Nakonids
Encyclopedia
The Nakonids were the leading noble
family of the Slavic peoples
of the Elbe River from ca. 960 until 1129. They were themselves of Abodrite origin and engineered the formation of a Slavic principality in the region. They went extinct in the male line in the early 12th century. Their capital was Mecklenburg Castle
.
The Nakonids derive their name — a modern invention — from the earliest attestable ruler of the dynasty, Nako, who fought the expansionist tendencies of the German kingdom
in the mid and late 10th century before being defeated and converted to Christianity
. The Nakonid leaders alternated between being lapsed Christians (mali christiani) and ardent missionaries of the Slavs who were the prime movers of the Germanisation
and Christianisation of the Polabian Slavs.
The German historian Heinz Stoob, in his retranslation of the chronicle of Helmold
, derived the first genealogy of the Nakonids. Besides Helmold, Adam of Bremen
, Thietmar of Merseburg
, and Saxo Grammaticus
are important sources for Nakonid history. Despite these sources, uncertainty exists concerning the nature of the Nakonid rule over their people. Historiographers sometimes call them Samtherrscher or Oberherrscher, meaning "overlords". The primary sources, in Latin
, use the various titles regulus (subking), dux (duke), and tyrannus (tyrant or usurper) to describe them. When Canute Lavard
was granted lordship over the Abodrites in 1128 by Emperor Lothair II
, he took the Slavic title knes.
The Nakonids were originally the rulers of the Abodrites, but under Nako they obtained dominance over the neighbouring Slavs: the Wagrii with their capital at Starigard
, the Polabians
with their chief cities of Liubice
and Ratzeburg
, the Linones with their capital at Lenzen
, and the Warnabi
. This Nakonid principality, the Abodrite Confederation as it is sometimes called, was composed of these and other smaller tribes each under its own chieftain, but with all recognising the overlordship of the Abodrite chief, perhaps because they served as a buffer (Limes Saxoniae
) between the more powerful Saxons
and the more easterly Slavs, and they also had older relations with the Franks
to the west. The Abodrites had made a pact with Charlemagne
as early as the Battle of the Sventanafeld in 798.
The Nakonids contested supremacy of the Slavs of the Elbe and Baltic
coast with the Veleti
to the east and the Polani to the south. The Polans under the Piasts drew many Slavs to their banner by offering a Christian alternative to Germany. The Nakonids probably turned to Christian Denmark
to avoid the pressures of Saxon missionary work and the tithes and other taxes imposed by the Saxon Church. However, the other tribes each had their own favoured divinites (Prove in Wagria, Radegast
in Mecklenburg
, Swantewit in Rugia) and clung to them strongly when Christianity was foisted upon them. The opposing influences of Slavic paganism and Saxon Christianity is seen in that several Nakonids had both a Slavic name and a Saxon, Christian name.
Nako turned to Christianity after his defeat in the Battle of Recknitz
in 955. He established his seat at Mecklenburg. His sons Mstivoj
and Mstidrag and grandsons Mstislaw and Udo are mostly associated with the Slavic uprising of 983. All of them either abandoned Christianity or were "bad Christians" (at least for a time). Udo's successor, Gottschalk
, is perhaps the most famous member of the family. He was educated by the Church, but initially made war on the Saxons in revenge for his father's death (1028). He was captured and his lands and position given to Ratibor. After a sojourn in Scandinavia
and England
, he returned to the Elbe region with a renewed sense of Christian purpose. He subdued the Veleti and the Diocese of Bremen is said to have "feared him as king." Had he not died in a pagan uprising, "he would have brought all pagans to the Christian faith." His son Henry subdued the Rani
and encouraged the missionary work of Vicelinus
. Henry had four sons, but two predeceased him and the two who survived fought over the inheritance, dying in 1128 and 1129.
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
family of the Slavic peoples
Polabian Slavs
Polabian Slavs - is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites tribes who lived along the Elbe river, between the Baltic Sea to the north, the Saale and the Limes Saxoniae to the west, the Ore Mountains and the Western Sudetes to the south, and Poland to the east. They have also been known...
of the Elbe River from ca. 960 until 1129. They were themselves of Abodrite origin and engineered the formation of a Slavic principality in the region. They went extinct in the male line in the early 12th century. Their capital was Mecklenburg Castle
Mecklenburg Castle
Mecklenburg Castle was a medieval castle and a residential capital of the Nakonid and Nikloting dynasties of the Obotrites. It was located just south of the modern village Dorf Mecklenburg, seven kilometres south of the Bay of Wismar in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The only remnants of the...
.
The Nakonids derive their name — a modern invention — from the earliest attestable ruler of the dynasty, Nako, who fought the expansionist tendencies of the German kingdom
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
in the mid and late 10th century before being defeated and converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. The Nakonid leaders alternated between being lapsed Christians (mali christiani) and ardent missionaries of the Slavs who were the prime movers of the Germanisation
Germanisation
Germanisation is both the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, and the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
and Christianisation of the Polabian Slavs.
The German historian Heinz Stoob, in his retranslation of the chronicle of Helmold
Helmold
Helmold of Bosau was a Saxon historian of the 12th century and a priest at Bosau near Plön. He was a friend of the two bishops of Oldenburg in Holstein, Vicelinus and Gerold , who did much to Christianize the Polabian Slavs.Helmold was born near Goslar...
, derived the first genealogy of the Nakonids. Besides Helmold, Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...
, Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg was a German chronicler who was also bishop of Merseburg.-Life:...
, and Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus also known as Saxo cognomine Longus was a Danish historian, thought to have been a secular clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, foremost advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author of the first full history of Denmark.- Life :The Jutland Chronicle gives...
are important sources for Nakonid history. Despite these sources, uncertainty exists concerning the nature of the Nakonid rule over their people. Historiographers sometimes call them Samtherrscher or Oberherrscher, meaning "overlords". The primary sources, in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, use the various titles regulus (subking), dux (duke), and tyrannus (tyrant or usurper) to describe them. When Canute Lavard
Canute Lavard
Canute Lavard was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a German vassal, a position leafing towards the historical double position of Southern Jutland...
was granted lordship over the Abodrites in 1128 by Emperor Lothair II
Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor
Lothair III of Supplinburg , was Duke of Saxony , King of Germany , and Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 to 1137. The son of Count Gebhard of Supplinburg, his reign was troubled by the constant intriguing of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia and Duke Conrad of Franconia...
, he took the Slavic title knes.
The Nakonids were originally the rulers of the Abodrites, but under Nako they obtained dominance over the neighbouring Slavs: the Wagrii with their capital at Starigard
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
, the Polabians
Polabians (tribe)
The Polabians were a constituent Lechitic tribe of the Obotrites who lived between the Trave and the Elbe. The main settlement of the Polabians was Racisburg , named after their Prince Ratibor...
with their chief cities of Liubice
Liubice
Liubice, also known by the German name Alt-Lübeck , was a medieval West Slavic settlement near the site of modern Lübeck, Germany. Liubice was located at the confluence of the Schwartau with the Trave across from Teerhof Island, approximately four kilometres north of Lübeck's island old town...
and Ratzeburg
Ratzeburg
Ratzeburg is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the Kreis of Lauenburg.-History:...
, the Linones with their capital at Lenzen
Lenzen
Lenzen is a small town in the district of Prignitz, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is part of the Amt Lenzen-Elbtalaue.-Overview:Lenzen is situated near the Elbe, approx. 20 km northwest of Wittenberge. It was the scene of an early victory by the Germans over the Wends in 929...
, and the Warnabi
Warnabi
The Warnabi, Warnavi, Warnahi, Wranovi, Wranefzi, Wrani, Varnes, or Warnower were a West Slavic tribe of the Abodrite confederation in the ninth through eleventh centuries. They were one of the minor tribes of the confederation living in the Billung Mark on the eastern frontier of the Holy Roman...
. This Nakonid principality, the Abodrite Confederation as it is sometimes called, was composed of these and other smaller tribes each under its own chieftain, but with all recognising the overlordship of the Abodrite chief, perhaps because they served as a buffer (Limes Saxoniae
Limes Saxoniae
The Limes Saxoniae , also known as the Limes Saxonicus or Sachsenwall , was a limes or border between the Saxons and the Slavic Obotrites, established about 810 in present-day Schleswig-Holstein....
) between the more powerful Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
and the more easterly Slavs, and they also had older relations with the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
to the west. The Abodrites had made a pact with Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
as early as the Battle of the Sventanafeld in 798.
The Nakonids contested supremacy of the Slavs of the Elbe and Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
coast with the Veleti
Veleti
The Veleti or Wilzi were a group of medieval Lechites tribes within the territory of modern northeastern Germany; see Polabian Slavs. In common with other Slavic groups between the Elbe and Oder Rivers, they were often described by Germanic sources as Wends. In the late 10th century, they were...
to the east and the Polani to the south. The Polans under the Piasts drew many Slavs to their banner by offering a Christian alternative to Germany. The Nakonids probably turned to Christian Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
to avoid the pressures of Saxon missionary work and the tithes and other taxes imposed by the Saxon Church. However, the other tribes each had their own favoured divinites (Prove in Wagria, Radegast
Radegast (god)
Radegast, also Radigost, Redigast, Riedegost or Radogost, is mentioned by Adam of Bremen in his Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum as the deity worshipped in the Lutician city of Rethra. Likewise, Helmold in his Chronica Slavorum wrote of Radegast as a Lutician god...
in Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
, Swantewit in Rugia) and clung to them strongly when Christianity was foisted upon them. The opposing influences of Slavic paganism and Saxon Christianity is seen in that several Nakonids had both a Slavic name and a Saxon, Christian name.
Nako turned to Christianity after his defeat in the Battle of Recknitz
Battle of Recknitz
The Battle of Recknitz river]]") was fought on 16 October 955 between the forces of Otto I of Germany allied with the Rani tribe on one side, and the Obotrite federation under Nako and his brother Stoinegin with their allied and tributary Slav neighbours on the other in the region of present-day...
in 955. He established his seat at Mecklenburg. His sons Mstivoj
Mstivoj
Mstivoj was an Obodrite prince from 965 or 967 until his death. He inherited his position along with his brother Mstidrag from their father Nako in an unknown year.-Name:...
and Mstidrag and grandsons Mstislaw and Udo are mostly associated with the Slavic uprising of 983. All of them either abandoned Christianity or were "bad Christians" (at least for a time). Udo's successor, Gottschalk
Gottschalk (Slavic prince)
Saint Gottschalk was a prince of the Obotrite confederacy from 1043 to 1066. He established a Slavic kingdom on the Elbe in the mid-11th century...
, is perhaps the most famous member of the family. He was educated by the Church, but initially made war on the Saxons in revenge for his father's death (1028). He was captured and his lands and position given to Ratibor. After a sojourn in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he returned to the Elbe region with a renewed sense of Christian purpose. He subdued the Veleti and the Diocese of Bremen is said to have "feared him as king." Had he not died in a pagan uprising, "he would have brought all pagans to the Christian faith." His son Henry subdued the Rani
Rani (Slavic tribe)
The Rani or Rujani were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany....
and encouraged the missionary work of Vicelinus
Vicelinus
Saint Vicelinus was a German bishop of Oldenburg in Holstein who was considered the apostle of Holstein.Orphaned at an early age, Vicelinus received his primary education at Hamelin, his birthplace...
. Henry had four sons, but two predeceased him and the two who survived fought over the inheritance, dying in 1128 and 1129.
Sources
- Gwatkin, H. M., Whitney, J. P. (ed) et al. The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III. Cambridge University Press, 1926.
- Adam of Bremen, History of Hamburg's Bishops, short online text. English.