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This article covers the history of Poland in the Middle Ages. This time covers roughly a millennium, from the 5th century to the 16th century. It is commonly dated from the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, and contrasted with a later Early Modern Period. The time during which the rise of humanism in the Italian Renaissance and the Reformation unfolded is generally associated with the transition out of the Middle Ages, with European overseas expansion as a succeeding process, but such dates are approximate and based upon nuanced arguments.

Early Middle Ages

Main article: Poland in the Early Middle Ages

Origin of the Slavic peoples

Central and East European cultures ca. 100 AD. The Zarubintsy culture is shown expanding into the Post-Zarubintsy horizon (red), the area where the Proto-Slavic people are thought to have formed.

The origins of the Slavic peoples, who settled in what is now Poland during the early Middle Ages, trace back to the Kyiv culture, which emerged in the early 3rd century AD. This culture developed from the Post-Zarubintsy horizon and is considered a later form of the Zarubintsy culture. The Kyiv culture and the early Slavic settlements in the Oder and Vistula basins (6th–7th centuries) show a clear connection, though they differ significantly from earlier local cultures in the region, which disappeared around 400–450 AD. The Zarubintsy culture, active from roughly 200 BC to 150 AD, was centered along the middle and upper Dnieper River and extended into Polesie and the upper Bug River basin. It developed from the Milograd culture in the north and local Scythian populations in the south, with additional influences from the Pomeranian, Jastorf, and La Tène cultures. Zarubintsy’s economic development lagged behind other early Roman period cultures, with cremation being the primary burial practice.

The Kyiv culture, which is often seen as the earliest Slavic culture, existed from the end of the 2nd century to the mid-5th century in the upper and middle Dnieper, Desna, and Seym river basins. It shares many features with later Slavic societies, including those in present-day Poland. Despite evidence of metalworking and pottery production, few metal artifacts have been found in Kyiv culture sites. This culture expanded significantly after the fall of the Ostrogothic state and the Chernyakhov culture due to the Huns in 375 AD, with further growth after the collapse of the Hun confederation in the mid-5th century. Written sources like the Cosmographer of Ravenna and Jordanes also place the origins of the Slavs in eastern Europe, particularly in the region known as Scythia. An alternative theory suggests that the Slavic cultures in medieval Poland emerged from the indigenous populations rather than through large-scale migration. However, this theory has been largely dismissed due to the lack of continuity in settlement patterns and cultural differences between late ancient and early medieval sites. Some scholars argue that the "Germanic" groups in East Central Europe either became Slavs or were already Slavs, but current archaeological evidence remains inconclusive, and both processes may have contributed to the Slavic presence in the region.

Slavic differentiation and expansion; Prague culture

The final differentiation of early Slavic cultures, including the Kolochin, Penkovka, and Prague-Korchak cultures, occurred during the late 4th and 5th centuries CE. These cultures expanded into territories previously occupied by the Chernyakhov and Dacian Carpathian Tumuli cultures, integrating elements from these earlier populations. The Prague culture, in particular, developed in the western part of the Slavic expansion, covering areas such as the middle Dnieper, Pripyat, and upper Dniester basins, and extending into southeastern Poland. By the 6th and 7th centuries, this culture had further expanded into the middle Danube and Elbe basins, while the Kolochin and Penkovka cultures occupied the northeastern and southeastern Slavic territories, respectively.

Slavic archaeological cultures, beginning of 7th century

In Poland, the earliest Slavic archaeological sites from the 6th century include settlements and burial sites primarily characterized by simple, handmade ceramics. Notable early Slavic settlements, such as the one in Bachórz, Rzeszów County, date from the late 5th to 7th centuries. These sites typically consisted of small, square, partially dug-out houses with stone furnaces, a common feature of Slavic homesteads during this period. The early Slavs had limited metalworking capabilities, producing iron knives, hooks, and bronze decorative items, but there were no major iron production centers. Their settlements were generally self-sufficient, with communities relying on agriculture, hunting, fishing, and gathering.

The early Slavs practiced cremation, placing ashes in simple urns or directly in ground indentations. By the late 5th century, Slavic settlers had reached southeastern Poland, settling in the San River basin and later expanding into the upper Vistula regions, including Kraków and the Nowy Sącz Valley. By the 6th century, Slavic settlements had spread to Western Pomerania, Greater Poland, and Lower Silesia. The Byzantine historian Theophylact Simocatta recorded that Slavic captives in Constantinople in 592 identified the Baltic Sea coastal area as their place of origin. The Sukow-Dziedzice culture, which emerged in these regions, is debated among archaeologists, with some viewing it as a continuation of the Przeworsk culture and others as a variant of the Prague culture.

This Slavic expansion into Polish and German territories was part of a broader migration during the 5th to 7th centuries, spreading from their eastern homelands to Central and Southeastern Europe. Another migration route, more southern, brought the Prague culture through Slovakia, Moravia, and Bohemia, eventually reaching the Balkans and the Peloponnese. Ancient and medieval sources, including Tacitus and Jordanes, often associated the early Slavs with the Venethi, a group believed to have inhabited areas around the middle Dnieper basin. Despite being portrayed by Byzantine writers as simple and unsophisticated, the Slavs became a significant military threat by the early 6th century, conducting raids along the Danubian boundaries of the Byzantine Empire. Additionally, the Turkic-speaking Avars, who migrated into the middle Danube area in the 6th century, interacted with Slavic populations in Poland, leaving artifacts in regions like Kraków-Nowa Huta.

Tribal differentiation

Slavic peoples around the 8th and 9th centuries

The 8th century marked a period of increasing stability for the Slavic people settled in what is now Poland, following the major population shifts of earlier migrations. By this time, about one million Slavs inhabited the region, utilizing only 20-25% of the land, with the remainder covered by dense forests. Settlements were primarily located in lowland areas below 350 meters above sea level, often near natural bodies of water, which provided a natural defense. These communities were typically small, consisting of a few homesteads and housing between 30 to 80 residents. The transition from semi-subterranean dwellings to above-ground structures began in the 7th century, with most homes still consisting of a single room. Larger and more complex structures emerged during this period, including fortified settlements known as gords (Polish grody). These fortifications, built on strategically advantageous sites, served as both defensive strongholds and proto-political centers. The gords varied in size and complexity, from small enclosures to massive, multi-segmented structures, some of which became the nuclei for future urban developments.

Agriculture was the primary occupation, with the Slavs employing oxen and wooden plows reinforced with iron. They practiced crop rotation and used forest burning to increase arable land. Wheat, millet, and rye were the most important crops, supplemented by various other grains, legumes, and fruit trees. Over time, swine farming became more prominent than cattle raising, and other animals like sheep, goats, horses, and poultry were also kept. The Slavs remained largely self-sufficient, with local crafts limited to essential items like pottery and iron tools, though trade routes began to open in the 9th century, bringing in luxury goods and new forms of currency. Socially, the basic unit was the nuclear family, which lived in small, crowded dwellings. The larger, patriarchal clans of earlier times were becoming less important as agricultural practices stabilized. Land ownership concepts were emerging, with land controlled by family units rather than individuals. The opole, a neighborhood association, managed communal resources like forests and pastures and played a role in local governance. These opoles could merge to form larger tribal structures, which sometimes evolved into proto-states.

Religiously, the Slavs worshiped a pantheon of gods, with Svarog being a significant deity. They also venerated natural elements and spirits, conducting rituals and sacrifices to appease these forces. Religious practices included building sanctuaries and creating statues, such as the four-faced Svetovid, symbolizing various aspects of Slavic cosmology. By the 9th century, these developments in agriculture, social organization, and religious practices, coupled with the establishment of gords and the opening of trade routes, laid the foundation for the emergence of more centralized and complex political entities in the Polish lands.

Early Slavic states and other 9th-century developments

The first Slavic state-like entity was the realm of King Samo, a Frankish trader who led a loose alliance of Slavic tribes between 623 and 658. This early polity, located near present-day Poland in regions including Bohemia, Moravia, and parts of Pannonia, emerged after Samo successfully defended the Slavs against Avar invasions. Although Samo's realm fell apart after his death, it marked an important early step toward state formation among the Slavs. Following Samo's era, Slavic Carantania, centered in what is now Austria, developed into a more structured state under a native dynasty and remained significant throughout the 8th century, eventually becoming Christianized.

West Slavs 9th–10th centuries

In the 9th century, larger Slavic states began to form, with Great Moravia emerging as the most prominent. Located south of modern Poland, Great Moravia initially included Moravia, western Slovakia, and parts of Bohemia, Pannonia, and Lesser Poland. Under the reign of Svatopluk I, the state expanded significantly, but it collapsed in 906 due to internal strife and Magyar invasions. The Christianization of Great Moravia began in 831 when Mojmir I was baptized, aligning the state with the Bavarian Passau diocese. Seeking greater ecclesiastical independence, his successor Rastislav invited Byzantine missionaries Cyril and Methodius, who developed Old Church Slavonic and the Glagolitic alphabet, laying the foundation for Slavic Orthodox Christianity.

As Great Moravia declined, the Czech state, under the Přemyslid dynasty, began to rise, incorporating parts of Polish lands. Prince Bořivoj, the dynasty's founder, was baptized by Methodius, marking the beginning of Christian influence in Bohemia. His grandson, Prince Wenceslaus, later became a martyr and patron saint of the Czechs. During this period, the Vistulan tribe in Lesser Poland, centered around Kraków, was evolving into a significant power. Archeological finds, including large gords and burial mounds, indicate the Vistulans' importance, though their state-building efforts were eventually curtailed by the expansion of Great Moravia and later the Czech state.

A Vistulan stronghold in Wiślica once stood here

The 9th and 10th centuries saw significant developments in Polish lands, with the construction of numerous gords, indicating a rise in social and political organization. The Vistulans, along with other tribes like the Lendians, were key players in the region. The Lendians, in particular, left a lasting legacy, with their name influencing the ethnonyms for Poles in various languages. By the mid-10th century, parts of Lesser Poland and Silesia were incorporated into the Czech state, with Kraków becoming an important trade hub on the route between Prague and Kyiv. Meanwhile, Pomerania, with its extensive trade connections, particularly in the city of Wolin, became one of the most advanced regions in what is now Poland, though it lacked the social structures necessary for statehood. The Magyar invasions of the late 9th century disrupted these developments, but they also contributed to Poland's eventual alignment with Western Christianity by the time of its adoption in 966.