Nordalbingia

Nordalbingia within Saxony circa AD 1000. The territory to the north is theDanish March/March ofSchleswig,while that to the east is theLimes Saxoniae.

Nordalbingia

Other parts of Saxony

Rest of theGerman Kingdom

Nordalbingia withinObotrite confederationabout 800-814

Nordalbingia(German:Nordalbingien) (alsoNorthern Albingia) was one of the four administrative regions of the medievalDuchy of Saxony,the others beingAngria,Eastphalia,andWestphalia.The region's name is based on theLatinnameAlbafor theElbeRiver and refers to an area predominantly located north of the Lower Elbe, roughly corresponding with the present-dayHolsteinregion. Situated in what is nowNorthern Germany,this is the earliest known dominion of theSaxons.

Geography

According to the 1076Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificumby chroniclerAdam of Bremen,Nordalbingia consisted of three tribal areas (Gaue):

• Dithmarschen,stretching along the coast of theNorth Seafrom the mouth of the Elbe River to theEiderRiver in the north
• Holstein proper, situated on theStörRiver, a right tributary of the Elbe
• Stormarnon the north bank of the Elbe, including the present-day area ofHamburg.

The Nordalbingian tribes were allied with the Saxons settling inLand Hadeln(Haduloha) south of the Elbe. In the east, theLimes Saxoniae,an inaccessible region between the Elbe and today'sKiel Fjordon theBaltic Sea,formed a natural border with theWagrialands settled bySlavicObotrites.

History

In 772,Charlemagne,ruler of theFranks,started theSaxon Warsto conquer the lands of theNorth German Plain.According to theRoyal Frankish Annals,the Westphalian nobleWidukindrefused to appear at the 777Imperial DietinPaderbornand fled across the Elbe to Nordalbingia (or possibly further to the court of theDanishkingSigfred). Even after Widukind's submission andChristianizationin 785, the Nordalbingian tribes remained reluctant until they were finally defeated at the 798Battle of Bornhövedby the combined forces of the Franks and their Obotrite allies led by PrinceDrożko.The Saxons lost 4,000 people, 10,000 families of Saxons were deported to other areas of theCarolingian Empire.

The areas north of the Elbe were at first given to the Obotrites, while Land Hadeln was directly incorporated. However, Nordalbingia soon was invaded by the Danes and only the intervention of Charlemagne's sonCharles the Youngerin 808 pushed them back across the Eider River. The next year the emperor had Esesfeld Castle erected near present-dayItzehoeand the entire region was incorporated into the Frankish Empire. In order to encounter the ongoing invasions led by King Sigfred's successorGudfred,the Franks probably established a Danishmarchstretching from the Eider River to theDanevirkefortifications in the north. After King Gudfred was killed, his successorHemmingconcluded theTreaty of Heiligenwith Charlemagne in 811, whereafter the Eider should mark the border between Denmark and Francia. However, quarrels between both sides would continue for more than a century until theEast FrankishkingHenry the Fowlerfinally defeated the Danish forces of KingGnupaatHedebyin 934.

After Charlemagne's death in 814, the Nordalbingian Saxons were pardoned and their land restored to them from the Obotrites.According to some sources, the emperor had intended to establish adioceseof Nordalbingia headed by the priest Heridag. This plan was abandoned after Heridag's death, and the region came to be assigned to the dioceses ofBremenandVerdenduring the reign of EmperorLouis the Pious,whenAnsgarwas appointed Archbishop atHamburgin 831.