The Warnabi, Warnavi, Warnahi, Wranovi, Wranefzi, Wrani, Varnes, or Warnower were a West Slavic tribe of the

Obotrite The Obotrites ( la, Obotriti, Abodritorum, Abodritos…) or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (german: Abodriten), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany ( ...

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 Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. They were first mentioned by

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen ( la, Adamus Bremensis; german: Adam von Bremen) (before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle ''Gesta ...

. Etymologically their name is related to the river, the

Warnow The Warnow () is a river in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. It flows into the Baltic Sea near the town of Rostock, in its borough Warnemünde. The source of the Warnow is in Grebbin, a small village north of Parchim, at the wes ...

(also Warnof, Wrana, or Wranava), along which they settled in the region of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

. It may have meant "crow river" or "black river" in their

Slavic language The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ea ...

, or been derived from the name of the

Warni The Varini, Warni or Warini were one or more Germanic peoples who originally lived in what is now northeastern Germany, near the Baltic sea. They are first named in the Roman era, and appear to have survived into the Middle Ages. It is proposed ...

(from earlier ''warjan''), a

Germanic people The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

who had previously lived in the same area. The name Warnabi may be a combination of ''Warni'' and ''Abodriti''. In

Lithuanian language Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.8 mill ...

''Varna -Varnas, Varnai - Varnos'' (plural) means Crow. In the second half of the ninth century the chief town of the Warnabi was on an island in Lake Sternberg at the site of the castle of Gross Raden. The centre of their culture was near the present towns Sternberg and

Malchow Malchow () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district), Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Geography It is situated on the river Elde, 25,5 km we ...

. From 1171, 1185, and 1186 there are references to the land of the Warnabi: the ''Warnowe''. In 1189 it is called the ''Warnonwe'' and by 1222 this was called the ''Wornawe''.

Sources

*Howorth, H. H
"The Spread of the Slaves. Part III. The Northern Serbs or Sorabians and the Obodriti."
''The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland'', Vol. 9. (1880), pp 181–232.

at ''Lexikon des Mittelaters''. {{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century) Obotrites

See also

Sources