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Carantania *Korǫtanъ | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 658–828 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Capital | Karnburg | ||||||||
| Common languages | Proto-Slavic | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early Middle Ages | ||||||||
| 658 | |||||||||
• Tributary toFranks | 745 | ||||||||
• Integration to Franks | 828 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Austria Slovenia | ||||||||
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Carantania, also known asCarentania (Slovene:Karantanija,German:Karantanien, inOld Slavic*Korǫtanъ), was aSlavicprincipality that emerged in the second half of the7th century, in the territory of present-day southernAustria and north-easternSlovenia. Since the middle of the 8th century, it was allied withBavaria against theAvars, and consequently became avassal state of theFrankish Empire. In the same time,Christianisation of Carantanian Slavs was initiated, mainly through missionary activities of theArchdiocese of Salzburg. By 828, internal autonomy of the principality was abolished, and the entire Carantanian territory was gradually integrated into theEast Frankish administrative system, based oncounties andmarches. Carantania thus became the predecessor of theMarch of Carinthia, created within theCarolingian Empire by 889.[1][2][3][4]
The nameCarantania is of proto-Slavic origin.Paul the Deacon mentions Slavs in "Carnuntum, which is erroneously called Carantanum" (Carnuntum, quod corrupte vocitant Carantanum).[5]
A possible etymological explanation is that it may have been formed from a toponymic basecarant- which ultimately derives from pre-Indo-European root *karra meaning 'rock', or that it is ofCeltic origin and derived from *karant- meaning 'friend, ally'. Its Slavic name*korǫtanъ was adopted from theLatin *carantanum. The toponymCarinthia (Slovene:Koroška <Proto-Slavic*korǫt’ьsko) is also claimed to be etymologically related, deriving from pre-Slavic *carantia.[6] In Slovene,Korotan remained a synonym for both Carinthia and Carantania well into the 19th and early 20th century.[7] Nowadays,Karantanija is used for the early medieval Slavic principality, whileKoroška for the duchy and region that emerged from it from the 10th century onward.
The name, like most toponyms beginning with *Kar(n)- in this area of Europe, are in turn most likely linked to the pre-Roman tribe of theCarni that once populated the eastern Alps.[citation needed]
Carantania's capital was most likelyKarnburg (Slovene:Krnski grad) in theZollfeld Field (Slovene:Gosposvetsko polje), north of modern-day town ofKlagenfurt (Slovene:Celovec). The principality was centered in the area of modernCarinthia, and included territories of modernStyria, most of today'sEast Tyrol and of thePuster Valley, theLungau andEnnspongau regions ofSalzburg, and parts of southernUpper Austria andLower Austria. It most probably also included the territory of the modern Slovenian province ofCarinthia. The few existing historical sources distinguish between two separate Slavic principalities in the Eastern Alpine area: Carantania andCarniola. The latter, which appears in historical records dating from the late 8th century, was situated in the central part of modern Slovenia. It was (at least by name) the predecessor of the laterDuchy of Carniola.
The borders of the later Carantania state, which was under the feudal overlordship of theCarolingians, and its successor (theMarch of Carinthia, 826–976), as well as of the laterDuchy of Carinthia (from 976), extended beyond historical Carantania.
In the 4th centuryChur became the seat of the first Christian bishopric north to theAlps. Despite a legend assigning its foundation to an alleged Briton king, St. Lucius, the first known bishop is one Asinio[8] in AD 451.
In the aftermath of theGothic War (535-554), the Byzantine Empire found itself unable to prevent the Germanic tribe of theLombards from invading Italy and foundinga kingdom there. The territory left behind by the Lombards in Pannonia was subsequently settled by Slavs (with the help of theirAvar overlords) in the last decades of the 6th century. In 588 they reached the area of the UpperSava River and in 591 they arrived in the UpperDrava region, where they soon fought the Bavarians under DukeTassilo I. In 592 the Bavarians won, but three years later in 595 the Slavic-Avar army gained victory and thus consolidated the boundary between theFrankish and theAvar territories.[9] By that time, today's East Tyrol and Carinthia came to be referred to in historical sources asProvincia Sclaborum (the Country of Slavs).[10][11]
In the 6th century Chur was also conquered by theFranks.[12]
Between the 9th and 10th centuries, theAlpine Slavs, who are reckoned to be among the ancestors of present-day Slovenes, settled the eastern areas of theFriuli region. They settled in the easternmost mountainous areas of Friuli, known as theFriulian Slavia, as well as theKarst Plateau and the area north and south from Gorizia.
Slavic settlement in theEastern Alps region is assumed to be connected to the collapse of local dioceses in the late 6th century, a change in population andmaterial culture, and most importantly, in the establishment of a Slaviclanguage group in the area. The territory settled by Slavs, however, was also inhabited by the remains of the indigenous Romanized population, which preserved Christianity.
Slavs in both the Eastern Alps and the Pannonian region are assumed to be originally subject to Avar rulers (kagans). After Avar rule weakened around 610, a relatively independent March of the Slavs (marca Vinedorum), governed by aduke, emerged in southern Carinthia in the early 7th century. Historical sources mentionValuk as the duke of Slavs (Wallux dux Winedorum).
The year 626 brought an end to Avar dominance over Slavs, as the Avars were defeated atConstantinople.[13] In 658 Samo died and his Tribal Union disintegrated. A smaller part of the original March of the Slavs, centred north of modern Klagenfurt, preserved independence and came to be known asCarantania. The nameCarantania itself begins to appear in historical sources soon after 660. The first clear indication of a specificethnic identity andpolitical organisation may be recognised in the geographical termCarantanum whichPaul the Deacon used in reference to the year 664, and in connection to which he also mentioned a specific Slavic people (gens Sclavorum) living there.[11]
When about 740 PrinceBoruth asked the Bavarian dukeOdilo for help against the pressing danger posed byAvar tribes from the east, Carantania lost its independence. Boruth's successors had to accept the overlordship ofBavaria and the semifeudalFrankish kingdom, ruled byCharlemagne from 771 to 814. Charlemagne also put an end to the invasions undertaken by the Avars, who had regained eastern parts of Carantania between 745 and 795.
In 828, Carantania finally became amargraviate of theCarolingian Empire. The local princes were deposed for following theanti-Frankish rebellion ofLjudevit Posavski, the prince ofSlavs of Lower Pannonia, and replaced by aGermanic (primarily Bavarian) ascendancy. By the 843Treaty of Verdun, it passed into the hands ofLouis the German (804–876) who, according to theAnnales Fuldenses (863), gave the title of a "prefect of the Carantanians" (praelatus Carantanis) to his eldest sonCarloman.[14] In 887Arnulf of Carinthia (850–899), a grandson of Louis the German, assumed his title of King of theEast Franks and became the first Duke of Carinthia.
The city of Chur suffered several invasions by theMagyars in 925-926, when the cathedral was destroyed.In the area of Carantania 954–979 exist Slavic parish"pagus Crouuati"(Croats) which is mentioned in royal charters, ruled by count Hartwig in the name of the German king.[15]
The principality of Carantania is particularly notable for the ancient ritual of installing Carantanian dukes (or princes, both an approximate translation ofKnez/Knyaz/Fürst), a practice that continued after Carantania was incorporated into the laterDuchy of Carinthia. It was last performed in 1414, when theHabsburgErnest the Iron was enthroned as Duke of Carinthia. The ritual took place on thePrince's Stone (SloveneKnežji kamen, GermanFürstenstein), an ancientRoman column capital nearKrnski grad (nowKarnburg) and was performed inSlovene by a free peasant who, selected by his peers, in the name of the people of the land questioned the new Prince about his integrity and reminded him of his duties. Later, when the Duchy of Carinthia had fallen to the Habsburgs, the idea that it was actually the people from whom the Duke of Carinthia received his legitimation was the basis of the Habsburgs' claim to the unique title of Archduke.
The coronation of Carinthian Dukes consisted of three parts: first, a ritual in Slovene was performed at the Prince's Stone; then amass was held at the cathedral ofMaria Saal (Gospa Sveta); and subsequently, a ceremony took place at theDuke's Chair (Vojvodski stol, German:Herzogsstuhl), where the new Duke swore an oath inGerman and where he also received the homage of theestates. The Duke's Chair is located atZollfeld valley, north of Klagenfurt in modernCarinthia, Austria.
The ceremony was first described by the chroniclerJohn of Viktring on the occasion of the coronation ofMeinhard II of Tyrol in 1286. It is also mentioned inJean Bodin's bookSix livres de la République in 1576.
Chronicle of Fredegar mentions Carantania asSclauvinia,Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) mentions Carantania asChiarentana. The same name was also used by Florentines, such as the poet Fazio degli Uberti (circa 1309–1367), the famous chroniclerGiovanni Villani (c. 1275–1348), andGiovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375), who wrote that theBrenta River rises from the mountains of Carantania, a land in theAlps dividing Italy from Germany.
The population of ancient Carantania had a polyethnic structure. The core stratum was represented by two groups of Slavs who hadsettled in the Eastern Alps region in 6th century and are the ancestors of the present-daySlovenes and partially alsoAustrians. Other ethnic strong element included the descendants of the Romanisedaboriginal peoples (Noricans), which is attestable on the basis of a recent DNA analysis and a number of place names. It is also possible that traces ofDulebes,Avars,Bulgars,Croats and theGermanic peoples were present amongCarantanians.[13]
In its early stages, the language ofCarantanian Slavs was essentiallyProto-Slavic. In Slovenian linguistic literature and reference books it is sometimes provisionally termedAlpine Slavic (alpska slovanščina). Its Proto-Slavic character can be deduced from language contacts of Alpine Slavs with the remainders of the Romanised aboriginal population, later also withBavarians. The adopted Pre-Slavic placenames and river names and their subsequent phonetic development in Alpine Slavic, as well as Bavarian records of Alpine Slavic names, shed light on the characteristics of the Alpine Slavic language.[16]
From the 9th century onwards, Alpine Slavic underwent a series of gradual changes and innovations which were characteristic ofSouth Slavic languages. By roughly the 13th century, these developments gave rise to theSlovene language.[17]
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