Knyaz

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Until Boris I (852–889), the title of the Bulgarian monarchs was knyaz (Кнѣзъ). His son, Simeon I (893–927), adopted the title tsar (emperor), which became the title of the subsequent Bulgarian rulers.
Early Slavic status
Knyaz (sovereign)
Boyar / Szlachta (noble)
Druzhinnik (retainer)
Smerd (free tenant)
Kholop (slave)

A knyaz, also knez, knjaz or kniaz (

Church Slavonic: кънѧѕь, romanized: kŭnędzĭ), is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English as "prince", "king", or "duke" depending on specific historical context and the potentially known Latin equivalents at the time, but the word was originally derived from the common Germanic *kuningaz (king).[1]

Feminine forms of the word may be divided into two groups:

The title is pronounced and written similarly in different

former Yugoslavia.[4]

Etymology

Glagolitic Baška tablet inscription, found on the island of Krk, Croatia.[5][6]

The word is ultimately a

Proto-Germanic kuningaz, a form also borrowed by Finnish and Estonian (kuningas).[3][9]

The rulers of the

Duchy of Poland bore the title of książę, which was rendered as dux or princeps in Latin, and later adopted krol (from Karl, the name of Charlemagne) and its equivalent rex following Bolesław I's coronation in 1025.[10][11] Similarly, the ruler of the Duchy of Lithuania, called kunigaikštis (also derived from kuningaz) in Polish, was called magnus dux instead of the Polish word for "king", karalius (also derived from Karl).[12] Medieval German records, however, translated knyaz as koning (king) until at least the 15th century.[13]

Middle Ages

The meaning of the term changed over the course of history. Initially the term was used to denote the

Slavic tribe. Later, with the development of feudal statehood, it became the title of a ruler of a state, and among East Slavs (Russian: княжество (knyazhestvo), Ukrainian: князівство, romanized: kniazivstvo) traditionally translated as duchy or principality, for example, of Kievan Rus'
.

In Medieval Bulgaria

In

Vladimir Rasate (889-893) and Simeon I (893–927), however knyaz Simeon took the higher title of tsar soon in 913.[14][15][16]

According to

Omurtag (814–831) and his son Malamir (831–836) are mentioned in inscriptions as 'kanasubigi'.[17][18] However, secondary sources are almost always 'khan'.[19]

In Kievan Rus'

In Kievan Rus', as the degree of centralization grew, the ruler acquired the title

Grand Duchy), while a ruler of its vassal constituent (udel, udelnoe knyazivstvo or volost
) was called udelny knyaz or simply knyaz.

When Kievan Rus' became fragmented in the 13th century, the title Knyaz continued to be used in

Muscovy, Tver's Principality, Kingdom of Ruthenia, and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[20]

Russia

Alexis I of Russia
)

As the

Ivan IV of Russia in 1547 was crowned as Tsar. From the mid-18th century onwards, the title Velikii Kniaz was revived to refer to (male-line) sons and grandsons of Russian Emperors. See titles for Tsar's family
for details.

Kniaz (

Gedyminid
families were called princes when they ruled tiny quasi-sovereign medieval principalities. After their demesnes were absorbed by Muscovy, they settled at the Moscow court and were authorised to continue with their princely titles.

From the 18th century onwards, the title was occasionally granted by the Tsar, for the first time by

Peter the Great to his associate Alexander Menshikov, and then by Catherine the Great to her lover Grigory Potemkin. After 1801, with the incorporation of Georgia into the Russian Empire, various titles of numerous local nobles were controversially rendered in Russian
as "kniazes".

Finally, within the

Grand Principality of Finland (Finnish: Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta, Swedish: Storfurstendömet Finland, Russian: Великое Княжество Финляндское, romanized
: Velikoye Knyazhestvo Finlyandskoye).

Translation issues
Russian English analogs, approximately English analogs after the 18th century
kniaz (князь, [ˈknjæsʲ]) king duke prince
kniaginia (княгиня, [knʲɪˈginʲə]) queen duchess princess
kniazhich (княжич, [ˈknjaʐɨt͡ɕ]) prince (son of a king) son of a duke prince (son of a prince)
kniazhna (княжна, [knʲɪˈʐna]) princess (daughter of a king) daughter of a duke princess (daughter of a prince)

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

As noted above, the title knyaz or kniaz became a hereditary noble title in the

Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Following the union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, kniaź became a recognised title in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. By the 1630s – apart from the title pan, which indicated membership of the large szlachta noble class – kniaź was the only hereditary title that was officially recognised and officially used in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Notable holders of the title kniaź include Jeremi Wiśniowiecki
.

South Slavic countries

In the 19th century, the Serbian term knez (кнез) and the Bulgarian term knyaz (княз) were revived to denote semi-independent rulers of those countries, such as

Alexander of Battenberg. In parts of Serbia and western Bulgaria, knez was the informal title of the elder or mayor of a village or zadruga
until around the 19th century. Those are officially called gradonačelnik (градоначелник) (Serbia) and gradonachalnik (градоначалник) or kmet (кмет) (Bulgaria).

Bulgaria

  • Prior to Battenberg, the title knyaz was born by Simeon I during the First Bulgarian Empire (9th–10th century). At the height of his power, Simeon adopted the title of tsar ("emperor"), as did the Bulgarian rulers after the country became officially independent in 1908.
  • As of Bulgaria's independence in 1908, Knyaz
    Ferdinand became Tsar Ferdinand, and the words knyaz and knyaginya began to be used instead for the tsar's children – the heir to the throne, for example, held the title Knyaz Tarnovski (Prince of Tarnovo
    ").

Bosnia

In

vojvoda) titles, for Bosnian rulers.[21] One of the first such ruler, recorded in historic documents and later historiography, was Stephen, Duke of Bosnia
.

Later it was held by several of most powerful magnates (in Bosnia vlastelin) of the era, sometime along with an office title given to a person through service to the monarch, such as

Hrvatinić
.

Croatia

North Macedonia

The title used in

Macedonian historiography
for Medieval local leaders.

Montenegro

Serbia

  • knez (кнез) or knjaz (књаз) is a common term used in Serbian historiography for Serbian rulers in the Early Middle Ages, who were titled archon in Greek.
  • knez (кнез) or knjaz (књаз) was a noble title used by medieval rulers of the Principality of Serbia, Duklja,[citation needed] and Moravian Serbia.
  • knez (кнез) was a title borne by local Serbian chiefs under the
    kodjabashi, held by local Christian chiefs.[26]
  • obor-knez (обор-кнез) was a title borne by elected local native Serbian chiefs of the nahiyah (district of a group of villages) in the Ottoman Sanjak of Smederevo (also known as the Belgrade Pashaluk). The obor-knez was senior chief and responsible for his district's people and was their spokesman (intermediary) in direct relations with the Pasha, though usually through the sipahi, and was in charge of the transfer of taxes levied on the villages.
  • knez (кнез) or knjaz (књаз) was the monarchial title used by
    Miloš Obrenović in Principality of Serbia, translated as "Prince". Serbia known as Kneževina Srbija (Кнежевина Србија) was de facto independent since 1817, becoming de jure independent with the 1869 constitution. The successors of Miloš used the title until 1882 when Serbia was elevated into a kingdom
    .

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9780521419109
    .
  2. ^ Даль В. Толковый словарь живого великорусского языка в 4-х т. М., 1956. Т. 2, с. 126; Рабинович М. Г. Очерки этнографии феодального города. М., 1978, с. 228.
  3. ^ a b "князь". "Vasmer's Etymological Dictionary" online
  4. ^ Фроянов И. Я. Киевская Русь. Л., 1980. С. 17
  5. ^ Fučić, Branko (September 1971). "Najstariji hrvatski glagoljski natpisi" (PDF). Slovo (in Croatian). 21. Old Church Slavonic Institute: 227–254. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  6. doi:10.31953/sz.45.1.3
    . Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  7. ^ Skok, Petar. Etimologijski Rječnik Hrvatskoga ili Srpskoga Jezika. 1972.
  8. ^ Ed. Kurz, Josef. Slovnik Jazyka Staroslověnskeho: Lexicon Linguae Palaeoslavonicae. 1958.
  9. ^ "knez". Oxford English Dictionary, 1989, online [1] (subscription required)
  10. ISBN 978-0-19-256814-4
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-19-925339-5
    .
  12. ISBN 978-0-8108-7536-4
    .
  13. ISBN 978-0-86054-214-8
    . This is attested in particular by diplomatic documents. In treaties between Novgorod and the Livonian cities veli[k]ii knyaz (grand prince) is translated as "great king" - in German, grote koning - treaties of 1342, 1371, 1372, 1420 and elsewhere.
  14. ISBN 978-0-472-08149-3
    .
  15. ^ Павлов, Пламен (24 May 2009). "СЪРБИЯ В ПОЛИТИКАТА НА КНЯЗ КНЯЗ БОРИС-МИХАИЛ (852 – 889) И ЦАР СИМЕОН ВЕЛИКИ (893 – 927)". LiterNet (in Bulgarian). 5 (114).
  16. ^ Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Administrando Imperio, Chapter 32.
  17. ISBN 954-430-787-7
    , с. 107.
  18. ISBN 978-954-91983-1-7
    , с. 40, 61;
  19. OCLC 1097111080
    .
  20. ^ Великий князь // Слова давно минувших дней. Энциклопедия русской старины (speakrus.ru)
  21. ^ a b "knez". Croatian Encyclopedia by Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography (online edition). Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  22. ^ "Borna". Croatian Biographical Lexicon by Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography (online edition). Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  23. ^ "Trpimir I". Croatian Biographical Lexicon by Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography (online edition). Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  24. ^ "Domagoj". Croatian Biographical Lexicon by Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography (online edition). Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  25. ^ "Branimir". Croatian Biographical Lexicon by Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography (online edition). Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  26. ISBN 1850655510
    .

Sources

  • Mihaljčić, R. (1999) Knez. in: Ćirković S.i R.Mihaljčić [ed.] Leksikon srpskog srednjeg veka, Beograd, str. 299–301
  • Media related to Knyaz at Wikimedia Commons
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