Everything about Kniaz totally explained
Kniaz’ or
knyaz is a word found in some
Slavic languages, denoting a
nobility rank. It is usually translated into English as either
Prince or
Duke, although the correspondence isn't exact.
The title is pronounced and written similarly in different
Eastern European languages. In
West Slavic languages, such as Polish and Sorbian, the word has later come to denote "lord", and in Czech, Polish and Slovak also came to mean "priest" (kněz, ksiądz, kňaz) as well as "duke" (kníže, książę, knieža).
Etymology
The etymology is directly related to the English
King, the German König, and the Scandinavian konung. Western scholars likes to teach, that it was probably borrowed early from the Proto-Germanic Kuningaz, a form also borrowed by Finnish and Estonian (Kuningas). The proto-Slavic form was kǔningǔ, kъnędzь, East-Slavic knyaz', Polish
ksiądz, Czech kněz etc.
Middle Ages
The meaning of the term changed over the course of history. Initially the term was used to denote the
chieftain of a tribe. Later, with the development of feudal statehood, it became the title of a ruler of a state among East Slavs (княжество,
kniazhestvo, traditionally translated as
duchy or
principality), for example, of
Kievan Rus'. In medieval Latin sources the title was rendered as either
rex or
dux.
As the degree of centralization grew, the ruler acquired the title
Velikii Kniaz (Великий Князь) (translated as
Grand Prince or
Grand duke, see
Russian Grand Dukes). He ruled a
Velikoe Knyazhestvo (Великое Княжество) (
Grand Duchy), while a ruler of its vassal constituent (
udel,
udelnoe kniazhestvo or
volost) was called
udelny kniaz or simply
kniaz.
When Kievan Rus' became fragmented in the
13th century, the title Kniaz continued to be used in
East Slavic states, including
Novgorod,
Vladimir-Suzdal',
Muscovy,
Tver,
Halych-Volynia, and in the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Russia
As
Muscovy gained dominion over much of former Kievan Rus', Velikii Kniaz
Ivan IV of Russia in
1547 was crowned as
Tsar. Since the mid-18th century, the title Velikii Kniaz has been revived to allude to sons and grandsons (through male lines) of the Russian Emperors. See
titles for Tsar's family for details.
Kniaz continued as a hereditary title of
Russian nobility patrilineally descended from
Rurik (for example,
Repnin,
Gorchakov) or
Gediminas (for example,
Galitzine,
Troubetzkoy). Members of
Rurikid or
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.
Since 18th-century, 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". Similarly, many petty Tatar nobles asserted their right to style themselves "kniazes" because they descended from
Genghis Khan.
See also "
Velikiy Knyaz" article for more details.
Finally, within the
Russian Empire of
1809-
1917,
Finland was called
Grand Duchy of Finland (
Velikoe Kniazhestvo Finlyandskoe).
Balkans
In the 19th century, the Serbian term knez (кнез) and the Bulgarian term kniaz (княз) were revived to denote semi-independent rulers of those countries, such as
Alexander Karađorđević and
Alexander of Battenberg.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kniaz'.
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