Einhardian geography and the tenth‐century Abodrites

The Abodrites, a Slavic people who lived in present‐day north‐eastern Germany, are only attested four times between 895 and 966. In this essay, I argue that most of these attestations derive not from an accurate rendering of historical events but from use of the geography of Einhard’s Vita Karoli magni to understand a changing political landscape. As best can be reconstructed, the tenth‐century Abodrites had greatly decreased political power and controlled a much smaller territory than their ninth‐century forebears or eleventh‐century successors.