Gesta Hamburgensis trans oddara st polanos

The Western Polans (also known as Polanes, Polanians; , derived from Old Slavic ''

pole Pole may refer to: Astronomy *Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets *Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...

'', "field" or "plain", from

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

''*pleh₂-'' "flatland") were a West Slavic and Lechitic tribe, inhabiting the

Warta River The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...

basin of the contemporary Greater Poland region starting in the 6th century. They were one of the main tribes in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

and were closely related to the Vistulans,

Masovians Masovians, also spelled as Mazovians, and historically known as Masurians, is an ethnographic group of Polish people that originate from the region of Masovia, located mostly within borders of the Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. They speak the Ma ...

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...

and Slovaks.

History

In the 9th century, the Polans united several West Slavic (Lechitic) groups to the north of

Great Moravia Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to ...

. The union led by the Piast dynasty developed into the Duchy of Poland, whose name derives from that of the Polans. The earliest Polan rulers mentioned by name are the legendary figures of Piast the Wheelwright and

Popiel Prince Popiel ІІ (or Duke Popiel) was a legendary 9th-century ruler of two proto- Polish tribes, the Goplans and West Polans. He was the last member of the Popielids, a mythical dynasty before the Piasts. According to the chroniclers Gall ...

(8th–9th centuries). The first historical ruler was Mieszko I (960–992), who enlarged the territory later named Poland by incorporating

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

and conquering

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

and the Vistulan lands of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...

. The Dagome iudex document refers to Poland during Mieszko's reign as

Civitas Schinesghe Civitas Schinesghe () is the first recorded name related to Poland as a political entity (the name is a Latinization of or , "ducal gords") first attested in 991/2. The original deed is missing, but is mentioned in an 11th-century papal reges ...

(The

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

State). The document describes the country as stretching between the Oder and Rus and between

("Craccoa"/"Alemure") and the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

. For more information, see

Poland in the Early Middle Ages The most important phenomenon that took place within the lands of Poland in the Early Middle Ages, as well as other parts of Central Europe was the arrival and permanent settlement of the West Slavic or Lechitic peoples. The Slavic migrations ...

and

History of Poland during the Piast dynasty The period of rule by the Piast dynasty between the 10th and 14th centuries is the first major stage of the history of the Polish state. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gall Anonymous in the early 12th cen ...

. Archeological findings reveal four major strongholds or gords (Polish ''gród'') in the early Polans' state: *

Giecz Giecz is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dominowo, within Środa Wielkopolska County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately north of Dominowo, north-east of Środa Wielkopolska, and east ...

– the place from where the

Piasts The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...

gained control over other groups of Polans. *

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

– the largest and probably the main stronghold in the state. *

– probably the religious centre of the state, although archeological findings proving this have not been excavated so far. *

Ostrów Lednicki Ostrów Lednicki is an island in the southern portion of Lednica (lake), Lake Lednica in Poland, located between the cities of Gniezno and Poznań. The word ''ostrów'' is an Old Polish, archaic Polish word for "holm" (i.e., river or lake island) ...

– smaller stronghold halfway between Poznań and Gniezno. The Western Polans were first mentioned around the year AD 1000. Eastern Polans, a similarly named Eastern Slavic tribe which lived near modern-day

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

were last documented in AD 944.

References

{{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century) Early medieval Poland West Slavic tribes

History

See also

References