 | It has been suggested that this article besplit into articles titledWestern Galindians andEastern Galindians, because these two tribes are unrelated and should not be grouped into one article. (Discuss)(September 2023) |
Galindians were two distinct, and now extinct, tribes of theBalts. Most commonly, Galindians refers to the Western Galindians who lived in the southeast part ofPrussia. Less commonly, it is used for a tribe that lived in the area of what is todayMoscow (Russian:Голядь).
Johannes Voigt (supported by many others) suggested that name is derived from the Baltic word *galas ("the end", probably synonymous to "located farthest", "located near the border of the territory or area"), alluding to the fact that they settled for some time further west and further east than any other Baltic tribe.[1]
Polish historianJerzy Nalepa [pl] suggested another etymology: the nameGalind- may be derived from thehydronym ofGielądzkie Lake [pl] in the province ofOlsztyn, in what was the very center of ancientGalindia. J. Nalepa (1971) suggested the root *gal- was originally a differentablaut grade of the same root found in Lithuanian "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.[2]
The Russian 'golyad' is the result of the common shift of nasal '-en'(ę) into '-ya'(я) in Russian language.
The Western Galindians (Old Prussian: *Galindis,[nb 1]Latin:Galindae) – at first a West Baltictribe, and later an Old Prussianclan – lived inGalindia, roughly the area of present-dayMasuria but including territory further south in what would become theDuchy of Masovia. The region lay adjacent to the territory of theYotvingians, which is today inPodlaskie Voivodeship.
Ptolemy was the first to mention the Galindians (Koine Greek:Galindoi –Γαλίνδοι) in the 2nd century AD.[3] From the 6th/7th century until the 17th century the former central part of the Galindian tribe continued to exist as theOld Prussianclan 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[citation needed] and German-language administration of Prussia.[citation needed]
The Eastern Galindians (East Galindian: *Galindai,Russian:голядь,lit. 'Goliadj', fromOld East Slavic голѧдьgolędĭ), an extinctEast Baltictribe, lived from the 4th century in the basin of theProtva River, near the modernRussian towns ofMozhaysk,Vereya, andBorovsk. It is probable that the Eastern Galindians, as the bearers of theMoshchiny culture, also occupied all theKaluga Oblast before theEarly East Slavs populated the Moshchiny culture's area at the turn of the 7th and 8th centuries.[4]
The contemporary sources mentionGolyad only twice, briefly.[5]
The Golyad are first mentioned in theLaurentian Codex, where it is written that they were conquered byIziaslav I of Kiev in 1058.[1] This shows that even at the height of the power of theKievan Rus', were not its subjects ortributaries.[6]
Second, theHypatian Codex mentions thatSviatoslav Olgovich defeated the Golyad' who lived up the Porotva (nowProtva) river in 1147 ("взя люди Голядь, верхъ Поротве").[1]
In addition theNovgorod Fourth Chronicle mentioned thatMikhail Khorobrit "was killed by 'Litva' (Lithuanians) on the Porotva" (Russian:убьенъ бысть от Литвы на Поротве,romanized: ubien byst' ot Litvy na Porotve) in 1248. HistorianValentin Sedov [ru] argues that this 'Litva' people were descendants the Galindians, because he sees no reason why would actualLithuanians make military excursions so far from their lands.[7]
TheRussians probably did not completely assimilate them until the 15th (or 16th) century.[7][8]
There are several toponyms probably related togolyad: two villages named Голяди, a village Голяжье, and the Golyada River, a tributary of theMoskva River.[5]
In folk traditions that lived on into the 20th century there are tales about mighty giants with the (personal) nameGolyada.[1] However, this may have been conflated with the Biblical mention aboutGoliath.[citation needed]
"Голядь" .Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906.