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Obotrite Princes
The Obotrites (, ''Abodritorum'', ''Abodritos'') or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany (see Polabian Slavs). For decades, they were allies of Charlemagne in his wars against the Germanic Saxons and the Slavic Veleti. The Obotrites under Prince Thrasco defeated the Saxons in the Battle of Bornhöved (798). The still-Pagan Saxons were dispersed by the emperor, and the part of their former land in Holstein north of Elbe was awarded to the Obotrites in 804, as a reward for their victory. This however was soon reverted through an invasion of the Danes. The Obotrite regnal style was abolished in 1167, when Pribislav was restored to power by Duke Henry the Lion, as Prince of Mecklenburg, thereby founding the Germanized House of Mecklenburg. Obotritic confederation The Bavarian Geographer, an anonymous medieval document compiled in Regensburg in 830, conta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confederation
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issues, such as defence, foreign relations, internal trade or currency, with the central government being required to provide support for all its members. Confederalism represents a main form of intergovernmentalism, defined as any form of interaction around states that takes place on the basis of sovereign independence or government. The nature of the relationship among the member states constituting a confederation varies considerably. Likewise, the relationship between the member states and the general government and their distribution of powers varies. Some looser confederations are similar to intergovernmental organization, international organisations. Other confederations with stricter rules may resemble federal systems. These elements o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principality
A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "principality" is often used to describe small monarchies, particularly those in Europe, where the ruler holds the title of prince or an equivalent. Historically, principalities emerged during the Middle Ages as part of the feudal system, where local princes gained significant power within a king's domain. This led to political fragmentation and the creation of mini-states. Over time, many of these principalities consolidated into larger Monarchy, kingdoms and empires, while others retained their independence and prospered. Sovereign principalities which exist today include Liechtenstein, Monaco, and the co-principality of Andorra. Additionally, some royal primogenitures, such as Asturias in Spain, are styled as principalities. The term is als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radegast (god)
Radegast or Radogost is, according to medieval chroniclers, the god of the Polabian Slavs, whose temple was located in Rethra. In modern academic literature, however, the dominant view is that ''Radegast'' is a local nickname or a local alternative name of the solar god Svarozhits, who, according to earlier sources, was the chief god of Rethra. Some researchers also believe that the name of the town, where Svarozhits was the main deity, was mistakenly taken for a theonym. A popular local legend in the Czech Republic is related to Radegast. Sources The first source mentioning this theonym is the ''Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' by Adam of Bremen: The elderly Bishop John, captured with other Christians in the city of Mecklenburg, was kept alive to be exhibited in triumph. And consequently, lashed with whips for having confessed to Christ, he was then paraded in each of the cities of the Slavs to be mocked, as he could not be forced to renounce the name of Christ, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Svarozhich
Svarozhits (Latin: Zuarasiz, Zuarasici, Old East Slavic: Сварожиць, Russian: Сваро́жич, Сваро́жиц), Svarozhich (Old East Slavic: Сварожичь, Russian: Сварожич) is a Slavic god of fire, son of Svarog. One of the few Pan-Slavic gods. He is most likely identical with Radegast, less often identified with Dazhbog. Etymology The theonym ''Svarozhits'' comes from the theonym ''Svarog'' with the suffix ''–its'', ''–ich''. According to most scholars, ''Svarog'' is related to the word '' svar'' "quarrel", '' svariti'' "to quarrel, argue", and cognate words are Old English ''andswaru'' (→ English ''swear''), Old Norse ''sverja'' "to swear", or Sanskrit ''svarati'' (स्वरति) "to sing", "to sound", "to praise". An affinity has also been suggested with Old High German ''gi-swerc'' "storm clouds", Old English ''sweorc'' "darkness, cloud, fog", Dutch ''zwerk'' "cloud, cloudy sky", and Indian '' svárgas'' "heaven". It has also be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chronica Slavorum
The ''Chronica Sclavorum'' or ''Chronicle of the Slavs'' is a medieval chronicle which recounts the pre-Christian culture and religion of the Polabian Slavs, written by Helmold ( – after 1177), a Saxon priest and historian. It describes events related to northwest Slavic tribes known as the Wends up to 1171.Helmold: Chronica Slavorum. Neu übertragen und erläutert von Heinz Stoob. In: Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte des Mittelalters. Wiss. Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1963, 2. Auflage 1973. History It is a continuation of Adam of Bremen's '' Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church'' and was in turn continued by Arnold of Lübeck's '' Chronica Slavorum''. References See also *''De Administrando Imperio'', 10th-century Byzantine work which also accounts of neighbouring nations *''Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chroni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Živa (mythology)
__notoc__ Živa, Zhiva () is a mother goddess of one of the tribes belonging to the Obodritic confederation of the Polabian Slavs. The goddess so appears only in the ''Chronicle'' of Helmold of Bozov. He described the strengthening of the pagan cult during the reign of Niklot: As the tribe's main gord was Ratzeburg, Živa, in one copy of the ''Chronicle'', is called "Goddess of Ratzeburg" (). In copies of the ''Chronicle'', the name is noted as: (Copenhagen copy), (Lübeck), (Vienna), (Szczecin). The Copenhagen, Lübeck and Szczecin manuscripts indicate that the name contained the grapheme ⟨w⟩ ( ; the Szczecin notation was created as a result of frequent ⟨u⟩ → ⟨n⟩ alternation and reflected the form ''*Syuua'', while the double ⟨u⟩ = ⟨w⟩, which indicates the original form (''*Syva''). The Viennese transcript is the most distorted in relation to the original. Scholars agree on the etymology of this theonym. It is read as the Slavic ''*Živa'', fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plön
Plön (; ) is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on several smaller lakes, touching the town on virtually all sides. The town's landmark is Plön Castle, a chateau built in the 17th century on a hill overlooking the town. Plön has a grammar school with a 300-year history, and is home to a German Navy non-commissioned officer school and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology. The town, nestled as it is in the hilly, wooded lake district of Holstein Switzerland (''Holsteinische Schweiz''), also has importance in the tourism industry. History In the course of the Migration Period, Slavic tribes entered the region of Plön during the early 7th century following the withdrawal of the original Germanic population. On the large island opposite Plön, which was later called ''Olsborg'', they built a l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Podaga
Podaga (also , ) is a Polabian Slavs, Polabian deity who had his statue in a temple in Plön. Mentioned only in Helmold's ''Chronica Slavorum, Chronicle'', which does not give a depiction or function of the deity. According to Aleksander Brückner, it is impossible to read the name ''Podaga''. Grigoriy Il'inskiy concluded that ''Podaga'' is another form of Dazhbog (from ''*Podabog''), while Roman Jakobson concluded that ''Podaga'' is a corrupted notation of Dazhbog. Mikołaj Rudnicki connected the ''Podaga'' notation with the name ''Dagome'' in ''Dagome iudex'' referring to Mieszko I. According to him, both words are related to each other. The word was supposed to have come to the Piast dynasty, Piast state through Mieszko's unknown wife, who brought with her the cult of the goddess ''Podaga''. He connected both names with the Proto-Slavic ''*dag-'' "to burn", and also with Długosz's ''Pogoda'', whose name was supposed to have been distorted. Leszek Moszyński was the first to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wagria
WagriaArnold, Benjamin (1991). ''Princes and territories in medieval Germany'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, p. 156. . (, ''Waierland'' or ''Wagerland'') is the northeastern part of Holstein in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, corresponding roughly to the districts of Plön and Ostholstein. The word "Wagria" is derived from the Slavic Lechites tribe of Wagri. Geography In the Middle Ages, and as still shown on early modern maps, Wagria was bordered on the north and east by the Baltic Sea from the Kiel Fjord to Lübeck Bay, and inland by the rivers Schwentine and Trave. Today, Wagria generally refers just to the Oldenburg Peninsula (''Oldenburgische Halbinsel'') in Ostholstein. The highest elevation in the peninsula is the Bungsberg at 168 metres. History The Lechitic (Slavic) root of the name, ''Wagria'', meant not only the so-called, present-day Wagrian peninsula, but the entire region between the Kiel Fjord, the middle reaches of the Trav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oldenburg In Holstein
Oldenburg in Holstein () is a German town at the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea. The nearest city is Lübeck. The town belongs to the (historical) region of Holstein, today in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Oldenburg was the chief town of the Wagrians, one of the Slavic peoples that migrated as far west as the river Elbe in or after the 6th century (see Völkerwanderung), also known as Wends and Obotrites. They arrived about A.D. 700 and the Pomeranian/ Kashubian (Slavic) name was ' or ', meaning "Old Settlement", "Old Castle", "Old City/Town"; the German name ' is of Low German origin and carries the same meaning. The Obotrites were allies of Charlemagne. Emperor Otto I established the bishopric of Oldenburg under Adaldag, archbishop of Hamburg. To the Northern Germanic Vikings, the city was known as ', i.e. "the burned houses", indicating the bellicose times. For centuries, Starigard/Oldenburg remained the Slavic competitor of Hedeby on the Baltic trade, u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prove (mythology)
The pagan Slavs were polytheistic, which means that they worshipped many gods and goddesses. The gods of the Slavs are known primarily from a small number of chronicles and letopises, or not very accurate Christian sermons against paganism. Additionally, more numerous sources in which Slavic theonyms are preserved include names, proper names, place names, folk holidays, and language, including sayings. Information about Slavic paganism, including the gods, is scarce because Christian missionaries were not very interested in the spiritual life of the Slavs. Also, no accounts written down directly by the pagan Slavs exist. During the Christianization missions, the deities, on the one hand, were demonized to deter from worshipping them, on the other hand, their characteristics and functions were assumed by the saints, which was supposed to make the new religion less alien. Common Slavic deities Because of the small number of sources, there is no consensus among scholars of Slavi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates from the () meaning "the rule of God". This, in turn, derives from :wikt:θεός, θεός (theos), meaning "god", and :wikt:κρατέω, κρατέω (''krateo''), meaning "to rule". Thus the meaning of the word in Greek was "rule by god(s)" or human incarnation(s) of god(s). The term was initially coined by Flavius Josephus in the first century AD to describe the characteristic government of the Jews. Josephus argued that while mankind had developed many forms of rule, most could be subsumed under the following three types: monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy. However, according to Josephus, the government of the Jews was unique. Josephus offered the term ''theocracy'' to descri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
