Druzhina

Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh of the Rurikid dynasty resting with his druzhina after a hunt, by Viktor Vasnetsov.

In the medieval history of Kievan Rus' and Early Poland, a druzhina, drużyna, or družyna (Slovak and Czech: družina; Polish: drużyna; Russian: дружина, romanized: druzhina; Ukrainian: дружи́на, romanized: druzhýna, lit. 'fellowship') was a retinue in service of a Slavic chieftain, also called knyaz. The name is derived from the Slavic word drug (друг) with the meaning of "companion, friend".[1][2]

Poland

Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, who traveled in 961–62 in Central Europe, mentions that the drużyna of Duke Mieszko I of Poland had 3000 men, paid by the duke.[3] Unlike his predecessors, Casimir I the Restorer promoted landed gentry over the drużyna as his base of power.

See also

  • Housecarl
  • Leidang
  • Hird
  • Voluntary People's Druzhina, a civilian organization in the Soviet Union
  • There was a military unit in Russia, called the "Czech Companions" (Česká družina or Družina), see "Czechoslovak Legion"

References

  1. ↑ "Online Etymology Dictionary". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  2. ↑ Zeno. "Drushine". www.zeno.org. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  3. ↑ "Ibrāhīm ibn Ya‛qūb al-Isrā’īlī al-Ṭurṭūshī," by Lutz Richter-Bernburg, in: The Oxford Companion to World Exploration, David Buisseret, editor-in-chief, 2 vols., Oxford UP 2007, I:402b-403b

Bibliography

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Дружина" . Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906.

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