Knyaz

Kniaz’ or knyaz is a word found in some Slavic languages. It is usually translated into English either as Prince or Duke, although the correspondence is not exact.

Etymology

The etymology is directly related to the English King, the German König, and the Scandinavian konung. It was probably borrowed early from the Proto-Germanic *Kuningaz, a form also borrowed by Finnish and Estonian (Kuningas).

The title is pronounced and written similarly in different Eastern European languages:

Bulgarian: княз (knyaz)
Croatian: knez
Hungarian as kenéz
Polish: kniaź
Romanian: cneaz, chinez
(knyaz'), in fem. княгиня (kniaginia)
Serbian: knez/кнез
Sorbian: knjez
Slovenian: knez, in fem. kneginja
(knyaz'), in fem. княгиня (kniahynia)

In West Slavic languages, such as Polish and Sorbian, the word has later come to denote "lord", and in Polish also came to mean "priest" (ksiądz) as well as "duke" (książę).

Middle Ages

The meaning was changing during history. Initially it was used to denote the chieftain of a tribe. Later, with the development of feudal statehood it become the title of a ruler of a state among East Slavs (княжество, kniazhestvo, traditionally translated as duchy or principality), i.e. of Kievan Rus'.

As the degree of centralization grew, the ruler acquired the title Velikii Kniaz (translated as Grand Prince or Grand duke, see Russian Grand Dukes). He ruled a Velikoe Knyazhestvo (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 Ruthenian states, including Novgorod, Vladimir-Suzdal', Muscovy, Tver, Halych-Volynia, and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Russian title in modern times

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 (e.g., 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.

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 into Russian as "kniazes". Similarly, many petty Tatar nobles asserted their right to style themselves "kniazes" because they descended from Genghis Khan.

Finally, within the Russian Empire of 1809-1917, Finland was called Grand Duchy of Finland (Velikoe Kniazhestvo Finlandskoe).

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Etymology

Middle Ages

Russian title in modern times

See also