The Veleti, also known as Wilzi, Wielzians, and Wiltzes, were a group of medieval Lechitic tribes within the territory of

Hither Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (german: Vorpommern), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania forming the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, West ...

, related to

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 Ger ...

. They had formed together the Confederation of the Veleti, a loose

monarchic A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic ( constitutional monarc ...

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical iss ...

of the tribes. Said state existed between the 6th and 10th centuries, after which, it was succeeded by the

Lutician Federation The Lutici or Liutizi (known by various spelling variants) were a federation of West Slavic Polabian tribes, who between the 10th and 12th centuries lived in what is now northeastern Germany. Four tribes made up the core of the federation: t ...

Name

The name ''Veleti'' stems from the root ''vel-'' ('high, tall'). The Veleti were called by other names, probably given by their neighbours, such as ''Lutices'', ''Ljutici'', or ''Volki'', ''Volčki''. The latter means 'wolf', and the former probably 'fierce creature' based upon the comparison with the belarusian definition ''lyutyj zvěr''.' In common with other Slavic groups between the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

and

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows ...

Rivers, they were often described by Germanic sources as

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 ...

. In the late 10th century, they were continued by the

Lutici The Lutici or Liutizi (known by various spelling variants) were a federation of West Slavic Polabian tribes, who between the 10th and 12th centuries lived in what is now northeastern Germany. Four tribes made up the core of the federation: th ...

. In

Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; la, E(g)inhardus; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita ...

's ''

Vita Karoli Magni ''Vita Karoli Magni'' (''Life of Charlemagne'') is a biography of Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, written by Einhard.Ogg, p. 109 The ''Life of Charlemagne'' is a 33 chapter long account starting with the full of the Mero ...

'', the Wilzi are said to refer to themselves as ''Welatabians''.

Veleti tribes

The first mention of a tribe named Veltae is found in Ptolemy's second-century Geography, Book III, chapter V: "Back from the Ocean, near the Venedicus Bay altic Sea the Veltae dwell, above whom are the Ossi." 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 ...

's anonymous medieval document compiled in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...

in 830 contains a list of the tribes in Central Europe east of the Elbe. Among other tribes it also lists the ''Uuilci'' (Veleti), featuring 95

civitates In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on t ...

. The Veleti did not remain a unified tribe for long: local tribes developed, the most important being: the Kissini (''Kessiner'', ''Chizzinen'', ''Kyzziner'') along the lower

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 ...

and

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...

, named after their capital

Kessin Kessin is a village and a former municipality in the district of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. History Since 7 June 2009, it is part of the municipality Dummerstorf. Before this, it was within the Warnow-Ost Amt. A group of ...

; the Circipani (''Zirzipanen'') along the

Trebel Trebel is a municipality in the district Lüchow-Dannenberg, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russ ...

and

Peene The Peene () is a river in Germany. Geography The Westpeene, with the Ostpeene as its longer tributary, and the Kleine Peene/Teterower Peene (with a ''Peene '' without specification (or ''Nordpeene'') as its smaller and shorter affluent) flo ...

Rivers, with their capital believed to be

Teterow Teterow () is a town of Germany, in the district of Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It is the geographical center of this federal state. It had a population of 8,852 in 2011. History The ''Stadtkirche St. Peter und Paul'' (St. Pete ...

and strongholds in

Demmin Demmin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Demmin. Geography Demmin lies on the West Pomeranian plain at the confluence of the rivers ...

and probably even Güstrow; the Tollenser east and south of the Peene along the

Tollense The Tollense (, from Slavic ''dolenica'' "lowland, (flat) valley") is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany, right tributary of the Peene. It has a total length of 95.8 km. The upper course begins near a small lake ...

River; and the Redarier south and east of the

Tollensesee Tollensesee is a '' zungenbecken'' lake in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It belongs to the Mecklenburg Lake District. At an elevation of 14.8 m, its surface area is 17.4 km². Its maximum depth is about 33 m. The lake is 10.4 km lo ...

on the upper

Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...

. The

Hevelli 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, who settled around the middle Havel river ...

living in the

area and, though more unlikely, the

Rujanes The Rani or Rujani (german: Ranen, ''Rujanen'') were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia (Rügen) and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany. The Rani tribe emerged after the Slavic ...

of Rugia might once have been part of the Veletians. Even the ''

Leitha The Leitha (; or , formerly ; Czech and sk, Litava) is a river in Austria and Hungary, a right tributary of the Danube. It is long ( including its source river Schwarza). Its basin area is . Etymology The ''Lithaha'' River in the Carolingia ...

'' region of Lower Austria may have been named for a tribe of Veleti, the ''Leithi''. This political splitting of the Veleti probably occurred due to the size of the inhabited area, with settlements grouped around rivers and forts and separated by large strips of woodlands. Also, the Veletian king Dragowit had been defeated and made a vassal 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 the only expedition into Slavic territory led by Charlemagne himself, in 798, causing the central Veletian rule to collapse. The Veleti were invaded by the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools ...

during their continuous expeditions into

Obodrite 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 ( ...

lands, with the Obodrites being allies of the Franks against the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

made these claims in "

" (''Life of Charles the Great''), a biography of Charlemagne,

King of the Franks The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who c ...

. After the 10th century, the Veleti disappeared from written records, and were replaced by the

who at least in part continued the Veleti tradition.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links