The Hevelli or Hevellians/ Navellasîni (sometimes ''Havolane''; german: Heveller or ''Stodoranen''; pl, Hawelanie or ''Stodoranie''; cs, Havolané or ''Stodorané'') were a tribe of the

Polabian Slavs Polabian Slavs ( dsb, Połobske słowjany, pl, Słowianie połabscy, cz, Polabští slované) is a collective term applied to a number of Lechitic ( West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germ ...

, who settled around the middle Havel river in the present-day

Havelland Geographically, the Havelland is the region around which the River Havel flows in a U-shape between Oranienburg to the northeast and Rhinow to the northwest. The northern boundary of the Havelland is formed by the River Rhin and the Rhin Canal. ...

region of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

in eastern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

from the 8th century onwards. West Slavic tribes ("

Wends Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people ...

") had settled in the ''

Germania Slavica ''Germania Slavica'' is a historiographic term used since the 1950s to denote the landscape of the medieval language border (roughly east of the Elbe-Saale line) zone between Germans and Slavs in Central Europe on the one hand and a 20th-century ...

'' region from the 7th century onwards. The ''Hehfeldi'' as they were called by the

Bavarian Geographer The epithet "Bavarian Geographer" ( la, Geographus Bavarus) is the conventional name for the anonymous author of a short Latin medieval text containing a list of the tribes in Central- Eastern Europe, headed (). The name "Bavarian Geographer" was ...

about 850 built their main fortification at Brenna (later to become

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...

) and a large eastern outpost at the current site of

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...

. In 906 the Hevelli princess

Drahomíra Drahomíra of Stodor ( cs, Drahomíra ze Stodor; – died after 934 or 936) was Duchess consort of Bohemia from 915 to 921, wife of the Přemyslid duke Vratislaus I. She also acted as regent of the Duchy of Bohemia from 921 to 924 during the ...

married the Přemyslid duke

Vratislaus I of Bohemia Vratislaus (or Wratislaus) I ( cs, Vratislav I.; – 13 February 921), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 915 until his death. Life He was a son of Duke Bořivoj I of Bohemia by his wife Ludmila and the younger brothe ...

Baçlabič Baçlabič (''Václav'') (died 936) - prince of Hevelli. Father of Tugumir and unknown concubine of Otton I the Great. Brother of Drahomíra of Stodor References Polabian Slavs 936 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Europe-royal-stub ...

was the prince of Hevelli from 921-936. Brenna was occupied by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

king Henry the Fowler in his 928/29 Slavic campaign and incorporated into the ''

Marca Geronis The ''Marca Geronis'' (march of Gero) was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was created probably for Thietmar (in the 920s) and passed to his two sons consecutively: Siegfried and Gero. On Gero's death in 965 it was divi ...

''. Henry's successor

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

in 948 established the

Bishopric of Brandenburg The Prince-Bishopric of Brandenburg (german: Hochstift Brandenburg) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the 12th century until it was secularized during the second half of the 16th century. It should not be confused wi ...

in order to Christianize the pagan population. These efforts were aborted in the course of the 983

Great Slav Rising In the Slavic revolt of 983, Polabian Slavs, Wends, Lutici and Obotrite tribes, that lived east of the Elbe River in modern north-east Germany overthrew an assumed Ottonian rule over the Slavic lands and rejected Christianization under Empero ...

in the Northern March, which again defied German control over the region. Together with the neighbouring

Sprevane The Sprevane or Sprevani (; Slavonic: ''Sprevjane'') were a Slavic tribe who lived around the river Spree, where Berlin is now, in the Brandenburg area of eastern Germany. They were first recorded in 948 and again in 965 as living in the territ ...

in the east, the Hevelli waged war against not only the German Saxon forces to the west, but also other Slavic tribes. The baptized Hevelli prince Pribislav (died 1150) finally bequested his lands to the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

count

Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (german: Albrecht der Bär; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142. Life Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ba ...

. Albert until 1157 could re-conquer the territory of the former Northern March, whereafter he established the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out ...

. The Slavic Hevelli were gradually assimilated by

settlers in the course of the '' Ostsiedlung''.

References

genealogie-mittelalter.de
(German) {{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century) Polabian Slavs

See also

References