Watch on the Odr 1

Watch on the Odr 1
by Johnny Pez
30 November 2001

**Vistulis, history of** . . . Like the Prussians to their east and the Saxons to their west, unity first came to the early Vistulisians in the first century SE at the hands of Viking bands from Scandinavia. Fired by the new faith of Submission, in the period from SE 30 to 60 [802-32 CE] the Vikings sailed up the Vistul and Odr Rivers, establishing the settlements of Elbing, Poznan, Vraclav and Krakov, from which they ruled the Pomeranians, Masovians, Silesians and Polians.

Initially confined to the Norse ruling class, Submission spread among the subject peoples of the Vistul and Odr valleys as the early riverbound Viking trade entropots gave way to the manorial economy of the post-Viking era. It was also during this time that pressure from the newly-established High Kingdom of the Elbe to the west led to the union of the various peoples of the Vistul and Odr under the Deputate of the Vistul at Gnjezno in SE 92 [864 CE], and the establishment of the Deputate-wide Holy Thing at Elbing two years later.

The first Deputy of the Vistul, Olaf Knutson, devoted most of his efforts to increasing the unity of his new realm and fending off attacks by the Saxons. One of the first fruits of his unification drive was the establishment of the Holy Thing at Elbing and its recognition by the Great Holy Thing at Trondheim. Deputy Olaf was also able to introduce a standard coinage and a standard set of weights and measures throughout the Deputate. Probably Olaf's greatest contribution to the unity of the Deputate was to bequeath the whole of the realm upon his death in SE 114 [886 CE] to his eldest son Erik. Had he followed the common custom of the time and divided the Deputate among all four of his sons, Vistulis might well have followed the same path as Kievan Rus and Iberia, torn apart by incessant warfare among various claimants to the Deputation.

Olaf had much greater difficulties in dealing with the Saxons. While the official policies of the High Kings Ludvig I and Otto I were friendly towards the Deputate, there were numerous incidents between the two states, almost invariably provoked by the Saxons. While some historians (especially Vistulian ones) have maintained that the High Kings were being deliberately mendacious, it can be argued that the periodic raids across the Odr were the work of Saxon freebooters, and that the High Kings were guilty of nothing worse than turning a blind eye to their actions. Whatever the case, Olaf and his thanes succeeded in holding off the Saxons, and in the end the Saxons gave over their attempts to expand eastwards and turned their energies to subduing the pagan Czechs and Bavarians to their south.

Erik Olafson continued his father's efforts to unify the Deputate, but the focus of his military efforts necessarily shifted southwards in response to raids across the Carpathians by the pagan Maygars under their aggressive Khagan Arpad. After the Magyars attempted to take Krakov in SE 123 [895 CE], the Holy Thing at Elbing declared a holy war. In addition to Vistulians, the holy war against the Magyars attracted armed bands from elsewhere in the House of Submission, mainly Saxons but also including Scandinavians, Rhinelanders, and English who had fought on one side or the other of the civil wars between the Successor Svein II and his opponents. The result was a series of campaigns against the Magyars in the 120s and early 130s, ending with the final submission (but not Submission) of Arpad in SE 135 [907 CE].

In the course of the Deputations of Olaf and Erik the early Viking settlements grew into large towns, and the Deputate joined in the cultural life of the House of Submission. Along with the warrior bands, the holy war against the Magyars brought craftsmen from across the House of Submission into Vistulis. The intricate woodcarvings that decorated the Thinghall in Elbing were crafted by Danish woodworkers. The Rhenish masons who built the Carpathian stronghold of Trencsin also designed and built the Great Hall of Deputy Erik in Gniezno. Norwegian skalds who came in the train of Thane Bjarni of Oslo remained behind to sing the praises of Thane Kazimir of Krakov.

When Deputy Erik died in SE 141 [913 CE] he left to his eldest son Knut a realm of growing power and prosperity, with strong cultural links to the rest of the House of Submission and fairly peaceful relations with its western and southern neighbors. However, Knut's death by drowning in 144 spelled trouble for the Deputate. A growing rivalry between Knut's brother Vegard and Thane Kazimir for control over Knut's young son Svein quickly degenerated into civil war. Thane Jaroslav of Vraclav supported Vegard, and after the Battle of Glogav Thane Kazimir was forced to flee to the Arneburg court of Heinrich, High King of the Saxons. Kazimir gave in to the fatal temptation to call upon Heinrich for aid, and in 148 [AD 921] a Saxon army accompanied the Thane of Krakov as he returned to Vistulis. With Saxon help Kazimir was able to reclaim his rule over the Deputate and make himself chief regent for Deputy Svein. However, he was forced to cede control over Silesia to Heinrich, who set one of his own thanes to rule over Vraclav.

Thane Jaroslav, the former ruler of Vraclav, had been killed in battle, but Underdeputy Vegard had fled to Denmark, and from there he plotted against Thane Kazimir. Matters took an even uglier turn in 152 when Deputy Svein caught a fever and died. Vegard now claimed the Deputation, but Thane Kazimir refused to allow his enemy to return to Vistulis, and claimed the Deputation for himself. Now Kazimir's fellow thanes rose against him, and Vegard returned from Denmark to claim the Deputation. Once again Kazimir called upon High King Heinrich for aid, and a second Saxon army entered Vistulis to play a part in another civil war.

Vegard was able to win the Thanes of Elbing and Poznan to his side, and in the summer of 154 he met Kazimir and his Saxon allies in battle at Ragnarovo and defeated them. The Saxons were forced to withdraw from Silesia, and Deputy Vegard set Jaroslav's son Ladislav to rule at Vraclav, while claiming the seat of Krakov for himself. Thane Kazimir returned to the High King's court, where he finally died in 163.

The realm Vegard now ruled was considerably less powerful and prosperous than the one his brother had first succeeded to thirteen years earlier. It had been wracked by civil war and fallen under Saxon influence, and while the Vistulians fought among themselves the pagan Magyars had taken advantage of their distraction and seized the Carpathian fortress of Trencsin. Vegard himself was more dependent upon his thanes than his ancestors had been, for the civil wars had permanently altered the balance of power in the Deputate.

The loss of Trencsin brought renewed incursions from the Magyars, and Vegard moved his capital from Gniezno to Krakov in response. Several attempts to retake Trencsin in the late 150s and early 160s were uniformly unsuccessful, and Vegard was finally forced to call upon the Saxons for assistance. In 166 Vegard and Thane Gerhard of Bohemia succeeded in capturing Trencsin. However, the fortress was to be jointly ruled by Vegard and Gerhard, a situation which caused considerable friction until finally Gerhard seized sole control of the fortress after Vegard's death in SE 174 [AD 946].

Vegard was succeeded as Deputy of Vistulis and Thane of Krakov by his eldest son Arlo, who devoted his efforts to repairing the damage caused during the troubled reigns of his father, cousin and uncle. It was not an easy task, for the civil wars had left the country divided between pro-Saxon and pro-Danish factions, with the former led by the Thane of Elbing and the latter by the Thane of Vraclav, and Deputy Arlo attempting to maintain a balance between the two.

A second, more subtle problem facing Arlo and his successors was a slow but steady influx of Saxon settlers in western Vistulis. Unlike the earlier invading armies, the settlers did not bring violence with them into Vistulis, but they did bring the Saxon language and allegiance to the High King. By the end of the second century the Saxons formed a notable minority in Pomerania and Silesia, and over the course of the third century their relative numbers continued to grow.

When Arlo’s only son Hakon the Young died in battle against the Magyars in SE 188 [960 CE] he named his son-in-law Mjesko Sjemoson, Thane of Gnjezno, as his successor, also granting him the Thaneship of Krakov. Arlo was also careful to gain the support of the High King Otto II for Mjesko’s succession, and this proved decisive in allowing Mjesko to succeed to the Deputyship unopposed upon Arlo’s death in SE 196.

SE 220 [992 CE] saw the accession to the Deputate of Boleslav Mjeskoson, usually known to Vistulian history as Boleslav the Brave. The high points of his reign were a treaty with the High King Otto III restoring Vistulian co-rule over Trencsin in SE 227 [999 CE], and a series of successful campaigns against the Magyars in the 230s and 240s. Boleslav was also able to establish an alliance with the Submissive Prince Sviatopolk of Kiev, placing Sviatopolk on the Kievan throne in SE 246 [1018 CE]. Once Boleslav and the Vistulian army departed from Kiev, however, Sviatopolk was overthrown by his brother Jaroslav of Novgorod, who would restore the Spectral heresy. Sviatopolk fled to Vistulis, where Boleslav would make him Thane of Lublin.

High King Otto III's successor Heinrich II did not share his predecessor's desire to maintain friendly relations with the Vistulians, and instead he chose to resume the policy of trying to bring Vistulis under Saxon dominion. Deputy Boleslav succeeded in withstanding Heinrich's various military and diplomatic efforts, and his efforts to maintain Vistulian independence were literally crowned in SE 253 when the Great Holy Thing in Trondheim confirmed an edict by the Successor Erik VI raising Boleslav to the status of King of Vistulis.

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