Havolane
Encyclopedia
The Hevelli or Hevellians (sometimes Havolane; or Stodoranen; or Stodoranie; or Stodorané) were a tribe of the Polabian Slavs
, who settled around the middle Havel
river in the present-day Havelland
region of Brandenburg
in eastern Germany
from the 8th century onwards.
West Slavic
tribes ("Wends
") had settled in the Germania Slavica
region from the 7th century onwards. The Hehfeldi as they were called by the Bavarian Geographer
about 850 built their main fortification at Brenna (later to become Brandenburg an der Havel) and a large eastern outpost at the current site of Spandau
. In 906 the Hevelli princess Drahomíra
married the Přemyslid
duke Vratislaus I of Bohemia.
Brenna was occupied by the German
king Henry the Fowler in his 928/29 Slavic campaign and incorporated into the Marca Geronis
. Henry's successor Otto I
in 948 established the Bishopric of Brandenburg in order to Christianize the pagan population. These efforts were aborted in the course of the 983 Great Slav Rising
in the Northern March
, which again defied German control over the region. Together with the neighbouring Sprevane in the east, the Hevelli waged war against not only the German Saxon
forces to the west, but also other Slavic tribes.
The baptized Hevelli prince Pribislav (died 1150) finally bequested his lands to the Ascanian count Albert the Bear. Albert until 1157 could re-conquer the territory of the former Northern March, whereafter he established the Margraviate of Brandenburg
. The Slavic Hevelli were gradually assimilated by German
settlers in the course of the Ostsiedlung
.
Polabian Slavs
Polabian Slavs - is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites tribes who lived along the Elbe river, between the Baltic Sea to the north, the Saale and the Limes Saxoniae to the west, the Ore Mountains and the Western Sudetes to the south, and Poland to the east. They have also been known...
, who settled around the middle Havel
Havel
The Havel is a river in north-eastern Germany, flowing through the German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe river and in length...
river in the present-day Havelland
Havelland
Havelland is a geograhical region and district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Ostprignitz-Ruppin and Oberhavel, the city-state of Berlin, the district of Potsdam-Mittelmark, the city of Brandenburg and the state of Saxony-Anhalt .-History:-Geography:Geographically...
region of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
in eastern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
from the 8th century onwards.
West Slavic
West Slavs
The West Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking West Slavic languages. They include Poles , Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatian Sorbs and the historical Polabians. The northern or Lechitic group includes, along with Polish, the extinct Polabian and Pomeranian languages...
tribes ("Wends
Wends
Wends is a historic name for West Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It does not refer to a homogeneous people, but to various peoples, tribes or groups depending on where and when it is used...
") had settled in the Germania Slavica
Germania Slavica
Germania Slavica is a historiographic term used since the 1950s to denote the medieval contact zone between Germans and Slavs in East Central Europe...
region from the 7th century onwards. The Hehfeldi as they were called by the Bavarian Geographer
Bavarian Geographer
The Bavarian Geographer is a conventional name given by Jan Potocki in 1796 to the author of an anonymous medieval document Descriptio civitatum et regionum ad septentrionalem plagam Danubii ....
about 850 built their main fortification at Brenna (later to become Brandenburg an der Havel) and a large eastern outpost at the current site of Spandau
Spandau (locality)
Spandau is a locality of Berlin in the homonymous borough of Spandau. The historic city is situated, for the most part, on the western banks of the Havel river. As of 2008 the estimated population of Spandau was 33,433.-Position:...
. In 906 the Hevelli princess Drahomíra
Drahomíra
Drahomíra was a Bohemian duchess, wife of Vratislav I and mother of Saint Wenceslas and Boleslaus I of Bohemia.-Life:Drahomíra's homeland was around Brandenburg, a castle near present-day Berlin. She was princess of Havolans....
married the Přemyslid
Premyslid dynasty
The Přemyslids , were a Czech royal dynasty which reigned in Bohemia and Moravia , and partly also in Hungary, Silesia, Austria and Poland.-Legendary rulers:...
duke Vratislaus I of Bohemia.
Brenna was occupied by the German
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
king Henry the Fowler in his 928/29 Slavic campaign and incorporated into the Marca Geronis
Marca Geronis
The Marca Geronis was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was created probably for Thietmar and passed to his two sons consecutively: Siegfried and Gero...
. Henry's successor Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
in 948 established the Bishopric of Brandenburg in order to Christianize the pagan population. These efforts were aborted in the course of the 983 Great Slav Rising
Great Slav Rising
The Great Slav Rising von 983 was an uprising of the Slavic Lutici und Obotrite people living to the east of the Elbe in modern north-east Germany...
in the Northern March
Northern March
The Northern March or North March was created out of the division of the vast Marca Geronis in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the Marca and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the Wends...
, which again defied German control over the region. Together with the neighbouring Sprevane in the east, the Hevelli waged war against not only the German Saxon
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
forces to the west, but also other Slavic tribes.
The baptized Hevelli prince Pribislav (died 1150) finally bequested his lands to the Ascanian count Albert the Bear. Albert until 1157 could re-conquer the territory of the former Northern March, whereafter he established the Margraviate of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
. The Slavic Hevelli were gradually assimilated by German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
settlers in the course of the Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...
.