his some/all of his possessions in the form of the village of Thurpfilin “in the land of the Slavs” were donated to the Fulda monastery by a certain Nidgoz. Huswart’s heirs were thereby deprived of their inheritance but, hey, it was a good cause. What the relationship of Nidgoz was to Huswart is, of course, unclear but, at least in the optimistic version, Nidgoz was a relative of Huswart’s.  Interestingly, Nidgoz as well as several of the other names listed above such as Masso, Gadumar could have been Suavic. Were the Suavs trying to turn their village to the Fulda Abbey, perhaps because they did not get along with Huswart or with his progeny? Or was this simply intra-Frankish business?

In any event, this is found in the Corpus Traditionum Fuldensium (number 343) under the name Traditio bonorum in villa Thurphilun as well as in Book II (number 126) of the earlier Pistorius publication Rerum germanicarum scriptores in the subpart Traditiones Quae Continentur in Libris III Fuldensium under the name Traditio bonorum in villa Turphfilin. The same was also in the Codex diplomaticus Fuldensis published by Dronke.

Thurphilun or Turphfilin is probably the same as Dörfleins northwest of Bamberg. You can see other Slavic names on the map below Drasen, Schesslitz (Sieslice), Lesau?

This map is from the Atlas nouveau portatif à l’usage des militaires, collèges et du voyageur…. Tome 2 by monsieur Georges-Louis Le Rouge.

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July 3, 2018

All the Wends of Saxo Grammaticus – Prologue, Book I, Book II

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Here are some interesting excerpts from Saxo Grammaticus’ Gesta Danorum that touch upon Wends, Russians (Rus?), Skrittifinni as well as Kurlanders.


Prologue

The inner bend of the Ocean pierces Denmark and passes on to border the southern quarter of Gotaland in a broad curve; the outer increases in breadth as it streams eastwards along the coastline of northern Norway till it is walled by an unbroken arc of land. It terminates in a sea which our ancestors called Gandvik. Between Gandvik and the waters to the south there is a thin strip of mainland situated between the lapping seas; if this natural barrier had not been created against the almost meeting waves, the tides, surging together in a channel, would have made an island of Sweden and Norway. Within the eastern area of these countries live the Skritfinns. In their passion for hunting, these people habitually transport themselves in an unusual manner, having to trace slippery roundabout routes to reach the desired haunts in remote parts of the mountains. No cliff stands too high for them to surmount by some skilfully twisting run. For first they glide out of the deep valleys by the feet of precipices, circling this way and that, frequently swerving in their course from a direct line until by these tortuous paths they achieve the destined summit. They normally use certain animal skins instead of money to trade with their neighbours.

Book I

Chapter 4

13. After destroying the Swedish king, Sigtrygg, Gram desired to strengthen his possession of this empire won in war; when Svarin, governor of Gotaland, was suspected of aspiring to the throne, he challenged him to armed combat and subdued him; then Svarin’s brothers, seven born in wedlock and nine from a concubine, sought to revenge his death in an unequal contest, but they were annihilated.

Chapter 6

7. An aged man with only one eye happened to take pity on the lonely Hadding, robbed of his nurse, and brought him into friendship with a pirate, Liser, by establishing a covenant between them. Now our ancestors, when they meant to strike a pact, would sprinkle their combined blood in their footprints and mingle it, so as to strengthen the pledge of their fellowship. When this was effected and Liser and Hadding were bonded together in closest association, they declared war on Loker, lord of the Kurlanders. However, they were defeated and Hadding in his flight was taken on horseback by the old man to his home. There, after he had refreshed him with the aid of a soothing potion, he told him that his body would become reinvigorated and strong. He demonstrated his prophetic advice by singing…

10. After being captured by Loker and finding the whole course of events happen to him exactly as prophesied, he conducted a military attack on Handvan, king of the Hellespont, in the stronghold of Dunaburg.* Handvan was entrenched behind impregnable defence works and used the fortifications rather than a battle line for resistance. Since they could not surmount the parapet by assault, Hadding caused various species of birds whose habitat was there to be taken by skilled fowlers, and had burning fungi attached beneath their wings; when they sought the refuge of their nests again they set the city completely alight. The townsfolk in rushing about to extinguish the blaze left the gates undefended. He took Handvan in the attack, gave him the opportunity of ransom by paying his own weight in and, although he was entitled to do away with his enemy, to grant him life; thus he tempered his ferocity with mercy.

[*note: Daugavpils]

Book II

Chapter 1

4. Enriched by his treasure-trove the king was able to equip hlmselt with a fleet and sail into the territories of the Kurlanders. Their king Dorn, fearing a catastrophic war, is reported to have addressed this speech to his troops: ‘Chieftains as we are faced by a foreign enemy furnished with the arms and wealth of almost the whole western world, we must strive for a sensible delay before fighting and keep him under the powerful grip of starvation. Such a malady is internal. It will be extremely difficult for him to vanquish this peril within his own people. Starving men are easily resisted. More effectively than with weapons we shall test our foes by making them fast, and drive home no sharper lance than famine. Having little to eat will supply a canker to gnaw at their strength. A plentiful armoury is undermined by a lack of food. This can hurl our missiles for us as we sit here, can undertake the duties and functions of battle for us. In this way we may cause danger without danger to ourselves. We shall be able to let their blood without shedding ours. One ought to conquer an adversary at one’s ease. Who would prefer a struggle with unnecessary casualties? Who would aim to undergo punishment when he could fight scot-free? The outcome of an engagement will be more fortunate if Hunger wages war first. With him as our general let us take the earliest opportunity to strike…

5. Acting accordingly, Dorn destroyed everything that he was uncertain of being able to defend, and so far anticipated the enemy’s wrath in devastating his land that he left nothing intact for the invaders to seize. Then, taking the majority of his forces inside a town of tested strength, he allowed himself to be blockaded. Frothi was not sure whether he could storm it and therefore gave orders for several ditches of unusual depth to be dug within his camp, the earth to be secretly carted in baskets and dumped in the river near the city walls. He took care to keep Dorn ignorant of his device by covering the pits with a of turf, intending that the ground should cave in before the unsuspecting enemy and as a result they should plunge forward and be destroyed. After this he simulated a panic and his men from the lines for a short while. The people from the town bore hard on the camp, could gain no footing anywhere, and pitched headlong into the trenches, where Frothi?s men rained down their spears and massacred them.

6. Journeying from there he came upon Trann, prince of the Russians; preparatory to spying out his naval forces Frothi made a large number of spikes out of sticks and loaded them into a coracle. After rowing up to the enemy fleet at night, he bored the bottoms of their ships with an auger. Then, to prevent a sudden inrush of the sea he plugged the gaping holes with the pins he had provided, temporarily repairing the damage he had caused. When, however, he believed there were enough perforations to sink the fleet, the bungs were removed to give quick access to the waters, upon which he speedily crowded his own vessels round the enemy’s. Harassed by a double danger, the Russians were not sure whether to combat weapons or water. Their ships were foundering even as they battled to defend them against their foes. Yet the crisis from within was more desperate, for while they were actually unsheathing their blades in the gangways, they were having to retreat before the waves. The wretches were assailed on two fronts at once. So, they were doubtful whether swifter salvation lay in swimniing or fighting. This new and fateful emergency interrupted them in the midst of the conflict. The single attack carried twin deaths, two related ways of destruction. It was impossible to tell whether sword or sea offered greater hazard. The waves lapped up quietly and overtook ley beat off the weapons, and, conversely, they were enfolded the waters. The ocean wash was polluted with the spraying of blood.

7. After this victory over the Russians Frothi once more sought his own country. But when he learnt that the envoys he had dispatched to Russia to demand tributes had been savagely murdered by the treacherous inhabitants, in anger he followed up this twofold by putting the city of Rotala* under very tight siege. Lest its capture be retarded by the intervening river, he channelled the total water into a number of fresh courses, and where there had been a bed of unmeasured depth made passable fords; he only stopped when its rapid flood had been diminished through drawing it off into the various runnels so that it propelled its streams in a gentler flow, hemming it into winding conduits which gradually thinned into shallows. When the river had thus been brought under control, the town, deprived of its’ natural defence, fell before the unobstructed incursion of his troops. This task accomplished, he conveyed his army to the city of Paltisca.** Since he believed it was invincible by force, he exchanged warfare for deception. Letting only a very few individuals into the secret, he found a dark, hidden retreat and, to assuage the enemy’s apprehension, had it publicly proclaimed that he was dead. In order to gain verisimilitude they celebrated his funeral and erected a barrow. His soldiers, who were now made party to the ruse, mourned as they attended their leader’s supposed last rites. Hearing the report, the city’s ruler, Vespasius, thought the war as good as won; consequently he kept such slack, negligent guard that his adversaries were given the chance to break in and he was slaughtered amid his games and relaxations.

[*note: Ridala, Estonia?]

[**note: Polotsk or Pultusk?]

8. Once the city was taken, Frothi’s mind aspired to an Eastern empire and he advanced against the bastions of Handvan. Alerted by the memory of how Hadding had sent his city up in flames, he rid every house of its resident birds so that there should be no risk of similar damage being inflicted. Frothi, however, had a new trick up his sleeve. Exchanging clothes with the maidservants, he disguised himself as a young female warrior and went to the town as a deserter, shedding his masculine appearance and impersonating a woman. After conducting a complete and careful reconnaissance he sent an attendant the next day to order his army to station themselves by the walls; he would personally ensure that the gates were opened. That was how the sentinels were tricked; buried in sleep the city was torn apart, paying for its complacency with annihilation and finding its own indolence more grievous than the enemy’s valour. In military affairs you may observe nothing more ruinous than men dozing in comfort, carefree, relaxed, unobservant, unwarrantably self-confident.

9. When Handvan saw his country’s fortunes utterly overturned, he loaded his regal wealth onto ships and sank them in the open sea, to enrich the waves before his foes, though it would have been more satisfactory to capture his adversaries’ goodwill by gifts of money than grudge mankind the advantage of its use. Later, on Frothi’s sending emissaries to request the hand of his daughter, he replied that a victor should take care not to be corrupted by his triumphal success and so become haughty; rather he should remember to spare the vanquished, respect their former splendour, now overthrown, and learn to value the earlier prosperity of those whose fortunes had suffered. He should be cautious not to seize empire where he sought kinship and, if he desired to honour someone through marriage, should not at the same time sully him with mean degradation, for in his fervent greed he was liable to taint the dignity of the union. By the good breeding of his words he simultaneously made the conqueror his son-in-law and preserved the freedom of his realm.

Chapter 2

10. Meanwhile a man called Ubbi who had long been married to Ulfhild, Frothi’s sister, after administering Denmark as a deputy, traded on his wife’s noble rank and took the kingdom into his own possession. For this reason Frothi was forced to abandon his Eastern campaigns and fought a hard battle in Sweden against Svanhvita [Hadding’s daughter], his other sister. In this he was beaten, but having boarded a skiffat night he steered secretly through twisting channels to try to find an approach to the enemy’s fleet so that he could bore holes in it. But he was intercepted by his sister, who demanded to know why he was rowing silently and pursuing such a circuitous route; however, he brought her interrogation to a halt by a similar mode of questioning. She too had embarked at the same hour of night on a lone excursion, coming and going on a gently winding course. She reminded her brother that he had once bestowed on her the freedom to marry and requested that, as he had given her this right of matrimonial independence on the eve of his expedition against the Russians, he should now allow her to enjoy the husband she had taken and after the event validate the match he had sanctioned. Swayed by such reasonabTe entreaties, Frothi made peace with Regner and at her petition forgave the insult which he felt he had received through his sister’s skittish behaviour. They also presented him with the same number of men they had caused him to lose, delighting him with this handsome gift, which compensated for his humiliating setback.

Chapter 3

1. While this was going on, the idea occurred to Frothi of making an attack on Friesland, since he was anxious to display to onlookers in the West the glory he had won in his conquest of the East. His first clash as he marched for the Ocean was with a Frisian pirate, Vitte; Frothi ordered his comrades to take the initial brunt of their enemy’s attacks passively, merely by making a barrier of their shields, and told them not to launch their own missiles till they perceived that the rain of hostile javelins had died out completely. The more keenly the Frisians flung these, the more patiently were they borne by the Danes, making Vitte believe that Frothi’s submissiveness rose from a desire for a truce. Then the battle trumpet brayed loudly and shafts flew off, hissing fiercely. Once the unwary Frisians had run out of weapons, the Danes poured down their spears and overcame them. They fled, hugging the coast, and were slaughtered among the serpentine twists of the canals. Afterwards Frothi’s fleet penetrated the Rhine, where he laid hands on the outlying districts of Germany. Making again for the Ocean, he assailed the Frisian fleet, which had run on to the tortuous shoals, and added carnage to shipwreck.

Chapter 5

2. His sons were Roi and Helgi. The former is remembered for his foundation of Roskilde, whose population was enlarged and size increased later by Sven, well known for his epithet of Forkbcard. Roi was short and lean, Helgi taller. In dividing the kingdom with his brother, Helgi obtained sway over the sea and with his navy attacked and subjugated Skalk, king of the Wends. When he had reduced it to the status of a province, he sailed up and down surveying the various coastal inlets. Although his disposition was savage he matched ferocity with lechery. He threw himself so readily into sensual delights that you could hardly judge whether he was fired more by despotism or lust, On the island of Thuro he raped a virgin, Thora, who afterwards gave birth to a daughter she named Yrsa.

Chapter 7

5. Biarki was woken by his words; he promptly roused his groom, Skalk, and spoke to him thus:

‘Arise, lad, and fan the flames up hard; rake the hearth with a stick and clear the thin ashes. Strike up the sparks, rekindle the dying embers, entice the cinders to yield their smothered blaze. Force the languid fire to bring forth its light, and make the coals glow red with dry tinder. It will help to stretch one’s fingers towards the warmth. In aiding a friend your hands must unfreeze, fully dispel the unhealthy pallor induced by cold.’

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June 24, 2018

Convergence of Fire and Water

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There are not that many mentions of Wodan in the continental Germanic literature. One of the more famous ones is the one from the Life of Columban by Jonas of Bobbio. The mention of the Slavs in that work was already discussed here. But the same work talks of the Swabians and their worship of Wodan – a practice that Saint Columban was, of course, upset with. The manuscripts use the following words for the case:

  • Vodano
  • Vadono
  • Wodano
  • Woda

Now, woda means, of course, “water” in Slavic – an interesting form of the above Wodan name. More on that topic here.

At the same time, it is interesting to notice that the Lueneburg Slavs or, if you will, Wends who were also known as the Drevané, Drzewianie, Draväno-Polaben or Drevanen had a similar term for “fire”Karol Arnošt Muka observes that these Slavs took the word for fire and, as was common for words otherwise beginning with a vowel, added a “w” (pronounced “v”) in front.  Thus agni or ogień becomes gin. What is even more interesting, however, is that the pronunciation of this then became actually wüdjin.

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May 30, 2018