In this episode, we descend to the marshes and forests of the Saxon-Slavic Frontier east of the Elbe, to introduce the development Saxon society through the lens of the brutal campaigns launched back and forth across the river. In this episode, we both set up the future conflicts that will take place in this buffer area of the Western Riverlands, and learn more about the hardened soldiers who will restore the Roman Empire in the West.

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Sources

Intro: Zachary Wheeler and Nathaniel Scarborough, "Hej, Sokoły" folk tune

Outro: Antonín Dvořák, Serenade for Strings, Op. 22 (London Symphony Orchestra 1960)

Wilson, Peter H. Heart of Europe. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University, 2020.

Berend, Nora. Urbanczyk, Przemyslaw. Wiszewski, Przemyslaw. Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland, C.900-C.1300. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Christiansen, Eric. The Northern Crusades: Second Edition. Penguin Books, 1998.

Nicolle, David. McBride, Angus. The Age of Charlemagne. Osprey Publishing. 1984.

Schwerpunkt. Henry the Fowler's 929 Campaign against the Slavs, Otto I's campaigns against the Slavs, and The Margraviate of Meissen (965-1423). Youtube, 2024.

medievalelbe.org