Battle of Recknitz - Battle

Battle

According to Timothy Reuter, Otto I's army of the day was drawn from every regnum (duchy) of the German kingdom, even Bohemia. According to Widukind of Corvey, who gave the only surviving detailed record of the battle itself, Otto I's campaign came to a halt at the bank of the Raxa river, where the Obodrites and their allies, led by Stoinef, had taken a defensive position on the opposite embankment. Otto's margrave Gero, together with the allied tribe of the Ruani - most probably the earliest mention of the Rani - secretly moved to a distinct part of the river to build three bridges, while a feint assault by the remaining forces distracted Stoinef's army. Stoinef realized too late that Otto's forces were already crossing the river on another side, and the ensuing encounter was won by the latter.

The fate of Stoinef is described by both Widukind of Corvey and Thietmar of Merseburg. While both agree that he was decapitated, their accounts on how that happened differ: Widukind says that during the battle, Stoinef was chased into a wood, run down and killed by a soldier named Hosed, who was handsomely rewarded after presenting Otto with Stoinef's severed head. Thietmar of Merseburg says that the captured Stoinef, whom he calls Stoinneg, was decapitated by Otto. After the battle, according to Widukind, Stoinegin's head was raised on a pole and seven hundred of captured Slavs were executed before sundown.

The annals of St. Gallen also report the violent death of Stoinef, whom they name Ztoignav, but do not detail how he had died. They do however date the battle to the day of their patron, Saint Gall - i.e. 16 October.