druzhina

File:Monomakh's hunting.jpg Vladimir Monomakh of the Rurikid dynasty resting with his druzhina after a hunt, by Viktor Vasnetsov.]]

In the medieval history of Kievan Rus' and Early Poland, a druzhina, drużyna, or družyna (Slovak and {{langx|cs|družina}}; {{langx|pl|drużyna}}; {{Langx|ru|дружина|translit=druzhina}}; {{Langx|uk|дружи́на|druzhýna|lit=fellowship}}) was a retinue in service of a Slavic chieftain, also called knyaz. The name is derived from the Slavic word drug (друг) with the meaning of "companion, friend".{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=droog|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|website=www.etymonline.com|access-date=13 May 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.zeno.org/Meyers-1905/A/Drushine?hl=dr%5Buv%5Dh%25s%5Bck%5D%25h%25%5Bi%25FCy%5D%5Beh%5D%25n%7B1;2%7Dah%25|title=Drushine|last=Zeno|website=www.zeno.org|access-date=13 May 2017}}

Poland

Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, who traveled in 961–62 in Central Europe, mentions that the drużyna of Duke Mieszko I of Poland had 3000 men, paid by the duke."Ibrāhīm ibn Ya‛qūb al-Isrā’īlī al-Ṭurṭūshī," by Lutz Richter-Bernburg, in: The Oxford Companion to World Exploration, David Buisseret, editor-in-chief, 2 vols., Oxford UP 2007, I:402b-403b Unlike his predecessors, Casimir I the Restorer promoted landed gentry over the drużyna as his base of power.{{cn|date=April 2023}}