The Western Polans (also known as Polanes, Polanians; Polish: Polanie, derived from Old Slavic pole, "field" or "plain", from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-"flatland") were a West Slavic and Lechitic tribe, inhabiting the Warta River basin of the contemporary Greater Poland region starting in the 6th century. They were one of the main tribes in Central Europe and were closely related to the ...

The name derives from the Old East Slavic word поле, which means "field", because, according to the Primary Chronicle they lived in the fields (занеже в поле седяху). In roughly 862 the Polans were attached to ancient Rus'. [citation needed]The land of the Polans was at the crossroads of territories inhabited by different Eastern Slavic tribes (such as the Drevlyans ...