6) The Defeat of the Magyars and the Stabilisation of the Eastern Frontier (c. 919-983)

?

The Saxon and Bavarian Contribution to the Victory

During the 910s, the Franks were essentially paying tribute to the Magyars as they couldn't be defeated. But, a window of peace seems to have been won when a Magyar chief was captured in 924 as the Magyars offered a large amount of silver and gold to get him back. But instead the king asked for peace. They received 9 years of peace which allowed them to work on their tactics.

They built a network of forts in south-eastern Saxony that provided places of refuge and provided control over strategic river crossings and passes. This allowed them to channel raiders onto predictable routes and into narrow places where they could be ambushed.

A system was introduced for guarding and building these new fortresses. Everyone had to provide a certain amount of labour, whether that was through someone else or themself. They generally worked in groups of 9-12. The fortresses were also used to store food in case of Magyars stealing it, so a third of all produce was sent to fortresses.

Expeditions against the Slavic peoples were used to train the armies and to re-assert Saxon dominance of the marches. The fortifications and the training allowed Henry I to defeat the Magyars in 933. The struggle was brought to a close under Otto I, when the Battle of the Lech in 955 marked the end of the Magyar invasions as they were finally defeated.

1 of 3

The Re-Foundation of the Kingdom

The Liudolfing/Ottonian victory ensured the survival of the kingdom in the face of intense ethnic and aristocratic rivalries. There had been a long-standing blood feud between the Liudolfings and the Ottonians with the Liudolfings being the counts of Saxony and the Ottonians the counts of Western Franconia. But, they decided to team up together to defeat the Magyars. When Conrad was dying, he decided to tell all the princes to elect Henry I next, the first Ottonian king.

The new kingdom had its core area in south-eastern Saxony and the marches, where Henry I had been accumulating new estates. Although, these resources were no greater than those available to Louis the Child.

2 of 3

The Transformation of Eastern Europe

The period from c. 940-1000 saw several strong trends:

  • There was a decline in raiding as a way of life and of generating wealth for the military/warrior elites.
  • There was a gradual emergence of a quasi-western social structure in which a sedentary military elite supported itself through the ownership of land and labour services provided by peasants.
  • There was an emergence of several new 'states' in the East including Bohemia, the kingdom of Hungary and the kingdom of Poland. These new kingdoms were very receptive of Christianity and were willing to convert their subjects.

The spread of Christianity accompanied the growth of the 'state' in eastern Europe. The rulers of the Eastern Franks sent out missionaries to accelerate this process. The Christian message was welcome to the Slavic elites, but the establishment of the churches and prelates who owed their obedience to Frankish lords and bishops wasn't. Christianisation did continue despite the anti-Christian reaction of 983 when Slavic peoples were burning churches etc. The Slavic people were eventually incorporated though.

The growth of states in the East was confirmed with the establishment of 'independent' churches across the region. Both Poland and Hungary acquired their own archbishoprics.

The incoporation of Slavic and Hungarian peoples into Christendom didn't bring an end to warfare on the easter frontier, but it did make it harder for rulers to justify their vicious tactics used in the 9th and early 10th centuries.

3 of 3

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar History resources:

See all History resources »See all The Making of Germany resources »