Wagri
Encyclopedia
The Wagri, Wagiri, or Wagrians were a tribe of Polabian Slavs
inhabiting Wagria, or eastern Holstein
in northern Germany
, from the ninth to twelfth centuries. They were a constituent tribe of the Obodrite confederacy.
In the Slavic uprisings of 983 and c. 1040 under Gottschalk
, Wagria was wasted and ruined. Many German towns and churches were destroyed and the region was largely depopulated. In 1066, the Wagri allied with the Wilzi in storming the line of Saxon
burgward
en from Mecklenburg
to Schwerin
and into German territory as deep as Hamburg
. Around 1090, the still pagan Wagri and Liutizi came under the sway of the Rani
-born Kruto
. Each tribe elected its own chief who was subordinate to Kruto. In 1093, the Christian Obodrites under Henry, aided by some Saxons and the local Low German population, defeated Kruto at the Battle of Schmilau
near Ratzeburg
. The Wagri were brought to tributary status once more.
The Christianisation of Wagria began under Unwan
, Archbishop of Bremen
, in the 1020s. Vicelin of Oldenburg, a Christian priest, first began to evangelise the Wagri and Wilzi with the permission of Henry, who was reigning from Lübeck
, around 1126. In the years which followed Vicelin's mission, the Emperor Lothair II thoroughly encastellated
Wagria and Canute Lavard
and the Holsteiners invaded it and took Pribislav
and Niklot
, the Wagrian leaders, away in chains.
In 1142, Henry the Lion
and Adolf II of Holstein
divided the newly conquered Slav lands between them. Wagria with its castle of Sigberg went to Adolf, while Polabia with Ratzeburg went to Henry. The Trave
divided the regions. There followed this division a great influx of German colonists. During the Wendish Crusade
of 1147, the Wagri attacked recently founded colonies of Flemings and Frisians
, but this is the last that is heard of their resistance to Germanisation.
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...
inhabiting Wagria, or eastern Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
in northern Germany
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...
, from the ninth to twelfth centuries. They were a constituent tribe of the Obodrite confederacy.
In the Slavic uprisings of 983 and c. 1040 under 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...
, Wagria was wasted and ruined. Many German towns and churches were destroyed and the region was largely depopulated. In 1066, the Wagri allied with the Wilzi in storming the line of Saxon
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
burgward
Burgward
A burgward was a form of settlement used for the organisation of the northeastern marches of the Kingdom of Germany in the mid-10th century. Based on earlier organisations within the Frankish Empire and among the Slavs, the burgwards were composed of a central fortification with a number of...
en from Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
to Schwerin
Schwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
and into German territory as deep as Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. Around 1090, the still pagan Wagri and Liutizi came under the sway of 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....
-born Kruto
Kruto
Kruto , son of Grin or Grinus, was a prince of Wagria. James Westfall Thompson believed his family belonged to the Rani of Rugia....
. Each tribe elected its own chief who was subordinate to Kruto. In 1093, the Christian Obodrites under Henry, aided by some Saxons and the local Low German population, defeated Kruto at the Battle of Schmilau
Battle of Schmilau
The Battle of Schmilau was a battle between a coalition of Christian forces and pagan Slavic Obotrites in 1093.Henry, a Christian Obotrite prince raised in Denmark after the murder of his father Gottschalk, avenged his father's death by killing the pagan Obotrite chief Kruto in 1093...
near 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 Wagri were brought to tributary status once more.
The Christianisation of Wagria began under Unwan
Unwan, Archbishop of Bremen
Unwan was the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen from 1013 until his death.Unwan was granted his see on the agreement that his inheritance would go to the diocese on his death. Throughout his tenure, he was in conflict with the equally ambitious Bernard II, Duke of Saxony, as was his successor, Adalbert...
, Archbishop of Bremen
Archbishopric of Bremen
The Archdiocese of Bremen was a historical Roman Catholic diocese and formed from 1180 to 1648 an ecclesiastical state , named Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen within the Holy Roman Empire...
, in the 1020s. Vicelin of Oldenburg, a Christian priest, first began to evangelise the Wagri and Wilzi with the permission of Henry, who was reigning from 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...
, around 1126. In the years which followed Vicelin's mission, the Emperor Lothair II thoroughly encastellated
Encastellation
Encastellation is the process whereby the feudal kingdoms of Europe became dotted with castles, from which local lords could dominate the countryside of their fiefs and their neighbours', and from which kings could command even the far-off corners of their realms...
Wagria and 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...
and the Holsteiners invaded it and took Pribislav
Pribislav (Wagrian prince)
Pribislav was a 12th century prince of the West Slavic Obotrites with his power base in Wagria.Pribislav was the son of Budivoj...
and Niklot
Niklot
Niklot or Nyklot was a pagan chief or prince of the Slavic Obotrites and an ancestor of the House of Mecklenburg. From 1130 or 1131 until his death he was chief of the Obotrite confederacy, the Kissini, and the Circipani. At the same time he was Lord of Schwerin, Quetzin, and Malchow...
, the Wagrian leaders, away in chains.
In 1142, Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
and Adolf II of Holstein
Adolf II of Holstein
Adolf II was the Count of Schauenburg and Holstein from 1130 until his death, though he was briefly out of Holstein from 1137 until 1142. He succeeded his father Adolf I under the regency of his mother, Hildewa....
divided the newly conquered Slav lands between them. Wagria with its castle of Sigberg went to Adolf, while Polabia with Ratzeburg went to Henry. The Trave
Trave
The Trave is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately 124 kilometres long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Oldesloe, and Lübeck, where it is linked to the...
divided the regions. There followed this division a great influx of German colonists. During the Wendish Crusade
Wendish Crusade
The Wendish Crusade was an 1147 campaign, one of the Northern Crusades and also a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany inside the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs ....
of 1147, the Wagri attacked recently founded colonies of Flemings and Frisians
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
, but this is the last that is heard of their resistance to Germanisation.
Sources
- Thompson, James WestfallJames Westfall ThompsonJames Westfall Thompson was an American historian specializing in the history of medieval and early modern Europe, particularly of the Holy Roman Empire and France...
. Feudal Germany, Volume II. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1928.