Stoignew

Stoignew († October 16, 955 ) was an Elbe Slavic prince who was defeated by the Saxon army under Otto the Great in the Battle of the Raxa in 955 as the leader of a Slavic contingent .

Life

Origin and family

Stoignew referred to in the sources as Stoinef, Stoinnegus and Ztoignav, is thought to be written 1012-1018 Chronicle Thietmar of Merseburg of abodritischen a brother Samtherrschers Nakon have been. Widukind von Corvey already mentions a brother of Nakons in his history of Saxony, written 70 years earlier, but the brother's name is not mentioned there.

Domination

Most of the research assumes that Stoignew ruled alongside his brother Nakon as co-regent over the Abodriten tribal association based in present-day Mecklenburg and eastern Holstein . Little can be inferred from the Saxon written sources for a co-rule by Stoignew. Widukind describes him indefinitely as princeps barbarorum , that is, as the prince of the Slavs, without, however, identifying him as a member of the Abodrites. With Thietmar von Merseburg, Stoignew bears the title of a dux , which can be translated both as army leader and duke. If Stoignew was actually Nakon's brother, another title would be added with subregulus (literally: "Unterlinkönig"). Although this Saxon foreign name does not say more about Stoignew's political role than its very existence, as Nakon's brother Stoignew would have been a member of the Abodritic princely house of the Nakonids .

According to a different opinion, Stoignew was not co-ruler of the Abodritic tribal association, but part of the tribal prince of the Zirzipans . This is supported by the fact that Stoignew led the Slavic army alone into the battle of the Raxa in October 955, while no source reports that Nakon took part in the fighting. Instead, Stoignew is specifically referred to as the leader. Then, according to a contemporary entry in the Annales Sangallenses maiores , the Slavic army was composed of Abodriten, Wilzen , Zirzipanen and Tollensanen . Nevertheless, the participation of the Abodritic tribal association in the battle is not mandatory. Because according to Saxon perception, the zirzipans belonged to the Abodrites and the Tollensans to the Wilzen. In fact, the handwritten entry in the Annales Sangallensis maiores contains, after the listing of the Abodrites and Wilzen, an addition to the Zirzipans and Tollensans, which both serve to identify the aforementioned strains and could be based on an omission. Stoignew also acted like an independent prince in his appearance and actions. He surrounded himself with advisors and a retinue of armored riders, and on the eve of the battle he alone negotiated with the Saxon Margrave Gero about a peaceful solution to the conflict. After the defeat of the Slavic army, the Saxon victory had no effect on Nakon's rule. Instead, around the year 965 , the Jewish traveler Ibrahim ibn Jacub Nakon was one of the most powerful Slavic rulers of that time, alongside the princes of the Bulgarians , Bohemia and Poland .

Stoignew died in the Battle of the Raxa. The description of his cruel end served the Saxon historiographers to portray the unrestricted rule of the Saxon king, who "acts as the image of the avenging God executes his judgment against the enemies of Christianity". According to Widukind, Stoignev, who fled in the face of defeat, was beheaded by a knight named Hosed, and the severed skull was placed on the battlefield the following day. Around him the victors beheaded 700 prisoners and left the adviser Stoignews helpless among the corpses after they had previously gouged out his eyes and tore out his tongue. At Thietmar's, the captured Stoignew is even beheaded by Otto the Great himself.

swell

• Paul Hirsch , Hans-Eberhard Lohmann (ed.): Widukindi monachi Corbeiensis rerum gestarum Saxonicarum libri tres. (= MGH Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum separately in the editi. Volume 60). Hahn, Hanover 1935 digitized
• The chronicle of Bishop Thietmar von Merseburg and her Korveier revision. Thietmari Merseburgensis episcopi chronicon (= Monumenta Germaniae Historica . Scriptores. 6: Scriptores rerum Germanicarum. Nova Series 9). Edited by Robert Holtzmann . Weidmann, Berlin 1935, digitized .

Remarks

1. ↑ Widukind II, 50 and 55.
2. ↑ Thietmar II, 12.
3. ↑ Annales Sangallenses maiores to the year 955.
4. ↑ Thietmar II, 12.
5. ↑ Widukind II, 50.
6. ↑ Erich Hoffmann : Contributions to the history of the Obotrites at the time of the Naconids. In: Eckhard Hübner, Ekkehard Klug, Jan Kusber (eds.): Between Christianization and Europeanization. Contributions to the history of Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages and early modern times. Festschrift for Peter Nitsche on his 65th birthday (= sources and studies on the history of Eastern Europe. Vol. 51). Steiner, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-515-07266-7 , pp. 23–51, here p. 25; Wolfgang H. Fritze : Problems of the abodritic tribal and imperial constitution and its development from a tribal state to a ruling state. In: Herbert Ludat (ed.): Settlement and constitution of the Slavs between the Elbe, Saale and Oder. W. Schmitz, Gießen 1960, pp. 141-219, here p. 158
7. ↑ Bernhard Friedmann: Studies on the history of the Abodritic principality up to the end of the 10th century. (= East European Studies of the State of Hesse. Series 1: Giessen Treatises on Agricultural and Economic Research in Eastern Europe . Vol. 197). Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-428-05886-0 , p. 237.
8. ↑ Widukind III, 53.
9. ↑ Thietmar II, 12.
10. ↑ Widukind II, 50 describes Nakon and his brother, who is not named, as subreguli .
11. ↑ Bernhard Friedmann: Studies on the history of the Abodritic principality up to the end of the 10th century. (= East European Studies of the State of Hesse. Series 1: Giessen Treatises on Agricultural and Economic Research in Eastern Europe . Vol. 197). Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-428-05886-0 , p. 237.
12. ↑ Annales Sangallenses maiores a. A. 955: duce illorum nomine Ztoignavo.
13. ↑ Gerard Labuda : On the structure of the Slavic tribes in the Mark Brandenburg (10th-12th centuries). In: Yearbook for the history of Central and Eastern Germany. Vol. 42, 1994, pp. 103-140, here pp. 130, 132.
14. ↑ St. Gallen, Abbey Library, Cod. Sang. 915: Chapter Office Book, p. 211
15. ↑ Thomas Scharff : The avenging ruler. On dealing with defeated enemies in Ottonian historiography. In: Early Medieval Studies. Vol. 36, 2002, pp. 241-253, here p. 252.
16. ↑ Widukind II, 25.
17. ↑ Thietmar II, 12.