akchewally it was Germans and Polono-Lithuanians from the west and north (not Czechs), and from east and south Tatars (eh a sort of a kind of Turk), who were supplying first Byzantine, later Genoese and finally Ottoman entrepot in Caffa. But I think his characterisation of Russian coalescence is correct in essence.
Slav is probably from the endonym Slovan (ie 'speaker of the word').
Sawyer is always interesting.
akchewally it was Germans and Polono-Lithuanians from the west and north (not Czechs), and from east and south Tatars (eh a sort of a kind of Turk), who were supplying first Byzantine, later Genoese and finally Ottoman entrepot in Caffa. But I think his characterisation of Russian coalescence is correct in essence.
Slav is probably from the endonym Slovan (ie 'speaker of the word').