The Kessinians , also known as Kessini , Chizzini , Kcynianie and Chyżanie , were a medieval West Slavic tribe in what is now northeastern Germany . They inhabited the territory between the Warnow and Recknitz rivers, today split between the districts of Rostock and Vorpommern-Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . Their capital and name-giving stronghold was a gard near modern Kessin east of Rostock . Linguistically, they belonged to the Polabian Slavs .
11-789: Since the Slavic settlement of the region in the 8th and 9th centuries, the area was inhabited by the Veleti . The area became part of the Billung march of the Holy Roman Empire 's Duchy of Saxony in 936. In the course of a successful uprising in 983, the Veleti made a transition to the Lutician federation , an alliance of several tribes based in Radgosc (Rethra). The Kessinians emerged as
22-522: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Veleti The Veleti , also known as Veletians , Wilzi , Wielzians , and Wiltzes , were a group of medieval Lechitic tribes within the territory of Western Pomerania , related to Polabian Slavs . They had formed together the Confederation of the Veleti , also known as the Union of the Veleti , a loose monarchic confederation of
33-796: The Tollensesee on the upper Havel . The Hevelli living in the Havel area and, though more unlikely, the Rujanes of Rugia might once have been part of the Veletians. Even the Leitha 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,
44-755: The Kessinians, are reported to have actively participated in the 1114 expedition with 300 light cavalry. Finally, the Kessinian remains were assimilated by German settlers during the medieval Ostsiedlung , who turned the successor of the Obodrites' state, the Duchy of Mecklenburg , into a German region during the 12th century. This article about an ethnic group in Europe is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Germany -related article
55-531: The Obodrite state during the following decades, the Kessinians lost their self-determination . However, overlordship of the Obodrite nobility backed by Saxons and Danes was not always accepted, as shown by two expeditions of Saxon duke Lothar von Supplinburg , who subdued the Kessinan prince Dumar and his son in 1114, and another Kessinian prince, Sventipolk, in 1121. The Circipanes, former Lutician allies of
66-849: The Ocean, near the Venedicus Bay [Baltic Sea], the Veltae dwell, above whom are the Ossi." The Bavarian Geographer 's anonymous medieval document compiled in Regensburg 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 . The Veleti did not remain a unified tribe for long: local tribes developed,
77-660: The Veletian king Dragowit had been defeated and made a vassal by Charlemagne in the only expedition into Slavic territory led by Charlemagne himself, in 789, causing the central Veletian rule to collapse. The Veleti were invaded by the Franks during their continuous expeditions into Obodrite lands, with the Obodrites being allies of the Franks against the Saxons . Einhard made these claims in " Vita Karoli Magni " ( Life of Charles
88-670: The belarusian definition lyutyj zvěr . In common with other Slavic groups between the Elbe and Oder Rivers, they were often described by Germanic sources as Wends . In the late 10th century, they were continued by the Lutici . In Einhard 's Vita Karoli Magni , the Wilzi are said to refer to themselves as Welatabians . The first mention of a tribe named Veltae is found in Ptolemy's second-century Geography , Book III, chapter V: "Back from
99-869: The most important being: the Kissini ( Kessiner , Chizzinen , Kyzziner ) along the lower Warnow and Rostock , named after their capital Kessin ; the Circipani ( Zirzipanen ) along the Trebel and Peene Rivers, with their capital believed to be Teterow and strongholds in Demmin and probably even Güstrow ; the Tollenser east and south of the Peene along the Tollense River; and the Redarier south and east of
110-520: The northernmost of four tribes constituting the core of the federation, with the other three being Circipanes , Redarians , and Tollensians . In 1056/57, the alliance broke apart due to internal struggles between these four tribes. The western neighbors of the Kessinians, the Obodrites , took advantage of the resulting civil war and subdued the Kessinians along with the Circipanes. Integrated in
121-486: The tribes. Said state existed between the 6th and 10th centuries, after which, it was succeeded by the Lutician Federation . 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
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