The name Obotrites emerges from the Slavic root *bodr-, a word meaning cheerful, lively, or brave. Ancient sources recorded this group as Abodritorum or Abodritos in Latin texts while Germanic neighbors often labeled them Wends.
The main tribe known as Obotrites proper occupied land between Wismar Bay and Lake Schwerin according to maps of the Billunger Mark circa 1000. Wagrians held eastern Holstein as part of Saxony while Warnowers controlled the upper Warnow and Mildenitz rivers.
Prince Thrasco led Obotrite forces against Saxon enemies in the Battle of Bornhöved during 798. Emperor Charlemagne rewarded this victory by granting Holstein north of the Elbe river to the Obotrites in 804.
Pribislav served as the last Obotrite prince before 1167 when Duke Henry the Lion restored him as Prince of Mecklenburg. This event founded the Germanized House of Mecklenburg and ended independent Obotrite rule.
Most villagers still spoke Slavic dialects known as Polabian language up to the late fifteenth century. This language survived until the beginning of the nineteenth century in Hanoverian Wendland and eastern Lower Saxony.