Battle of the Süntel

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The Battle of the Süntel in 782 was a military climax of Charlemagne's Saxon Wars , in which the Saxons won a victory over the otherwise militarily superior armies of the Franks .

prehistory

Charlemagne was his then 20-year-old younger brother by the surprisingly early death Karlmann I. December 4, 771 and the immediate homage to the Great whose empire in the royal palace Cobanacum palatium (now Corbeny accept) the supremacy in the Frankish Empire. As soon as possible, in the summer of 772, he began a large-scale war of conquest of the Saxon tribal territories as well. As early as 777, Karl was able to hold a Frankish imperial assembly in the recently founded royal palace of Paderborn , from which the Saxon noble Widukind stayed away; instead he fled to the Danish king . At this meeting church mission areas in Saxony were determined; on the Reichstag of Lippspringe in 782 even a Franconian county constitution . This stimulated the Saxons to resistance, who gathered under the Widukind who had returned from Denmark.

Starting position

The Saxons took up positions on the Süntel . Here was not only an old pagan cult site on the Hohenstein , but also the Amelungsburg castle . Several Frankish armies were on a campaign against the Sorbs when they heard the news of the Saxon uprising. They immediately gave up their original goal and turned in the direction of the Saxon people's army. The Frankish Count Theoderich, (Theodericus comes; 782-93), hastily set troops from Ripuaria against the Saxons in motion and united with the other Frankish armies.

course

The regular army under Geilo crossed the Weser and camped on the bank of a river. Probably to win the honor of the firmly planned victory alone, it began with a hasty attack on the Saxon camp, who expected the Franks to be “in good order”. Some of the Saxon warriors even avoided the attack. So the Franks were "caught in a pincer" and thereby almost completely destroyed. Two of the highest-ranking Franconian officials were killed. The battlefield was then named Dachtelfeld (from tachteln = to beat), the draining stream would have turned red from the blood of the slain and is still called the Blutbach today. In the vicinity of the Hohenstein, the name of the valley of the valley also reminds of the events of that time.

The archaeologist Erhard Cosack suspects the location of the battle near Hachmühlen on the Deisterpforte .

Effects

As a result of this loss-making battle in the blood court of Verden in 782, Charlemagne had numerous Saxons executed, who had been handed over to him as rebels after the Reichsannals . According to another version, it was hostages that Karl had previously requested in Roman fashion as a pledge against the Saxons. The number of victims is also controversial - the oldest sources speak of 4500 - a number which in the history of historical science has been revised downwards again and again, in some cases considerably.

archeology

Traces of the battle have not yet been proven archaeologically. However, there are archaeological finds and findings on the Barenburg and Amelungsburg that may be related to the Battle of the Süntel. This includes found objects such as knives, arrows, lance tips and rider spurs. Archaeologists interpret this as evidence of the residence of Saxon troops who have gathered in both refuges . Archaeologists see the burials of two cavalry soldiers discovered in Sarstedt in 2001 as a further indication of the battle . They were buried in chamber graves with their equipment in the form of a thrust lance, sax and shield, as well as horses . At a funeral, a female person was found in whom a cook mamsell is seen as a human sacrifice . Both warriors bear traces of fatal injuries from a hole in the skull and the absence of a lower leg.

literature

Coordinates: 52 ° 12 ′ 37.8 ″  N , 9 ° 20 ′ 1 ″  E