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Between Marklo and Merseburg: Assemblies and their Sites in Saxony from the Beginning of Christianization to the Time of the Ottonian Kings
Caspar Ehlers

Journal of the North Atlantic, Special Volume 8 (2016): 134–140

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Journal of the North Atlantic C. Ehlers 2016 Special Volume 8 134 Introduction The following paper deals with an issue that has not been analyzed in great detail so far: the locations which contemporary early medieval historiography reports to be assembly sites in Saxony. The search for pre-Christian thing-sites and similar sites, especially since the beginning of the 19th century, can be dismissed for this analysis because they often do not meet scientific standards (Wood 2013, Puschner 2004). One of the central difficulties with regard to these issues is that the Old Saxons were mostly illiterate. Historiographical sources come from Christians, mostly from Irish, Anglo-Saxons, and Franks. The information obtained in this way is therefore to some extent one-sided. The potential value of archaeological findings is also considered. What information can therefore be retrieved from reading the sources? The Area in Question: Saxony Between the 7th and 10th Centuries In this paper, “Saxony” is defined as the region between the rivers Rhine and Elbe that extends to the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea in the north and to the northern ranges of the lower mountains in the south (Fig. 1). It is the region subdued by Charlemagne and integrated into the Frankish Empire in the last third of the 8th century. This historic region approximately covered the present-day German states of (North Rhine-) Westphalia, Lower Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt as well as Schleswig- Holstein and Mecklenburg-West-Pomerania. The people populating this area are generally called “Old Saxons”, and the region is named “Old Saxony”. These terms correspond to the Latin terms Saxones and Saxonia, which refer to the “Continental Saxons” without exception. This area is usually divided into two to three regions: Westphalia and Eastern Saxony, with the area “Engern” extending in between from north to south along the river Weser (Springer 2004a:250–255). Who this division can be attributed to, is not an insignificant question: If it was a Saxon classification, we can assume there may have been Saxon assembly sites for the region. If on the other hand, this distinction has been made by the Franks, the central locations of the regions were more likely of a Frankish than Saxon nature. The internal structure has been convincingly refuted as Old Saxon, by the assertion that it’s structure does not follow the direction of the Saxon expansion from north to south, but instead aligns to the Frankish expansion from west to east (Springer 2009). However, the legal sources show regional differences, e.g., in the Westphalian inheritance laws, and these may mirror older regional habits. Two sources: Bede and the Vita Lebuini Whatever the final answer to this question will be, it needs to be kept in mind that the sources about this division of the Saxon territories in three parts as well as the written fixation of the Saxon laws only emerged during or in the aftermath of the Saxon wars. There are older sources about the Saxons that originate from Anglo-Saxon England, but they give only little information about the so-called “Continental Saxons”. The Vita Lebuini Antiqua. The elder “Vita Lebuini” originated around the year A.D. 900 and reports Between Marklo and Merseburg: Assemblies and their Sites in Saxony from the Beginning of Christianization to the Time of the Ottonian Kings Caspar Ehlers* Abstract - Are there any continuities between the places of assemblies in Saxony before the Frankish conquest and after? What do we know about the sites and their locations, use, and function for the Saxons and the kings of the east-Frankish realm during the 10th century? This paper shows the spatial differences between the western part of Saxonia and the eastern regions and highlights chronological changes evident between the reign of the Carolingians and their successors, the Ottonian kings, which were of Saxon origin. … solam pene famam sequens in hac parte [de origine statuque gentis], nimia vetustate omnem fere certitudinem obscurante. “… I have to follow mostly the legends in this part [on the origins of the elder Saxons] because the distant time is darkening any certainty.” Widukind of Corvey, Res Gestae Saxonicae, book I, chapter 2 Debating the Thing in the North: The Assembly Project II Journal of the North Atlantic *Max Planck Institute for European Legal History, Hansaallee 41, 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; ehlers@rg.mpg.de. 2016 Special Volume 8:134–140 Journal of the North Atlantic C. Ehlers 2016 Special Volume 8 135 on the life of St. Lebuin who may have died around A.D. 775. On the occasion of St. Lebuin’s visit to the inner Saxon lands, it gives the following account of the Saxons and their inner constitution in the 8th century shortly before the wars of Charlemagne (Vita Lebuini antiqua: chapter 4, p.793): Regem antiqui Saxones non habebant, sed per pagos satrapas constitutos; morisque erat, ut semel in anno generale consilium agerent in media Saxonia iuxta fluvium Wisuram ad locum qui dicitur Marklo. Solebant ibi omnes in unum satrapae convenire, ex pagis quoque singulis duodecim electi nobiles totidemque liberi totidemque lati. Renovabant ibi leges, praecipuas causas adiudicabant et, quid per annum essent acturi sive in bello sive in pace, communi consilio statuebant. “In olden times, the Saxons had no king but appointed rulers over each village; and their custom was to hold a general meeting once a year in the center of Saxony near the river Yser at a place called Marklo. There all the leaders used to gather together and they were joined by twelve noblemen from each village with as many freedmen and serfs. There they confirmed the laws, gave judgment on outstanding cases, and by common consent drew up plans for the coming year on which they could act either in peace or war.” For centuries historians have struggled in vain to identify the locality of Marklo. In the year 1931, the renaming of the town Lohe in Marklohe (near Nienburg at the river Weser in Lower Saxony) seemed to offer up a possibility, yet the exact location remains unidentified. This uncertainty about Marklo does not necessarily call into question all other details of the report. What raises doubt is rather the significant time span between the event and the source and that the author of the elder Vita Lebuini based his report on other master copies; significant parts of the text have been plagiarized. Bede’s Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum. Long before the Vita Lebuini, Bede Venerabilis (who was born around A.D. 672/673 in Northumbria and died in the convent of Jarrow on May 26, A.D. 735) reported in his “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” about two Anglo-Saxon missionaries of the 7th century, the so-called “two Ewalds”, and the Old Figure 1. Map of Saxony in the early medieval period (from Ehle rs 2007). Journal of the North Atlantic C. Ehlers 2016 Special Volume 8 136 Saxons (HE [V]:10, Jane 1903 [3]:58): Qui uenientes in prouinciam intrauerunt hospitium cuiusdam uilici, petieruntque ab eo, ut transmitterentur ad satrapam, qui super eum erat, eo quod haberent aliquid legationis et causae utilis, quod deberent ad illum perferre. Non enim habent regem idem Antiqui Saxones, sed satrapas plurimos suae genti praepositos, qui ingruente belli articulo mittunt aequaliter sortes, et, quemcumque sors ostenderit, hunc tempore belli ducem omnes sequuntur, huic obtemperant; peracto autem bello, rursum aequalis potentiae omnes fiunt satrapae. “On entering that province, [the two Ewalds] took up their lodging in a certain steward’s house, and requested that he would conduct them to his lord, for that they had a message, and something to his advantage, to communicate to him; for those Ancient Saxons have no king, but several lords that rule their nation; and when any war happens, they cast lots indifferently, and on whomsoever the lot falls, him they follow and obey during the war; but as soon as the war is ended, all those lords are again equal in power”. The report suggests an inner hierarchy of the Saxon society: the Satraps lead their people and, in times of war, elected a commander-in-chief by lot. It remains unclear whether Bede describes “continental” or “insular” conditions with these words, although the “two Ewalds” have supposedly conducted their work in Westphalia. It is said that they suffered martyrdom close to Dortmund at the end of the 7th century, and their relics were brought to Cologne by the Carolingian Pippin (who died in 714) (Bautz 1990). In the year 1074, archbishop Anno II (reg. from 1056 to 1075) transferred the relics to St. Kunibert (Bautz 1990). It is undisputed that the unknown author of the elder Vita Lebuini refers to Bede when he speaks of the Saxons as a people without a king, but perhaps Bede was not fully cognizant of the social reality of the Saxons—to readers well versed in the Bible, both the absence of a king and the existence of Satraps have evoked different thoughts. We read in Bede (as cited and translated above): non habent enim regem idem antiqui Saxones. In the Old Testamentarian Liber Proverbiorum/Knowledge we learn about locusts (30.27): regem lucusta non habet et egreditur universa per turmas (Vulgata: 985), which has been translated to “the locusts hath no king, yet they all go out by their bands” (Holy Bible: 701). And Bede continues: sed satrapas plurimos suae genti praepositos. Again, a parallel passage can be found in the Old Testament. The Book of Daniel (6.1) says: Placuit Dario et constituit supra regnum satrapas centum et viginti ut essent in toto regno suo (Vulgata: 1356), translated as follows: “It seemed good to Darius, and he appointed over the kingdom a hundred and twenty governors to be over his whole kingdom” (Holy Bible: 982). The locusts as well as the Persians share one common feature: they posed an existential threat— as did the pagan Saxons. Bede may have written with an ambiguous double meaning and been rather less interested in the realities of Old Saxon society. The author of the Vita Lebuini seems to have adopted Bede’s description about the absence of a king and the role of the Satraps—an assumption proven by the use of the term satrapae—and added new information with the place name Marklo, but perhaps this piece of information was only added to make his report more believable? These reflections concern the value of the reports about the situation of the Saxons and do not necessarily call into question the credibility of the Saxon assemblies themselves. In line with recent research, however, one should perhaps treat the factuality of the location “Marklo” with caution (Becher 2001, Springer 2004a:135–152). Assembly Sites in Saxony? The Saxons clearly assembled at times (see below), but at what level did these assemblies function? Were they locally, regionally, or centrally organized? The 34th chapter of the Capitulatio de Partibus Saxoniae from the year A.D. 782 hints to the existence of Saxon assemblies: Interdiximus ut omnes Saxones generaliter conventus publicos nec faciant … (“We generally forbid that Saxons hold public assemblies …”). This edict does not imply a general assembly ban; the same instruction continues: … nisi forte missus noster de verbo nostro eos congregare fecerit; sed unusquisque comes in suo ministerio placita et iustitias faciat. Et hoc a sacerdotibus consideretur, ne aliter faciat (“… if not an envoy on our behalf expressively requests their assembly; furthermore, every Earl shall adjudicate and pass ordinances in his district. This shall be supervised by priests so that nobody else would do it”). The Saxons it seems were allowed to assemble, but only by direction of the victors, while their officials and priests oversaw the correct observance of the commands. The Empire and the church thus joined efforts in introducing a new order in the subdued Saxon lands, whose people were to be integrated into the Frankish realm. It cannot be doubted that Saxon assemblies took place prior to the regulations of the Capitulatio de Partibus Saxoniae as well as Journal of the North Atlantic C. Ehlers 2016 Special Volume 8 137 afterwards; how they were conducted and where they took place, however, remains unknown. It can be assumed that larger assemblies were integrated into Frankish reports after the edict of the Capitulatio. Recorded assemblies in the Saxonia—Carolingian Period (8th and 9th centuries) Immediately after the outbreak of the Saxon wars, Charlemagne started to hold assemblies in Saxony. We do not know to what extent he chose the assembly sites according to existing Saxon traditions or if he used new Frankish foundations. For the period from the Carolingians to the death of Conrad I (December 23, A.D. 918), the following list of documented Frankish assemblies in conquered Saxon territory has been compiled (Ehlers 2007): A.D. 772, Charlemagne at Eresburg, demolition of the Irminsul; Placitum with some Saxons super Wisoram (upper course of river Weser?). A.D. 777, Charlemagne at Paderborn – Westphalia A.D. 780, Charlemagne at Lippspringe – Westphalia A.D. 782, Charlemagne at Lippspringe: Capitulatio de Partibus Saxoniae – Westphalia A.D. 785, Charlemagne at Paderborn – Westphalia A.D. 797, Charlemagne at Herstelle – Westphalia A.D. 799, Charlemagne with Pope Leo at Paderborn – Westphalia A.D. 804, Charlemagne at Lippspringe – Westphalia A.D. 804, Charlemagne at Hollenstedt – Westphalia/ North Albingia A.D. 815, Louis the Pious at Paderborn – Westphalia A.D. 840, Louis the German at Paderborn – Westphalia A.D. 845, Louis the German at Paderborn – Westphalia A.D. 852, Louis the German at Minden – Westphalia A.D. 852, Louis the German at Erfurt – Thuringia These gatherings were also a demonstration by the victors, even if the Saxon wars can only be said to have ended in the first years of the 9th century; the Franks gathered in these lands because they could. It appears that the assemblies always took place in Westphalian localities between the river Rhine and Weser that had been secured early on. Presumably, the Franks planned to set up this region as a “mark”, one of those well-protected border areas that serve as a buffer zone to the actual frontiers, like, for example, the “Spanish Mark” on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. Thus, even before the end of the conflict, central locations originated beyond the primary eastern border of Francia in a region that could not be reached by Christian missionaries. In the course of the 9th century, several bishop’s sees were created in Saxony: Osnabrück, Münster, Paderborn, Minden, Hamburg/ Bremen, Verden, Hildesheim, and Halberstadt. According to canon law, they, too, were potential assembly sites for gatherings within the diocese. With the establishment of the bishop’s see at the palatinate of Charlemagne, Paderborn obtained a special position in the secular as well as the ecclesiastic world that kept its significance well beyond the Carolingian era and into modern times. Recorded assemblies in Saxonia during the early Ottonian Dynasty (Henry I and Otto I) Moving now to the 10th century, by which time the reign of the “Old Saxons” had come to an end some one and a half centuries before, Heinrich I (reg. A.D. 919–936), an east Saxon nobleman, ascended to the East-Frankish-German throne. An analysis of the assemblies held in Saxony during Heinrich’s and his son’s Otto I (reg. A.D. 936–973) reign is useful in order to see whether Carolingian customs remained: A.D. 924, Heinrich I at Werla – Eastern Saxony A.D. 929, Heinrich I at Quedlinburg – Eastern Saxony A.D. 936, Heinrich I at Erfurt – Thuringia A.D. 937, Otto I at Magdeburg – Eastern Saxony A.D. 938, Otto I at Steele – Westphalia A.D. 945, Otto I at Duisburg – Westphalia A.D. 953, Otto I at Dortmund – Westphalia A.D. 954, Otto I at Arnstadt – Thuringia A.D. 959, Otto I at Quedlinburg – Eastern Saxony A.D. 965, Otto I at Magdeburg – Eastern Saxony A.D. 966, Otto I at Quedlinburg – Eastern Saxony A.D. 973, Otto I at Quedlinburg – Eastern Saxony A.D. 973, Otto II at Magdeburg – Eastern Saxony; burial of Otto I. Werla (four times) and Saalfeld were used for Saxon gatherings in the 10th century. Two aspects attract attention. For the first time, Saxon assemblies are documented; rather than just imperial assemblies being held in Saxony, assemblies of Saxons (in Werla and Saalfeld) are reported. Journal of the North Atlantic C. Ehlers 2016 Special Volume 8 138 Furthermore, the assembly sites seem to have generally shifted more towards the east, under the Ottonians who had their core region here (Müller-Mertens 1980). It can be proven that Duisburg and Dortmund, as well as Steele (near Essen) were selected due to their advantageous position at the pathway Hellweg, an important traffic route from Western to Eastern Europe. Figure 2 shows these previously mentioned locations of the gatherings that took place in the Ottonian or Carolingian era, respectively. The Carolingian and Ottonian gathering sites are marked red and green, respectively (Fig. 2). Under the Ottonians, new dioceses were founded along the eastern border of the empire: Oldenburg in Holstein, Brandenburg, Ratzeburg, and Havelberg on the eastern side of the river Elbe; Magdeburg, Merseburg, and Zeitz in the region of Elbe and Saale (Ehlers 2007:316–368). Furthermore, numerous convents like Quedlinburg were founded and built at new central locations alongside the bishop’s sees in the newly integrated Frankish lands that had only been converted to Christianity a century before (Ehlers 2011). These locations, too, may have been used for assemblies of local, regional, and imperial significance, Figure 2. The gathering places of the Carolingians and the Ottonians. Carolingian Sites (red dots): Eresburg, Erfurt, Herstelle, Hollenstedt, Lippspringe, Minden, and Paderborn. Ottonian Sites (green dots): Arnstadt, Dortmund, Duisburg, Erfurt, Magdeburg, Steele, Quedlinburg, and Werla. Map by Thomas Pertlwieser. Journal of the North Atlantic C. Ehlers 2016 Special Volume 8 139 10th century onwards that authors from within the Saxon culture start to report, but they, too, are of Christian descent and by then enrooted in Frankish culture and tradition, like for example Rudolf of Fulda or Widukind of Corvey. Archaeological findings are silent by nature, but can by comparison with insular and other external Saxon findings give a voice to undocumented traditions. However, the record and context for north-German Saxony remains sparse. Despite this, it is beyond controversy that the Saxons held assemblies. The Capitulatio de Partibus Saxoniae explicitly regulates continuance of these customs. The report in the Vita Lebuini suggests that there must have been a central assembly site for all Saxons, but Bede is the source with regard to the inner structure of the Saxons. The place name Marklo is only referred to in the Vita. The report remains dubious, especially in the apparent absence of a common Saxon tribal consciousness prior to the integration of the Saxon lands into the Frankish Kingdom (Ehlers 2007), which suggests a region populated by numerous small political groupings (Springer 2004b). Reports in Frankish annals about the course of the wars point in that direction. “Saxony” may itself have been a product of the Frankish conquests (Springer 2009). The assembly sites in Saxony that have been documented in the 9th and 10th century do not provide any further indication of older Saxon customs, and even the archaeological study of the bishop’s sees cannot ascertain older functions of the locations as central assembly sites of the Old Saxons (Steuer 2007). This lack of evidence may result from the extensive destruction of Saxon settlements by the Franks, or from the limitations of archaeological enquiry within developed regions. In sum, it has not been possible to raise questions regarding the older roots of medieval assembly sites in Westphalia, Lower Saxony, and other regions of Old Saxony to the river Elbe. It is clear that the Saxons did indeed assemble at certain sites, but the exact spatial identification of those sites awaits discovery. Abbreviations Capitulare Saxonicum = Capitulare Saxonicum. Pp. 45– 49, In C. von Schwerin (Ed.) 1918. Leges Saxonum und Lex Thuringorum. Fontes iuris Germanici antiqui in usum scholarum separatim editi 4. Hahn, Hannover, Germany. 75 pp. Capitulatio de Partibus Saxoniae = Capitulatio de Partibus Saxoniae. Pp. 37–44, In C. von Schwerin (Ed.) 1918. Leges Saxonum und Lex Thuringorum. Fontes iuris Germanici antiqui in usum scholarum separatim editi 4. Hahn, Hannover, Germany. 75 pp. even though it is likely that only very few assemblies have been documented in written sources. The Sites of Assemblies in Saxony Heiko Steuer (2007) recently emphasized that the absence of written sources about Old Saxon assemblies prior to Christianization complicated the archaeological research. Thus, hardly any insights about the social reality and the religious practice of the Saxons have been gleaned so far (Ludowici 2009, Springer 2004a:153–165, Steuer 2007). In addition, there is a lack of archaeological sites documenting Old Saxon assemblies. There are hardly any findings like those in Scandinavia or in the Slawonian regions of east central Europe. Steuer (2007:91) concluded that: Die Sachsen kannten anscheinend keine Tempel in Form von Gebäuden, um darin die Götter zu verehren. An ihre Stelle trat die große Festhalle, in denen profane und kultische Feste gefeiert wurden, den jedes Festgelage hatte wohl auch eine kultische Facette (“The Saxons apparently did not know any temples in the shape of buildings in which to worship their gods. Instead they were using great halls in which they celebrated profane and cult-related feasts, every binge drinking has had its own aspect of cult”). Charlemagne referred to exactly these conventions of sacred or worldly character, when he generally forbade Saxons all forms of gatherings in the above-mentioned edict (regulation) and only allowed those that were subjected to Frankish supervision. The Capitulatio de Partibus Saxoniae and the somewhat younger Capitulare Saxonicum from the year A.D. 797 contain exact instructions about the pagan and uncivilized practices that the Saxons should refrain from doing, like cannibalism and the killing of priests (Schubert 1993). The goal of this is clear: the complete implementation of Christianity and the assimilation of the social behavior to standards of Charlemagne`s Empire. It is possible that this goal was achieved rather quickly, so quickly and violently indeed that Old Saxon vestiges of pagan culture may not have escaped destruction by the Franks. There has been no spectacular archaeological discovery of Saxon cultural remains in northern Germany so far that would enlighten the question of their assembly sites. Archaeologists have found traces of settlements; on the whole, however, we know little about the time before the Frankish conquest (Capelle 1998, 2004; Steuer 2007). Individual reports in written sources do exist, but they come from Christian authors and, moreover, present only an external view of the 9th century (see above). It is only from the late 9th century and the Journal of the North Atlantic C. Ehlers 2016 Special Volume 8 140 Jane, L.C. 1903. The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation. Translation reproduced in V.D. Scudder. 1910. The Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation. J.M. Dent & Co., London, UK. 370 pp. Transcription available online at www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/ bede-book5.asp. Accessed 18 May 2016. Ludowici, B. 2009. Gedanken zu Phänomenen des Religiösen bei den kontinentalen Sachsen vom 6. bis 10. Jahrhundert im Spiegel archäologischer Quellen, Pp. 385–394, In U. von Freeden (Ed.). Glaube, Kult und Herrschaft. Phänomene des Religiösen im 1. Jahrtausend nach Christus in Mittel- und Nordeuropa. Akten des 59. Internationalen Sachsensymposions und der Grundprobleme der Frühgeschichtlichen Entwicklung im Mitteldonauraum. Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte 12. Habelt, Bonn, Germany. 532 pp. Müller-Mertens, E. 1980. Die Reichsstruktur im Spiegel der Herrschaftspraxis Ottos des Grossen mit historiographischen Prolegomena zur Frage: Feudalstaat auf deutschem Boden, seit wann deutscher Feudalstaat? Forschungen zur mittelalterlichen Geschichte 25. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, Germany. 309 pp. Puschner, U. 2004. Germanenideologie und völkische Weltanschauung. Pp. 103–130, In H. Beck, D. Geuenich, and H. Steuer (Eds.). Zur Geschichte der Gleichung “germanisch-deutsch”. Sprache und Namen, Geschichte und Institutionen. De Gruyter, Berlin, Germany. 711 pp. Schubert, E. 1993. Die Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae. Pp. 3–28, In D. Brosius, C. van den Heuvel, E. Hinrichs, and H. van Lengen (Eds.). Geschichte in der Region. Zum 65. Geburtstag von Heinrich Schmidt. 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Die Kirchenpolitik der karolingischen und ottonischen Könige in einem neuen Licht. Pp. 95–120, In M. Becher and A. Plassmann (Eds.). Streit am Hof im frühen Mittelalter. Super alta perennis, Studien zur Wirkung der Klassischen Antike 11. Bonn University Press, Bonn, Germany. 435 pp.