West Slavs

West Slavs
Reconstruction of the Slavic temple in Gro Raden

Bishop Absalon topples the god Svantevit at Arkona
The West Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking West Slavic

languages. These are the current Slovaks, Czechs,
Kashubians, Poles and Sorbs. The northern or Lechitic
group includes, along with Polish, the Kashubian and extinct Polabian and Pomeranian languages. The languages
of Upper and Lower Lusatia have features in common
with both the Lechitic and the Czecho-Slovak group.[1]
came under the domination of the Holy Roman Empire

after the Wendish Crusade[3] in the Middle Ages and had
been strongly Germanized by Germans at the end of the
19th century. The Polabian language survived until the
beginning of the 19th century in what is now the German state of Lower Saxony.[4] At this time only 60,000
Sorbs have survived, living predominantly in Lusatia, a
region in modern Germany in the states of Brandenburg
and Saxony.[5]
Culturally, West Slavs developed along the lines of other

Western European nations due to aliation with the
Roman Empire and Western Christianity.[2] Thus, they
experienced a cultural split with the other Slavic groups:
while the East Slavs and most South Slavs converted to
Orthodox Christianity, thus being culturally inuenced
by the Byzantine Empire, the West Slavs along with the
westernmost South Slavs (Slovenes and Croats) converted
to Roman Catholicism, thus coming under the cultural inuence of the Latin Church.
The central Polish tribe of the Polans created their own

state in the 10th century under the Polish duke Mieszko
I. For many centuries Poland has had close ties with
its western neighbors, with the Polish ruler Bolesaw I
1 History
the Brave declared by Holy Roman Emperor Otto III as
Frater et Cooperator Imperii (Brother and Partner in the
In the Middle Ages the name Wends (probably follow- Empire).[6]
ing Venedi or Venedae, taken from Jordanes and Tacitus) The precursors of the Czechs (i.e. Bohemians) migrated
was applied to Western Slavic peoples. Mieszko I, the into Bohemia in the late 6th century and had established
rst historical ruler of Poland, also appeared as Dagome, various efdoms by the 10th century when their rulers
King of the Wends.
eventually became vassals (1002) of the Holy Roman
The early Slavic expansion began in the 5th century, and
by the 6th century, the groups that would become the
West, East and South Slavic groups had probably become geographically separated. The rst independent
West Slavic states originate beginning in the 7th century,
with the Empire of Samo (623658), the Principality of
Moravia (8th century833), the Principality of Nitra (8th
century833) and Great Moravia (833c. 907). The
Sorbs and other Polabian Slavs like Obodrites and Veleti
Emperors. Kingdom of Bohemia stayed part of that

Empire between 10021419 and 15261918. Predecessors of Slovaks came under Hungarian domination after 907 (doom of the Great Moravia) together with
other Slavic groups as Croats, Slovenians, Dalmatians and
Rusyns. Both the Czechs and the Slovaks were under
rule of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526 to 1804; then
in the Austrian Empire and between 18671918 part of
Austria-Hungary.
1
5 SEE ALSO
West Slav tribes in 9th/10th century
West Slavic languages
West Slavic groups

Lechitic group
Poles
Silesians
Kashubians
CzechSlovak group[7]
Czechs
Bohemians
Moravians
Slovaks
Sorbs (Serbo-Lusatians)[7]
Milceni (Upper Sorbs)
Lusatians (Lower Sorbs)
Historical West Slavic groups

Lechitic group[7]
Masovians
Polans
Lendians
Vistulans
Silesian tribes
Pomeranians[7]
Slovincians
Polabians[7]
Obodrites/Abodrites
Obotrites proper
Wagrians
Warnower
Polabians proper
Linonen
Travnjane
Drevani
Veleti (Wilzi), succeeded by Lutici (Liutici)
Kissini
(Kessiner,
Chizzinen,
Kyzziner)
Circipani (Zirzipanen)
Tollensians
Redarier
Ucri (Ukr(an)i, Ukranen)
Rani (Rujani)
Hevelli (Stodorani)
Volinians (Velunzani)
Pyritzans (Prissani)
4 West Slavs from the Bavarian

Geographer
In 845 the Bavarian Geographer made a list of West
Slavic tribes who lived in the areas of modern day Poland,
Czech Republic, Germany and Denmark:
5 See also
West Slavic languages
East Slavs
South Slavs
List of Medieval Slavic tribes
References
[1] Bohemia and Poland. Chapter 20.pp 512-513. [in:] Timothy Reuter. The New Cambridge Medieval History: c.
900-c.1024. 2000
[2] Slav - Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
[3] Christiansen, Erik (1997). The Northern Crusades. London: Penguin Books. p. 287. ISBN 0-14-026653-4.
[4] Polabian language
[5] Die Sorben in Deutschland, M.Schiemann, Stiftung fr das
sorbische Volk, Grlitz 1997
[6] Rez. MA: M. Borgolte (Hg.): Polen und Deutschland vor
1000 Jahren - H-Soz-u-Kult / Rezensionen / Bcher
[7] Jerzy Strzelczyk. Bohemia and Poland: two examples of
successful western Slavonic state-formation. In: Timothy
Reuter ed. The New Cambridge Medieval History: c.
900-c. 1024. Cambridge University Press. 1995. p. 514.
7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
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What were some of the early West Slavic states?

What were some of the West Slavic tribes mentioned in the Bavarian Geographer?

West Slavs

Reconstruction of the Slavic temple in Gro Raden

The West Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking West Slavic

came under the domination of the Holy Roman Empire

Culturally, West Slavs developed along the lines of other

The central Polish tribe of the Polans created their own

Emperors. Kingdom of Bohemia stayed part of that

West Slav tribes in 9th/10th century

West Slavic languages

West Slavic groups

Historical West Slavic groups

4 West Slavs from the Bavarian

7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

File:Bishop_Absalon_topples_the_god_Svantevit_at_Arkona.PNG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

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