Lech, Czech, and Rus'

Lech, Czech and Rus (Czech pronunciation: [lɛx tʃɛx rus], Polish pronunciation: [lɛx t͡ʂɛx rus]) refers to a founding legend of three Slavic brothers who founded three Slavic peoples: the Poles (or Lechites), the Czechs, and the East Slavs (Belarusians, Russians, Rusyns, and Ukrainians), particularly Lechite Polans and Ruthene Polans. The three legendary brothers appear together in the Wielkopolska Chronicle, compiled in the early 14th century. The legend states that the brothers, on a hunting trip, followed different prey and thus travelled (and settled) in different directions: Lech in the northwest, Czech in the west, and Rus' in the northeast. There are multiple versions of the legend, including several regional variants throughout West Slavic, and to lesser extent, other Slavic countries that mention only one or two brothers. The three also figure into the origin myth of South Slavic peoples in some legends. Their stories are often, to some extent as well, used as a myth to understand the eventual foundation of the Polish, Czech and East Slavic states (Kievan Rus'), in accordance with the legend.