A knyaz, also knez, knjaz or kniaz (), is a historical Slavs title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical context and the potentially known Latin equivalents at the time; the word was originally derived from the common Germanic kuningaz]] ('king').
Feminine forms of the word may be divided into two groups:
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"Princess", be it princess consort (wife of a reigning prince), princess regnant (reigning princess suo jure), or princess regent (reigning on behalf of an underage prince, usually her son after her husband's death)
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"Daughter of the prince"
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Belarusian: kniazioŭna (князёўна)
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Russian language: knyazhna (княжна; the son of a knyaz is knyazhich (княжич in its old form).
[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.]
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Ukrainian: knyazivna (князівна).
The title is pronounced and written similarly in different European languages. In Serbo-Croatian and some West Slavic languages, the word has later come to denote "lord", and in Czech language, Polish language and Slovak language also came to mean "priest" (kněz, ksiądz, kňaz) as well as "prince/duke" (knez, kníže, książę, knieža).[ "князь". "Vasmer's Etymological Dictionary" online] In Sorbian it means simply "Mister" (from "Master". Compare French monsieur from mon sieur "my lord"), and the Catholic title "monsignor" for a priest. Today the term knez is still used as the most common translation of "prince" in Slovenian, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian literature. Knez is also found as a surname in former Yugoslavia.[Фроянов И. Я. Киевская Русь. Л., 1980. С. 17]
Etymology
The word is ultimately a
cognate of the
English language King, the
German language König, and the
Swedish language Konung. The
proto-Slavic form was *,
kŭnędzĭ;
[Skok, Petar. Etimologijski Rječnik Hrvatskoga ili Srpskoga Jezika. 1972.] ,
[Ed. Kurz, Josef. Slovnik Jazyka Staroslověnskeho: Lexicon Linguae Palaeoslavonicae. 1958.] kŭnędzĭ; ,
knyaz; ,
knyazĭ; ; knez / кнез; ; ; etc. It is generally considered to be an early borrowing from
Proto-Germanic , a form also borrowed by Finnish language and Estonian ().
["knez". Oxford English Dictionary, 1989, online [2] (subscription required)]
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.
Middle Ages
The meaning of the term changed over the course of history. Initially the term was used to denote the
tribal chief of a
Slavic tribe. Later, with the development of feudal statehood, it became the title of a ruler of a state, and among East Slavs ( (
knyazhestvo), ) traditionally translated as
duchy or
principality, for example, of Kievan Rus'.
In Medieval Bulgaria
In First Bulgarian Empire, Boris I of Bulgaria (852–889) changed his title to knyaz after his conversion to Christianity in 864, abandoning the pagan title 'khan' of his predecessors. The new titles were applied to his sons
Vladimir-Rasate (889-893) and Simeon I (893–927), however knyaz Simeon took the higher title of
tsar soon in 913.
[Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Administrando Imperio, Chapter 32.]
According to Florin Curta, the primary sources have a variety of names for the rulers of the Bulgars before christianisation - such as including ‘rex’, ‘basileus’ and ‘khagan’. Omurtag (814–831) and his son Malamir (831–836) are mentioned in inscriptions as 'kanasubigi'.[Николов, Г., Централизъм и регионализъм в ранносредновековна България (края на VII – началото на XI в.), Академично издателство „Марин Дринов“, София 2005, , с. 107.][Гюзелев, В., Кавханите и ичиргу-боилите на българското ханство-царство (VII – XI в.), Фондация Българско историческо наследство; Пловдив 2007, , с. 40, 61;] However, secondary sources are almost always 'khan'.
In Kievan Rus'
In Kievan Rus', as the degree of centralization grew, the ruler acquired the title
Velikii Knyaz (Великий Князь) (translated as
Grand Prince or
Grand Duke, see Russian Grand Dukes). He ruled a or (
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 East Slavs states, including Kiev's Principality, Chernihiv, Novgorod Republic and its princes, Pereiaslavl Principality, Vladimir-Suzdal, Muscovy, Tver's Principality, Kingdom of Ruthenia, and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[ Великий князь // Слова давно минувших дней. Энциклопедия русской старины (speakrus.ru) ]
Russia
As the Tsardom of Russia gained dominion over much of former Kievan Rus',
velikii kniaz (великий князь) (
Grand prince) 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 (, ) continued as a hereditary title of Russian nobility patrilineally descended from Rurik (e.g., Belozersky, Belosselsky-Belozersky, Repnin, Gorchakov) or Gediminas (e.g., 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.
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 language as "kniazes".
Finally, within the Russian Empire of 1809–1917, Finland was officially called Grand Duchy of Finland (, , ).
| + Translation issues |
|
| kniaz (князь, ) | king | duke | prince |
| kniaginia (княгиня, ) | queen | duchess | princess |
| kniazhich (княжич, ) | prince (son of a king) | son of a duke | prince (son of a prince) |
| kniazhna (княжна, ) | 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 Karađorđević and 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.
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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 early medieval Bosnia
knez (
knjaz, књаз) was a title used, along
župan and
duke (
vojvoda) titles, for Bosnian rulers.
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 Grand Duke of Bosnia ( Veliki vojvoda bosanski), which was office of the supreme military commander of the realm. Other noble titles included the knez, the duke ( vojvoda) and the župan. The title knez is equivalent to that of prince. Among most influential of Bosnian nobleman with the title knez was Pavle Radinović of Radinović-Pavlović noble family, while other include several noblemen from Radojević-Mirković family, such as Batić Mirković. Further families that bear this title are for example Batalo and most members of Hrvatinić.
Croatia
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knez was the monarchial title used by the medieval rulers of the Duchy of Lower Pannonia and the Duchy of Croatia from the 7th to the 10th century, who were mostly titled as dux
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knez
North Macedonia
The title used in Macedonian historiography for Medieval local leaders.
Montenegro
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knjaz (књаз) was the ruler title used by the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty in Principality of Montenegro from 1852 until the establishment of Kingdom of Montenegro in 1905, translated as "Prince".
Serbia
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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.
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knez (кнез) or knjaz (књаз) was a noble title used by medieval rulers of the Principality of Serbia, Duklja, and Moravian Serbia.
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knez (кнез) was a title borne by local Serbian chiefs under the Ottoman Empire. It was another name for the Ottoman Turkish rank of kodjabashi, held by local Christian chiefs.
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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) and in the Negotin Valley, an autonomous timar of valide sultan.
[Vuk Stefanović Karadžić: Istorijski spisi 2, Sabrana dela ("Collected Works") 16, Belgrade, 1969, p. 394][Konstantin N. Nenadović, Život i dela velikog Đorđa Petrovića Kara-Đorđa vrhovnoh vožda, oslobodioca i vladara Srbije i život njegovi vojvoda i junaka, Vienna, 1883, p. 741][Felix Philipp Kanitz: Serbien: Historisch-ethnographische Reisestudien aus den Jahren 1859–1868, Leipzig, 1868, passim] 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.
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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
Sources
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Mihaljčić, R. (1999) Knez. in: Ćirković S.i R.Mihaljčić ed. Leksikon srpskog srednjeg veka, Beograd, str. 299–301
External links
