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120-684: During the Migration Period , many Germanic peoples began migrating towards the Roman frontier. In the northeast they were replaced primarily by Slavic peoples ( Veleti , later Lutici ). The first Slavs were certainly in the Brandenburg area by 720, after the arrival of the Avars in Europe. These Slavs had come via Moravia , where they had arrived in the mid-seventh century. The remnants of

240-639: A parish church system only took place after the settlement of German colonists, beginning in the 2nd half of the 12th century. Control over areas that had already been conquered was repeatedly lost. The Slavic revolt of 983 and an uprising of the Obotrites in 1066 had particularly serious consequences. In 983, the Polabian Slavs in the Billung and Northern Marches , stretching from the Elbe river to

360-587: A "Dark Age" that set Europe back a millennium. In contrast, German and English historians have tended to see Roman–Barbarian interaction as the replacement of a "tired, effete and decadent Mediterranean civilization" with a "more virile, martial, Nordic one". The scholar Guy Halsall has seen the barbarian movement as the result of the fall of the Roman Empire, not its cause. Archaeological discoveries have confirmed that Germanic and Slavic tribes were settled agriculturalists who were probably merely "drawn into

480-623: A "primeval urge" to push into the Mediterranean, the construction of the Great Wall of China causing a "domino effect" of tribes being forced westward, leading to the Huns falling upon the Goths who, in turn, pushed other Germanic tribes before them. In general, French and Italian scholars have tended to view this as a catastrophic event, the destruction of a civilization and the beginning of

600-556: A common identity and ancestry. This was the Romantic ideal that there once had been a single German, Celtic or Slavic people who originated from a common homeland and spoke a common tongue , helping to provide a conceptual framework for political movements of the 18th and 19th centuries such as Pan-Germanism and Pan-Slavism . From the 1960s, a reinterpretation of archaeological and historical evidence prompted scholars, such as Goffart and Todd, to propose new models for explaining

720-639: A consequence, the shifting extensions of material cultures were interpreted as the expansion of peoples. Influenced by constructionism , process-driven archaeologists rejected the culture-historical doctrine and marginalized the discussion of ethnicity altogether and focused on the intragroup dynamics that generated such material remains. Moreover, they argued that adoption of new cultures could occur through trade or internal political developments rather than only military takeovers. Ostsiedlung Ostsiedlung ( German pronunciation: [ˈɔstˌziːdlʊŋ] , lit.   ' East settlement ' )

840-455: A few decades, especially in agriculture and crafts. These included: The amount of cultivated land increased as large forested areas were cleared. The extent of land increase differed by region. In Silesia it had doubled (16% of the total area) by the beginning of the 11th century, 30% in the 16th century and the highest increase rates in the 14th century, the total area of arable land increased seven – to twentyfold in many Silesian regions during

960-721: A large number of Flemish people. With the formation of the Hanseatic League , which allowed further German settlement in coastal towns due to it being the dominant trade republic in the Baltic and North seas. After the Wendish crusade, Albert the Bear was able to establish and expand the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1157 on approximately the territory of the former Northern March , which since 983 had been controlled by

1080-858: A line from the Eastern Alps and Bohemia to the Saale and Elbe rivers. As the East Frankish kingdom expanded, various Wendish tribes, that were conquered or allied with the Eastern Franks, such as the Obotrites , aided the Franks in defeating the West Germanic Saxons . The Carolingian tradition of setting up marches at the periphery of the empire would be continued by the East Frankish and Holy Roman Empire's kings during

1200-475: A lot of people and let them live in the castles and villages of the Slavs." The Slavs used ploughs and agricultural implements before the arrival of German settlers. The oldest meaningful reference to this can be found in a Slavic chronicle, in which the use of a plough as an areal measurement is mentioned. Although heavier and useful ploughs were brought by the settlers. In the 12th and 13th century documents,

1320-664: A military conflict with the German King Henry III , and in the end, Bretislav had to renounce his conquests in Poland and recognize Henry as his sovereign. After this, Bohemia remained loyal to Germany because of fears of another invasion, and Polish and Hungarian expansionism to the North and South . On the epoch of the war of investiture in Germany , Henry IV decisively fixed German-Bohemian relationship by playing off

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1440-551: A particularly large and unexpected crossing of the Rhine was made by a group of Vandals , Alans and Suebi . As central power broke down in the Western Roman Empire, the military became more important but was dominated by men of barbarian origin. There are contradictory opinions as to whether the fall of the Western Roman Empire was a result of an increase in migrations, or if both the breakdown of central power and

1560-462: A progressive Romanisation of barbarian society, but also an undeniable barbarisation of the Roman world." For example, the Roman Empire played a vital role in building up barbarian groups along its frontier. Propped up with imperial support and gifts, the armies of allied barbarian chieftains served as buffers against other, hostile, barbarian groups. The disintegration of Roman economic power weakened groups that had come to depend on Roman gifts for

1680-433: A result of such an accommodation and were absorbed into Latinhood. In contrast, in the east, Slavic tribes maintained a more "spartan and egalitarian" existence bound to the land "even in times when they took their part in plundering Roman provinces". Their organizational models were not Roman, and their leaders were not normally dependent on Roman gold for success. Thus they arguably had a greater effect on their region than

1800-414: A single operation. The different modes of operation of the two devices also had an impact on the shape and size of the cultivation areas. The fields worked with the ard had about the same field length and width and a square base. Long fields with a rectangular base were much more suitable for the mouldboard plough, as the heavy implements had to be turned less often. Planting and cultivation of oats and rye

1920-471: Is a German word, borrowed from German historiography, that refers to the early migrations of the Germanic peoples. In a broader sense it can mean the mass migration of whole tribes or ethnic groups. Rather than "invasion", German and Slavic scholars speak of "migration" (see German : Völkerwanderung , Czech : Stěhování národů , Swedish : folkvandring and Hungarian : népvándorlás ), aspiring to

2040-649: Is partly documented by Greek and Latin historians but is difficult to verify archaeologically. It puts Germanic peoples in control of most areas of what was then the Western Roman Empire . The Tervingi crossed the Danube into Roman territory in 376, in a migration fleeing the invading Huns . Some time later in Marcianopolis , the escort to their leader Fritigern was killed while meeting with Roman commander Lupicinus . The Tervingi rebelled, and

2160-549: Is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration of ethnic Germans and Germanization of the areas populated by Slavic , Baltic and Uralic peoples; the most settled area was known as Germania Slavica . Germanization efforts included eastern parts of Francia , East Francia , and the Holy Roman Empire and beyond; and the consequences for settlement development and social structures in

2280-476: The Völkerwanderung may illustrate such [a] course of events, but it misleads. Unfolded over long periods of time, the changes of position that took place were necessarily irregular ... (with) periods of emphatic discontinuity. For decades and possibly centuries, the tradition bearers idled, and the tradition itself hibernated. There was ample time for forgetfulness to do its work. Völkerwanderung

2400-508: The Ard without a mouldboard is mentioned. It tear opens the soil and spreads the soil to both sides without turning it. It is therefore particularly suitable for light and sandy subsoil. In the mid 13th century, the Three-field system was introduced east of the Elbe. This new cultivation method required the use of the heavy mouldboard plough that digs up the earth deeply and turns it around in

2520-704: The Baltic Sea , moving up the Vistula near the Carpathian Mountains . During Tacitus ' era they included lesser-known tribes such as the Tencteri , Cherusci , Hermunduri and Chatti ; however, a period of federation and intermarriage resulted in the familiar groups known as the Alemanni , Franks , Saxons , Frisians and Thuringians . The first wave of invasions, between AD 300 and 500,

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2640-701: The Brittonic chieftains (whose centres of power retreated westward as a result). The Eastern Roman Empire attempted to maintain control of the Balkan provinces despite a thinly-spread imperial army relying mainly on local militias and an extensive effort to refortify the Danubian limes . The ambitious fortification efforts collapsed, worsening the impoverished conditions of the local populace and resulting in colonization by Slavic warriors and their families. Halsall and Noble have argued that such changes stemmed from

2760-783: The East Frankish King Arnulf of Carinthia at the Imperial Diet ( Reichstag ) in Regensburg in 895. In 973, when the Bishopric of Prague was created, it was made subject to the Archbishopric of Mainz , which increased German influence. In the 11th century, Bretislav I led a campaign against Poland, reconquering Silesia and transferring the relics of Saint Adalbert to Prague, hoping to have Prague elevated to archbishopric status. This resulted in

2880-614: The Eider river, followed by the conquest of the land of the Wagri in 1139, the founding of Lübeck in 1143 and the call by Count Adolf II of Schauenburg to settle in Eastern Holstein , and Pomerania in the same year. Weakened by ongoing internal conflicts and constant warfare, the independent Wendish territories finally lost the capacity to provide effective military resistance. From 1119 to 1123, Pomerania invaded and subdued

3000-700: The Hevelli and Lutici tribes. The Bishopric of Havelberg , that had been occupied by revolting Lutici tribes was reestablished to Christianize the Wends. In 1164, after Saxon duke Henry the Lion finally defeated rebellious Obotrites and Pomeranian dukes in the Battle of Verchen . The Pomeranian duchies of Demmin and Stettin became Saxon fiefs, as well as the Obodrite territories, which became Mecklenburg , named after

3120-715: The Lutici , led to a factual disestablishment of the Northern and Billung marches as well as the corresponding bishoprics, though titular margraves and bishops were still appointed. Until the collapse of the Liutizi alliance in the middle of the 11th century, the German expansion in the direction of the Northern March remained at a standstill and the Wends east of the Elbe remained independent for approximately 150 years. In

3240-732: The Mongols also had significant effects (especially in North Africa , the Iberian Peninsula , Anatolia and Central and Eastern Europe ). Germanic peoples moved out of southern Scandinavia and northern Germany to the adjacent lands between the Elbe and Oder after 1000 BC. The first wave moved westward and southward (pushing the resident Celts west to the Rhine around 200 BC), moving into southern Germany up to

3360-573: The Oder , Bober , Kwisa and Vltava rivers in the east were conquered (see also: Battle on the Raxa ), and border marches were established in these areas. Fortifications were occupied and new castles built, reinforced by military units to exert military control and collect tributes. No civilian settlers occupied these lands. Christianization was limited to the establishment of mission dioceses such as Lübeck , Brandenburg or Havelberg . The development of

3480-610: The Ostrogoths , led by Theodoric the Great , who settled in Italy. In Gaul , the Franks (a fusion of western Germanic tribes whose leaders had been aligned with Rome since the 3rd century) entered Roman lands gradually during the 5th century, and after consolidating power under Childeric and his son Clovis's decisive victory over Syagrius in 486, established themselves as rulers of northern Roman Gaul. Fending off challenges from

3600-525: The Ostsiedlung . Parallel to agricultural innovations new forms of farm layout and settlement structuring (division and classification of land) were introduced. Farmland was divided into Hufen , (English hides ) and larger villages replaced the previously dominant type of small villages consisting of four to eight farms as a complete transformation of the previous settlement structure occurred. The cultural landscape of East Central Europe formed by

3720-530: The Ottonian and Salian emperors during the 11th and 12th centuries do not form part of the Ostsiedlung , as these actions didn't result in any noteworthy settlement establishment east of the Elbe and Saale rivers. The Ostsiedlung is considered to have been a purely Medieval event as it ended in the beginning of the 14th century. The legal, cultural, linguistic, religious and economic changes caused by

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3840-668: The Saxon War of 808, the victorious Charlemagne bestowed on the Slavic tribes allied with him (such as the Obotrites ) part of the Saxon lands between the Elbe and the Baltic Sea . A period of quiet followed in the region. The Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg were established around 940 and the Christianisation of the pagan Slavs began. Henry I of Germany conquered Brandenburg in 928–929 and imposed tribute upon

3960-573: The marches (frontier districts) of the Kingdom of Germany . After the death of the margrave Gero the Great in 965, the vast collection of marches (a "super-march") was divided by Otto into five smaller commands. The Northern March was one of these. The others were the Eastern March , the March of Merseburg , the March of Meissen , and the March of Zeitz . The rebellion of 983 , initiated by

4080-405: The 11th and 12th centuries. Under the rule of King Louis the German and Arnulf of Carinthia , the first groups of civilian Catholic settlers were led by Franks and Bavarii to the lands of Pannonia (present-day Burgenland , Hungary , Slovakia and Slovenia ). In a series of punitive actions, large territories in the northeast between the Elbe , Saale , Naab rivers in the west and

4200-662: The 12th and 13th centuries, more Germans arrived in Hungary, living in dispersed villages known as Königsboden    [ de ] . By the mid-13th century, their importance in trade (especially in Pozsony , Pest and Nagyszombat ) and gold and silver mining (especially in Beszterce and Radna ) grew significant. When Stephen I married Gisela of Bavaria , many German knights came to Hungary, joining its military. They were often rewarded with large estates and entry into

4320-482: The 12th and 13th centuries, the population density increased considerably. The increase was due to the influx of settlers on the one hand and an increase in slavic populations after the settlement on the other hand. Settlement was the primary reason for the increase e.g. in the areas east of the Oder , the Duchy of Pomerania , western Greater Poland , Silesia , Austria , Moravia , Prussia and Transylvania , while in

4440-459: The 13th century, glazed ceramics were introduced and the import of stoneware increased. The transfer of technology and knowledge affected the way of life of old and new settlers in a variety of ways and, in addition to innovations in agriculture and handicrafts, also included other areas, such as weapons technology, documents and coins. The Slavic population (Sorbs), who lived east of the Elbe, primarily built log houses, which had proven suitable for

4560-690: The 4th and 5th centuries, in what is known as the Migration Period , Germanic peoples seized control of the decaying Western Roman Empire in the South and established new kingdoms within it. Meanwhile, formerly Germanic areas in Eastern Europe and present-day Eastern Germany, were settled by Slavs . Charlemagne , ruler of the Carolingian Empire of Francia , which was founded by Franks (a Germanic people), under whom most of Western and Central continental Europe had been united during

4680-626: The 6th century. They were later followed by the Bavarians and the Franks, who conquered and ruled most of the Italian peninsula. The Bulgars, originally a nomadic group probably from Central Asia , occupied the Pontic steppe north of Caucasus from the 2nd century. Later, pushed by the Khazars , the majority of them migrated west and dominated Byzantine territories along the lower Danube in

4800-439: The 7th century. From that time the demographic picture of the Balkans changed permanently, becoming predominantly Slavic-speaking, while pockets of native people survived in the mountains of the Balkans. Croats settled in modern Croatia and Western Bosnia, bringing with them the Serbs who settled in Rascia, an area around Montenegro - South-West Serbia. By the mid seventh century, Serb tribes were invading northern Albania. By

4920-414: The 8th and 9th centuries, created numerous border territories, so called marches ( German : Marken ), where a substantial portion of the Ostsiedlung would later take place. The territories (from north to south): This was the earliest recorded and planned "eastern policy" under Charlemagne, who wanted to protect the eastern border of the Frankish Empire, and also wanted to solidify his position in

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5040-517: The Alemanni, Burgundians, and Visigoths, the Frankish kingdom became the nucleus of what would later become France and Germany. The initial Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain occurred during the 5th century, when Roman control of Britain had come to an end. The Burgundians settled in northwestern Italy, Switzerland and Eastern France in the 5th century. Between AD 500 and 700, Slavic tribes settled more areas of central Europe and pushed farther into southern and eastern Europe, gradually making

5160-418: The Baltic Sea succeeded in a rebellion against the political rule and Christian mission of the recently established Holy Roman Empire . In spite of their new-won independence, the Obotrites , Rani , Liutizian and Hevelli tribes were soon faced with internal struggles and warfare as well as raids from the newly constituted and expanding Piast dynasty (the early Polish ) state from the east, Denmark from

5280-495: The Baltic coast. Large cities included Szczecin which reached 9,000 inhabitants, Kraków and Wrocław , major cities and centers of power of medieval Poland. However, they experienced substantial growth since the end of the 12th century through new settlers and expansion ( locatio civitatis ). The foundation of a bishopric, for example in Havelberg , would lead to the development of a town, although cities were also founded out of nowhere, such as Neubrandenburg . Characteristic of

5400-410: The Bear granted Dutch settlers the right to take possession of former Slavic settlements. The preacher Helmold of Bosau reported on this in his Slavic chronicle: "Finally, when the Slavs were gradually dispersing, he (Albrecht) sent to Utrecht and the Rhine region, and also to those who live by the ocean, who under the power of the sea had suffered, the Dutch, Zealanders and Flemings, where he attracted

5520-470: The Bulgars. During the Khazar–Arab Wars , the Khazars stopped the Arab expansion into Europe across the Caucasus (7th and 8th centuries). At the same time, the so-called Moors (consisting of Arabs and Berbers ) invaded Europe via Gibraltar ( conquering Hispania from the Visigothic Kingdom in 711), before being halted by the Franks at the Battle of Tours in Gaul. These campaigns led to broadly demarcated frontiers between Christendom and Islam for

5640-405: The Christian Pribislav . Albert and his Ascanian descendants made considerable progress in Christianising the captured lands. The Margraves of the Nordmark were closely related to both the Counts of Stade , many holding dual titles, and the Counts of Walbeck . The early counts and margraves were discussed by Thietmar of Merseburg , a descendant of the original rulers. Under Albert, the march

5760-458: The Czechs from Germany, asking Henry II, Duke of Austria to renounce his claims to certain Bohemian lands, this was refused, and in the war that followed he was defeated. This made Soběslavs successors Frederick and Conrad II ruling during a period of unrest. This allowed for greater settlement during the 13th century, where even many Czech towns received so many German settlers they were practically Germanized and became majority Germany. Due to

5880-415: The Elbe by the end of the 12th century. It was manufactured extensively in Pomerania by the 13th century, when more advanced manufacturing methods, such as the tunnel kiln, enabled the mass production of ceramic household goods. The demand for household goods such as pots, jugs, jugs and bowls, which had previously been made of wood, increased steadily and promoted the development of new sales markets. During

6000-469: The Empire, and successor kings led numerous, yet not always successful, military campaigns to maintain their authority. In 843, the Carolingian Empire was partitioned into three independent kingdoms as a result of dissent among Charlemagne's three grandsons over the continuation of the custom of partible inheritance or the introduction of primogeniture . Louis the German inherited the eastern territories, East Francia , that included all lands east of

6120-444: The German influence on the nobility, many castles and villages names were Germanized, such as Zvíkov Castle to Burg Klingenberg . Under the reign of Vladislaus II , various military orders, the most prominent of which, the Knights Hospitaller , were even allowed to bring German settlers into Bohemian land and settle them . During this time, German settlers were exempt from the local Župan Laws, which included various duties such as

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6240-434: The German loss here was not as severe as after World War II . In and after World War II (1944–1950), Germans were driven out and deported to rump Germany from the East and their language and culture were lost in most areas (including the German-dominated lands which Germany lost after this war ) in which German people had settled during the Ostsiedlung; except part of Eastern Austria and especially Eastern Germany. During

6360-409: The Germanic Semnoni were absorbed into these Slavic groups. The group of people who settled at the Spree river became known as Sprevani . They settled east of the line formed by the Havel and Nuthe rivers, in the current Barnim and Teltow regions . They built their main fortification at the confluence of the Spree and the Dahme rivers at Köpenick . The Hevelli lived west of that line, in

6480-403: The Germans settling in Prague, and even making up almost a quarter of all people in Prague . Bretislav II granted them important privileges, notably the right of self-government under magistrates of their own election, and the right of living under German law. During the late 12th and early 13th century , German settlement of the mountainous borderland (Known as the Sudetenland ) began . It

6600-410: The Goths (including the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths ), the Vandals, the Anglo-Saxons , the Lombards, the Suebi, the Frisii , the Jutes , the Burgundians , the Alemanni, the Sciri and the Franks; they were later pushed westward by the Huns, the Avars, the Slavs and the Bulgars. Later invasions, such as the Vikings , the Normans , the Varangians , the Hungarians , the Arabs , the Turks , and

6720-419: The Goths, the Franks or the Saxons had on theirs. Based on the belief that particular types of artifacts, elements of personal adornment generally found in a funerary context, are thought to indicate the ethnicity of the person buried, the "Culture-History" school of archaeology assumed that archaeological cultures represent the Urheimat (homeland) of tribal polities named in historical sources. As

6840-497: The Hanseatic League who settled coastal towns. While Hungary was never conquered by the Holy Roman Empire and was never in focus of German settlement, it still had a sizeable German population. During the 11th century, Stephen I of Hungary invited German priests , abbots , and churchmen to found monasteries and promote the conversion of Hungary. Eventually these Germans' descendants started to fill other occupations, becoming merchants , clerks , and farmers , etc. and were granted

6960-413: The High Medieval Landesausbau (inland settlement) took place, when arable land was largely expanded at the expense of forested areas. Although new land was won and numerous settlements created, demands could not be absorbed. Another factor was a surplus of offspring of the nobility who were not entitled to inheritance, but after the success of the first crusade, took their chances of acquiring new lands in

7080-608: The Holy Roman Empire and proclaimed by Pope Innocent III in 1215 as a subject to the Holy See . The Teutonic State established a comprehensive administrative structure, and modernized the old traditional tribal structure of the region. An integral part of the Order other than converting Pagans to Christianity was also to encourage Germans to settle the sparsely populated area. Most German settlers primarily went to urban cities, such as Graudenz (Grudziądz), Elbing (Elbląg), and Riga . The settlers also established numerous rural settlements, known as Vorwerke in German . Most of

7200-463: The Obotrites residential capital, Mecklenburg Castle . After Henry the Lion lost his internal struggle with Emperor Frederick I , Mecklenburg and Pomerania became fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire in 1181, although the latter briefly as it passed under Danish suzerainty in 1185, and then under Imperial again only in the 13th century. German influence in Bohemia began when Duke Spytihněv I freed himself from Moravian vassalage and instead paid homage to

7320-560: The Polish-Bohemian enmity. In 1080 Vratislav I, fighting under the banner of the Emperor, captured the golden lance of the papal counter-king, Rudolf of Swabia , at the battle of Flarchheim . Bohemia's reward for this loyalty came six years later, in 1086, when Henry IV elevated the Duke to the rank of king. All of this laid the perfect conditions for German settlement and dominance of Bohemia . German settlers, mainly traders, miners, farmers and monks. The trade fairs of Prague attracted many merchants from all over Europe, with many including

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7440-451: The Rhine river and to the north of Italy, which roughly corresponded with the territories of the German stem duchies , that formed a federation under the first king Henry the Fowler (919 to 936). The Slavs living within the reach of East Francia (since 962 C.E. the Holy Roman Empire), collectively called Wends or "Elbe Slavs", seldom formed larger political entities. They rather constituted various small tribes, settling as far west as to

7560-609: The Roman Empire in both its western and its eastern portions. In particular, economic fragmentation removed many of the political, cultural and economic forces that had held the empire together. The rural population in Roman provinces became distanced from the metropolis, and there was little to differentiate them from other peasants across the Roman frontier. In addition, Rome increasingly used foreign mercenaries to defend itself. That "barbarisation" parallelled changes within Barbaricum . To this end, noted linguist Dennis Howard Green wrote, "the first centuries of our era witness not merely

7680-445: The Roman West and Byzantium gradually converted the non-Islamic newcomers and integrated them into Christendom. Analysis of barbarian identity and how it was created and expressed during the Barbarian Invasions has elicited discussion among scholars. Herwig Wolfram , a historian of the Goths, in discussing the equation of migratio gentium with Völkerwanderung , observes that Michael Schmidt  [ de ] introduced

7800-405: The Roman provinces of Gaul and Cisalpine Gaul by 100 BC, where they were stopped by Gaius Marius and later by Julius Caesar . It is this western group which was described by the Roman historian Tacitus (AD 56–117) and Julius Caesar (100–44 BC). A later wave of Germanic tribes migrated eastward and southward from Scandinavia, between 600 and 300 BC, to the opposite coast of

7920-420: The Visigoths, a group derived either from the Tervingi or from a fusion of mainly Gothic groups, eventually invaded Italy and sacked Rome in 410 before settling in Gaul. Around 460, they founded the Visigothic Kingdom in Iberia. They were followed into Roman territory first by a confederation of Herulian , Rugian , and Scirian warriors under Odoacer , that deposed Romulus Augustulus in 476, and later by

8040-417: The Wends in 1108, probably coming from a Flemish clerk in the circles of the archbishop of Magdeburg , which included the prospect of profitable land gains for new settlers, had no noticeable effect and resulted in neither a military campaign nor a movement of settlers into the area. Although the first settlers had already arrived in 1124, being mostly of Flemish and Dutch origin, they settled south of

8160-537: The areas of settlement. Other regions were also settled, though not as heavily. The Ostsiedlung encompassed multiple modern and historical regions, primarily Germany east of the Saale and Elbe rivers, the states of Lower Austria and Styria in Austria , Poland and the Czech Republic , but also in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe . The majority of Ostsiedlung settlers moved individually, in independent efforts, in multiple stages and on different routes. Many settlers were encouraged and invited by

8280-481: The beginning of the 12th century, the German kings re-established control over the mixed Slav-inhabited lands on the eastern borders of the Holy Roman Empire . In 1134, in the wake of the Wendish Crusade of 1147, the German magnate Albert the Bear was granted the Northern March by Emperor Lothair III . The Slavs were subsequently assimilated by German settlers during the Ostsiedlung . The church under Albert established dioceses, which with their walled towns protected

8400-429: The breakdown in Roman political control, which exposed the weakness of local Roman rule. Instead of large-scale migrations, there were military takeovers by small groups of warriors and their families, who usually numbered only in the tens of thousands. The process involved active, conscious decision-making by Roman provincial populations. The collapse of centralized control severely weakened the sense of Roman identity in

8520-498: The construction of barbarian identity. They maintained that no sense of shared identity was perceived by the Germani ; a similar theory having been proposed for Celtic and Slavic groups. A theory states that the primordialist mode of thinking was encouraged by a prima facie interpretation of Graeco-Roman sources, which grouped together many tribes under such labels as Germanoi , Keltoi or Sclavenoi , thus encouraging their perception as distinct peoples. Modernists argue that

8640-573: The current Havelland and Zauche regions. They were named Habelli for the ancient Germanic name of the river "Habula" ( Havel ). The name for themselves was the Stodoranie . They built their main fortification at "Brenna" (modern Brandenburg ). The Hevelli also built a large outpost at the current site of Spandau Citadel in Berlin . The Sprevani and Hevelli waged war against not only their German neighbors, but also their Slavic neighbours. After

8760-684: The east by declaring war on the Obotrites and Wilzes in the North, as well as on the Sorbs (east of Thuringia) and Czech tribal princes. However, since the goal wasn't to establish an ethnic and linguistic boundary between the Slavs and Germanic tribes, Slavic settlement continued in Thuringia and Northern Bavaria, with individual Slavs even making it to the Rhine Basin . The tribes that populated these marches were generally unreliable allies of

8880-576: The eastern half of Europe predominantly Slavic-speaking. Additionally, Turkic tribes such as the Avars and - later - Ugric-speaking Magyars became involved in this second wave. In AD 567, the Avars and the Lombards destroyed much of the Gepid Kingdom . The Lombards, a Germanic people, settled in Italy with their Herulian, Suebian, Gepid, Thuringian, Bulgar, Sarmatian and Saxon allies in

9000-657: The equation in his 1778 history of the Germans. Wolfram observed that the significance of gens as a biological community was shifting, even during the early Middle Ages and that "to complicate matters, we have no way of devising a terminology that is not derived from the concept of nationhood created during the French Revolution ". The "primordialistic" paradigm prevailed during the 19th century. Scholars, such as German linguist Johann Gottfried Herder , viewed tribes as coherent biological (racial) entities, using

9120-485: The fact that Germany and Austria lost part of their territories in the East appeared as a counterpoint to Ostsiedlung because some of the Germans in the East became foreign citizens when their homes were no longer part of Germany and Austria. The Germans in the East outside Germany and Austria were partially forced to leave and the regions that Germany and Austria lost in the East were dominated by non-German peoples, so

9240-446: The idea of "imagined communities"; the barbarian polities in late antiquity were social constructs rather than unchanging lines of blood kinship. The process of forming tribal units was called " ethnogenesis ", a term coined by Soviet scholar Yulian Bromley . The Austrian school (led by Reinhard Wenskus ) popularized this idea, which influenced medievalists such as Herwig Wolfram, Walter Pohl and Patrick J. Geary . It argues that

9360-490: The idea of a dynamic and "wandering Indo-Germanic people". In contrast, the standard terms in French and Italian historiography translate to "barbarian invasions", or even "barbaric invasions" ( French : Invasions barbares , Italian : Invasioni barbariche ). Historians have postulated several explanations for the appearance of "barbarians" on the Roman frontier: climate change, weather and crops, population pressure ,

9480-459: The identity of the newcomers. In Gaul , the collapse of imperial rule resulted in anarchy: the Franks and Alemanni were pulled into the ensuing "power vacuum", resulting in conflict. In Hispania, local aristocrats maintained independent rule for some time, raising their own armies against the Vandals . Meanwhile, the Roman withdrawal from lowland England resulted in conflict between Saxons and

9600-534: The increased importance of non-Romans created additional internal factors. Migrations, and the use of non-Romans in the military, were known in the periods before and after, and the Eastern Roman Empire adapted and continued to exist until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, although it involved the establishment of competing barbarian kingdoms,

9720-436: The larger part of Central and Eastern Europe indigenous populations were responsible for the growth. Author Piskorski wrote that "insofar as it is possible to draw conclusions from the less than rich medieval source material, it appears that at least in some East Central European territories the population increased significantly. It is however possible to contest to what extent this was a direct result of migration and how far it

9840-659: The late 14th and early 15th centuries' settlement slowed down, due to numerous factors such as the Black Plague in Germany , and the Hussite Wars . The Teutonic State was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade , Prussian Crusade and in general the Northern Crusades in the territories of Prussia , Pomerelia and Livonia . It was established on February 2, 1207 as a principality of

9960-471: The local princes and regional lords, who sometimes even expelled part of the indigenous populations to make room for German settlers. Smaller groups of migrants first moved to the east during the early Middle Ages. Larger treks of settlers, which included scholars, monks, missionaries, craftsmen and artisans, often invited, in numbers unverifiable, first moved eastwards during the mid-12th century. The military territorial conquests and punitive expeditions of

10080-471: The maintenance of their own power. The arrival of the Huns helped prompt many groups to invade the provinces for economic reasons. The nature of the barbarian takeover of former Roman provinces varied from region to region. For example, in Aquitaine , the provincial administration was largely self-reliant. Halsall has argued that local rulers simply "handed over" military rule to the Ostrogoths , acquiring

10200-490: The medieval settlement processes essentially prevails until today. Flemish and Dutch settlers were among the first to immigrate to Mecklenburg at the beginning of the 12th century. In the following years, they moved further east to Pomerania and Silesia and in the south to Hungary, motivated by the lack of settlement areas in their already largely developed home areas and several flood disasters and famines. Experienced and skilled hydraulic engineers, they were in high demand at

10320-479: The most prominent supporters of settlement included William IV who had purchased small amounts of land on the frontier of Pomerania, and Wichmann von Seeburg . In 1152 the large numbers of Flemish and Dutch people were introduced to the unoccupied and uncultivated marshlands just east of Magdeburg near the Havel . They founded the cities of Fläming and Jüterbog . Henry the Lion also settled Mecklenburg with

10440-665: The movement had a profound influence on the history of Eastern Central Europe between the Baltic Sea and the Carpathians until the 20th century. In the 20th century, accounts of the Ostsiedlung were heavily exploited by German nationalists (including the Nazi movement ) to press the territorial claims of Germany and to demonstrate supposed German superiority over non-Germanic peoples, whose cultural, urban and scientific achievements in that era were undermined, rejected, or presented as German. After World War I (1914–1918),

10560-649: The next millennium. The following centuries saw the Muslims successful in conquering most of Sicily from the Christians by 902. The Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin from around AD 895 and the subsequent Hungarian invasions of Europe and the Viking expansion from the late 8th century conventionally mark the last large migration movements of the period. Christian missionaries from Ireland,

10680-430: The ninth century, the central Balkans (corresponding to modern Kosovo, Serbia and Macedonia) and the area of southern and central Albania became invaded and settled by Bulgars. During the early Byzantine–Arab Wars , Arab armies attempted to invade southeast Europe via Asia Minor during the late 7th and early 8th centuries but were defeated at the siege of Constantinople (717–718) by the joint forces of Byzantium and

10800-414: The nobility. In 1224, Andrew II signed a charter laying out the duties and rights of the Germans in the kingdom. The king defined their duties such as the payment of tax, military service, and housing of the king and his officials. In exchange, they were able to elect their priests and officials independently and their merchants were exempt from customs duties. Their markets were also not taxed. No outsider

10920-583: The north and the Empire from the west, eager to reestablish her marches. The area remained under rule of the Polabian tribes and uncolonized and unchristianized into the 12th century. The territories (from north to south): The Sorbian March east of the Saale river was established in the 9th century. King Otto I designated a larger area – the Saxon Eastern March – in 937, that encompassed

11040-749: The northeastern parts of the Lutici lands. In 1124 and 1128, Wartislaw I, Duke of Pomerania , at that time a vassal of Poland, invited bishop Otto of Bamberg to Christianize the Pomeranians and Liutizians of his duchy. In 1147, as a campaign of the Northern Crusades , the Wendish Crusade was mounted in the Duchy of Saxony to retake the marches lost in 983. The crusaders also headed for Pomeranian Demmin and Szczecin , despite these areas having already been successfully Christianized. The Crusade caused widespread devastation and slaughter. This created ideal conditions for German settlement, some of

11160-601: The period is widely regarded as the invasion of Europe by the Huns from Asia in about 375 and the ending with the conquest of Italy by the Lombards in 568, but a more loosely set period is from as early as 300 to as late as 800. For example, in the 4th century a very large group of Goths was settled as foederati within the Roman Balkans , and the Franks were settled south of the Rhine in Roman Gaul . In 406

11280-715: The peripheral regions of the Empire. There is no doubt that there were "rather numerous German settlers" in Eastern Central who were responsible for bringing German law in the earliest stages of the colonization. Other settlers included Walloons, Jews, Dutch, Flemish, and later Poles, especially in the territory of modern Ukraine. The migration of the Walser in the territory of present-day Switzerland to areas that had formerly been inhabited by Romans . The Walser settlers left their homes in Valais and founded villages in

11400-502: The politics of an empire already falling apart for quite a few other causes". Goffart argues that the process of settlement was connected to hospitalitas , the Roman practice of quartering soldiers among the civilian population. The Romans, by granting land and the right to levy taxes to allied (Germanic) armies, hoped to reduce the financial burdens of the empire. The Crisis of the Third Century caused significant changes within

11520-422: The provinces, which may explain why the provinces then underwent dramatic cultural changes even though few barbarians settled in them. Ultimately, the Germanic groups in the Western Roman Empire were accommodated without "dispossessing or overturning indigenous society", and they maintained a structured and hierarchical (but attenuated) form of Roman administration. Ironically, they lost their unique identity as

11640-410: The regional climates and wood was plentiful in the continental regions. The German settlers, mainly from Franconia and Thuringia, who advanced into the area in the 13th century, brought with them the half-timbering style, which was already known to the Germanic peoples, as a wood-saving, solid and stable construction method, that allowed multi-storey buildings. A combination of the two construction methods

11760-427: The settlements of the as yet undeveloped areas east of the Elbe. The land was drained by creating a network-like structure of smaller drainage ditches that drained the water in main ditches. Roads connecting the settlers' individual farms ran along these main trenches. Dutch settlers were recruited by the local rulers in large numbers, especially during the second half of the 12th century. In 1159/60, for example, Albert

11880-641: The settlers came from the Rhineland region. The Teutonic Order established numerous Castles, and other holdings near populated places such as Kaliningrad to consolidate the conquered lands. While East Prussia was heavily settled and Germanized, Livonia still had a very small German population, because there were no attempts to settle inland. The Germans in Livonia were mainly employees of the Teutonic Order there for administrative purposes, or merchants of

12000-454: The settlers than from the Wends, although settlers were partly exempted from tax payments during the first years after settlement establishment. The development of Germania Slavica was also associated with the establishment of towns. There already existed Slavic castle towns, in which merchant quarters formed suburbs at fortified strongholds (grads). Wendish-Scandinavian merchants founded manufacturing and trading settlements (emporia) at

12120-591: The south. The Margravate of Meissen and Transylvania were populated by German settlers, beginning in the 12th century. From the end of the 12th century onwards, monasteries and cities were established in Pomerania, Brandenburg, Silesia, Bohemia, Moravia and eastern Austria. In the Baltics, the Teutonic Order founded a crusader state in the beginning of the 13th century. A call for a crusade against

12240-587: The southern edge, East Franks the middle edge, and Saxon miners the northern edge, notably the Erzgebirge . Unlike in Mecklenburg , Pomerania , Brandenburg , and Silesia , the German settlement was not as heavy, nor were many Czechs assimilated like in Eastern Germany. As German influence grew, with greater numbers of Settlers arriving each year, Soběslav II felt it was necessary to protect

12360-413: The status of free peasants. In 1149, Géza II invited German settlers to Southern Transylvania. Written records call them "Flamands", "Teutons", and "Latins". The term "Saxons" appeared in 1206, and became the official term for local Germans in 1231. The term represented legal status rather than nationality. The Transylvanian Saxons have diverse origins, their pottery, art, and liturgy were not uniform. In

12480-511: The stimulus for forming tribal polities was perpetuated by a small nucleus of people, known as the Traditionskern ("kernel of tradition"), who were a military or aristocratic elite. This core group formed a standard for larger units, gathering adherents by employing amalgamative metaphors such as kinship and aboriginal commonality and claiming that they perpetuated an ancient, divinely-sanctioned lineage. The common, track-filled map of

12600-475: The term to refer to discrete ethnic groups. He also believed that the Volk were an organic whole, with a core identity and spirit evident in art, literature and language. These characteristics were seen as intrinsic, unaffected by external influences, even conquest. Language, in particular, was seen as the most important expression of ethnicity. They argued that groups sharing the same (or similar) language possessed

12720-592: The territories of the Roman Empire and Europe as a whole. The period is traditionally taken to have begun in AD ;375 (possibly as early as 300) and ended in 568. Various factors contributed to this phenomenon of migration and invasion, and their role and significance are still widely discussed. Historians differ as to the dates for the beginning and ending of the Migration Period. The beginning of

12840-480: The territory between the Elbe , the Oder and the Peene rivers. Governed by Margrave Gero , it is also referred to as Marca Geronis . After Gero's death in 965, the march was divided in smaller sectors: Northern March , Lusatian March , Margraviate of Meissen , and March of Zeitz . The march was populated by various West Slavic tribes, the largest being Polabian Slavs tribes in the north and Sorbian tribes in

12960-472: The townspeople from attack. With the arrival of monks and bishops begins anew the recorded history of the town of Brandenburg, from which would develop the eponymous margraviate. Albert's control of the region was nominal for several decades, but he engaged in a variety of military and diplomatic actions against the Wends, and saw his control become more real by the middle of the century. In 1150, Albert formally inherited Brandenburg from its last Hevelli ruler,

13080-405: The tribes up to the Oder . By 948 his son Otto I had established German control over the many remaining pagans, who were collectively referred to as Slavs or Wends by contemporaries. Slavic settlements such as Brenna, Budišin ( Bautzen ), and Chotebuž ( Cottbus ) came under German control through the installation of margraves . The main function of the margravial office was to defend and protect

13200-454: The uniqueness perceived by specific groups was based on common political and economic interests rather than biological or racial distinctions. Indeed, on this basis, some schools of thought in recent scholarship urge that the concept of Germanic peoples be jettisoned altogether. The role of language in constructing and maintaining group identity can be ephemeral since large-scale language shifts occur commonly in history. Modernists propose

13320-582: The upkeep of local infrastructure. In 1219, Litoměřice ( German : Leitmeritz ), was the first German town to be given the privileges of the Magdeburg Laws in Bohemia. During the 13th-14th century, as much as 1 out of every 6th German settlers was going to Bohemia, while this is lower than in Upper Saxony , Lusatia , and Lower Silesia , It's still a substantial number. Eventually, during

13440-703: The uplands of the Alp valleys (in the north of Italy and in the Grisons ). The Medieval Warm Period , which began in the 11th century resulted in higher average temperatures in Central Europe. Additional technical progress in agriculture, for example through the construction of mills, Three-field farming and increased cultivation of grain (graining) led to general population increase. The new settlers not only brought their customs and language with them, but also new technical skills and equipment that were adapted within

13560-612: Was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman kingdoms . The term refers to the important role played by the migration, invasion, and settlement of various tribes, notably the Burgundians , Vandals , Goths , Alemanni , Alans , Huns , early Slavs , Pannonian Avars , Bulgars and Magyars within or into

13680-536: Was allowed to receive villages or estates in German land where only the monarch and the Count of Hermannstadt had jurisdiction. Political and military events were greatly influenced by a massive population increase throughout Europe in the High Middle Ages. From the 11th to the 13th centuries, the population in the kingdom of Germany increased from about four to twelve million inhabitants. During this time,

13800-644: Was caused by the successful settlement of modern day Northeastern Germany . The mountainous area settled first was the Eger Valley , partially due to its southern edges coming under the control of Diepold III who was an ally of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa . Furthermore, the Monastery of Waldsassen owned extensive land in the Eger Valley. The first German villages were Penerit and Neudorf, both founded in 1196. Bavarians and Austrians settled

13920-423: Was difficult because the horizontally stacked wood of the log room expands differently in height than the vertical posts of the framework. The result was the new type of half-timbered house with a timber frame around the ground floor block, capable to support a second floor, which was made of half-timber. The Ostsiedlung followed an immediate rapid population growth throughout Central and Eastern Europe . During

14040-444: Was due to increased agricultural productivity and the gathering pace of urbanization." In contrast to Western Europe , this increased population was largely spared by the 14th-century Black Death pandemic . With the German settlers new systems of taxation arrived. While the existing Wendish tithe was a fixed tax depending on village size, the German tithe depended on the actual crop yield. Thus higher taxes were collected from

14160-546: Was expanded with the acquisition of Slavic lands around Brandenburg in 1157. The expanded march became a hereditary possession of Albert's house, the Ascanians , and was called the March of Brandenburg . For a lists of margravines (margrave's wives), see List of consorts of Brandenburg . Migration Period The Migration Period (circa 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions ,

14280-587: Was promoted, and soon these cereals became the most important type of grain. Farmers who used mouldboard ploughs were required to pay double tax fees. Potters were among the first group of artisans who also settled in the rural areas. Typical Slavic ceramics were the Flat-bottom vessels. With the influx of western settlers, new vessel shapes such as the rounded jar were introduced, inclusive hard-fired processes, that improved ceramics quality. This type of ceramics, known as Hard Grayware , became widespread east of

14400-490: Was to some extent managed by the Eastern emperors. The migrants comprised war bands or tribes of 10,000 to 20,000 people. Immigration was common throughout the time of the Roman Empire, but over the course of 100 years, the migrants numbered not more than 750,000 in total, compared to an average 40 million population of the Roman Empire at that time. The first migrations of peoples were made by Germanic tribes such as

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