The war of extermination: the conquest of the Saxons. Part of 2
The capitulation of Vidukind and the apparent reconciliation of Saxony did not lead to the end of the war. The devastated land rested only for a time. The Saxons did not forget the old offenses and waited for the possibility of revenge. Eight years after the defeat of the Widukind uprising, in 793, Saxony flamed up again. Vidukind ’s incitement no longer existed, but the Saxon tribes nevertheless revolted.
The uprising was bigger and bloodier than the 782 explosion of the year. Now the war engulfed not only Saxony, but also the neighboring regions. Saxons tried to establish, and not without success, the interaction with the enemies of Francia - friezes, Avars and Slavs. The rebels burned the churches built on the site of the pagan shrines, destroyed or expelled the priests and their fellow tribesmen who persisted in their commitment to the new religion. The Frankish garrisons in key fortresses were destroyed.
Vidukind. Engraving by German artist Werner Graul
As a result of this outburst of hatred towards the Franks and Christians, Charlemagne had to start from scratch. The Frankish troops again had to pacify Saxony, destroy the recalcitrant, and Christianize the population. King Karl at this time was preparing for war with the Avars. Without interrupting his trip on the Danube, he made a semicircle, turned to Würzburg, where he celebrated Christmas, then arrived in Frankfurt am Main, where he celebrated Easter. There, with the tal to prepare for the summer the general Diet. In August, 794, he and his son Karl Young arrived in Saxony. Two Frankish armies invaded Saxon lands. The Saxons, seeing that they were surrounded, moved in masses to Eresburg, where they took oaths of loyalty, took hostages, and were returned to Christianity.
In this campaign, and throughout the war, the Frankish overlord used Slavic allies - a union of tribes of encouragement (bodrich), with whom Karl in the year 789 made an expedition to the lands of the Slavic union of lyutichs ("fierce"). Encouraged and lutichi constantly in conflict, and Karl offered help to encourage. The strategy "divide and conquer" justified itself. So, gradually, Western civilization began the conquest of the Slavic lands. The Franks built two bridges over Labu Elba, forced the river and, with the support of the allies - the Saxons, Frisians, encouragements and the Serbian Lusatia, defeated the powerful alliance of the Lyutics, who were famous for their martial art. Lutichi (wiltsy, wolves) fought fiercely, but could not resist against the huge army of the enemy.
In the year 794, the bandits were attracted to the war with the Saxons, although the defeat of Saxony brought Karl's empire closer to the Slavic lands, and supporting it was a strategic mistake. The future will show that the encouraged were greatly mistaken in supporting the Franks against the Saxons. The beginning of the war with the Saxons was unsuccessful for encouragement. In 795, when crossing the Laba near the village of Lune (near present-day Lüneburg), the army of encouragement was ambushed by the Saxons, and was defeated. Prince of Vyshan emboldened (under other sources - Witslav) was killed.
For five years - 794-799., Charlemagne waged a merciless war of extermination, before the events of which the horrors of the 782-785 uprising turned pale. The war was accompanied by mass hostage-taking and prisoners, followed by their eviction from Saxony. Prisoners were turned into slaves and taken to the inner regions of the kingdom, giving to large feudal lords. At the same time, settling of the devastated Saxon lands began with the alien population. In 795, Charlemagne ruined the Saxon lands between the Weser and the Elbe, which belonged to the allies of the Northalbing, and resettled 7 thousand Saxons to the interior of the Frankish state.
The main resistance to the invaders this time was provided by the Northern Saxons - the nortal binges. Here ordinary Saxons especially fiercely and for a long time resisted the Frankish conquerors. However, they were subjected to strikes from two directions - the Franks and encouragement were attacking them. Hard struggle was a few years. The North Saxons courageously resisted, but the forces were unequal.
As soon as Charlemagne, in 795, he led the army, the Saxons revolted in Nordalbinga. The king of the Franks again had to turn against the Saxons. Karl, with his sons, Karl Young and Louis, combed the forests of Saxony right up to Nordalbinga, and then returned to Aachen with hostages and big booty. In late summer - early autumn, Karl organized a new punitive campaign, which was supported by a detachment of ships from the sea. During this expedition, Karl massively evicted the Saxons to Francia and settled the descending lands from the Frankish kingdom.
In addition, Karel the Great, as he had done before, once again locked up in Saxony and in November 797, he set up a camp on Weser, in a place that was called Gerstel (with him “army station”). Here was built a new city, built a palace, where Karl is located with his family and retinue, churches and houses. The Frankish army was located in Saxony for winter apartments. King Carl celebrated Christmas and Easter 798 of the year in the new residence, received foreign embassies, gave advice to his sons, sent commissioners, who ruled on his behalf the court in the conquered areas. At the same time, Karl already considered Saxony to be part of the kingdom and issued a new “Saxon capitulary” in 797, where he softened the regime of terror established by the 785 capitulary, where crimes against the king and the church were punishable by death. The equality of the Saxons and Franks before the law was introduced. In addition, Charlemagne continued to strengthen the position of Christianity in the area. Several new bishopical departments were established.
However, the Nalbing continued to resist. They captured Frankish judges, along with ambassadors who were returning from Denmark, and killed some, while retaining the rest for ransom. In the spring of 798, Karl continued the war, devastating the land between the Weser and the Elbe. At the same time, his allies delivered a blow - an army of encouragement under Prince Drazhko’s command. In 798, the decisive battle took place. In a bloody battle on the field of Sventan, the army of encouragement led by Prince Drazhko and the royal envoy Eburis defeated the militia of the Saxons. Sachs in this battle lost up to 3-4 thousand people killed. This battle was a turning point, Nordalbingia was drained of blood. Sac Karl noted this when, in the same year, 798, when he received Prince Drazhko at his court, he rendered extraordinary honors to the ruler of the Slavic Gentiles. This year, Karl was able to leave Saxony, leading more than one and a half thousand prisoners, doomed to death or slavery, since, according to the Frankish chronicle, these were “the most unfaithful of the Saxons”.
In the summer of 799, Charlemagne and his sons made another trip to Saxony. The Frankish master himself in this campaign did not show much activity. After a general meeting in Lippegam, he stayed in Paderborn, from where he sent Karl Young to complete the conquest of the northern Saxons. Karl Young completed the pacification of Nordalbingy. Then, when the son returned, Karl returned to the Kingdom of the Frankish Kingdom, taking many families with him, distributing them among the bishops, counts, abbots and other vassals.
According to the information of later sources, Karl allegedly gathered the Saxon nobility in Salz and concluded “perpetual peace” with her at the end of the war. However, this is doubtful. There was no one to make peace with. The forces of Saxony were exhausted. The most implacable fell in battles, thousands of families were moved to the kingdom of Frankish, away from the graves of their ancestors, the sacred groves. The weak were enslaved, and soon the last pagan was baptized. Sacred groves and shrines destroyed. The “liberated” lands of the Saxons were settled by the Franks. The ability to resist Saxony was completely undermined. Charlemagne applied the strategy of the ancient Eastern rulers, who slaughtered the recalcitrant and thousands of evicted survivors into new lands. The Saxons who became slaves, dependent peasants in Francois, in a strange environment could no longer resist. They lost the meaning of life and resigned themselves to the position of slaves. In Saxony itself, the remaining Saxons were “diluted” by immigrants from the Frankish kingdom.
In 804, Charlemagne put an end to a long war. He resettled thousands of Saxon families from the Nordalbing 10 into the inner regions of the Frankish state. In addition, the most recalcitrant Nordalbingia was transferred to the allies - to encourage. This generosity was simply explained: at the turn of the 8th — 9th centuries, the Franks first encountered the militant Danes for the first time. In 804, the new king of Southern Denmark (Jutland), Goodfred, assembled an army and a fleet in Siestorp (Hedeby), on the border with Saxony, and planned to strike at the Franks. Now between the Danes and the Franks was a barrier - the Slavs. Dana began to prepare for war with encouragement. This war weakened Danes and encouragements, which Charlemagne later took advantage of.
The Slavs did not have time to master Nordalbinga. During the war of encouraging Danes who entered into an alliance with the Lute players, the King of the Danes Goodfred was able to capture several encouraging cities, including Rerik, the main trading center of the encourages. When Danes captured this city, Prince Godlav (brother Drazhko and father of Rurik, Sivar-Sineus, Truvara-Truvor) was killed. At the same time, the Slavic Lutichs ravaged the border lands of encouragement. Charlemagne formally supported the allies - he sent an army led by his son, Karl Yuny, to help. But he ordered him not to be zealous, and without special need not to enter into battle with the Danes.
Then Karl took Nordalbinga, in which the emboldened had not yet managed to gain a foothold. The weakened lesions were unable to resist. Soon these lands were settled by Christianized Saxons. In addition, Karl along the banks of the River Elbe created two border stamps - Saxon and Danish. The Franks began the construction of a line of fortifications - the so-called. Saxon shaft. These fortifications in the future will become a springboard for the conquest of the Slavic lands. Thus, encouraged by helping Karl subjugate the Saxons, they actually fought with their future.
The uprising was bigger and bloodier than the 782 explosion of the year. Now the war engulfed not only Saxony, but also the neighboring regions. Saxons tried to establish, and not without success, the interaction with the enemies of Francia - friezes, Avars and Slavs. The rebels burned the churches built on the site of the pagan shrines, destroyed or expelled the priests and their fellow tribesmen who persisted in their commitment to the new religion. The Frankish garrisons in key fortresses were destroyed.
Vidukind. Engraving by German artist Werner Graul
As a result of this outburst of hatred towards the Franks and Christians, Charlemagne had to start from scratch. The Frankish troops again had to pacify Saxony, destroy the recalcitrant, and Christianize the population. King Karl at this time was preparing for war with the Avars. Without interrupting his trip on the Danube, he made a semicircle, turned to Würzburg, where he celebrated Christmas, then arrived in Frankfurt am Main, where he celebrated Easter. There, with the tal to prepare for the summer the general Diet. In August, 794, he and his son Karl Young arrived in Saxony. Two Frankish armies invaded Saxon lands. The Saxons, seeing that they were surrounded, moved in masses to Eresburg, where they took oaths of loyalty, took hostages, and were returned to Christianity.
In this campaign, and throughout the war, the Frankish overlord used Slavic allies - a union of tribes of encouragement (bodrich), with whom Karl in the year 789 made an expedition to the lands of the Slavic union of lyutichs ("fierce"). Encouraged and lutichi constantly in conflict, and Karl offered help to encourage. The strategy "divide and conquer" justified itself. So, gradually, Western civilization began the conquest of the Slavic lands. The Franks built two bridges over Labu Elba, forced the river and, with the support of the allies - the Saxons, Frisians, encouragements and the Serbian Lusatia, defeated the powerful alliance of the Lyutics, who were famous for their martial art. Lutichi (wiltsy, wolves) fought fiercely, but could not resist against the huge army of the enemy.
In the year 794, the bandits were attracted to the war with the Saxons, although the defeat of Saxony brought Karl's empire closer to the Slavic lands, and supporting it was a strategic mistake. The future will show that the encouraged were greatly mistaken in supporting the Franks against the Saxons. The beginning of the war with the Saxons was unsuccessful for encouragement. In 795, when crossing the Laba near the village of Lune (near present-day Lüneburg), the army of encouragement was ambushed by the Saxons, and was defeated. Prince of Vyshan emboldened (under other sources - Witslav) was killed.
For five years - 794-799., Charlemagne waged a merciless war of extermination, before the events of which the horrors of the 782-785 uprising turned pale. The war was accompanied by mass hostage-taking and prisoners, followed by their eviction from Saxony. Prisoners were turned into slaves and taken to the inner regions of the kingdom, giving to large feudal lords. At the same time, settling of the devastated Saxon lands began with the alien population. In 795, Charlemagne ruined the Saxon lands between the Weser and the Elbe, which belonged to the allies of the Northalbing, and resettled 7 thousand Saxons to the interior of the Frankish state.
The main resistance to the invaders this time was provided by the Northern Saxons - the nortal binges. Here ordinary Saxons especially fiercely and for a long time resisted the Frankish conquerors. However, they were subjected to strikes from two directions - the Franks and encouragement were attacking them. Hard struggle was a few years. The North Saxons courageously resisted, but the forces were unequal.
As soon as Charlemagne, in 795, he led the army, the Saxons revolted in Nordalbinga. The king of the Franks again had to turn against the Saxons. Karl, with his sons, Karl Young and Louis, combed the forests of Saxony right up to Nordalbinga, and then returned to Aachen with hostages and big booty. In late summer - early autumn, Karl organized a new punitive campaign, which was supported by a detachment of ships from the sea. During this expedition, Karl massively evicted the Saxons to Francia and settled the descending lands from the Frankish kingdom.
In addition, Karel the Great, as he had done before, once again locked up in Saxony and in November 797, he set up a camp on Weser, in a place that was called Gerstel (with him “army station”). Here was built a new city, built a palace, where Karl is located with his family and retinue, churches and houses. The Frankish army was located in Saxony for winter apartments. King Carl celebrated Christmas and Easter 798 of the year in the new residence, received foreign embassies, gave advice to his sons, sent commissioners, who ruled on his behalf the court in the conquered areas. At the same time, Karl already considered Saxony to be part of the kingdom and issued a new “Saxon capitulary” in 797, where he softened the regime of terror established by the 785 capitulary, where crimes against the king and the church were punishable by death. The equality of the Saxons and Franks before the law was introduced. In addition, Charlemagne continued to strengthen the position of Christianity in the area. Several new bishopical departments were established.
However, the Nalbing continued to resist. They captured Frankish judges, along with ambassadors who were returning from Denmark, and killed some, while retaining the rest for ransom. In the spring of 798, Karl continued the war, devastating the land between the Weser and the Elbe. At the same time, his allies delivered a blow - an army of encouragement under Prince Drazhko’s command. In 798, the decisive battle took place. In a bloody battle on the field of Sventan, the army of encouragement led by Prince Drazhko and the royal envoy Eburis defeated the militia of the Saxons. Sachs in this battle lost up to 3-4 thousand people killed. This battle was a turning point, Nordalbingia was drained of blood. Sac Karl noted this when, in the same year, 798, when he received Prince Drazhko at his court, he rendered extraordinary honors to the ruler of the Slavic Gentiles. This year, Karl was able to leave Saxony, leading more than one and a half thousand prisoners, doomed to death or slavery, since, according to the Frankish chronicle, these were “the most unfaithful of the Saxons”.
In the summer of 799, Charlemagne and his sons made another trip to Saxony. The Frankish master himself in this campaign did not show much activity. After a general meeting in Lippegam, he stayed in Paderborn, from where he sent Karl Young to complete the conquest of the northern Saxons. Karl Young completed the pacification of Nordalbingy. Then, when the son returned, Karl returned to the Kingdom of the Frankish Kingdom, taking many families with him, distributing them among the bishops, counts, abbots and other vassals.
According to the information of later sources, Karl allegedly gathered the Saxon nobility in Salz and concluded “perpetual peace” with her at the end of the war. However, this is doubtful. There was no one to make peace with. The forces of Saxony were exhausted. The most implacable fell in battles, thousands of families were moved to the kingdom of Frankish, away from the graves of their ancestors, the sacred groves. The weak were enslaved, and soon the last pagan was baptized. Sacred groves and shrines destroyed. The “liberated” lands of the Saxons were settled by the Franks. The ability to resist Saxony was completely undermined. Charlemagne applied the strategy of the ancient Eastern rulers, who slaughtered the recalcitrant and thousands of evicted survivors into new lands. The Saxons who became slaves, dependent peasants in Francois, in a strange environment could no longer resist. They lost the meaning of life and resigned themselves to the position of slaves. In Saxony itself, the remaining Saxons were “diluted” by immigrants from the Frankish kingdom.
In 804, Charlemagne put an end to a long war. He resettled thousands of Saxon families from the Nordalbing 10 into the inner regions of the Frankish state. In addition, the most recalcitrant Nordalbingia was transferred to the allies - to encourage. This generosity was simply explained: at the turn of the 8th — 9th centuries, the Franks first encountered the militant Danes for the first time. In 804, the new king of Southern Denmark (Jutland), Goodfred, assembled an army and a fleet in Siestorp (Hedeby), on the border with Saxony, and planned to strike at the Franks. Now between the Danes and the Franks was a barrier - the Slavs. Dana began to prepare for war with encouragement. This war weakened Danes and encouragements, which Charlemagne later took advantage of.
The Slavs did not have time to master Nordalbinga. During the war of encouraging Danes who entered into an alliance with the Lute players, the King of the Danes Goodfred was able to capture several encouraging cities, including Rerik, the main trading center of the encourages. When Danes captured this city, Prince Godlav (brother Drazhko and father of Rurik, Sivar-Sineus, Truvara-Truvor) was killed. At the same time, the Slavic Lutichs ravaged the border lands of encouragement. Charlemagne formally supported the allies - he sent an army led by his son, Karl Yuny, to help. But he ordered him not to be zealous, and without special need not to enter into battle with the Danes.
Then Karl took Nordalbinga, in which the emboldened had not yet managed to gain a foothold. The weakened lesions were unable to resist. Soon these lands were settled by Christianized Saxons. In addition, Karl along the banks of the River Elbe created two border stamps - Saxon and Danish. The Franks began the construction of a line of fortifications - the so-called. Saxon shaft. These fortifications in the future will become a springboard for the conquest of the Slavic lands. Thus, encouraged by helping Karl subjugate the Saxons, they actually fought with their future.
Information