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The Chatti (also Catti)were an ancient German tribe that lived along the upper reaches of the Weser, Eder, Fulda and Werra rivers, a district approximately corresponding to Hesse-Cassel, though probably somewhat more extensive.
The Chatti successfully resisted incorporation into the Roman Empire, and Rome eventually responded to the belligerent defense of their independence by building the limes border fortifications along the southern boundary of their lands in central Hesse during the early years of the 1st century. The Chatti eventually became a portion of the Franks and were incorporated in the kingdom of Clovis I, probably with the Ripuarians, at the beginning of the 6th century. They are mentioned in the Old English epic Beowulf as Hetwaras.
In 723, St. Boniface felled the sacred oak of Thor near Fritzlar, thereby initiating the conversion of the Chatti to Christianity.
The Chatti are one of only two Germanic tribes whose original homeland still bears their name (along with the Frisians). "Chatti" eventually became "Hesse" through a series of sound shifts.
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
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