Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Joannes Richter
1 Der Name Wettin lässt sich auf das altsorbische vitin zurückführen. Vitin stammt von der altsorbischen Wurzel vit,
welche als Willkommen! übersetzt wird. [2] - Wettiner. In: Sachsen-Anhalt-Wiki; abgerufen am 24. April 2015
Introduction
This essay describes the usage of the keywords (“ᚠᚢᚦ” , “ᚦᚩᚱᚳ“ and “ᚠᚢᚦᚩᚱᚳ”) of the Futhark
alphabet for the naming conventions in Saxon environments.
Old Saxony
The Saxons were one of the most robust groups in the late tribal culture of the times, and
eventually bequeathed their tribe's name to a variety of more and more modern geopolitical
territories from Old Saxony (Altsachsen) near the mouth of the Elbe up the river via the
Prussian Province of Saxony (in present-day Saxony-Anhalt) to Upper Saxony, the
Electorate and Kingdom of Saxony from 1806 corresponding with the German Free State of
Saxony, which bears the name today though it was not part of the medieval duchy (see map
on the right). 2
Old Saxony corresponds roughly to the modern German states of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt,
and the Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia.
A sketch of the modern Saxon territories in Germany has been sketched in Google-Map: The Traces
of “Wit” in Saxony.
There are three successive stations for the Saxon territories, which developed in circa 3 stages:
1. Lower Saxony3 (804–1296, representing the Duchy of Saxony around 1000)
2. Saxony-Anhalt, concentrating around the Lutherstadt Wittenberg
3. The free state Saxony (concentrating around Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig.
Saxony-Anhalt
The House of Wettin
The House of Wettin is a dynasty of German counts, dukes, prince-electors and kings that once
ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The
dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its origins can be traced back to the town of Wettin,
Saxony-Anhalt.
Wettin
Wettin Castle is a former castle that stood near the town of Wettin on the Saale river in Germany,
and which is the ancestral home of the House of Wettin, the dynasty that included several royal
families, including that of the current ruling families of the United Kingdom and Belgium.[1][2]
In 982, Dedo I (d. 1009) and Frederick (d. 1017), sons of Dietrich, count of Hassegau, received
lands taken from the Wends, including the county (or Gau) of Wettin on the right bank of the Saale.
[1][2]
There is a legend that the family is descended from one Wettekind, but this can not be
attested in any history.[3] At least one reference claims that the castle was built by a
descendant of Dietrich named Thimo.[1]
That castle is a rebuilt ruin, used as part of a building that houses a school and other public
institutions[4] but other castles owned by the Wettin family, from the 15th century, still exist in
Meissen,[5] and on the Elbe river.[6]
Wettin was first documented as Vitin civitas in a 961 deed issued by German king Otto I.
Wittenberg
Wittenberg is famous for its close connection with Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation,
for which it received the honorific Lutherstadt.
Wittenberg was also the seat of the Elector of Saxony, a dignity held by the dukes of Saxe-
Wittenberg, making it one of the most powerful cities in the Holy Roman Empire.
In the course of time the historically significant Wittenberg, home of the Protestant Reformation,
was annexed by Prussia, but Frederick Augustus was restored to the throne in the remainder of his
kingdom, which still included the major cities of Dresden and Leipzig.
Other cities
Wetzlar
Wetzlar has been documented as Witlara in a document dated 943 5.
Fulda
The chronicles of Fulda describe the deities Odin, Wodan, Thor, Freya and Krodo6.
Before the Christianisation phase by Boniface the Slavs already had settled at Fulda 7.
4 History
5 Die Geschichte der Stadt Wetzlar : Wetzlar lässt sich urkundlich erst über ein Jahrhundert später wieder als Witlara
in einer Urkunde aus dem Jahr 943 fassen,[14]
6 Chronik von Fulda und dessen Umgebungen vom Jahre 744 bis und mit 1838 (Schmitt & Müller, 1839 - 173 pages)
7 Im Fulda'- schen waren jedoch schon vor Bonifacius Slaven ansässig. Denn von Sturmius, einem Schüler des
heiligen Bonifacius, wird berichtet, daß er eines Tags mit seinen Begleitern an die Straße gekommen sei, welche aus
Thüringen ... Bericht über das Wirken und den Stand des Historischen Vereins zu . (1842)
Contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................3
Old Saxony......................................................................................................................................3
Overview of the “Wit”- and “Wet”-Names.................................................................................3
Lower Saxony.......................................................................................................................................4
Rammelsberg...................................................................................................................................4
Saxony-Anhalt......................................................................................................................................4
The House of Wettin........................................................................................................................4
Wettin ..............................................................................................................................................4
Wittenberg........................................................................................................................................5
The free state Saxony...........................................................................................................................5
Freiberg............................................................................................................................................5
Other cities............................................................................................................................................5
Wetzlar.............................................................................................................................................5
Fulda................................................................................................................................................5