The Golensizi (, , ) were a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

West Slavs The West Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak the West Slavic languages. They separated from the common Slavic group around the 7th century, and established independent polities in Central Europe by the 8th to 9th centuries. The West Slavic langu ...

, specifically of the

Lechitic tribes Lechites (, ), also known as the Lechitic tribes (, ), is a name given to certain West Slavic tribes who inhabited modern-day Poland and eastern Germany, and were speakers of the Lechitic languages. Distinct from the Czech–Slovak subgroup, the ...

(one of the

Silesian tribes The Silesian tribes () is a term used to refer to tribes, or groups of West Slavs that lived in the territories of Silesia in the Early Middle Ages. The territory they lived on became part of Great Moravia in 875 (now mostly in the Czech Republic) a ...

), living in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

and inhabiting southern territories of what was later known as

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

, on the upper

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

River. The area was settled by Slavs after it was abandoned by the Germanic tribes between the 5th and 6th century. Later the organised tribe of Golensizi according to

Bavarian Geographer The epithet "Bavarian Geographer" () is the conventional name for the anonymous author of a short Latin medieval text containing a list of the tribes in Central and Eastern Europe, headed . The name "Bavarian Geographer" was first bestowed (in its ...

had 5 ''civitates'' (strongholds). Among them most notable were located in Lubomia (the biggest), Chotěbuz and

Hradec nad Moravicí Hradec nad Moravicí (; ) is a town in Opava District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre with the castle complex is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument z ...

which was in 1155 mentioned as ''Gradice Golenzicezke''. Some of them were most probably destroyed at the end of 9th century by

Svatopluk I Svatopluk I or Svätopluk I, also known as Svatopluk the Great, was a ruler of Great Moravia, which attained its maximum territorial expansion during his reign (870–871, 871–894). Svatopluk's career started in the 860s, when he govern ...

, the king of

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

. The settlement from the destroyed Chotěbuz moved to Castle Hill (Góra Zamkowa) in what is today a city of

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; ; ) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Repu ...

. Some historians claim that the area was then ruled by Great Moravia, however, that is now disputed.I. Panic, 2009, p. 249. In 990 the area was adjoined by

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 ...

to his state. The conflict between Polish and Czech states over the land was resolved in a

Treaty of Kłodzko A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

in 1137. The smaller part of the area around

Opava Opava (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Opava (river), Opava River. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia and was a historical capital of Czech Sile ...

found itself within Czech state, whereas the rest in Polish where it was subdivided into two

castellany A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

of Cieszyn and

Racibórz Racibórz (, , , ) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being the residence of the Duchy of Racibórz, Du ...

Footnotes

References

* Jerzy Szydłowski, Werner Pierzyna: ''Lubomia gród plemienny Golęszyców'', Bytom 1970. * {{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century) Silesian tribes

See also

Footnotes

References