Łowiczans, also known as the Łowicz Dukes, 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 Ce ...

, that are part of the ethnographic subgroup of

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 Mas ...

. They originate from the north west

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 centuri ...

, located 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. The ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. The group speak in the Łowicz subdialect of the Masovian dialect of Polish.G. Odoj, A. Peć: ''Dziedzictwo kulturowe – edukacja regionalna''. Dzierżoniów: Wydawnictwo Alex, 2000, p. 74, ISBN 83-85589-35-X, OCLC 749376082.

History

The group originates from the north west

, located within borders of the

. Historically, that area was part of the region known as the

Duchy of Łowicz A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between ...

, a private estate of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno The Archdiocese of Gniezno ( la, Archidioecesis Gnesnensis, pl, Archidiecezja Gnieźnieńska) is the oldest Latin Catholic archdiocese in Poland, located in the city of Gniezno.Serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develo ...

much earlier than other groups in the region, further building their cultural identity separate from the other groups.Janusz Kamocki: ''Zarys grup etnograficznych w Polsce''. In: ''Polskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze: Ziemia 1965 – Prace i materiały krajoznawcze''. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Sport i Turystyka, 1966, p. 109.

Notes

References

Lowiczans Lowiczans Lowiczans Lowiczans Lowiczans Lowiczans Lowiczans {{Europe-ethno-group-stub