Linonen
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The Linones were a small Slavic people first recorded in the early 9th century. They lived north and east of the
Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
, across from Höhbeck in the region around
Lenzen Lenzen (Elbe) is a small town in the district of Prignitz, in Brandenburg, Germany. The town lies to the north of the Löcknitz River, not far from where the Löcknitz flows into the Elbe. It is part of the ''Amt'' Lenzen-Elbtalaue. Overview Len ...
, south of the
Wilzi The Veleti, also known as Wilzi, Wielzians, and Wiltzes, were a group of medieval Lechitic tribes within the territory of Hither Pomerania, related to Polabian Slavs. They had formed together the Confederation of the Veleti, a loose monarchic ...
and
Obotrites The Obotrites ( la, Obotriti, Abodritorum, Abodritos…) or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (german: Abodriten), were a confederation of medieval West Slavs, West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in norther ...
, north of the
Hevelli The Hevelli or Hevellians/ Navellasîni (sometimes ''Havolane''; german: Heveller or ''Stodoranen''; pl, Hawelanie or ''Stodoranie''; cs, Havolané or ''Stodorané'') were a tribe of the Polabian Slavs, who settled around the middle Havel river ...
and northeast of the
Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
. They may have been a sub-group of the Wilzi and were often under Obotrite control. They may be associated with the medieval ''Gau'' Liezizi. The '' Annals of Lorsch'' classifies the Linones as
Wends Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various peopl ...
.''AL'', s.a. 808 (in ): "''Charles, fils de l'empereur Charles, traversa la rivière Elbe avec une armée franque contre les Wendes. Mais cette attaque ne fut pas un succès, et un grand nombre de Francs furent tués.''" harles, son of the emperor Charles, crossed the river Elbe with a Frankish army against the Wends. But this attack was not a success, and a great number of Franks were killed./ref> According to the ''
Royal Frankish Annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state ...
'', in 808 the Linones and
Smeldingi The Smeldingi were a small group of Polabian Slavs living on the border of the Old Saxony in the 9th century, probably between the Elbe and the Havel. They were a sub-group of the Hevelli. Their name is etymologically related that of the South S ...
"defected" to the Danish king
Gudfred Gudfred was a ninth century Danish king who reigned from at least 804 to 810. Alternate spellings include ''Godfred'' (Danish), ''Göttrick'' (German), ''Gøtrik'' (Danish), ''Gudrød'' (Danish), and ''Godofredus'' (Latin). He stands at the thres ...
and in response the Frankish king
Charles the Younger Charles the Younger or Charles of Ingelheim (c. 772 – 4 December 811) was a member of the Carolingian dynasty, the second son of Charlemagne and the first by his second wife, Hildegard of Swabia and brother of Louis the Pious and Pepin Carloman ...
ravaged their lands.''RFA'', s.a. 808 (in ): "But Charles, the son of the emperor, built a bridge across the Elbe, and moved the army under his command as fast as he could across the river against the Linones and Smeldingi. These tribes had also defected to Godofrid. Charles laid waste their fields far and wide and after crossing the river again returned to Saxony with his army unimpaired." It is probable that the Linones submitted to Danish authority and cooperated in the Danes' attack on the Obotrites that year, which resulted in the destruction of the emporium of
Reric Reric or Rerik was one of the Viking Age multi-ethnic Slavic- Scandinavian emporia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, located near Wismar in the present-day German state of Mecklenburg-VorpommernOle Harck, Christian Lübke, Zwischen Reric ...
. The language of the ''Annals'' implies that they had previously recognized Frankish suzerainty. Rather than come to the aid of their Obotrite allies directly, by attacking the Danes, the Franks launched a punitive expedition against the weaker Linones and Smeldingi, who were both more accessible and more immediately threatening as they lived on the border of the
Frankish empire Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
. The army, led by the Emperor
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
's son in person, was probably drawn mainly from
Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It later ...
. While the ''Royal Frankish Annals'' depicts a Frankish victory, the ''Annals of Lorsch'' suggests a serious check or reverse with heavy losses followed by retreat.; , suggests that "losses were heavy on both sides". The ''
Chronicle of Moissac The ''Chronicle of Moissac'' (also known as ''Chronicon Moissiacense'') is an anonymous compilation that was discovered in the abbey of Moissac, but is now thought to have been compiled in the Catalan monastery of Ripoll in the end of the tenth c ...
'' confirms that Charles suffered serious losses.''CM'', s.a. 808 (in ): "''Karolus imperator misit filium suum, Karolum regem, super Saxonia ultra Albia ad illos Sclavos, qui vocantur Linai, et vastavit maximam partem regionis ipsius. Sed et aliqui ex nostra partem ibidem ceciderunt.''" See also . The response of the Danes, who sued for peace, suggests that the Frankish expedition was nonetheless a successful show of force. In 811, following the annual spring assembly, Charlemagne sent another punitive expedition against the Linones.''RFA'', s.a. 811 (in ): "After peace had been made with Hemming and the general assembly held at Aachen according to custom, the emperor sent into three parts of his kingdom an equal number of armies. One went beyond the Elbe against the Linones, which ravaged their territory and restored the castle of Hohbuoki on the Elbe destroyed by the Wilzi in the preceding year." The army also rebuilt the fortress of Höhbeck, which the Wilzi had destroyed in 810. The Linones may have been involved in that attack. According to the ''Chronicle of Moissac'', the lands of the Bechelenzi were also devastated in 811.''CM'', s.a. 811 (in ): "''Misit Karolus imperator exercitum Francorum et Saxonorum et hostem ultra Albia ad illos Sclavos, qui nominantur Lanai et Bechelenzi et vastaverunt regiones illas et aedificaverunt iterum castello in loco, qui dicitur Abochi.''" See also . In later records, the Linones are mentioned sporadically in association with the Obotrites. In 838,
Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...
rebelled against the Emperor
Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...
, while King
Horik I of Denmark Horik I or Hårik (died 854) was a king of the Danes. He was co-ruler from 813, and sole king from c. 828 until his violent death in 854. His long and eventful reign was marked by Danish raids on the Carolingian Empire of Louis the Pious, son ...
demanded that the emperor transfer authority over the Obotrites to Denmark. A general uprising among the Elbean Slavs followed. The Obotrites, Wilzi, Linones,
Sorbs Sorbs ( hsb, Serbja, dsb, Serby, german: Sorben; also known as Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs and Wends) are a indigenous West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the parts of Lusatia located in the German states of Saxony and Brandenbu ...
and Colodices are said to have taken part. In 839, according to the ''
Annals of Saint-Bertin ''Annales Bertiniani'' (''Annals of Saint Bertin'') are late Carolingian, Frankish annals that were found in the Abbey of Saint Bertin, Saint-Omer, France, after which they are named. Their account is taken to cover the period 830-82, thus conti ...
'', Louis the Pious dispatched an army composed of
Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...
ns and
Thuringians The Thuringii, Toringi or Teuriochaimai, were an early Germanic people that appeared during the late Migration Period in the Harz Mountains of central Germania, a region still known today as Thuringia. It became a kingdom, which came into confl ...
against the Obotrites and Linones.''AB'', s.a. 839 (in ): "Two expeditions were mounted: a Saxon one against the attacks of the Sorbs and Wilzes who had recently left several ''villae'' of the Saxon March in flames; and a combined Austrasian–Thuringian one against the rebellious Obodrites and the people called the Linones." In 858, according to the ''
Annals of Fulda The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the ac ...
'', King Louis the German sent an army under his son
Louis the Younger Louis the Younger (830/835 – 20 January 882), sometimes Louis the Saxon or Louis III, was the second eldest of the three sons of Louis the German and Hemma, Emma. He succeeded his father as the King of Saxony on 28 August 876 and his elder broth ...
against the Obotrites and Linones.''AF'', s.a. 858 (in ): "Louis ... after he had discussed and dealt with many things of importance for the kingdom with his men, decided that three armies should be sent to different frontiers of his kingdom ... hesecond under Louis, his younger son, against the Abodrites and Linones". This was perhaps connected with a Danish attack on Saxony mentioned in the ''Annals of Saint-Bertin''. The Linones are one of the peoples listed in the '' Catalogue of Fortresses and Regions to the North of the Danube'', which was produced at the court of Louis the German between 844 and 862, most likely in 845. The peoples living on the frontier of Louis's kingdom are listed from north to south. The Linones, "who have seven fortresses", come after the Wilzi and before the Bechelenzi, Smeldingi and Morizani (who are grouped together).


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Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Polabian Slavs