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

ethnographic group An ethnographic group or ethnocultural group is a group that has cultural traits that make it stand out from the larger ethnic group it is a part of. In other words, members of an ethnographic group will also consider themselves to be members of a ...

Polish people Polish people, or Poles, are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation who share a common History of Poland, history, Culture of Poland, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Central Europe. The preamble t ...

that originates from the region of

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

, located mostly within borders of the

Masovian Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship or Mazowieckie Province (, ) and any variation thereof, is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, containing Poland's capital Warsaw. Masovian Voivodeship has an area of and had a 2019 po ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. They speak the

Masovian dialect The Masovian dialect group (), also Mazovian, is a dialect group of the Polish language spoken in Mazovia and historically related regions, in northeastern Poland. It is the most distinct of the Polish dialects and the most expansive. Mazovian ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

.G. Odoj, A. Peć: ''Dziedzictwo kulturowe – edukacja regionalna''. ("Cultural heritage – regional education"), Dzierżoniów: Wydawnictwo Alex, 2000, p. 74, , . The group originates from the Lechitic tribe of Masovians, first referenced in the historical records by

Nestor the Chronicler Nestor the Chronicler or Nestor the Hagiographer (; 1056 – 1114) was a monk from the Kievan Rus who is known to have written two saints' lives: the ''Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves'' and the ''Account about the Life an ...

in the 11th century. In the Polish census of 2021, 97 people declared Mazovian national identity.

Name

The name Masovian, in

, ''Mazowszanin'', comes from the name of the region of

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

Old Polish The Old Polish language () 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 Old Polish language are the data of the co ...

names ''Mazow'', and ''Mazosze'', and most likely came from word ''maz'' (ancestor 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Masurians The Masurians or Mazurs (; ; Masurian dialects, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ''), historically also known as Prussian Masurians (Polish language, Polish: ''Mazurzy pruscy''), are an ethnic group originating from the region of Masuria, within the Warmian- ...

(historically known as ''Prussian Masurians''), another ethnic group related to Masovians, who inhabit nearby region of

Masuria Masuria ( ; ; ) is an ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship (ad ...

, while the population of Masovia is exclusively referred 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

, centered on the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

river. They were originally of the

Slavic paganism Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to 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 ...

faith, prior to the

christianization of Poland The Christianization of Poland ( ) refers to the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity in Poland. The impetus to the process was the Baptism of Poland ( ), the personal baptism of Mieszko I, the first ruler of the future Polish st ...

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

Ciechanów Ciechanów is a city in north-central Poland, seat of the Ciechanów County in the Masovian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has a population of 43,495. A city with almost a thousand years of history, recorded in 1065, Ciechanów is one of ...

Czersk Czersk (; ; formerly , (1942-5): ) is a town in northern Poland in Chojnice County, Pomeranian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 9,844. Today the center of the city of Czersk in is the Village Square. The infrastructu ...

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

Płock Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

Płońsk Płońsk (; ) is a town in central Poland with 21,591 inhabitants (2022). Situated at the Płonka river in the historic region of Mazovia, it is the seat of Płońsk County in the Masovian Voivodeship. History According to archaeological researc ...

, and

Wizna Wizna is a village in Łomża County of Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, situated on the Narew River. Wizna is known for the battle of Wizna which took place in its vicinity during the 1939 Invasion of Poland at the start of World ...

Ethnographic subgroups

There are several subgroups of Masovian people. They include

Łowiczans Łowiczans () also known as the Łowicz Księżaks (, literally "Łowicz Duchy folk"; singular: ) is an ethnographic group of Polish people, that are part of the ethnographic subgroup of Masovians. They originate from the historical region known a ...

Poborzans Poborzans, also spelled as Pobożans, are an ethnographic group of Polish people, that are part of the ethnographic subgroup of Masovians. They originate from the north west Masovia, located within the region of Poborze and Zawkrze, to the north ...

, and Podlachians. Historically, they also included Międzyrzec Boyars.

Notes

References

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