Thrasco (Latin: Thrasucon, Drascon) ( fl. 795 – 810) was the Prince (

knyaz , or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

) of the Obotrite confederation from 795 until his death in 810. He succeeded his father, Witzlaus II, who had been ambushed and killed by the revolting

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 ...

. Thrasco defeated the Saxons in the battle on Schwentine River in 798. He was murdered in

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 ...

in 810. Thrasco had a son, Cedragus, the Obotrite prince from 819 to 826.

Background

The Obotrites were a Slavic tribe that lived on the shores of the

Baltic sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

on the areas of nowadays

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

and

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

. Thrasco's father, Witzlaus II (r. 747-795), assumed power in 747, shortly after the death of his father Aribert II (r. 724–747). As allies to Frankish King

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 ...

, Witzlaus II marched against the

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

in 782 and devastated their army (see Saxon wars, middle phase). The Franks issued a

blood court High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents. Low just ...

, and massacred 4,500 Saxon captives at Verden. This provoked the nearby Slavic tribe of

Veleti 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 c ...

, which hated the Franks, to assemble under their leader

Dragovit Dragovit ( la, Drogoviz) was a pagan ruler (prince or chief) of the Veleti ( la, rex Wiltorum; "king of the Wiltzes"). It is thought that Dragovit began his rule c. 740. Because of their constant hatred and hostility toward the Franks, in the late ...

, including the

Linonen The Linones were a small Slavic people first recorded in the early 9th century. They lived north and east of the Elbe, across from Höhbeck in the region around Lenzen, south of the Wilzi and Obotrites, north of the Hevelli and northeast of the S ...

Slavs and the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

. The Frankish-led contingent of Obotrites,

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

Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...

crossed 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 ...

and

Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...

and defeated the outnumbered army of Dragovit in 786, or by 789. The Veleti were forced to recognize Frankish suzerainty, and pledge loyalty, as well as surrender a large number of hostages. Dragovit was obliged to pay tribute to the Franks and to accept the baptism of his people by Christian missionaries. The

Nordalbingia Nordalbingia (german: Nordalbingien) (also Northern Albingia) was one of the four administrative regions of the medieval Duchy of Saxony, the others being Angria, Eastphalia, and Westphalia. The region's name is based on the Latin name ''Alba'' f ...

ns (Saxons) revolted against the Franks once again, and Witzlaus was dispatched to tackle them, however, he was caught and killed in an ambush in Liuini, in 795.

Life

Thrasco succeeded his father, and continued the warfare against the Saxons. An Engrian revolt followed in 796, but Charlemagne's personal presence and the aid of loyal Christian Saxons and Slavs (including Obotrites) immediately crushed it. Charlemagne then continued his goal to convert

Old Saxony "Old Saxony" is the original homeland of the Saxons. It corresponds roughly to the modern German states of Lower Saxony, eastern part of modern North Rhine-Westphalia state (Westphalia), Nordalbingia (Holstein, southern part of Schleswig-Holstein ...

into Christianity from paganism. The Frankish-Obotrite forces were led by Thrasco and ''legatus'' Eburisus. According to

Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; la, E(g)inhardus; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita ...

's chronicles, the Nordalbingians lost 4,000 soldiers and were forced to retreat. The battle finally ended the Nordalbingian resistance to Christianization. Charlemagne ordered further massacres, and deportations; their areas in

became sparsely populated and were given to the Obotrites. The Sorbs then ended their vassalage to the Franks and revolted, invading

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 ...

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 ...

launched a campaign against the

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

in 805, and after killing Duke Lecho of the Bohemians, Charles himself crossed the

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, ...

with his army and killed Sorbian princes

Miliduch Miliduch (also Miliduh and pl, Miłyduch, sr, Милидух, la, Miliduoch; d. 806) was a knyaz of the Sorbs. Formerly allied to Charlemagne, the Sorbs ended their vassalage to the Franks and rebelled, invading Austrasia. Charles the Younger l ...

and Nussito, near modern-day

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle. His ...

, in 806. The region was laid to waste, upon which the other Slavic chieftains submitted and gave hostages. In 808, 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 ...

, after building the

Danevirke The Danevirke or Danework (modern Danish spelling: ''Dannevirke''; in Old Norse; ''Danavirki'', in German; ''Danewerk'', literally meaning '' earthwork of the Danes'') is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This his ...

(for the defence of a possible Frankish attack), crossed into Obotrite area at

(modern

Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...

) and forced them to acknowledge him as their suzerain. The port was part of a strategic trade route, and Gudfred destroyed the town and forced the merchants to resettle at

Hedeby Hedeby (, Old Norse ''Heiðabýr'', German language, German ''Haithabu'') was an important Danes, Danish Viking Age (8th to the 11th centuries) trading settlement near the southern end of the Jutland Peninsula, now in the Schleswig-Flensburg dist ...

(in Danevirke). In 810, Thrasco was murdered by a vassal of Gudfred in Reric.Chronicon Moissiacense 810

Aftermath

The Frankish subjects in the frontiers were quiet for a decade, then the

revolted in 816, and were quickly followed by the Obotrites, led by

Slavomir Slavomir is a masculine given name. It may refer to: * Slavomir of Moravia, medieval duke * Slavomir Miletić, Yugoslav sculptor from Bosnia and Herzegovina, now living in the Netherlands * Slavomir Miklovš, Croatian cleric * Slavomir, Obotrites ...

, Thrasco's successor. Slavomir was however abandoned by his people, and by 818, Cedragus, Thrasco's son, inherited the leadership of the Obotrites.

Annotations

Notes

References

Primary sources

Secondary sources

* Nalepa J., ''Drożko'' :''Słownik Starożytności Słowiańskich'', t. I, Wrocław 1961, (całość), pp. 387–388 * Łowmiański H., ''Początki Polski'', t. V, Warszawa 1973, p. 252, 255–256 * Turasiewicz A., ''Dzieje polityczne Obodrzyców: od IX wieku do utraty niepodległości w latach 1160–1164'', Kraków 2004, , p. 45–51 * Wachowski K., ''Słowiańszczyzna zachodnia'', Poznań 2000, (Wznowienia, t. 6), , , p. 58–59, 69–72, 74, 77–78, * * *
The History Of Vandalia: Containing The Ancient And Present State Of ..., Thomas Nugent
* *Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI), Vol. 9, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, JSTOR (Organization), 1880, p. 224 *J. F. Verbruggen, The art of warfare in Western Europe during the Middle Ages, pp. 314–315 {{DEFAULTSORT:Thrasco 9th-century Slavs 8th-century Slavs 810 deaths Obotrite princes Year of birth unknown Slavic warriors