By Kim Rendfeld
“Widukind?
A freedom fighter?” my Frankish characters say. “Are you mad? He’s burned
churches. His murderers killed indiscriminately.”
“Widukind
is a hero,” my Saxon characters reply. “He will rid us of these foreign
invaders who destroyed our sacred pillar and stole our territory. When we
promise to follow their odd religion, they demand money.”
So,
whose side is right? Both.
To
eighth-century Saxons, the Westphalian nobleman was a freedom fighter. As a
21st century tolerant American, I cannot condone his burning of churches or
slaughter of war captives. Nor can I condone the Franks’ destruction of a
sacred monument, coerced baptism, or shaking down anyone for tithes.
A statue of Widukind that used to stand in Enger, Germany, circa 1900 |
In
the pagans’ minds, those sacrifices of war captives were a thanksgiving for
victory. Instead of enslaving the captives, the victors offered them to the war
god. And the churches they burned were symbols of foreign oppression.
Most
factual information about Widukind comes from the Franks and their Christian
allies. We have no way of knowing what eighth-century Continental Saxons thought.
They did not have a written language as we know it. But we can glean a couple
of insights:
·
The
Saxon must have seen the Franks as oppressors. As his contemporaries complain
of Saxons breaking their vows of loyalty to God and king, Alcuin of York, a
scholar in Charlemagne’s court, writes letters pleading with fellow Christians
to educate the Saxons before baptizing them and to stop demanding tithes –
better to lose the money than the souls.
·
Widukind
must have been charismatic. Between 777 and 785, Widukind repeatedly led Saxons
to battle and inflicted damage. But then the Franks would come and chase away
his forces, and Widukind would escape. Even after Charles ordered the execution
of 4,500 Saxon men [http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2012/10/executed-day-river-ran-red.html]
– revenge and justice for a disastrous Frankish defeat – Widukind was still an
influence.
In
late 784, Charles made the bold move to attack Saxony in winter at a time when
most wars were fought in spring and summer. With unpredictable weather, no
grass in the fields for the horses to graze, and no crops to raid for warriors’
food, the cold, dark months were bad for fighting. Charles spent Christmas at a
villa in Saxony and eventually moved to Eresburg, captured almost 13 years
before. He used the fortress as a base in the spring and summer then held an
assembly in Paderborn.
1840 paint by Ary Scheffer of Widukind's submission to Charlemange |
The
Franks see Widukind’s baptism in 785 as a victory, but it might be more
accurate to see it as a bargain.
Before
Widukind traveled to Attigny to go through the rite, he and Charles exchanged
hostages, something two peers did to ensure their adversary behaved themselves.
When Widukind made his vow, Charles was his godfather and presented him with
gifts. In essence, Widukind had Charles’s protection against the monarch’s own Frankish
subjects.
Perhaps
the deal was for Widukind to convert to Christianity, pay tribute to Charles,
and quit burning churches so that he could return to his land. The annals don’t
mention Widukind after 785, but he may have founded a few abbeys, a typical
penance for a nobleman.
Even
after his conversion, Widukind was still revered by Saxons. A 10th century
historian bears his name. That scholar, Widukind of Corvey, dedicated the
history of his people to Matilda, a royal woman who claimed the eighth-century
Westphalian leader as an ancestor.
Public domain images via
Wikimedia Commons.
Widukind
has a presence as both a hero and a villain in Kim Rendfeld’s books. The Franks
in The Cross and the Dragon (2012,
Fireship Press), a tale of love amid wars and blood feuds, loathe him. The
Saxons in The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar (August
28, 2014, Fireship Press), a story of
the lengths a mother will go to protect her children after she’s lost
everything else, admire him. For more about Kim, visit her website, http://kimrendfeld.com or her blog, Outtakes
of a Historical Novelists, http://kimrendfeld.wordpress.com.