Masovians, also spelled as Mazovians, and historically known as Masurians, is an ethnographic group of

Polish people Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Cen ...

that originate from the region of Masovia, located mostly within borders of the

Masovian Voivodeship The Masovian Voivodeship, also known as the Mazovia Province ( pl, województwo mazowieckie ) is a voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, with its capital located in the city of Warsaw, which also serves as the capital of the country. Th ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. They speak the Masovian dialect dialect of Polish.G. Odoj, A. Peć: ''Dziedzictwo kulturowe – edukacja regionalna''. Dzierżoniów: Wydawnictwo Alex, 2000, p. 74, ISBN 83-85589-35-X, OCLC 749376082. The group originate from the Lechitic tribe of Masovians, first referenced in the historical records by

Nestor the Chronicler Saint Nestor the Chronicler ( orv, Несторъ Лѣтописецъ; 1056 – c. 1114, in Principality of Kiev, Kievan Rus') was the reputed author of '' Primary Chronicle'' (the earliest East Slavic letopis), ''Life of the Venerable The ...

in the 11th century.

Name

The name Masovian, in Polish, ''Mazowszanin'', comes from the name of the region of Masovia, in Polish known as ''Mazowsze''. The name of the region, comes from its

Old Polish The Old Polish language ( pl, język staropolski, staropolszczyzna) was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language. The sources for the study of the ...

names ''Mazow'', and ''Mazosze'', and most likely came from word ''maz'' (ancestory word of modern ''maź'' and ''mazać''), which was used to either describe a "''muddy region''" or a "''person covered in mud''". Historically, prior to the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the population was known as ''Masurians'' (Polish: ''Mazurzy''). Currently, the name is exclusively associated with

Masurians The Masurians or Mazurs ( pl, Mazurzy; german: Masuren; Masurian: ''Mazurÿ''), historically also known as Prussian Masurians ( Polish: ''Mazurzy pruscy''), is an ethnographic group of Polish people, that originate from the region of Masuri ...

(historically known as ''Prussian Masurians''), another ethnic group related to Masovians, who inhabit nearby region of Masuria, while the population of Masuria is exclusively related to as ''Masovians''.''SGKP'', vol. 2. p. 458.

History

The group originate from the Lechitic tribe of Masovians, first referenced in the historical records by

in the 11th century. The tribe inhabited an area in modern region of Masovia, centered on the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

river. They were originally of the

Slavic paganism Slavic mythology or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the Ba ...

faith, prior to the

christianization of Poland The Christianization of Poland ( pl, chrystianizacja Polski) refers to the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity in Poland. The impetus to the process was the Baptism of Poland ( pl, chrzest Polski), the personal baptism of Mieszk ...

, begun in 10th century. The main settlements of the tribes were Ciechanów, Czersk,

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship ...

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

Płońsk Płońsk (; yi, פּלאָנסק, Plonsk) is a town in central Poland with 22,500 inhabitants (2010). Situated at the Płonka river in the historic region of Mazovia, it is the seat of Płońsk County in the Masovian Voivodeship. History Ac ...

, and Wizna.

Ethnographic subgroups

There are several subgroups of Masovian people. It include Łowiczans, Kurpie,

, Poborzans, and

Podlachians Podlachians, also known as Podlachian Masurians, are an ethnographic group of Polish people that inhabit an area of Podlachia in Poland, including Podlaskie and Lublin Voivodeships.''Encyklopedia powszechna PWN'', vol. 3, edition 3. p. 576. His ...

. Historically, it also included Międzyrzec Boyars.

Notes

References

{{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century) Polish people Ethnic groups in Poland History of Masovia Masovia Masovian Voivodeship West Slavic tribes Lechites Slavic ethnic groups