Lutici

(also Veleti or Velti; Liutich Slavs), a confederation of Western Slavic tribes in the eighth to 12th centuries on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, between the Odra (Oder) and the Laba (Elbe). The Lutici confederation encompassed the Khyzans, Chrezpenians, Dolezans, and Ratarians, or Rethrians (the main tribe of the Lutici). The territory of the Ratarians was the site of the city of Rethra (Radogoszcz), with the main holy Place of the Lutici—the temple of Svarozhich. From time to time, other Slavic tribes were also part of the confederation.

In the ninth and early tenth centuries, the Lutici were ruled by the prince of the Ratarians; later they were ruled by a congress of nobles of the tribes mentioned above, who gathered in Rethra. The Lutici were in the feudal stage. In A.D. 789 they were subdued by German feudal lords, but they soon overthrew their conquerors. In the early 12th century, Emperor Lothar III destroyed the city of Rethra and subjugated the Lutici. Their lands were incorporated by Albert the Bear into the Brandenburg margravate, and the Slavic population was assimilated.