Widukind

Westphalian chieftain

• Born: Eighth century
• Birthplace: Probably Saxony (now in Germany)
• Died: c. 807
• Place of death: Unknown

As a pivotal military and spiritual leader of the Saxons in their numerous struggles against the expanding Frankish empire, Widukind organized several pagan rebellions that repeatedly forced Charlemagne to reestablish his supremacy within the region of Saxony.

Early Life

The name Widukind (VEE-doo-kihnt) first appears in history texts as the leader of a rapidly growing Saxon uprising in Westphalia in approximately 774. Unlike other Saxon military leaders, Widukind refused to accept baptism and take an oath of allegiance to the Frankish empire of Charlemagne. Widukind refused to submit at the Diet of Paderhorn, a council called by Charlemagne in 777 to announce that Saxony was being forcibly annexed into the Frankish realm. Frankish accounts indicate that when Widukind realized that immediate opposition to the Franks was not feasible, he took refuge to the north in Denmark, under the protection of his brother-in-law, Sigfrid the Dane. The Danes were a race barely familiar to the Franks at the time, but they would later have an important influence on how rapidly and smoothly Charlemagne would be able to expand his empire. Charlemagne’s subjugation of the north would prove more difficult than his conquest of the south because there existed no natural barriers to prevent his adversaries from retreating. Widukind and his followers were thus able to withdraw from battles that could have ended the “Saxon wars” years earlier.

Life’s Work

Believing that further Saxon uprisings could be controlled by his remaining troops, Charlemagne led a large portion of his army across the western Pyrenees in an attempt to invade Spain. After Basque armies forced his retreat back to Aquitaine, Charlemagne was informed that Widukind had organized the Saxons into waging a war of revenge. The Saxons sought vengeance for acts of destruction carried out by Charlemagne’s soldiers such as the burning of the Irminsul, or Igdrasail, a sacred tree that stood at Eresburg and was important to Saxon worship. By rekindling Saxon pride and love of independence, Widukind led his Danish allies into fierce invasions of the middle Rhine region from Deutz to Anderach, notably ravaging the town of Hesse.

The Saxons’ devastation and plundering resulted in the slaughter of Catholic priests, the rebuilding of pagan temples, and an organized refusal to pay tribute money. When Widukind’s armies threatened the township of Fulda, the monks working as missionaries there were forced to flee, carrying with them the remains of Saint Boniface. A Frankish army later defeated the Saxons at Laisa and was successful in restoring some order among the Saxons, again forcing Widukind to flee to Denmark. Yet when Charlemagne, again believing the Saxons to have been subdued, left to invade other regions, Widukind again returned, this time successfully inciting the Wend tribes to join him.

Subsequent invasions saw Widukind direct a larger portion of the Saxon forces directly against Catholic churches and priests, exerting enough military power to force Willihad, first bishop of Bremen, to flee to Rome and temporarily abandon his missionary work in the area. A furious Charlemagne again returned to the swamps and forests of Saxony, forcing Widukind to flee one last time into Denmark. During his final retreat, Widukind was successful in convincing the armies of the northern Elbe district and the Frisians to join his next revolt.

The familiar pattern of Westphalia being put to “fire and sword,” with Saxons fleeing the avenging Franks, soon repeated itself for the final time. Charlemagne embarked on a well-orchestrated plan designed to forever suppress the threat of further Saxon uprisings. While Charlemagne continued to enforce the practices of Catholicism, this time he also founded Frankish villages and monasteries and organized the country into divisions, making it much easier for his appointed nobles to govern and control the rebels.

In 780, Charlemagne ordered a council at which all of Saxony was divided into missionary territories, with each territory placed under the religious instruction of a group of monks from Austrasia. The eventual goal of these divisions was to combine secular and religious political control and to entice Saxon chieftains to submit by enabling them to hold public office.

The theory that limited empowerment of local Saxon leaders would prevent the organization of further rebellions proved to be effective, and other Crusaders would employ it in the future. Generous rewards were given to those who cooperated with and assisted in further Frankish conquests. A strict Saxon code of law was established and publicly proclaimed to deal with any rebel attempts to revert to paganism; the death penalty was given to those who, for example, refused water baptism, failed to conform to disciplines handed out by appointed religious and political leaders, or refused to fast during Lent. Several thousand pagans were baptized, and Charlemagne himself may have assisted in large baptismal ceremonies in the rivers Elbe and Ocker. It remains controversial, however, whether the numerous conversions claimed by the empire were the result of military threats or real devotion to the Catholic faith. As planned, however, the baptisms and confessions of faith did serve to make further Saxon rebellions more serious crimes; the Saxons were now confessed Catholics, making further insurrections a crime of apostasy.

In response to this most organized and formal spread of the Catholic empire to date, Widukind convinced the northern tribes to participate in his final revolt. He returned from Denmark to Saxony to convince many former pagans to join him, and many ritually washed off their enforced baptisms. Historical accounts relate that Widukind surprised and annihilated a large Frankish army at Suntel on the river Weser in approximately 782, causing Charlemagne to retaliate with the most severe reprisals he had ever inflicted. Most accounts relate that Charlemagne ordered all rebel leaders to be taken to a prisoner-of-war camp at Verden on the river Aller, where an estimated four thousand or more Saxon prisoners were beheaded in 785.

Angry Saxons under Widukind’s leadership attempted to avenge the mass executions, but they were forced to flee; they held out in dense and almost impassable forests and marshes before they were eventually defeated. Many theories have been proposed as to why and how Widukind’s armies were finally defeated, with the most accepted explanation being that Widukind’s earlier lack of success in uniting more of the Saxon nation under his command probably had a negative influence on the level of organization he was able to achieve once Saxony was united under him. Unlike the Bavarians, the Saxons had never before united politically, making their decentralized society more difficult to control. Some historians have argued that Widukind’s biggest military error was enlisting tribes such as the non-Teutonic Sorbs as allies, which probably created some race-related antagonism that weakened his forces. Charlemagne’s strategy included the removal of Saxon peasants and the resettling of them in other lands. This scattering contributed to Widukind’s inability to organize the tribes that united under him, created internal feuding, and eventually resulted in the eradication of the Saxon culture.

Widukind’s public life and religious beliefs following Charlemagne’s last defeat of the Saxons will probably remain forever unclear. What is well documented is that Widukind lived at least twenty years following Charlemagne’s decisive final victories but did not play a leadership role in any later military struggles. It is also clear that Charlemagne greatly desired to convert Widukind and his followers to the Catholic faith and to announce to medieval Europe that the pagan leader had surrendered and joined the empire. Some historical records state that Widukind, Aboin, and several other chieftains peacefully joined Charlemagne’s later campaigns and were water baptized at the imperial camp at Attigny in Champagne. Charlemagne may have served as godfather at this baptism, at which Widukind may have finally acknowledged that the “god of Charlemagne was greater than Odin.”

Regardless of what actually occurred, Charlemagne convinced Rome that Widukind would no longer be leading further Saxon opposition, and a general feast of thanksgiving was ordered by the Papacy. Legends of subsequent events conflict, with some accounts indicating that Widukind became a great builder of churches and even was officially recognized as a Catholic saint. Other accounts relate that Charlemagne gave Widukind the title duke of the Saxons and that he died in battle attempting to convert other former pagans to Catholicism. Other reports imply that Widukind spent the rest of his life imprisoned in a monastery. Enger, near Herford in Westphalia, is often reported to be Widukind’s place of burial, with a gravestone and life-size figure of him having been built there sometime in the twelfth century. What is often called “Widukind’s reliquary” is probably a work of the ninth or tenth century, years after legends about Widukind’s later life had been circulated. Some history books state that Mathilde, second wife of King Henry I of Germany, was a member of Widukind’s family line.

Significance

Widukind was an influential military and spiritual leader in the Saxons’ long struggle against the Franks for independence and freedom to practice their faith. Although Saxon culture was extirpated by Charlemagne, the extended conflict between his empire and Widukind’s followers instilled a dislike for the Franks in Saxon descendants that continued for several centuries.

Bibliography

Brooke, Christopher Nugent Lawrence. The Saxon and Norman Kings. New York: Macmillan, 1963. An often referenced text covering the history of the Saxon rulers (449-1066) and the Norman rulers (1066-1154) of England, with essays on several aspects of medieval and Anglo-Saxon civilization.

Eyck, Frank. Religion and Politics in German History: From the Beginnings to the French Revolution. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. An analysis of how Germanic peoples preserved links with classical civilization through their ability to assimilate other cultures and peoples, from their alliances with eighth century popes through the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. The initial bond between the Germanic rulers and popes turned to conflict as the Papacy gained power. Tables, maps, bibliography, index.

Harper-Bill, Christopher. Anglo-Norman Studies 29. Rochester, N.Y.: Boydell & Brewer, 1997. A descriptive work on medieval civilization and the history of Frankish society.

Hines, John. Anglo-Saxons from the Migration Period to the Eighth Century: An Ethnographic Perspective. Rochester, N.Y.: Boydell & Brewer, 1997. Describes land settlement, archaeoethnology, and social history in early medieval Europe.

John, Eric. Re-assessing Anglo-Saxon England. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997. A history text on the Anglo-Saxon period that challenges several common beliefs regarding the era.

MacDonald, Fiona. The World in the Time of Charlemagne. New York: Silver Burdett Press, 1998. An excellent examination of Europe in the time of Widukind, with emphasis on the history of continental Europe.

Schutte, G. Our Forefathers, the Gothonic Nations: Manual of the Ethnography of the Gothic, German, Dutch, Anglo-Saxon, Frisian, and Scandinavian Peoples. 2 vols. Translated by J. Young. New York: Gordon Press, 1977. Provides several interesting perspectives on the ethnography of individuals with Gothic, German, Dutch, Anglo-Saxon, Frisian, or Scandinavian backgrounds.

Stenton, F. M. Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1971. A thorough history of the Anglo-Saxon period. Extensive bibliography.