Drevani

The Drevani (German: Draväno-Polaben or Drevanen) were a tribe of Polabian Slavs settling on the Elbe river in the area of the present-day Lüchow-Dannenberg district of Lower Saxony, Germany.

They were a constituent tribe of the Obodrite confederacy. In the course of the 9th century their territory was conquered by the Carolingian Empire and incorporated into the Duchy of Saxony. According to the Royal Frankish Annals Emperor Charlemagne had a fortress built at Höhbeck.

The lands where the Drevani lived is today also known as the Wendland, named after the Wends. The Slavic language died out in the 19th century. The name of Drevani means "people of woods/trees" in Polabian (from drevo "tree"). It survived in the name of Drawehn hills.

References

• Heydzianka-Piłatowa J., Przebieg wynarodowienia Drzewian połabskich w świetle kroniki chłopskiej Jana Parum Schulzego, "Studia z Filologii Polskiej i Słowiańskiej" XIX, 1980, s. 131-136.
• Firckse, A., Die preussische Bevölkerung nach ihrer Muttersprache, "Zeitschrift des königlich-preußischen staatlichen Bureaus" 1893, Bd. XXXIII.
• Polański K., Problem różnic gwarowych w języku połabskim, "Studia z Filologii Polskiej i Słowiańskiej" V, 1965, s. 365-369.
• Rost P., Die Sprachreste der Draväno-Polaben im Hannöverschen, Leipzig 1907.
• Salmer W., Sprachstudien im Lüneburger Wendland, s. 6 i n.
• Karol Arnošt Muka, Szczątki języka połabskiego Wendów Luneburskich, [in:] Materiały i prace Komisyi językowej Akademii Umiejętności w Krakowie, t. I, Kraków 1904, s. 313-569.
• Paul Rost, Die Sprachreste der Drawno-Polaben In Hannöverschen, Leipzig 1907.