Chud or Chude (Old East Slavic: чудь, romanized: čudǐ, Finnish: tšuudi, Northern Sami: čuhti) is a term historically applied in the early East Slavic annals to several Baltic Finnic peoples in the area of what is now Estonia, Karelia^[1] and Northwestern Russia.^[2] It has also been used to refer to other Finno-Ugric peoples.^[3][4]

Arguably, the earliest attested written use of the word "Chuds" to describe Baltic Finnic peoples (presumably early Estonians) was c. 1100, in the earliest East Slavic chronicles.^[5] According to the Primary Chronicle, the invading troops of Yaroslav I the Wise defeated "Chuds" in a battle in 1030 and then established the fort of "Yuryev" (in what is now Tartu, Estonia).

According to Old East Slavic chronicles, the Chuds were among the founders of the Rus' state.^[5]

Etymology

There are a number of hypotheses as to the origin of the term. Chud could be derived from the Slavic word tjudjo ('foreign' or 'strange'), which in turn is derived from the Gothic word meaning 'folk' (compare Teutonic). Another hypothesis is that the term was derived from a transformation of the Finno-Ugric name for the wood grouse. Yet another hypothesis contends that it is derived from the Sami word tshudde or čuđđe, meaning an enemy or adversary (Finnish: vainolainen).^[6][7] This, however, would have required prominent Sami presence in trading centers around Lake Ladoga.^[7]

Identity

Chuds have traditionally been believed to belong to the group of Baltic-Finnic peoples, though there have been some debate as to which specific group. After the first encounter with the Chuds, Slavic people tended to call other Finnic-speaking peoples Chuds, and thus became a collective name for the Finno-Ugric neighbours in Russian cultural tradition. Many writers contend that the Chuds were Vepsians, Fasmer posits them in Karelia while Smirnov suggests the Setos are descendants of the Chuds.^[6] In recent research on toponymy of the Luga and Volkhov river catchment areas Finnish fennougrist Pauli Rahkonen has come to the conclusion, that the language spoken in the area has been Finnic only in the vicinity of the southern coasts of Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland, but more upstream of the two rivers, the language, as based on the evidence of hydronyms in the area, has represented other Finno-Ugric languages than Finnic.^[8] However, the Zavoloshka Chuds in the White Sea catchment area seem to have spoken Finnic languages based on the evidence of substrate toponymy in northern Russia carried out recently by Finnish Finno-Ugrist Janne Saarikivi.^[9]

Chuds in chronicles

The East Slavic Primary Chronicle describes Chuds as co-founders of the Rus' Khaganate state along with Krivichs, Veps, Ilmen Slavs and Vikings. In other ancient East Slavic chronicles, the term "Chuds" refers to several Finnic tribes, early Estonian groups in particular. In 1030, Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev won a military campaign against the Chuds and established a fort in Yuryev (present day Tartu, in southeastern Estonia).^[10] Kievan rulers then collected tribute from the Chuds of the surrounding ancient Estonian county of Ugaunia,^{[citation needed]} possibly until 1061, when, according to the chronicles, Yuryev was burned down by Estonian tribe called Sosols (probably Sackalians, Oeselians or Harionenses).^[11] Most of the raids against Chuds described in medieval East Slavic chronicles occur in present-day Estonia. The border lake between Estonia and Russia is still called Chudskoye (Chud Lake) in Russian. However, many ancient references to Chuds talk of peoples very far from Estonia, like Zavoloshka Chuds between Mordovians and Komis.

Chuds in folklore

In Russian folk legends, the Chuds were described as exalted and beautiful. One characteristic of the Chuds was 'white-eyed', which means lightly colored eyes.

Russian bylinas reminisce about the destruction of the Chuds when the Slavs were occupying their territories. When a Chud township was attacked, Chud women drowned themselves, along with their jewels and children, in order to avoid robbery or rape.^{[citation needed]}

In the chronicles which narrate about the founding of Russia, the Chuds are mentioned as one of the founder races, with the Slav and the Varyags (Varangians).

Folk etymology derives the word from Old East Slavic language (chuzhoi, 'foreign'; or chudnoi 'odd'; or chud 'weird'), or alternatively from chudnyi, wonderful, miraculous, excellent, attractive.

Chuds or Tchuds are traditional generic villains in some Sami legends^{[citation needed]}, as well as in the Sami-language movie Pathfinder from 1987, which is loosely based on such legends.^[12]

Use of term in historical times

Later, the word Chuds was more often used for more eastern Finnic peoples, Veps and Votes in particular, while some derivatives of chud like chukhna or chukhonets were applied to more western Finns and Estonians. Following the Russian conquests of Finland 1714–1809, and increasing contacts between Finns and Saint Petersburg, Finns perceived the word Chud to be disparaging and hinting at the serfdom that the Russians were believed to find fit for the Finns. However, as a disparaging word, it was rather chukhna that was applied also to Finns and Estonians as late as during the Winter War, 1939–1940, between the Soviet Union and Finland.^{[citation needed]}

In present-day Russian vernacular, the word chukhna is often used to denote the Veps. The name Chuds (or Northern Chuds) has been used for Veps people also by some anthropologists.^{[citation needed]}

In the mytho-poetical tradition of the Komi, the word chud can also designate Komi heroes and heathens; Old Believers; another people different from the Komi; or robbers—the latter two are the typical legends in Sámi folklore. In fact, the legends about Chuds (Čuđit) cover a large area in northern Europe from Scandinavia to the Urals, bounded by Lake Ladoga in the south, the northern and eastern districts of the Vologda province, and passing by the Kirov region, further into Komi-Permyak Okrug. It has from this area spread to Trans-Ural region through mediation of migrants from European North.^{[citation needed]}

Chud has become a swear word in the Arkhangelsk region. As late as 1920, people of that region used legends of the Chuds to scare small naughty children.^[6]