Slavic peoples

The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples currently living in Europe. They are defined by speaking Slavic languages and reside chiefly in Central and Eastern Europe, but are also found in Asia. The idea that the Slavic people have more in common than their origin, the origin of their languages and some cultural aspects is derived from romantic nationalism, the panslavism movement and the notion of race as a biological basis of nations.

Ethnonyms applied to Slavs

The peoples we now know as Slavs appeared in early histories as "Venedes" or "Wends", but as noted above, their

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connection to the Venedes mentioned by Tacitus,

Related Topics:
Venedes - Tacitus

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Ptolemy and Pliny remains uncertain, and the use of the term "Venedes" or "Wends" for Slavs may have come about by way of a later misidentification of the Slavs with the earlier Venedes.

Related Topics:
Ptolemy - Pliny - Venedes

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Some later writers recorded the names of Slavic peoples as Sclavens, Sclovene, and Ants. Jordanes mentions that the Venets sub-divided into three groups: the Venets, the Ants and the Sklavens. Traditionally the name "Venets" has become associated with the Western Slavs, "Sklavens" with the Southern Slavs, and the "Ants" (or "Antes") with the Eastern Slavs.

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