Yotvingians

Yotvingians (also called: Sudovians, Jatvians, or Jatvingians; Yotvingian: Jotvingai; , ; ; , ) were a Western Baltic people who were closely tied to the Old Prussians. The linguist Petras Būtėnas asserts that they were closest to the Lithuanians. The Yotvingians contributed to the formation of the Lithuanian state.
Culture
Etymology
According to Vytautas Mažiulis, the name Sūduva derives from a local hydronym *Sūd(a)vā, in turn derived from a Baltic verbal root *sū-: to flow, pour.
A. S. Kibin proposed Yotvingian, or the "Slavic Jatviagi as the group name goes back to O. N. patronymic derivative játvingar meaning "the descendants of Játvígr", or "the people of Játvígr"" – "the name Játvígr mentioned by Knytlinga saga".
J. Pashka, acknowledging Kibin's proposal, has similarly interpreted the ethnonym as derived from the Old Norse Játvígr, with a genitive Játvígs liðsmenn (ᛃᚨᛏᚢᛁᚴᛋ ᚱᛟᚦᛋ) label of Játvígr's Viking expedition and his Norse Rus' settlers (i.e. Indura, Belarus) by the Nemunas river. Pashka asserts the nasal infixation in the original Old Norse Játvíg name of the 944-945 Kiev Treaty was probably an insignificant scribal error or misinterpretation, that has survived to the present.
Language
Numerous linguists consider the Yotvingian language as a dialect of the Old Prussian language. The Lithuanian linguist Petras Būtėnas states that such an opinion is incorrect, because the Lithuanian predominates in Yotvingian toponymy instead of the Old Prussian . The Lithuanian professor Zigmas Zinkevičius also wrote that the Yotvingians spoke a dialect of Western Baltic that was closer to Lithuanian than Prussian. The only known written source of the Yotvingian language is "" manuscript.
Geography
The Yotvingian lived in the area of Sudovia (Yotvingia) and Dainava, southwest from the upper Nemunas. Today this area corresponds mostly to the Podlaskie Voivodeship in Poland, portions of Lithuania and a part of Hrodna Province in Belarus. The territory was between later the Marijampolė and Merkinė (Lithuania); Slonim and Kobryn (Belarus); and Białystok, and Lyck, in Prussia now Ełk (Poland). Before the 10th century, in the south, Yotvingian homesteads were reaching Brest area, Narew river basin in the west, while in the north – Vilnius and Kaunas southern outskirts, but the territory was shrinking over time.
History
Ancient history
According to The Histories of Herodotus (5th century B.C.), the Neuri (Νευροί) were a tribe living beyond the Scythian cultivators, one of the nations along the course of the river Hypanis (Bug river), west of the Borysthenes (Dniepr river). This was roughly the area of modern Belarus and Eastern Poland by the Narew river, coinciding with the Yotvingian linguistic territory of toponyms and hydronyms (Narew river). and the Scythian tribe of the Aroteres to the south-east.
Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD called the people Galindai kai Soudinoi (Σουδινοί). Peter of Dusburg called them Galindite and Suduwite. In the Hypatian Codex the spellings are changing: Jatviagy, Jatviezie, Jatviažin, zemlia Jatveskaja, na zemliu Jatviažs´kuju and more. Polish sources also used Russian spellings: Jazviagi, Iazvizite, Jazvizite, Yazvizite. This name was taken by the papal administration: terra Jatwesouie, Gretuesia, Gzestuesie, Getuesia und Getvesia. The Knights called this tribe Sudowite, Sudowia, in qua Sudowit. and the Scythian tribe of the Aroteres to the south-east.
10th century
In 944, during the treaty between the Kievan Rus' prince Igor and the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, the Yotvingians were hired by the Kievan ruler to serve as mercenaries. Also Vladimir I of Kiev, in 983, hired the Yotvingians to add to his army.
13th century
In two dotations (1253 and 1259) of Mindaugas, a new name was recorded: Dainava, Deynowe, Dainowe, Denowe (land of songs). The forests were named Deinova Jatvež. In the treaty with the Teutonic Knights in 1260, the region is called "terre Getuizintarum". Skalmantas, leader of the Yotvingians was responsible for single-handedly raiding Pinsk in the Principality of Turov.
14th century
In the sentence of Breslau of the emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg to the Livonian Order from 1325, this area is called Suderlandt alias Jetuen.
15th century
Vytautas the Great wrote about "terra Sudorum", in a letter to King Sigismund of March 11, 1420.
A census by the clergy of the Belarus Grodno area in 1860 had as many as 30,929 inhabitants identifying as Yatviags.
Modern history
Though very small there is an active movement to revive the Yotvingian culture. Or"Sudovian" as the people who participate in it call themselves. They are actively trying to revive the language and its culture. This movement got its start earlier. But this is the most modern form of the Neo-Sudovian movement. The are active in Poland and Lithuania. They communicate with eachother through the internet and have even held some gatherings. This movement has a long way ahead of it but its people are optimistic.
Historical persons
Komantas of Sudovia led the Yotvingians in the Prussian uprisings.
See also
Sudovian language
Yotvingia
Literature
Witczak, K. T., Traces of Dual Forms in Old Prussian and Jatvingian in Woljciech Smoczynski and Axel Holvoet, eds, Colloquium Pruthenicum primum, 1992, pp 93–98
Gerullis, G., Zur Sprache der Sudauer-Jadwinger, in Festschrift A. Bezzenberger, Göttingen 1927
Toporov,V., ИНДОЕВРОПЕЙСКЕ ЯЗЫКИ [Indo-European languages] Лингвистический энциклопеический словарь.[Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary] Moskva, 1990, pp 186–189
Mažiulis, V., Baltic languages. Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Henning, E., De rebus Jazygum sive Jazuin-gorum, Regiomonti, 1812
Sjoegren, A., Ueber die Wohnsitz Verhaeltnisse und der Jatwaeger, St. Petersburg, 1859
Sembrzycki, J., Die Nord-und Westgebiete the Jadwinger und deren Grenzen, Altpreussischeme Monatschrift, XXVIII, 1891, pp. 76–89
W. R. Schmalstieg, Studies in Old Prussian, University Park and London, 1976.
V. Toporov, Prusskij jazyk: Slovar''', A - L, Moskva, 1975–1990.
V. Mažiulis, Prūsų kalbos etimologijos žodynas, Vilnius, t. I-IV, 1988–1997.
Archäologie der UDSSR: Die Finno-Ugrier und die Balten im Mittelalter, Teil II, Balten, S. 411–419, Moskau 1987
Lepa, Gerhard (Hrsg): Die Sudauer, in Tolkemita-Texte Nr. 55, Dieburg 1998
Lepa, Gerhard: Gedanken über die Prußen und ihre Lieder, in Tolkemita-Texte "25 Lieder der Sudauer" Nr. 56, Dieburg 1999
Litauische Enzyklopädie, Bd. XXVX, Boston, USA, 1963
Salemke, Gerhard: Lagepläne der Wallburganlagen von der ehemaligen Provinz Ostpreußen, Gütersloh, 2005, Karten 19/ 7 - 19/ 13
Žilevičius, Juozas: Grundzüge der kleinlitauischen Volksmusik, in Tolkemita-Texte "25 Lieder der Sudauer" Nr. 56, Dieburg 1999
References
Sources
DUSBURG (PETRI DE DUSBURG), Chronicon Prussiae'', ed. Chr. Hartknock, Jena, 1879
External links
M. Gimbutas book on the Balts, with maps
Historical ethnic groups of Europe
People from Prussia proper
Historical Baltic peoples