The integration of Carantanians and Other Alpine Slavs into the Frankish-Ottonian Empire

Several Observations

Abstract

The treatise points out that the early mediaeval societies in the area of eastern alps following the incorporation of the local Slavs into the Frankish-Ottonian empire cannot be conceived in the simplified form of national historical narratives, according to which the upper clas- ses were represented by »Germans«, whereas »Slovenes« were confined merely to serfdom. On the contrary, the then-current historical processes cannot be described or understood by means of terms such as exclusion, submission, degradation; considerably more complex social processes were involved in which key positions were also held by integration, acculturation and accommodation.