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Galindians were two distinct, and now extinct, tribes of the
Balts The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the features of Baltic languages is the number ...
. Most commonly, Galindians refers to the Western Galindians who lived in the southeast part of
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
. Less commonly, it is used for a tribe that lived in the area of what is today
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. The name "Galinda" is thought to derive from the Baltic word *''galas'' ("the end"), alluding to the fact that they settled for some time further west and further east than any other Baltic tribe.


Western Galindians

The Western Galindians (
Old Prussian Old Prussian was a Western Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to avoid con ...
: *''Galindis'',An asterisk placed before the word means that it is reconstructed and is therefore not attested.
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
: ''Galindae'') – at first a West Baltic
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...
, and later an Old Prussian
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, mea ...
– lived in Galindia, roughly the area of present-day Masuria but including territory further south in what would become the
Duchy of Masovia Duchy of Masovia was a district principality and a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland, existing during the Middle Ages. The state was centered in Mazovia in the northeastern Kingdom of Poland, and during its existence, its capital was located i ...
. The region lay adjacent to the territory of the
Yotvingians Yotvingians (also called: Sudovians, Jatvians, or Jatvingians; Yotvingian: ''Jotvingai''; lt, Jotvingiai, ; lv, Jātvingi; pl, Jaćwingowie, be, Яцвягі, ger, Sudauer) were a Western Baltic people who were closely tied to the Old Prus ...
, which is today in
Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest c ...
.The name ''Galind''- is probably derived from the
hydronym A hydronym (from el, ὕδρω, , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As ...
of ''Gielądzkie Jezioro'' (53° 52' N, 21° 10' E) in the province of Olsztyn, in what was the very center of ancient ''Galindia''. J. Nalepa (1971) suggested the root *''gal''- was originally a different
ablaut In linguistics, the Indo-European ablaut (, from German '' Ablaut'' ) is a system of apophony (regular vowel variations) in the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE). An example of ablaut in English is the strong verb ''sing, sang, sung'' and its ...
grade of the same root found in Lith. "''gilus''" – deep, and "''gelmė''" – depth. The original meaning referred to the depth of the lake mentioned, which is one of the deepest in the area.Nalepa, Jerzy, 'Próba nowej etymologii nazwy Galindia czyli Golędź.', Opuscula. Slavica 1, Slaviska och baltiska studier 9 93–115. Lund 1971 Även publicerad i: Acta-Baltico Slavica 9: 191–209. Wrocław 1976.
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
was the first to mention the Galindians (
Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
: ''Galindoi'' – Γαλίνδοι) in the 2nd century AD. From the 6th/7th century until the 17th century the former central part of the Galindian tribe continued to exist as the
Old Prussian Old Prussian was a Western Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to avoid con ...
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, mea ...
of *Galindis. The language of the Old Prussians in Galindia became extinct by 17th century, mainly because of the 16th centuries influx of Protestants seeking refuge from Catholic Poland into the Galindian area and German-language administration of Prussia.


Eastern Galindians

The Eastern Galindians (East Galindian: *''Galindai'', , from
Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...
*''Golędĭ''), an extinct East Baltic
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...
, lived from the 4th century in the basin of the
Protva The Protva () is a river in Moscow and Kaluga Oblasts in Russia, left tributary of the Oka. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
River, near the modern
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
n towns of
Mozhaysk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. ( rus, Можа́йск, p=mɐˈʐajsk) is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to th ...
,
Vereya Vereya (russian: Верея) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Vereya, Naro-Fominsky District, Moscow Oblast, a town in Naro-Fominsky District of Moscow Oblast ;Rural localities * Vereya, Orekhovo-Zuyevsky ...
, and
Borovsk Borovsk (russian: Бо́ровск) is a town and the administrative center of Borovsky District of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Protva River just south from the oblast's border with Moscow Oblast. Population: 12,000 (1969). History ...
. It is probable that the Eastern Galindians, as the bearers of the Moshchiny culture, also occupied all the
Kaluga Oblast Kaluga Oblast (russian: Калу́жская о́бласть, translit=Kaluzhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kaluga. The 2021 Russian Census found a population of 1,069,904. G ...
before the Early East Slavs populated the Moshchiny culture's area at the turn of the 7th and 8th centuries. The Golyad are first mentioned in the
Laurentian Codex Laurentian Codex or Laurentian Letopis (russian: Лаврентьевский список, Лаврентьевская летопись) is a collection of chronicles that includes the oldest extant version of the '' Primary Chronicle'' and its ...
, where it is written that they were conquered by
Iziaslav I of Kiev Iziaslav Yaroslavich ( orv, Изѧславь Ѩрославичь; russian: Изяслав Ярославич; uk, Ізяслав Ярославич; 1024 – 3 October 1078, baptized as ''Demetrius'') was a Kniaz' ( Prince) of Turov and Gra ...
in 1058. This shows that even at the height of the power of the
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas o ...
, were not its subjects or
tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drain ...
. The Hypatian Codex mentions that
Sviatoslav Olgovich Sviatoslav Olgovich (russian: Святослав Ольгович; died February 14, 1164) was the Prince of Novgorod (1136–1138); Novgorod-Seversky (1139); Belgorod Kievsky (1141–1154); and Chernigov (1154–1164). He was the son of Oleg Sv ...
defeated the Golyad' who lived near the Porotva (now
Protva The Protva () is a river in Moscow and Kaluga Oblasts in Russia, left tributary of the Oka. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
) river in 1147. The annals mentioned that
Mikhail Khorobrit Mikhail Yaroslavich Khorobrit (The Brave) (russian: Михайл Ярославич Хоробрит) was Prince of Moscow (1246–1248) and Grand Prince of Vladimir in 1248. He was a younger brother of Aleksandr Nevsky and he and his son, Boris ...
killed by "Lithuania on the Porotva" () in 1248, which clearly refers to the Galindians. The Prince
Yuri Dolgorukiy Yuri I Vladimirovich ( rus, Юрий Владимирович, Yuriy Vladimirovich), commonly known as Yuri Dolgorukiy or the Long Arm ( rus, Юрий Долгорукий, Yuriy Dolgorukiy, meaning "Far-Reaching", c. 109915 May 1157) was a Ru ...
arranged a campaign against them in 1147, the year of the first mention of
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
in the Russian chronicles. Subsequent chronicles do not mention the Eastern Galindians. Nevertheless, the
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
probably did not completely assimilate them until the 15th (or 16th) century. Some people still identified as Goliads in the 19th century. Their folk traditions lived on into the 20th century.


See also

* Gelonians and Balts *
Dniepr Balts The Dnieper Balts were a subgroup of the Eastern Balts, that lived in the Dnieper river basin for millennia until the Late Middle Ages, when they were partly destroyed and partly assimilated by the Slavs by the 13th century. To the north and nort ...
*
Yotvingians Yotvingians (also called: Sudovians, Jatvians, or Jatvingians; Yotvingian: ''Jotvingai''; lt, Jotvingiai, ; lv, Jātvingi; pl, Jaćwingowie, be, Яцвягі, ger, Sudauer) were a Western Baltic people who were closely tied to the Old Prus ...
*
Neuri The Neuri or Navari were a tribe described by Herodotus in the . Contemporary scholars equate this group with the Yotvingians, a Western Baltic people, and believe they lived near the river Narew in or Belarus. Primary sources Herodotus's ...


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * {{prussian clans People from Prussia proper Old Prussians Historical Baltic peoples