Th e article discusses the historical development in the Eastern Alps in the Early Middle Ages. In the fi rst part of the article the author presents the research starting points, which determine our knowledge of the period and region, and the interpretive possibilities they off er. Th e author high lights the modest number of sources and the problems arising from the specifi cs of early medieval historiographical production. He also points out new approaches to researching this period and the processes of ethnogenesis that have been established in recent decades. Part two gives a chronology of historical development in the wider area of the Eastern Alps. Carantania and Carniola are highlighted. By doing so, the author att empts to demonstrate possible ways of reconstructing the past on concrete examples of interpretations of individual sources. Th e article concludes by integrating the area in question into the Frankish political and social system.