Knyaz
Kniaz' or
knyaz is a word found in some Slavic languages. It is usually translated into English as either
Prince or
Duke, although the correspondence is not exact.
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:*
Czech: kněz, in fem. kněžka (= priest(ess)); kníže, in fem. kněžna (=princ(ess)):*
Hungarian as kenéz:*
Polish: kniaź:*
Romanian: cneaz, chinez:*
(knyaz'), in fem. княгиня
(kniaginia):*
Serbian: knez/кнез:*
Sorbian: knjez:*
Slovak: kňaz, in fem. kňažka (= priest(ess); knieža, in fem. kňažná (=princ(ess)):*
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 Czech, Polish and Slovak also came to mean "priest" (kněz, ksiądz, kňaz) as well as "duke" (kníže, książę, knieža).
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.
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).
*
List of Grand Dukes of Russia*
List of Grand Duchesses of Russia
