Drevlians

TheDrevlians,DerevliansorDerevlianians^[1](Ukrainian:Древляни,romanized:DrevlianyorДеревляни,Derevliany,Russian:Древля́не,romanized:Drevlyane) were atribeofEast Slavsbetween the 6th and the 10th centuries, which inhabited the territories ofPolesiaandright-bank Ukraine,west of theeastern Polansand along the lower reaches of the riversTeteriv,Uzh,Ubort,andStsviha.To the west, the Drevlians' territories reached theSluch River,where theVolhynians(related to the territory ofVolhynia) andBuzhans(related to the name ofSouthern Bug) lived. To the north, the Drevlians' neighbors were theDregoviches.

Ethnonym

Their name is derived from Slavicdrevo/древоorderevo/дерево,meaning "wood"^[2]and "tree",^[3]because they lived in the forests.^[2]Their name may be rendered "the dwellers in the forest".^[3]They possibly were mentioned asForsderen-LiudibyBavarian Geographerin the 9th century.^[4]Nestor the Chronicler(1056–1114) mentioned that those Slavs who settled in open fields had been calledPolyani(after the Slavicpole/поле,meaning "field" ), and those in forest areasDrevlyani.^[5]

Settlements

The Drevlians left many archaeological traces, such as agricultural settlements with semi-dugouts(or earth-houses), moundless burial grounds andbarrows,fortified towns like Vruchiy (present-dayOvruch), Horodske, site of an ancient settlement nearMalyn(supposedly, a residence of the Drevlianprince Mal), and others. The principal city of the Drevlians was Iskorosten (today'sKorosten), where one can still see a group of compact ancient settlements. After theKievan Rus'conquered the Drevlians, Iskorosten was burned to the ground and the capital transferred to Ovruch. By the end of thefirst millennium,the Drevlians already had well-developedfarmingandhandicrafts.

History

Igor of KievExacting Tribute from the Drevlyans,byKlavdiy Lebedev(1852–1916)

The Drevlians initially fervently opposed theKievan Rus'.According to a number ofchronicles,in the times ofKyi, Shchek and Khoryv(supposedly, founders ofKiev) the Drevlians had their own princely rule and were frequently at war with thePolyani.In 883, PrinceOleg of Novgorodmade the Drevlians pay tribute to Kiev. In 907, the Drevlians took part in theKievan military campaignagainst theEastern Roman Empire.

Olga's revenge for the assassination of her husband

After Oleg's death in 912 the Drevlians stopped paying tribute. TheVarangianwarlordSveneldmade them pay tribute to himself. Oleg's successorIgorattempted to levy the tribute after Sveneld, but the Drevlians revolted and killed him in 945. Igor's widowOlgaavenged her husband's death in an extremely harsh manner, killing Drevlianambassadorsandnobility,burning their capital of Iskorosten to the ground and leveling other towns. After having subjugated the Drevlians, Olga transformed their territories into a Kievanappanagewith the center in Vruchiy.

The last contemporary mention of the Drevlians occurred in a chronicle of 1136, when Grand PrinceYaropolk Vladimirovichof Kiev gave their lands to theChurch of the Tithes.

In literature

The Drevlians are depicted in works dedicated toKniaz IgorandKniaginia Olga,including:

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch'sBloody Wedding in Kiev,^[6]1866;
Petro Haivoronskyі'sThe Kniahynia's Comb,^[6]2015

and also

S. A. Korff (1911),Den drevljanske fursten Mal / S. A. Korff,Skrifter utgivna av Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland(in Swedish), Helsinki:Society of Swedish Literature in Finland,ISSN 0039-6842,Wikidata Q113396170

References

^"Slavs".Encyclopedia of Ukraine.1993.Retrieved2023-01-25.
^^a ^bFrancis Conte (1995).The Slavs.East European Monographs. p. 71.ISBN 978-0-88033-310-8.
^^a ^bNora K. Chadwick (4 July 2013).The Beginnings of Russian History: An Enquiry into Sources.Cambridge University Press. pp. 17–.ISBN 978-1-107-65256-9.
^Henryk Łowmiański,O identyfikacji nazw Geografa bawarskiego,Studia Źródłoznawcze, t. III: 1958, s. 1–22; reed: w:Studia nad dziejami Słowiańszczyzny, Polski i Rusi w wiekach średnich,Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznań 1986, s. 151–181,ISSN 0554-8217
^Frank A. Kmietowicz (1976).Ancient Slavs.Worzalla Publishing Company. p. 54.
^^a ^bSacher-Masoch, L. and Haivoronskyi, P., 2016,Bloody Wedding in Kyiv: Two Tales of Olha, Kniahynia of Kyivan RusArchived2016-08-16 at theWayback Machine,Sova Books, Sydney (Engl. transl.)

[1] "Slavs".Encyclopedia of Ukraine.1993.Retrieved2023-01-25.

[Conte-2] Francis Conte (1995).The Slavs.East European Monographs. p. 71.ISBN 978-0-88033-310-8.

[Chadwick2013-3] Nora K. Chadwick (4 July 2013).The Beginnings of Russian History: An Enquiry into Sources.Cambridge University Press. pp. 17–.ISBN 978-1-107-65256-9.

[4] Henryk Łowmiański,O identyfikacji nazw Geografa bawarskiego,Studia Źródłoznawcze, t. III: 1958, s. 1–22; reed: w:Studia nad dziejami Słowiańszczyzny, Polski i Rusi w wiekach średnich,Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznań 1986, s. 151–181,ISSN 0554-8217

[5] Frank A. Kmietowicz (1976).Ancient Slavs.Worzalla Publishing Company. p. 54.

[auto-6] Sacher-Masoch, L. and Haivoronskyi, P., 2016,Bloody Wedding in Kyiv: Two Tales of Olha, Kniahynia of Kyivan RusArchived2016-08-16 at theWayback Machine,Sova Books, Sydney (Engl. transl.)

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