Knes

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Knes ( transcription ; mostly translated with German  Graf ) was a ruler title or honorary title known in all Slavic languages for a socially leading person among the Slavs . The title is since the 7th century occupied and was partly to the early 20th century in the use of language .

Language variants

Slavic languages

  • Old Slavic : кънѧꙃь kъnędzь
  • Bulgarian княз knjas
  • Croatian knez
  • Upper Sorbian knjez
  • Polish ksiądz 'priest' , książę 'prince' , 'duke', 'prince'
  • russian князь knjas
  • Serbian кнез knez
  • Slovak kňaz 'priest' , kneeza 'prince'
  • slovenian knez
  • Czech kněz 'priest' , kníže 'prince'
  • ukrainian князь knjas

As a loan in:

Non-Slavic languages

In Greek sources , the Slavic leaders were mostly as ἄρχων Archon , rarely as reks or ἔξαρχος Exarchos called.

In Latin sources, the title Knes is usually translated as comes , or more rarely princeps . Also dux was common and often called a vassal of the Frankish Empire , later the Holy Roman Empire .

Word origin

Knes is derived from the Germanic word kuningaz or the Gothic word kuniggs ( king ), which describes a politically often largely independent ruler.

From the 12th century was kral ( kralь, kъralь , King ' ; Latin rex ) the designation for the highest Slavic rulers (see the related names kralj in Croatian, król in Polish and král in Czech and király in Hungarian).

history

Bulgarians

The Bulgarians first used the title in connection with the ruler Asparuch (668-700). At the same time, this is the earliest historically documented use of this Slavic ruler title. Asparuch was the founder of the first Bulgarian Empire and Danube Bulgaria . From 1879 bis 1908 was Knjaz the title of the Bulgarian rulers.

Croatians

Among the Croatians , the rulers of the so-called Pannonian Croatia , namely Vojnomir (791-810), Ljudevit (810-823), Ratimir (829-838) and Braslav (880-897) , carried the title dux or knez in the Middle Ages . Likewise the rulers of the so-called Dalmatian Croatia , namely Višeslav (around 800–810 ), Borna (around 810–821), Vladislav (821–828?), Mislav (829? –842?), Trpimir I (842? / 845–864), Domagoj (864–876), son of Domagoj (Ilko / Iljko?) (876 or 878), Zdeslav (878–879), Branimir (879–892), Muncimir (892–910) and Tomislav ( from 910).

Original of the Baška tablet in the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts

On the Baška tablet from the beginning of the 12th century , the title is first used for the entire language area of ​​the southern Slavs . The inscription in Glagolitic script reads:

“I, Abbot Držiha, wrote this about this piece of land that Zvonimir , Kralj of Croatia, gave to Saint Lucija in his day . […] I, Abbot Dobrovit, built this church and with my nine brothers in the days of Knez Kosmat, who ruled this country. "

Heads of powerful noble families (e.g. the Šubići ) and the Dalmatian coastal cities (e.g. Ragusa ) also carried the title.

At the time of the Ottoman rule , the title lost its meaning and became the title of the head of local Christian self-government and the village mayor of Christian communities.

Poland

The in Poland used words Książę (Prince), Księstwo (Principality), Ksiądz (priests) and Kniaź (the name of the mayor in the Wallachian law ) is derived also from the old Slavic Knjaz from.

Romanians

In the settlement areas of the Romanians , the Knesentum (Rum. Cneaz ) developed differently depending on the region, on the one hand in the independent or at least autonomous Danube principalities , Wallachia and Moldova , and on the other hand in Transylvania, which is mostly Hungarian .

In Wallachia and Moldova they first appeared in the High Middle Ages as smaller regional princes, as "a kind of voivode with limited authority". After the Wallachian and Moldovan states were consolidated in the 14th century, "the village judges of the princes and the free villages are referred to as Knesen . But the Knes has been in Wallachia since the 15th and exclusively since the end of the 16th century the free peasant with his own landed property. These peasants form a layer between the boyars and the poor (that is, unfree or dispossessed without landed property), which is specially designated in the sources .

In Transylvania, on the other hand, the Knesen initially remained the leading figures of the local Romanian village communities, which in the counties , which are otherwise dominated by Hungarian nobles, retained their own legal area for a long time, the jus Valachorum or keneziale . They began to break up early on into royally recognized and others. Although they were never considered noble, a document from King Ludwig I of Hungary recognizes the statements of royally authenticated Knesen as equivalent to those of a nobleman, while those of other Knesen were only a quarter as much. They had to pay lower taxes, in particular they were exempt from the fifty-fifty sheep that the common Wallachians had to pay. Over time, the Knesen rose either to the ranks of the full nobility or to the ranks of the unfree commoners. Their functions were taken over by the county judges (ung. Biró , rum. Jew ). At the end of the 14th century, four categories can be identified: 1. Knesen who ruled solely from customary law (not confirmed in writing), 2. Those who had been confirmed by royal deed, 3. Those who had received their village as a property as a gift and had risen to nobles, and 4. Knesen only in name, who were actually subjects of the nobility or the church.

In the Banat , which was also originally part of Hungary, the Knesentum took a special development. In this long-fought border region of the Turkish Wars, the old Romanian village constitution lasted a particularly long time. Under Turkish rule their privileges were confirmed: "Distribution of taxes to the peasants, jurisdiction over land disputes, collection of taxes, organization of guards and apprehension of evildoers." Dutiful Knesen could be rewarded with land and official recognition. After the final incorporation into the Habsburg monarchy ( 1719 ), the Knesentum was integrated into the Austrian administration through the appointment of Oberknesen (paid civil servants). Ordinary Knesen remained tax-free and could transfer their office to their son with the consent of the authorities and the village community. At the military frontier , the officers often stood up at the same time.

Russians

In ancient Russian chronicles was Knyaz of the general term for ruler Kievan Rus . It was in use until the 20th century.

Serbs

For the Serbs , the title knez in the Middle Ages was the official designation for members of the ruling house of the Serbian Empire who administered certain areas. Later also the title of ruler after the Nemanjids died out (cf. Lazar Hrebeljanović , 1371-1389).

After the regained independence from Ottoman rule, he also became the title of Serbian (until 1882) and Montenegrin (1851-1910) ruler (see Miloš Obrenović ).

Sorbs

Among the Sorbs , the male salutation commonly used today is “ Herr ” in both Sorbian languages knjez or kněz (female form: kněni ) corresponding to the Polish pan and the Czech pán .

See also

Web links

Commons : Knjas  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

General

Romanians

  • J. Bogdan: About the Romanian knees . In: Archives for Slavic Philology . tape 25 , 1903.

Serbs

  • D. Daničić: Rječnik iz književnih starina srpskih . tape 1 . Beograd 1863, p. 451-457 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Isabel de Madariaga: Tsar into emperor. The title of Peter the Great . In: Robert Oresko et al. (Ed.): Royal and Republican Sovereignty in Early Modern Europe. Essays in memory of Ragnhild Hatton . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1997, ISBN 0-521-41910-7 , pp. 354 (English).
  2. ^ A b Lubomír E. Havlík: Kronika o Velké Moravě . Jota, Brno 1992, ISBN 80-85617-04-8 , pp. 132-133 (Czech).
  3. ↑ Peter Bartl: Knez . In: Konrad Clewing, Holm Sundhaussen (Ed.): Lexicon for the history of Southeast Europe . Böhlau, Vienna et al. 2016, ISBN 978-3-205-78667-2 , p. 494 f .
  4. ↑ Peter Bartl: Knez . In: Konrad Clewing, Holm Sundhaussen (Ed.): Lexicon for the history of Southeast Europe . Böhlau, Vienna et al. 2016, ISBN 978-3-205-78667-2 , p. 494 .
  5. ↑ Camil Mureşanu: Romanian Knesate, provinces and districts in medieval Transylvania. In: Group autonomy in Transylvania. 500 years of the Transylvanian-Saxon University of Nations. (= Transylvanian Archive. Vol. 24). Cologne / Vienna 1990, ISBN 3-412-22588-6 , pp. 161–175, here p. 166.
  6. ↑ Camil Mureşanu: Romanian Knesate, provinces and districts in medieval Transylvania. In: Group autonomy in Transylvania. 500 years of the Transylvanian-Saxon University of Nations. (= Transylvanian Archive. Vol. 24). Köln / Wien 1990, pp. 161–175, here pp. 166–168.
  7. ↑ Camil Mureşanu: Romanian Knesate, provinces and districts in medieval Transylvania. In: Group autonomy in Transylvania. 500 years of the Transylvanian-Saxon University of Nations. (= Transylvanian Archive. Vol. 24). Cologne / Vienna 1990, pp. 161–175, here p. 168 f.
  8. ↑ Peter Bartl: Knez . In: Edgar Hösch, Karl Nehring, Holm Sundhaussen (Hrsg.): Lexicon for the history of Southeast Europe . Böhlau, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2004, ISBN 3-8252-8270-8 , pp. 360 f .