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"'''Voivode'''" (as it is spelled in the Oxford English Dictionary), or less commonly "'''voivod'''", is a Slavic word 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. 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) (see ''Etymology'' below).
The title was used in medieval Bohemia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary (specifically in Transylvania), 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''' (''Voyevoda'') is today the term for the governor of a Polish province, a Voivodeship ("''województwo''").
In the Romanian medieval principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, voievode became part of the official 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, singular: войвода, ''voyvoda'').

Contents

Etymology

History

Poland

Hungary

Moldavia and Wallachia

Russia

Serbia

Voivodes in the arts

Trivia

References

Etymology

The term itself stems from the Slavic roots ''voi'' (warrior) and ''ved'-'' meaning "to lead", i.e. "warriors leader" (eg. polish ''wojewoda''). Because of evolution of the Slavic languages, in modern times the term could be rendered as ''vajda'', ''vojvod'', ''vojvoda'', ''wojwod'', ''wojewoda'' (Polish), воевода (''voivode'' or ''voivoda'', Russian, Bulgarian), воєвода (''voyevoda'', Ukrainian), војвода or ''vojvoda'' (Serbian) or ''voyvoda''.
This etymology is perfectly parallel, though unrelated, to equivalent terms like the Anglo-Saxon term ''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). Because of that, the Slavic terms are sometimes translated as ''duke''; while 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 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, princes and hospodars, 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.
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 the Great in the mid-18th century.

Poland

In modern Poland, voivode is the governing official of a voivodeship. They act as a representative of the national government in Warsaw to the region. Voivodships also have elected parliaments called 'sejmik'.
The office was created in the Kingdom of Poland under Piasts, and from the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, spread to Grand Duchy of Lithuania after 1569 as an overseer of 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 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Voivode of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the officials who could 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

★ In Moldavia and Wallachia, ''voievod'' meant the leader of the army, as opposed to the ''domn'' (lord), which was the supreme administrative leader and is 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 scrutinized 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 Ţara Haţegului and Maramureş (In Transylvania), where the title of ''voievod'', together with the princely ''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 Romanovs (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'' was forbidden by Tsar 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 Burgmesters (Burgomasters, after the German) to collect the taxes.

Serbia

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 Voivodship 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 Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat. The new voivodeship existed between 1849 and 1860 and the title of 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 Voivodeship 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 internaly 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. Tchaikovsky's first opera, ''Voyevoda'', was based on Alexandr Ostrovsky's play. The composer Anton Arensky later produced his own operatic adaptation of the play as ''A Dream on the Volga''. Rimsky-Korsakov's differently-sourced opera ''Pan Wojewoda'', while composed to a Russian text, is set in Poland.

Trivia

★ In Metal Gear Solid 3, the character of The Boss is known to the Russians as Voyevoda.

★ In , the final Boss is Voivode Vukodlak.

★ 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 , a Voivode is a powerful land owner of the Tzimisce clan.

References

Béla Köpeczi, ed. ''History of Transylvania'', vol. I., 411, 457. [1]