The
Obotrites (
German Abodriten), also commonly known as the
Obodrites,
Abotrites, or
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 Germanic
Saxons and Slavic
Veleti. In 798 the Obodrites, ruled by prince
Drozko, defeated
Saxons in the battle under
Swieciana. The still heathen Saxons were dispersed by the emperor, and part of their former land in
Holstein, including
Hamburg, was awarded to the Obotrites in 804, as a reward for their victory.
The Bavarian Geographer, an anonymous medieval document compiled in Regensburg in 830, contains a list of the tribes in Central Eastern Europe to the east of the Elbe. The list includes the Nortabtrezi (Obotrites) - with 53 civitates. Adam of Bremen referred to them as the Reregi because of their lucrative trade emporium Reric. In common with other Slavic groups, they were often described by Germanic sources as Wends.
The main tribes[1] of the Obotritic confederation were
Other tribes associated with the confederation include
