Veleti

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The Veleti (German: Wieleten; Polish: Wieleci) or Wilzi(ans) (also Wiltzes; German: Wilzen) were a group of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern northeastern Germany; see Polabian Slavs. 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 known as the Liutizians.

[edit] History

The Veleti moved into modern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and adjacent southern areas from the south in the course of the 6th-7th centuries, assimilating the remaining Germanic population and West Slav tribes that had previously moved into that area from the east.

The Veleti did not remain a unified tribe for long. Local tribes developed, the most important being: the Kissini (Kessiner, Chizzinen, Kyzziner) along the lower Warnow and Rostock, named after their capital Kessin; the Circipani (Zirzipanen) along the Trebel and Peene Rivers, with their capitol 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 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, too.

This political splitting of the Veleti occurred most pobably due to the size of the inhabited area, with settlements grouped around rivers and forts and separated by large strips of woodlands. Also, the Veletian king Dragowit had been defeated and made a vassal by Charlemagne in the only expedition into Slavic territory led by Charlemagne himself, in 798, making the central Veletian rule collapse. The Veleti were invaded by the Franks because of their continuous expeditions into Obodrite lands, with the Obodrites being allies of the Franks against the Saxons.

In the late 10th century, the tribes mentioned above formed an alliance known as the Liutizians (also Liutizi, Lyutitzi, or Liutitians; German: Liutizen or Lutizen). The leaders of the Liutizian tribes met at their major stronghold, the fortified temple of Rethra, and decided important matters together. They are believed to have played the key role in the Slavic uprising of 983. However, the alliance fell apart due to internal conflicts in the 1150s; Rethra was raided and destroyed by the Saxons in the winter of 1068/69. The Kissini and the Circipani were targeted in various attacks from the west, e.g. Saxon raids in 1114 and 1125, and were succeeded by and incorporated into the Obodrite confederacy by Gottschalk. The Redarier and Tollenser and some Circipani were in part succeeded by the Pomoranians coming from the east in the 1120s, and in 1147 again invaded by the participants of the Wendish Crusade. The division of the Liutizian lands that took place in the early 12th century is still present in the borderline dividing Mecklenburg, which emerged from the Obodrite state, and Vorpommern to the east.

The Liutizian lands were subject to the Holy Roman Empire until 1164 and, after a period of Danish raids and occupation, settled by Germans in the Ostsiedlung thereafter. The remnants of the Slavic tribes were gradually Germanized and assimilated during the following centuries.