Detinets

Type of fortress or fortified city center built by the ancient Rus' From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Detinets

A detinets (Russian: детинец [dʲɪˈtʲinʲɪts]), dytynets (Ukrainian: дитинець [dɪˈtɪnɛtsʲ]) or detinetz (/ˈdɛtɪnɛts/ DET-in-ets) is an ancient Rus' city-fort or central fortified part of a city, similar to the meaning of kremlin or citadel. The term was used in many regions of Kievan Rus', including Chernihiv, Novgorod, and Kyiv.[1][2][3]

Novgorod Detinets in Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Old Russian manuscripts mention detinets in various places of Kievan Rus' since the end of the 11th century.[4] From the 13th to the 14th century, detinets were used only in the Russian Pskov-Novgorod region.[5]

The origin of the term is uncertain. Some derive it from the Old East Slavic word deti—"children", suggesting it was used to hide children and other less able people during a siege.[6] Polish philologist Lucyjan Malinowski derives the similarly sounding Polish term dziedziniec–"courtyard", from detinets.[7]

See also

References

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