A druzhina is the Slavonic word for a

retinue A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', ...

in service of a

chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

, also called a ''

knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

'' (prince).

Kievan Rus'

''Druzhina'' was flexible both as a term and as an institution. At its core, it referred to the prince's permanent personal bodyguards (''malaia''; 'small' ''Druzhina''); more generally, it referred to the prince's extended household (''dvor''; court).Simon Franklin, "Kievan Rus' (1015-1125)," in ''The Cambridge History of Russia'', vol. 1, ed. Maureen Perrie (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 81-82. Apart from a prince's kins, the druzhina was a his closest and most vital social group: it served as the "protective and coercitive basis for his power". A wise prince was expected to nurture his druzhina, keep it close, feast with it, consult it and reward it. The effects of not doing so can be seen with Boris's case; after his father's death, the latter's druzhina pledged loyalty to him and offered him the throne of Kiev. Boris declined, the ''druzhina'' dispersed, and he was left defenceless against the agents of his brother Sviatopolk, who murdered him. The ''druzhina'' had perhaps once "truly corresponded to some egalitarian ideal of military fellowship, with the prince as patron and first among equals". However, as the role of a prince and the running of a principality (especially a senior prince's) became more complex, so did the ''druzhina''. It developped its own internal hierarchies, divisions of functions, structure of offices and responsabilities. The ''druzhina'' had its own rank-and-file members ('youths') in the junior ''druzhina'' (''mladshaia'') and its own senior members (boyars). Boyars offices encompassed military, domestic and urban administration. The druzhina was a military elite, and the distinction between military and administrative offices thus wasn't always clear. According to Novgorodian inscriptions, for example, the 'swordman' (''mechnik'') also had a role in fiscal administration or tribute-gathering. The druzhina was loyal to the prince personally, and could thus somewhat choose whom to support.

Poland

Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, who traveled in 961–62 in

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

, mentions that the drużyna of Duke

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...

had 3000 men, paid by the duke."Ibrāhīm ibn Ya‛qūb al-Isrā’īlī al-Ṭurṭūshī," by Lutz Richter-Bernburg, in: ''The Oxford Companion to World Exploration'', David Buisseret, editor-in-chief, 2 vols., Oxford UP 2007, I:402b-403b Unlike his predecessors, Casimir I the Restorer promoted landed gentry over the drużyna as his base of power.

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