View source for Druzhina

{{Short description|Retinue in service of a Slavic chieftain}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Monomakh's hunting.jpg|thumb|right|[[Grand Prince of Kiev|Grand Prince]] [[Vladimir Monomakh]] of the [[Rurikid dynasty]] resting with his druzhina after a hunt, by [[Viktor Vasnetsov]].]]
{{Ranks of Nobility}}
In the [[medieval]] history of [[Kievan Rus']] and [[History of Poland during the Piast dynasty|Early Poland]], a '''druzhina''', '''drużyna''', or '''družyna''' ([[Slovak language|Slovak]] and {{langx|cs|družina}}; {{langx|pl|drużyna}}; {{Langx|ru|дружина|translit=druzhina}}; {{Langx|uk|дружи́на}}, ''druzhýna'' literally a "fellowship") was a [[retinue]] in service of a [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] [[tribal chief|chieftain]], also called ''[[knyaz]]''. The name is derived from the Slavic word ''drug'' ([[wikt:друг|друг]]) with the meaning of "companion, friend".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=droog|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|website=www.etymonline.com|access-date=13 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zeno.org/Meyers-1905/A/Drushine?hl=dr%5Buv%5Dh%25s%5Bck%5D%25h%25%5Bi%25FCy%5D%5Beh%5D%25n%7B1;2%7Dah%25|title=Drushine|last=Zeno|website=www.zeno.org|access-date=13 May 2017}}</ref>
{{Early Slavic status}}
==Early Rus'==
{{See|Rus' Khaganate|Kievan Rus'}}
In the [[Rus' Khaganate]], a druzhina helped the [[prince]] administer his [[principality]] and constituted the area's military force. The first members of a druzhina were the [[Varangians]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/172216/druzhina|title=druzhina - Russian history|access-date=13 May 2017}}</ref> whose princes established control there in the 9th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/317574/Kievan-Rus/|title=Kievan Rus - historical state|access-date=13 May 2017}}</ref> Soon, members of the local Slavic aristocracy and adventurers of a variety of other nationalities became druzhinniki. The druzhina's organization varied with time and survived in one form or another until the 16th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Druzhina|title=Druzhina|access-date=13 May 2017|via=The Free Dictionary}}</ref>
The druzhina was composed of two groups: the senior members, later known as [[boyar]]s, and the junior members, later known as [[boyar scions]]. The boyars were the prince's closest advisers and performed higher state functions. The junior members constituted the prince's personal bodyguard and were common soldiers. Members were dependent upon their prince for financial support but served the prince freely and had the right to leave him and join the druzhina of another prince.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
As a result, a prince was inclined to seek the goodwill of his druzhina by paying the druzhinniki wages, sharing his war booty and taxes with them and eventually rewarding the boyars with landed estates that were complete with rights to tax and administer justice to the local population.{{cn|date=June 2023}}
At the [[Battle on the Ice]], the army of the [[Novgorod Republic]] had about 5000 men in all. Around 3000 men in both the cavalry and the infantry were part of [[Alexander Nevsky]]'s druzhina.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
== Poland ==
{{See|History of Poland during the Piast dynasty}}
[[Ibrahim ibn Yaqub]], who traveled in 961–62 in [[Central Europe]], mentions that the drużyna of Duke [[Mieszko I of Poland]] had 3000 men, paid by the duke.<ref>"Ibrāhīm ibn Ya‛qūb al-Isrā’īlī al-Ṭurṭūshī," by Lutz Richter-Bernburg, in: ''The Oxford Companion to World Exploration'', David Buisseret, editor-in-chief, 2 vols., Oxford UP 2007, I:402b-403b</ref> Unlike his predecessors, [[Casimir I the Restorer]] promoted landed gentry over the drużyna as his base of power.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
==See also==
*[[Housecarl]]
*[[Leidang]]
*[[Hird]]
*[[Voluntary People's Druzhina]], a civilian organization in the [[Soviet Union]]
*[[Czechoslovak Legion]] First unit in Russia, called the "Czech Companions" (Česká družina or Družina)
*[[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia]] murdered by Boleslav's companion
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
{{efron|Дружина}}
==External links==
{{Commonscat-inline|Druzhina}}
{{Armies of Russia}}
{{Armies of Ukraine}}
{{Gardariki}}
[[Category:Slavic warriors| ]]
[[Category:Society of Kievan Rus']]
[[Category:Protective service occupations]]
[[Category:Varangians]]
[[Category:History of Poland during the Piast dynasty]]
[[Category:Court titles]]
[[Category:Slavic titles]]
[[Category:Military history of Kievan Rus']]