Polanes

The Polanes (in Polish Polanie , literally “people of the plain”) were a Slavic tribe which had been fixed on on banks of the Warta at the VIII^e century. They lived mainly of agriculture and disputed the grounds with Germanic tribes.

Poland with the Early middle ages

Polanes are mentioned by a Bavarian geographer in first half of the 9th century. The name comes from “ pole ”, which indicates fields. They are farmers in a largely deforested country where the farming clearings (polana) are important. The geographer distinguishes the Goplanes , of the area of the lake Goplo close to Kruszwica, and the Lendizi , between Gniezno and Ląd, on the Warta. The excavations archaeological practiced in Gniezno have made it possible to date the first enclosure from first half of the 9th century, by the discovery of Arab currencies, first sign of a remote trade. The two tribes seem to be beaten for the domination of the area. The geographer allots to them with the one 400 and with the other 98 civitates , these castrated whose ramparts protected primarily the castle, residence of the chief and his family, while one second enclosure was used of refuge to the peasants in the event of danger and place of market.

An anonymous author, Gallus Anonymus (beginning 12th century), wrote many legends on the event of the reign of a certain prince Popiel. He tells the arrival with Gniezno of two pilgrims who multiplied the miracles at the time where Cyrille and Méthode arrived in Moravie. It acts can be of one allusion to the assistance which Polanes accepted from the Moraves in their fight against Goplanes. Indeed, the field of Polanes extends to the 9th century towards the North-East (Mazovie), towards North (Poméranie), but not towards the south.

History of Poland

At the end of the IX^e century, most of the Slavic tribes living in a territory delimited by the Oder, the Bug, the Carpates and the the Baltic, was under the domination of Polanes.

With the X^e century, the territory of Polanes included/understood the Mazovie, the Cujavie and the Large-Poland. Their principal fortified towns were Gniezno, Poznań and Ostrów Lednicki.

The union of tribes controlled by the dynasty Piast gave rise to the Polish State about the middle of the X^e century.

See too

Slavic
Piast

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