General Notes

REFN: 4868AN
REFN: P4869
Obotrites
The Obotrites (sometimes Abodrites, Obodrites) were a m ixed group among
the Slavic peoples who had in the 6th century AD settled in the regions
later known as Mecklenburg and Schleswig-Holstein in what is now
north-eastern Germany.
They alternately fought with and served as tributarie s to the Frankish
kings and their successors in the East, acknowledging final ly the
suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire in 1170, after which the region
underwent rapid Germanisation. However, through the late 15th century,
most v illagers were still speaking Slavic dialects (Polabian language).
In common wi th other Slavic groups, they were often described by Frankish
sources as Wend s, a term properly denoting the distinct (but possibly
related) ancestors of today's Sorbs, who lived to the south-east.