bantarleton:This artwork from ‘The Conquest of Saxony AD 782–785’ illustrated by
bantarleton: This artwork from ‘The Conquest of Saxony AD 782–785’ illustrated by Graham Turner shows Carolingian forces being defeated by Saxon ‘rebels’ at the Suntel Hills in AD 782.More is known about this battle than any other clash during Charlemagne’s long campaign to conquer the Saxons. Although Charlemagne himself was not present, the defeat of some of his most senior commanders, and the death of two, had a profound impact upon the course of the campaign and on Charlemagne’s own subsequent behaviour. Quite where the Carolingians made their final stand is unknown, though it may have been close to what later came to be known as the Blutbach (blood stream) and Totental (death valley) on the north-eastern side of the Hohenstein hill. In this reconstruction the Carolingian commanders, Adalgis the Chamberlain, and Gallo the Count of the Stables, have retreated within the cover of a dwarf beech tree with their surviving followers. This tree remains the iconic though somewhat weird and twisted species of the Süntel hills.The Saxons who are closing in for the kill include Widukind, the leader of their uprising. The well-equipped, armoured and prosperous Carolingian military elite who took part in this disastrous battle were all cavalry, or were at least all originally mounted, though by now they have lost almost all their horses. In contrast the pagan rebels seem mostly to have been drawn from the lower ranks of Old Saxon society, and almost certainly included significant numbers of infantry archers. -- source link