Polish tribes
Encyclopedia
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s of West Slavs
West Slavs
The West Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking West Slavic languages. They include Poles , Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatian Sorbs and the historical Polabians. The northern or Lechitic group includes, along with Polish, the extinct Polabian and Pomeranian languages...
that lived in the territories that became Polish
Geography of Poland
Poland is a country in Central Europe with an area of 312,679 square kilometres , and mostly temperate climate. Generally speaking, Poland is an almost unbroken plain reaching from the Baltic Sea in the north, to the Carpathian Mountains in the south...
from around the mid-7th century to the creation
Baptism of Poland
The Baptism of Poland was the event in 966 that signified the beginning of the Christianization of Poland, commencing with the baptism of Mieszko I, who was the first ruler of the Polish state. The next significant step in Poland's adoption of Christianity was the establishment of various...
of Polish state
Poland during the Piast dynasty
History of Poland during the Piast dynasty is the first major stage in the history of Poland from the 10th to the 14th century when Poland was established as a state and a nation during the medieval period of European history. The history of the Polish state begins with the founding of the Piast...
by the Piast dynasty
Piast dynasty
The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. It began with the semi-legendary Piast Kołodziej . The first historical ruler was Duke Mieszko I . The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir the Great...
. The territory they lived on became a part of the first Polish state created by duke Mieszko I
Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...
and expanded at the end of the 10th century, enlarged further by king Bolesław I at the beginning of the 11th century.
In about 850 AD a list of peoples was written down by the Bavarian Geographer
Bavarian Geographer
The Bavarian Geographer is a conventional name given by Jan Potocki in 1796 to the author of an anonymous medieval document Descriptio civitatum et regionum ad septentrionalem plagam Danubii ....
.
Absent on the list are Polans
Polans
Polans may refer to two Slavic tribes:* Polans , in the area of Dnieper river* Polans , in the area of Warta. The tribe unified most of the lands of present-day Poland under the Piast dynasty....
, Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
ns and Masovians, who were mentioned later by Nestor the Chronicler
Nestor the Chronicler
Saint Nestor the Chronicler was the reputed author of the Primary Chronicle, , Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, Life of the Holy Passion Bearers, Boris and Gleb, and of the so-called Reading.Nestor was a monk of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev from 1073...
in his Primary Chronicle
Primary Chronicle
The Primary Chronicle , Ruthenian Primary Chronicle or Russian Primary Chronicle, is a history of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110, originally compiled in Kiev about 1113.- Three editions :...
(11th/12th century).
The most important Polish tribes are Polans
Polans (western)
The Polans were a West Slavic tribe, part of the Lechitic group, inhabiting the Warta river basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century.During the reign of King Svatopluk I of Great Moravia , who subdued the tribes of the Vistulans and Ślężanie...
, Masovians
Masovians
The Masovians or Mazovians are a Lechitic tribe or an ethnic group associated with the region of Mazovia. They were first referenced by Nestor the Chronicler in the 11th century. Originally, their main settlements were in the area of Płock, Łomża, Wizna, Czersk, Ciechanów, Płońsk, Zakroczym and...
, Vistulans
Vistulans
Vistulans were an early medieval West Slavic tribe inhabiting the land of modern Lesser Poland.From the 1st century and possibly earlier, the Vistulans , were part of the Carpian Tribe, which got its name from the area that they lived in, which was beside the Carpathian Mountain Range...
, Silesians
Silesians
Silesians , are the inhabitants of Silesia in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. A small diaspora community also exists in Karnes County, Texas in the USA....
and Pomeranians. These five tribes "shared fundamentally common culture and language and were considerably more closely related to one another than were the Germanic tribes."
Name
The name is derived from the most important Polish tribe - the PolansPolans (western)
The Polans were a West Slavic tribe, part of the Lechitic group, inhabiting the Warta river basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century.During the reign of King Svatopluk I of Great Moravia , who subdued the tribes of the Vistulans and Ślężanie...
. Their name, on the other hand, derives from the word pole - field. It was used also for the eastern Polans
Polans (eastern)
The Polans ; also Polianians; were a Slavic tribe between the 6th and the 9th century, which inhabited both sides of the Dnieper river from Liubech to Rodnia and also down the lower streams of the rivers Ros', Sula, Stuhna, Teteriv, Irpin', Desna and Pripyat...
that lived in the region of the Dnieper River
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
. Some of the Polans began to surface further west and settled in what was later known as Greater Poland
Greater Poland
Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...
, while the rest remained in the east and later on became part of the Kievan Rus.
List of Polish tribes
The following is the list of Polish and other conquered Slavic tribes that constituted the lands of Poland in the early Middle AgesEarly Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
, at the beginning of the Polish state
Prehistory of Poland (until 966)
The prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the period from the first appearance of Homo species on the territory of modern-day Poland, to the establishment of the Polish state in the 10th century AD—a span of roughly 800,000 years....
. Some of them have remained a separate ethnicity while others have been assimilated into the culture of Poland.
- PolansPolans (western)The Polans were a West Slavic tribe, part of the Lechitic group, inhabiting the Warta river basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century.During the reign of King Svatopluk I of Great Moravia , who subdued the tribes of the Vistulans and Ślężanie...
- Pomeranians
- Pyrzyczanie
- Wolinianie
- GoplansGoplansGoplans, Goplanes or Goplanie is a name of an early medieval West Slavic tribe, later to become part of the Polish nation. They were mentioned by Bavarian Geographer as 'Glopeani' and believed to have lived around Lake Gopło, with its capital in Kruszwica, between 7th-9th century AD.Medieval...
- Lędzianie
- MasoviansMasoviansThe Masovians or Mazovians are a Lechitic tribe or an ethnic group associated with the region of Mazovia. They were first referenced by Nestor the Chronicler in the 11th century. Originally, their main settlements were in the area of Płock, Łomża, Wizna, Czersk, Ciechanów, Płońsk, Zakroczym and...
- VistulansVistulansVistulans were an early medieval West Slavic tribe inhabiting the land of modern Lesser Poland.From the 1st century and possibly earlier, the Vistulans , were part of the Carpian Tribe, which got its name from the area that they lived in, which was beside the Carpathian Mountain Range...
- Silesian tribesSilesian tribesSilesian tribes – are the European tribes of West Slavs that lived in the territories of Silesia. The territory they lived on became part of the Great Moravia in 875 and later, in 990, first Polish state created by duke Mieszko I and then expanded by king Boleslaw I at the beginning of the 11th...
(pl: plemiona śląskie) - are the European tribeTribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s of West SlavsWest SlavsThe West Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking West Slavic languages. They include Poles , Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatian Sorbs and the historical Polabians. The northern or Lechitic group includes, along with Polish, the extinct Polabian and Pomeranian languages...
. They are usually treated as part of Polish tribes and sometimes even as part of Germanic tribes. Two tribes among them are sometimes considered as Czech (MoraviaMoraviaMoravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
n) tribes.
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- Bieżuńczanie
- BobrzanieBobrzanieThe Bobrzanie are one of the Silesian tribes mentioned in the Prague document from the 11th century AD. The area they inhabited was located on the Bóbr river, from which they took their name.-References:**...
- Dziadoszanie
- Golęszyce
- Lubuszanie
- OpolanieOpolanieOpolanie – West Slavic tribe that lived in the region of upper Odra. Their main settlement was Opole. They were mentioned in the Bavarian Geographer, under the name Opolini, as one of the seven tribes living in Silesia...
- ŚlężanieSlezanieŚlężanie were a tribe of West Slavs, specifically of the Lechitic , inhabiting territories of Lower Silesia, near Ślęża mountain and Ślęza river, on the both banks of the Oder, up to the area of modern city of Wrocław...
- Trzebowianie