View source for Krivichs

{{Short description|6th-12th century East Slavic tribal confederation}}
{{redirect|Krivichi}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2017}}
[[File:Rus-10c-ethn.png|thumb|A tentative map of the peoples of the Eastern Europe in the 9-10th centuries. Krivichs are marked right in the center.]]
[[File:Kryvičy. Крывічы (XV).jpg|right|thumb|A miniature from ''[[Radziwiłł Chronicle|Radzivill Chronicle]]'' showing ancient tribe of Krivichs]]
The '''Krivichs''' or '''Kryvichs''' ({{lang-rus|кри́вичи|p=ˈkrʲivʲɪtɕɪ|krivichi|links=y}}; {{langx|be|крывічы́|Kryvichý}}, {{IPA|be|krɨvʲiˈt͡ʂɨ|IPA}}) were a tribal union of [[Early East Slavs]] between the 6th and the 12th centuries.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CquTz6ps5YgC&q=krivichis&pg=PA88|title=An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires|last1=Olson|first1=James Stuart|last2=Pappas|first2=Lee Brigance|last3=Pappas|first3=Nicholas Charles|date=1994|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313274978|pages=88|language=en}}</ref> It is suggested that originally the Krivichi were native to the area around [[Pskov]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/stanovlenie-kultury-pskovskih-dlinnyh-kurganov/viewer | title=Становление культуры псковских длинных курганов }}</ref> They migrated to the mostly [[Volga Finns|Finnic]] areas in the upper reaches of the [[Volga]], [[Dnieper]], [[Western Dvina|Dvina]], areas south of the lower reaches of river [[Velikaya River|Velikaya]] and parts of the [[Neman River|Neman]] [[drainage basin|basin]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pLJCCwAAQBAJ&q=krivichi&pg=PA327|title=The World of the Slavs : Studies of the East, West and South Slavs: Civitas, Oppidas, Villas and Archeological Evidence (7th to 11th Centuries AD)|last1=Živković|first1=Tibor|last2=Crnčević|first2=Dejan|last3=Bulić|first3=Dejan|last4=Petrović|first4=Vladeta|last5=Cvijanović|first5=Irena|last6=Radovanović|first6=Bojana|date=2013-07-01|publisher=Istorijski institut|isbn=9788677431044|pages=327|language=en}}</ref>

==Etymology==
According to [[Max Vasmer]], the name of the tribe probably stems from that of their legendary forefather Kriv.<ref name=mava>[https://starlingdb.org/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=%2Fusr%2Flocal%2Fshare%2Fstarling%2Fmorpho&basename=morpho\vasmer\vasmer&first=1&text_word=%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B8&method_word=beginning&ww_word=on&ic_word=on&sort=word&encoding=utf-rus WORD: кри́вичи] from ''Этимологический словарь Фасмера''</ref> The article in the encyclopedia ''{{ill|Мифы народов мира|ru|}}'' clarifies that this interpretation comes from East Slavic mythology.<ref>[https://www.peoplesmyths.com/k/kriv.html Крив], citing [[Vyacheslav Ivanov (philologist)|Vyacheslav Ivanov]], [[Vladimir Toporov]], "Мифологические географические названия как источник для реконструкции этногенеза и древнейшей истории славян" In: ''Вопросы этногенеза и этнической истории славян и восточных романцев'', Moscow, 1976</ref> Vasmer also mentions that the tribe was mentioned by [[Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus]] in his ''[[De Administrando Imperio]]'' as {{lang|el|Κριβιτζοί, Κριβιτσηνοί}}.<ref name=mava/>

==History==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2022}}
The Krivichs left many archaeological monuments, such as the remnants of agricultural settlements with traces of ironworks, jeweler's art, blacksmith's work and other handicrafts; long burial mounds of the 6th to 9th centuries with cremated bodies; burial mounds of rich warriors with weapons; sets of distinctive jewelry (bracelet-like temporal rings and glass beads made out of stretched wire). By the end of the first millennium, the Krivichs had already acquired well-developed farming and cattle-breeding. Having settled around the [[Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks]], the Krivichs traded with the [[Varangians]]. Their chief tribal centres were [[Gnezdovo]], [[Izborsk]], and [[Polotsk]].

The Krivichs as a tribe took part in [[Oleg of Novgorod|Oleg]]'s and [[Igor of Kiev|Igor]]'s military campaigns against the Byzantine Empire.

==Modern uses of the name==
* Today, in [[Latvian language|Latvian]], {{lang|lv|Krievs}} means "Russian" and {{lang|lv|Krievija}} is "Russia". Through Baltic territories, the word became known in Central Europe. For example, a German chronicler from [[Duisburg]] wrote in 1314: "{{lang|la|Frater Henricus Marschalcus... venit ad terram ''Crivitae'', et civitatem illam, quae parva Nogardia dicitur cepit|italic=unset}}". And in a Polish publication {{lang|pl|Kazanie na Pogrzeb Maryanny Korsakywnej}} ([[Lublin]], 1687. Б. II, 49) the [[Polotsk]] saint Paraxedis was called {{lang|la|Regina Krivitae}} (the queen of the Kryvians).
* Also in Latvian, a Belarusian is known as {{lang|lv|Baltkrievs}}, and Belarus is named {{lang|lv|Baltkrievija}}. The prefix ''balt-'' is from the Latvian word {{lang|lv|balts}} which means "white", thus {{lang|lv|Baltkrievija}} is cognate to "[[White Ruthenia|White Russia]]" and "Belarus" itself.
* {{lang|be-Latn|Kryvich}} ({{lang|be|Крывіч}}) was the name of a magazine that the Belarusian historian [[Vaclau Lastouski]] published in [[Kaunas]] from 1923 to 1927.
* [[Kriwi (band)|Kriwi]] is the name of a Belarusian folk-rock band.
* Places named [[Kryvičy]] in modern Belarus are possibly named after the tribe, however this is contested basing on the suggested areal of Krivichs.<ref>Ежы Ахманскі. Літоўская этнічная мяжа на ўсходзе ад племянной эпохі да XVI стагоддзя // ARCHE 2 2016. С. 13—96.</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Medieval Slavic tribes]]

==References==
<references />
{{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century)}}

[[Category:East Slavic tribes|Krivichs]]