Voivode
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{{dablink|For other uses of "voivod", "voyevoda", etc. see [[Voivod (disambiguation)]].}}
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A '''voivode''' or '''waywode'''<ref>Also spelled "'''voivod'''", "'''voyvode'''", "'''vaivode'''", "'''voievod'''", "'''waiwode'''", "'''weywode'''", or "'''woiwod'''"</ref> is a [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] title that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force. The word gradually came to denote the [[governor]] of a [[province]]; the territory ruled or administered by a voivode is known as a [[voivodeship]]. In English, the title is often translated as '''[[prince]]''', '''[[duke]]''', or (as in [[Bram Stoker]]'s "[[Count Dracula]]") '''count'''. The Polish title is sometimes rendered in English as '''palatine''' or '''[[count palatine]]''', in charge of a palatinate. In the Slavic terminology, the rank of a voivode is in some cases considered equal of that of a German Duke ([[Herzog (name)|Herzog]]) (see ''Etymology'' below).
The title was used in medieval [[Bohemia]], [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnia]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Croatia]], [[Transylvania]], [[Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]], [[Poland]], [[Russia]], [[Serbia]], [[Moldavia]], [[Wallachia]]. Later, voivode was the highest military rank in the principalities of [[Montenegro]] and [[Serbia]], the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] and among the Serbian [[Chetniks]].
''Wojewoda'' is today the term for the centrally-appointed [[governor]] of a Polish province or [[Voivodeships of Poland|voivodeship]] ({{lang-pl|województwo}}).
In the [[Romania]]n medieval principalities of [[Moldavia]] and [[Wallachia]], voievode became part of the official [[title|titulature]] of the sovereign prince, showing his right to lead the entire army. Voivode or ''vajda'' was also the title of the Hungarian governors of [[Transylvania]] in the Middle Ages.
The leaders of [[Bulgaria]]'s [[Haiduti]] (Хайдути) rebels under the [[Ottoman Empire]] were called "'''''voevodes'''''" ([[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], singular: войвода, ''voyvoda'').
==Etymology==
The term derives from the Slavic roots ''voi'' or ''voj'' ([[war]], or battle) and ''vodi'' (to lead), and thus originally meant war leader. The word has developed to take various forms in the modern [[Slavic languages]], such as ''wojewoda'' ([[Polish language|Polish]]), воевода (''voyevoda'', [[Russian (language)|Russian]], [[Bulgarian (language)|Bulgarian]]), воєвода (''voyevoda'', [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]), ''vévoda'' ([[Czech language|Czech]]) and војвода or ''vojvoda'' ([[Serbian language|Serbian]], [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]). It has also been borrowed into some non-Slavic languages, taking such forms as ''voievod'' ([[Romanian language|Romanian]]) and ''vajda'' ([[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]).
This etymology is perfectly parallel, though unrelated, to that of equivalent terms like the Anglo-Saxon ''heretoga'' and Germanic titles such as the German ''Herzog'', which in feudal times was equated with the [[Latin]] ''[[dux]]'' (originally a term for either a barbaric war leader or a Roman commanding officer and/or military governor, which later evolved into such feudal and modern titles of peerage rank as [[duke]]). For this reason, the Slavic terms are sometimes translated as ''duke''. However, although in some countries and periods the rank of voivode was equivalent to a Western duke, it was not universally so.
==History==
The tradition of electing a voivode is very old and dates back to the times of the early [[Slavs]]. Each tribe gathered at a [[veche]] (congregation) to elect its own voivode. In war, he was entitled to lead the army. When the war was over, the power reverted back to the legitimate peacetime ruler — be it the [[veche]] or a prince.
By the end of 8th century, the Slavic tribes established the first organised states in [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]]. The new situation demanded a more flexible command over the state, especially during the conflicts with Turkic, Baltic and German peoples. At that time, the power of the voivode was in most cases extended to include civil command and, in some instances, to religious authority. The chiefs of the tribes, [[prince]]s and [[hospodar]]s, delegated part of their authority to lower-ranking voivodes, while retaining the title of ''highest voivode'' and the positions of high [[priest]] and supreme [[judge]]. [[Image:Voivode is here.jpg|thumb|275px|[[Sergei Vasilievich Ivanov]]. ''The Voyevoda Arrives to a Provincial Town''.]]
With the creation of permanent Slavic states in [[Kievan Rus]] and [[Poland]], the highest authority was passed to dukes and princes, both terms of Germanic origin. In [[Kievan Rus]], these came from the [[Varangian]] nobles ([[Rurik Dynasty]]), while in Poland they were of local origin ([[Piast Dynasty]]). The basis of the power of a prince was his band of warriors or ''[[druzhina]]''. Initially a small group of professional soldiers, the ''druzhina'' grew in order to control the vast areas under authority of the prince. In time, the need to split the army into several units became clear and the commander of such a unit was called ''prince's voivode''.
The highest ranking of such voivodes formed the princes' courts, while others commanded the troops in distant towns and served as advisors to the prince's delegates. In medieval [[Muscovy]] ''voyevoda'' was the governor of a border fortress or town. The rank was abolished by [[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]] in the mid-18th century.
==Poland==
[[Image:Chronica Polonorum I 4.jpg|thumb|250px|Legendary twenty voivodes of Poland]]
In modern Poland, a voivode (''wojewoda'') is the governor of a [[Voivodeships of Poland|voivodeship]], appointed by the central government in Warsaw. (Each voivodeship also has an elected assembly, called a [[Voivodeship sejmik|sejmik]], and an executive elected by that assembly, headed by an official called the ''marszałek''. For a summary of the respective competences of these authorities, see [[Voivodeships of Poland]].)
The office was created in the [[Kingdom of Poland (1025–1138)|Kingdom of Poland under the Piasts]], and from the [[Crown of the Polish Kingdom]], spread to the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] after 1569 as an overseer of a voivodeship and its administration. In time, the office lost some of its importance — from "second after the ruler" to just one of several dozen important officials. In the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], a [[Voivodes of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth|voivode]] was one of the [[Offices in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth|officials]] entitled to sit in the [[Senate of Poland]].
==Hungary==
The Voivode of [[Transylvania]] (''woyuoda Transsiluanus'' or ''erdélyi vajda'' in Hungarian) was one of the barons (or chief office holders) of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]].
The ''vajda'' was, in effect, a territorial governor or viceroy appointed by the Hungarian crown. He was also the chief magistrate and military commander of Transylvania's counties, and this power inevitably drew the Székely and Saxon territories into his sphere of influence however these territories were governed by counts who were nominally independent of the voivode.
The title originated with the Slavic population, prior to the Hungarian conquest of the region. The Transylvanian voivodes, who were closely affiliated with the king, were often far from Transylvania, and local administration frequently fell into the hands of the vice-voivodes. However, some voivodes, such as László Kán (1297–1315), became powerful local rulers, effectively independent of the king. The title was in use from 1199 until the Principality of Transylvania emerged in the 16th century.
==Moldavia and Wallachia==
[[Image:Humorstefan.jpg|thumb|230px|[[Stephen III of Moldavia]]]]
*In [[Moldavia]] and [[Wallachia]], ''voievod'' meant the leader of the army, as opposed to the ''domn'' (lord), which was the supreme administrative leader - a term stemming from the [[Latin]] word ''dominus'', meaning lord or master. Both titles (and the associate offices) went by default to the ruling prince, which - as a sovereign ruler - had all land in [[allodium]] and was the chief commander of the army. Starting in the 17th century, as military power was curtailed by the Ottoman Empire, the rank of ''voievod'' came closer to the meaning of national ruler ([[domn]]).
*The ''voievod'' title was kept in its initial form by the Wallachian (Romanian) nobility of [[Hateg|Ţara Haţegului]] and [[Maramureş]] (In Transylvania), where the title of ''voievod'', together with the princely [[knyaz|''cneaz'']] title, had the meaning of noble or local ruler, but also leader of local armies or militias.
==Russia==
'''Voyevodas''' were elected administrators in Russia who were responsible on a local level only. The voyevodas filled a power vacuum left by the [[Time of Troubles]]. The early [[Romanov]]s (1613–82) gave all their judicial and police powers to the voyevodas in an attempt to reform them, but problems remained, as their powers became too broad and invited corruption. In 1621, the ''voyevodas'' were forbidden by [[Tsar]] [[Michael I of Russia|Michael]] to take bribes as this had become a problem. Despite this, the administration remained chaotic until [[Peter the Great]]'s reforms replaced the ''voyevodas'' with [[Burgmester]]s (Burgomasters, after the German) to collect the taxes.
==Serbia==
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Stevan Supljikac.gif|thumb|[[Stevan Šupljikac]] {{deletable image-caption|1=Saturday, 5 January 2008}}]] -->
In 1691, the [[Serbs]] who lived in the [[Habsburg Monarchy]] (now [[Vojvodina]] province in northern [[Serbia]]) gained from the Habsburg emperor the right to territorial autonomy within one separate [[voivodeship]] in the Habsburg Monarchy, as well as right to be ruled by a Serb voivode - a civil and military administrator. However, the voivodeship was not formed at that time, nor was a voivode appointed, only a vice-voivode. [[Jovan Monasterlija]] was the vice-viovode of the Serbs between 1691 and 1706. After him, no other vice-voivodes were appointed.
At the May Assembly in [[Sremski Karlovci]] (May 13-15, 1848), recalling the privilege from 1691, the Serbs proclaimed the creation of the [[Serbian Vojvodina]] and elected [[Stevan Šupljikac]] as voivode. These actions were later recognized by the Austrian emperor, and Šupljikac was recognized as a voivode. By a decision of the Austrian emperor, in November 1849, a new province was formed as the political successor of the Serbian voivodeship. It was known as the [[Serbian Voivodship and Tamiš Banat]]. The new voivodeship existed between 1849 and 1860 and the title of [[Grosswojwod|great voivode]] belonged to Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]] himself, though it was ruled by an appointed governor. After the voivodeship was abolished in 1860, Franz Joseph I kept the title of great voivode of the Voivodship of Serbia until his death in 1916. His successor, [[Karl I of Austria]], also retained the title until the end of the monarchy in 1918.
The title was often used to designate important military commanders in the [[Serbian Uprising]] against the Turks 1804-1815.
In the [[Balkan Wars]] and [[World War I]] this title was used to designate the highest military rank in Serbian Army (above the General - as equalent of Field Marshal in other armies). Only five people ever officially held that military rank: [[Radomir Putnik]] (got it in 1913), [[Stepa Stepanović]] (1914), [[Živojin Mišić]] (1914), [[Petar Bojović]] (1918) and the French General [[Louis Franchet d'Espérey]] (1918). It was only an honorary rank since in 1916–1917 General Petar Bojović held the position of Chief of Staff of the Supreme Command (the highest military position in the Serbian Army) and was a superior to two army commanders who were vojvodas (Stepa Stepanović and Živojin Mišić. In the same period the Serbian paramilitary organisation [[Chetniks]] used the title internally to designate it's top commanders - [[Vojin Popović]], [[Voja Tankosić]] and [[Kosta Pećanac]] being the prime examples. It was used in this manner again by the Chetniks in the [[Second World War]].
==Voivodes in the arts==
Among Russians, there are at least three significant works involving voivodes.
[[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]'s first opera, ''[[Voyevoda (opera)|Voyevoda]]'', was based on [[Alexandr Ostrovsky]]'s play. (His later orchestral work, the symphonic ballad ''The Voyevoda'', Op.78, based on [[Alexander Pushkin]]'s translation of [[Adam Mickiewicz]]'s poem, has the same name as the opera but is otherwise unrelated to it).
[[Anton Arensky]] later produced his own operatic adaptation of the play as ''A Dream on the Volga''.
[[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov|Rimsky-Korsakov]]'s differently-sourced opera ''Pan Wojewoda'', while composed to a Russian text, is set in Poland.
Among Americans, award-winning writer [[Larry Woiwode]]'s name descends from "voivode."
==Trivia==
*In [[Metal Gear Solid 3]], the character of The Boss is known to the Russians as Voyevoda.
*In [[Vampire: The Masquerade: Redemption]], the final Boss is Voivode Vukodlak.
*[[Voivod (band)|Voivod]] is the name of a thrash metal band from Canada.
*In the [[Fighting Fantasy]] [[roleplaying]] [[gamebook]] ''[[Legend of the Shadow Warriors]]'', the [[antagonist]] is an [[undead]] [[warlord]] named Voivod.
*In the pen and paper incarnation of [[Vampire: the Masquerade]], a Voivode is a powerful land owner of the [[Tzimisce]] clan.
==References==
{{reflist}}
===General References===
* Béla Köpeczi, ed. ''History of Transylvania'', vol. I., 411, 457. [http://mek.oszk.hu/03400/03407/html]
* voivode. (n.d.). Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Retrieved November 15, 2007, from Dictionary.com website [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/voivode]
[[Category:Slavic titles]]
[[bs:Vojvoda]]
[[bg:Войвода]]
[[ca:Voivoda]]
[[de:Wojwode]]
[[es:Voivoda]]
[[fr:Voïvode]]
[[it:Voivoda]]
[[he:וויווד]]
[[la:Vaivoda]]
[[lv:Vojevoda]]
[[lt:Vaivada]]
[[hu:Vajda]]
[[nl:Woiwode]]
[[pl:Wojewoda]]
[[pt:Voivoda]]
[[ro:Voievod]]
[[ru:Воевода]]
[[sr:Војвода]]
[[sv:Vojvod]]
[[tr:Voyvoda]]
[[uk:Воєвода]]