Boruth, also Borut (from cu, borъ, "fighter") or Borouth, (died about 750) was the first documented Slavic prince (''

Knyaz , or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

'') of

Carantania Carantania, also known as Carentania ( sl, Karantanija, german: Karantanien, in Old Slavic '), was a Slavic principality that emerged in the second half of the 7th century, in the territory of present-day southern Austria and north-eastern ...

, ruling from about 740 until his death. He was one of the few pagan leaders of the

Carantanians Carantanians ( la, Quarantani, sl, Karantanci) were a Slavic people of the Early Middle Ages (Latin: , or "Slavs called Caranthanians"), living in the principality of Carantania, later known as Carinthia, which covered present-day southern Aust ...

to convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

.Curta, Florin (2006). ''Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250.''

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

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Boruth probably asserted himself as a Carantanian

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

in the early 8th century. He ruled over large estates in the

Eastern Alps Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in t ...

, comprising parts of the present-day

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n states of

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...

and

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered ...

, as well as adjacent lands in today's

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

. Under continuous pressure by Avar raids, he appealed to his mighty neighbour in the northwest, the Agilolfing duke Odilo of Bavaria (d. 748) for help. Military aid was granted, but in turn Boruth had to accept Bavarian overlordship and Christian faith. Duke Odilo himself was a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

of the Frankish kings and both Bavaria and Carantania were incorporated into the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...

kingdom of the Franks soon after, accomplished with the deposition of Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

in 788. Upon his death, Prince Boruth was succeeded by his son Cacatius ( sl, Gorazd, d. 751) and his nephew Cheitmar (''Hotimir'', d. 769),Bowlus, Charles R. (1995). ''Franks, Moravians, and Magyars: the struggle for the Middle Danube, 788-907.''

University of Pennsylvania Press The University of Pennsylvania Press (or Penn Press) is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The press was originally incorporated with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 26 M ...

, who likewise ruled as Frankish vassals. Bishop

Vergilius of Salzburg Virgil (– 27 November 784), also spelled Vergil, Vergilius, Virgilius, Feirgil or Fearghal, was an Irish churchman and early astronomer. He left Ireland around 745, intending to visit the Holy Land; but, like many of his countrymen, he settle ...

had them abducted to give them a Christian education probably at Herrenchiemsee Abbey. Prince Cheitmar first appeared as Carantanian governor in 752, a few years later he called the Salzburg chorepiscope Modestus to proselytize his lands and had St Mary's Church erected near his

Karnburg Maria Saal ( sl, Gospa Sveta) is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is located in the east of the historic Zollfeld plain (''Gosposvetsko polje''), the wide valley of the Glan river. The muni ...

(''Krnski grad'', in present-day Maria Saal) residence. After Cheitmar's death in 769, the missionary movement temporarily came to a halt; it was resumed under Prince Valhun (''Valtunk'') from about 772. One of Valhun's Christian successors was probably Blessed Domitian of Carantania (''Domicijan Koroški'') who lived in the time of Charlemagne and died about 802. Andrej Pleterski: Ecclesia demonibus addicta (Povedka o poganskem svetišču v Millstattu / The tale about pagan shrine in Millstatt ) Zgodovinski časopis/Historical review 1994, nr. 3; Zgodovinsko društvo v Mariboru

References

{{reflist Carantanians 8th-century Slavs Slavic warriors Slovene nobility Converts to Christianity from pagan religions 750 deaths

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See also

References