Laudani

The Laudani are classified as a Celtic tribe. They lived in Gaul around present-day Laon (formerly Laudanum) in northwestern France at least by the first century B. C.E. and are discussed as Celts or Gauls. Laon takes its name from the tribal name.

Ledzianians (Ledzians; Ledzianie; Ledziane; Lecsyans; Lendites; Lendizi; Lenthans; Lendians; Lendzanenoi; Lendzeninoi; Lachs)

The Ledzianians were a tribe of Western Slavs, living between the Upper Vistula River and its tributary the Western Bug around present-day Sandomierz in central Poland. One of their important fortified strongholds in the eighth century c. e. was Chodlik. The Ledzianians were under the domination of the RUS in the ninth century, and then of the Czechs in the 10th century Along with the POLANIANS, who gained hegemony over other area tribes in the 10th century, they are among the ancestors of the Poles, who expanded into their territory.

Lemkos (Lemko; Lemkians; Lemaky)

The Lemkos are a Slavic people currently living in Transcarpathia, that is, the Carpathian Mountains and surrounding regions. Their lands are in southwestern Ukraine. To their east are the Boikos and the Hutsuls. All three groups of Slavs, speaking distinct dialects, are among the people known as Rusyns, or Carpatho-Rusyns. The Lemkos speak an East Slavic dialect known as Lemko.

Lemkos also now live in Poland and Slovakia, where they once held more territory. Slavs lived in the Carpathian region as early as the late fifth century C. E.; the exact time the Lemkos assumed a distinct identity is not known.

As have their Carpathian neighbors, the Lemkos have preserved traditional farming culture in terms of rituals, tools, architecture, and clothing (such as the characteristic woolen mantles known as chuhy). Their music has been influenced by both Slovak and Czech songs.

See also Ukrainians: nationality.