Rani, Rujani
Original Record of:
(German: Ranen, Rujanen) were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern
mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany and 1500 years ago was the territory of
the Rugi.
Migrations & Changes:
The Rani were one of the most powerful Slav tribes during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, as the Germans
from the Holy Roman Empire began expanding eastward. They were one of the last Slavic peoples to resist
Christianisation and Germanisation and cling to their own native paganism
Cities or towns:
Wittow, Charenza, Arkona, Recknitz, Ralswick- major trading center with heavy Viking involvement ,
Language:
Rani spoke a Polabian tongue, which belonged to the Lechitic group of the West Slavic languages. In the
course of the 12th to 15th centuries, it was replaced by Low German as politics and ethnic structure had
changed due to the Ostsiedlung. The Rani language became extinct, in 1404.
Recorded names:
male: Kruto, Wizlaw (House of Wizlaw), Iaromar/Jaromar Duke of Rügen,
female : Duke of Rügen's daughter, Lucia of Rugia, married (in 1195),
Neighbors
9th Century:
Based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today
northeastern Germany
Sources for Research:
* Thompson, James Westfall (1928). Feudal Germany, Volume II. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing.
* Herrmann, Joachim (1970). Die Slawen in Deutschland. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag GmbH, 530. (German)
Interesting Links:
History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_(Slavic_tribe)