Reric
Encyclopedia
Reric or Rerik was one of the Viking Age
multi-ethnic Slavic-Scandinavian
emporia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea
, located near Wismar
in the present-day German
state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Reric was built around 700, when Slavs of the Obodrite tribe settled the region. At the turn of the 9th century, the citizens of Reric allied with Charlemagne
, who used the port as part of a strategic trade route that would avoid areas of Saxon
and Danish control. It was destroyed in 808 AD by the Viking king Gudfred
, whereupon the tradespeople were reportedly moved by the king to the Viking emporium
of Hedeby
(also Haithabu) near modern Schleswig
.
, Lübeck
, Lubeck
, Mecklenburg Castle
, and Alt-Gaarz, renamed Rerik
in 1938. Since the 1990s, Reric is thought to be identical with an archaeological site near Groß Strömkendorf
, located on the eastern shore of the Bay of Wismar
. This version is based on results presented by the University of Kiel
and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's State Department for Archaeology, who partially excavated about 20 hectare
s of the site between 1995 and 1999.
in England. Pottery included, among others, tatting
ware and shelly ware. The primary type of pottery found so far was the Sukow
type, associated used by the West Slavs
during the 8th century. Pottery of the succeeding Feldberg
type was also found, though in considerably lower number. Imported pottery from western countries was only scarcely represented. Hoards of Norwegian schist whetstone
s were found, also evidence of textile
, iron
and bronze
working, but no major industrial evidence, indicating that production was likely for local use only. Unfinished products and garbage peaces point at the production of items made of glass
, metals including iron
, amber
, and horn
.
The settlement stretched 500 meters along the coast. Within a 10 kilometer range around the settlement, remains of Slavic open settlements have been found. The nearby fortified strongholds of Mecklenburg
and Ilow
were, like Reric, founded in the late 7th or early 8th century, thus constituting some of the earliest Slavic settlements near the Baltic coast.
king Gudfred
(also Godofrid, Gøttrik) had received plenty of tribute from Reric the years before, but in 808 "destroyed" the emporium and took with him "the merchants hereof". Gudfred resettled them to Hedeby
(also Haithabu, Sliasthorp), a contemporary emporium closer to Denmark
. This event was part of a series of warfare between Denmark
and Charlemagne
's Frankish Empire
, in the course of which the Franks
had allied with the Obodrites. The destruction of the site may not have been ultimate, since an Obodrite duke, Drazko, is reported murdered at Reric the following year.
"Reregi", an alternative name of the Obodrites used by the medieval chroniclers Adam of Bremen
and Helmold of Bosau, is probably a rendering of "Reric".
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
multi-ethnic Slavic-Scandinavian
Scandinavians
Scandinavians are a group of Germanic peoples, inhabiting Scandinavia and to a lesser extent countries associated with Scandinavia, and speaking Scandinavian languages. The group includes Danes, Norwegians and Swedes, and additionally the descendants of Scandinavian settlers such as the Icelandic...
emporia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea
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...
, located near Wismar
Wismar
Wismar , is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory. The...
in the present-day German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Reric was built around 700, when Slavs of the Obodrite tribe settled the region. At the turn of the 9th century, the citizens of Reric allied 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...
, who used the port as part of a strategic trade route that would avoid areas of Saxon
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 Danish control. It was destroyed in 808 AD by the Viking king Gudfred
Gudfred
King Gudfred was a Danish king during the Viking era. Gudfred was the younger son of King Sigfred. Alternate spelling include Godfred, Göttrick , Gøtrik , Gudrød , and Godofredus .-Biography:King Gudfred appeared in present day Holstein with a navy in 804 AD where diplomacy took place with the...
, whereupon the tradespeople were reportedly moved by the king to the Viking emporium
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
of Hedeby
Hedeby
Hedeby |heath]]land, and býr = yard, thus "heath yard"), mentioned by Alfred the Great as aet Haethe , in German Haddeby and Haithabu, a modern spelling of the runic Heiðabý was an important trading settlement in the Danish-northern German borderland during the Viking Age...
(also Haithabu) near modern Schleswig
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
.
Location
The location of Reric was long disputed. Older theories suggested OldenburgOldenburg
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...
, Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, Lubeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, 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...
, and Alt-Gaarz, renamed Rerik
Rerik
Rerik is a town in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, 19 km west of Bad Doberan, and 27 km northeast of Wismar. In 1938, Rerik was named after the old Slavic settlement Reric, that was believed to have been situated...
in 1938. Since the 1990s, Reric is thought to be identical with an archaeological site near Groß Strömkendorf
Blowatz
Blowatz is a municipality in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....
, located on the eastern shore of the Bay of Wismar
Bay of Wismar
The Bay of Wismar or more commonly Wismar Bay or Wismarbucht is a well sheltered multi-sectioned bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, in Germanys' Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and is considered the south-central part of the much larger arm of the Baltic known as the Mecklenburg Bay — a long fingerlike...
. This version is based on results presented by the University of Kiel
University of Kiel
The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...
and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's State Department for Archaeology, who partially excavated about 20 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s of the site between 1995 and 1999.
Archaeology
There is a certain amount of circumstantial evidence for Groß Strömkendorf being Reric such as identical foundation and destruction dates. Groß Strömkendorf was a deep water port with a planned layout. Initially north of the present site, the earlier settlement was moved south and the original area turned into a cemetery. The new site contained buildings similar to the sunken floor buildings of West StowWest Stow
West Stow is a small parish in West Suffolk, England.The village lies north of Bury St. Edmunds, south of Mildenhall and Thetford and west of the villages of Culford and Ingham in the area known as the Breckland.This area is located near the Lark River Valley and populated from AD 420-650.it is...
in England. Pottery included, among others, tatting
Tatting
Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, and other decorative pieces. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of cow hitch,...
ware and shelly ware. The primary type of pottery found so far was the Sukow
Sukow
Sukow is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....
type, associated used by the West Slavs
West Slavs
The West Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking West Slavic languages. They include Poles , Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatian Sorbs and the historical Polabians. The northern or Lechitic group includes, along with Polish, the extinct Polabian and Pomeranian languages...
during the 8th century. Pottery of the succeeding Feldberg
Feldberg
* Feldberg , a mountain* Großer Feldberg and Kleiner Feldberg, mountains of the Taunus range* Feldberg, Baden-Württemberg, a village and commune* Feldberg, Mecklenburg, a populated place* Feldberg , a mountain...
type was also found, though in considerably lower number. Imported pottery from western countries was only scarcely represented. Hoards of Norwegian schist whetstone
Sharpening stone
Sharpening stones, water stones or whetstones are used to grind and hone the edges of steel tools and implements. Examples of items that may be sharpened with a sharpening stone include scissors, scythes, knives, razors and tools such as chisels, hand scrapers and plane blades...
s were found, also evidence of textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
working, but no major industrial evidence, indicating that production was likely for local use only. Unfinished products and garbage peaces point at the production of items made of glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
, metals including iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, amber
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...
, and horn
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
.
The settlement stretched 500 meters along the coast. Within a 10 kilometer range around the settlement, remains of Slavic open settlements have been found. The nearby fortified strongholds of Mecklenburg
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...
and Ilow
Ilów
Iłów is a village in Sochaczew County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Iłów. It lies approximately north-west of Sochaczew and west of Warsaw....
were, like Reric, founded in the late 7th or early 8th century, thus constituting some of the earliest Slavic settlements near the Baltic coast.
Decline
As reported by the Annales regni Francorum of 808 AD, DanishDenmark
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...
king Gudfred
Gudfred
King Gudfred was a Danish king during the Viking era. Gudfred was the younger son of King Sigfred. Alternate spelling include Godfred, Göttrick , Gøtrik , Gudrød , and Godofredus .-Biography:King Gudfred appeared in present day Holstein with a navy in 804 AD where diplomacy took place with the...
(also Godofrid, Gøttrik) had received plenty of tribute from Reric the years before, but in 808 "destroyed" the emporium and took with him "the merchants hereof". Gudfred resettled them to Hedeby
Hedeby
Hedeby |heath]]land, and býr = yard, thus "heath yard"), mentioned by Alfred the Great as aet Haethe , in German Haddeby and Haithabu, a modern spelling of the runic Heiðabý was an important trading settlement in the Danish-northern German borderland during the Viking Age...
(also Haithabu, Sliasthorp), a contemporary emporium closer to 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...
. This event was part of a series of warfare between 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...
and 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...
's Frankish Empire
Frankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
, in the course of which 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...
had allied with the Obodrites. The destruction of the site may not have been ultimate, since an Obodrite duke, Drazko, is reported murdered at Reric the following year.
"Reregi", an alternative name of the Obodrites used by the medieval chroniclers 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...
and Helmold of Bosau, is probably a rendering of "Reric".