Stoigniew (died 16 October 955) was an Obotrite leader, who reigned during the middle of the 10th century. He is mentioned as a member of the princely Nakonid dynasty in the medieval chronicles of Thietmar of Merseburg and

Widukind of Corvey Widukind of Corvey (c. 925after 973; , in italian ''Vitichindo Sacco di Corvey'', in Latin VVITICHINDI SAXO) was a medieval Saxon chronicler. His three-volume '' Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium libri tres'' is an important chronicle of 10th-cen ...

. He was the co-ruler of the Obotrites, and, according to Thietmar's Chronicle written in 1012/1018, the brother of Prince Nakon. Widukind, in his '' Res gestae Saxonicae'' about 70 years earlier, mentioned a ''princeps barbarorum'' as Nakon's brother, though without giving his name. Both ruled over large territories of the

Polabian Slavs Polabian Slavs, also known as Elbe Slavs and more broadly as Wends, is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites, Lechitic (West Slavs, West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germany. The ...

, roughly corresponding to present-day

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) 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, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

and the adjacent parts of

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

up to the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) 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 Republic), then Ge ...

river. Another interpretation denotes Stoigniew as an autonomous ruler in the

Circipania Circipania () was a medieval territory in what is now northeastern Germany. The name derives from Latin ''circum'' (around) and ''Pane'' (the Peene River). The region was enclosed roughly by the upper Recknitz, Trebel and Peene rivers, the west ...

territory. An entry in the '' Annales Sangallenses maiores'' report that in October 955, Stoigniew led the united Slavic forces of Obotrite,

Veleti The Veleti, also known as Veletians, Wilzi, Wielzians, and Wiltzes, were a group of medieval Lechitic tribes within the territory of Western Pomerania, related to Polabian Slavs. They had formed together the Confederation of the Veleti, also kn ...

, Circipani, and

Tollensians The Tollensians (, ) were a West Slavic tribe inhabiting the shores of the lower and middle Tollense (Dołęża) river, after which they were named. They were part of the Veleti/Lutician federation. During the civil war within the federation (10 ...

into the Battle on the Raxa against the East Frankish (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

) king

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

. Previous negotiations with the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

margrave

Gero Gero I ( 900 – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great (),Thompson, 486. Also se was a nobleman from East Francia who ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he ...

had failed. The Obotrites were defeated and Stoigniew was beheaded by one of Otto's knights.

Annotations

*Name: also spelled Stojgniew, Stojgnev, Stoinef, Stoiniew, Stoinneg, Ztoignav.

References

{{Reflist Obotrite princes 10th-century births People executed by decapitation 955 deaths