Category Archives: Religion

Dziewanna

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Δηουόνα
was allegedly a Celtic Goddess. Ausonius writes, apparently talking of the modern city of Burdigala (Bordeaux), France (The Order of Famous Cities):

Salve, fons ignote ortu, sacer, alme, perennis,vitree, glauce, profunde, sonore, inlimis, opace. Salve, urbis genius, medico potabilis haustu, Divona Celtarum lingua, fons addite divis.

“Hail, fountain of source unknown, holy, gracious, unfailing, crystal-clear, azure, deep, murmurous, shady, and unsullied! Hail, guardian deity of our city, of whom we may drink health-giving draughts, named by the Celts Divona,—a fountain added to the roll divine! Not Aponus in taste, not Nemausus in azure sheen is more clear, nor Timavus’ sea-like flood more brimming-full.”

So this was a Goddess of springs. And yet, how can this Name appear in Jan Długosz list of Polish Gods and Goddesses as Dziewanna, a Goddess of the Wild, the Polish Diana? Did Długosz simply read Ausonius? Or was something else at play here?

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December 26, 2023

Christianus

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The following comes from the Anonymous Christian Monk‘s Vita et passio sancti Wenceslai et sanctae Ludmilae avae eius that is “The Life and Passion of Saint Wenceslaus and His Grandmother Saint Ludmilla” aka Legenda Christiani aka Kristiánova legenda. The monk claimed to be the uncle of St. Vojtech (Adalbert) which would make this work significantly older than Cosmas’ “Chronicle of the Czechs”. There isn’t much new here but since Meyer threw this in into his compilation of Suav religious sources, we give it here as well.

Chapter 2

“At vero Sclavi Boemi, ipso sub Arcturo positi, cultibus ydolatrie dediti, velut equus infrenis sine lege, sine ullo principe vel rectore vel urbe, uti bruta animalia sparsim vagantes, terram solam incolebant. Tandem pestilencie cladibus attriti, quandam phitonissam, ut fama fertur, adeunt, postulantes spiritum consilii responsumque divinacionis. Quo accepto civitatem statuunt, nomenque inponunt Pragam. Post hinc invento quodam sagacissimo atque prudentissimo viro, cui tantum agriculture officium erat, responsione phitonisse principem seu gubernatorem sibi statuunt, vocitatum cognomine Premizl, iuncta ei in matrimonio supramemorata phitonissa virgine.”

“But indeed the Bohemian Slavs, placed under Arcturus himself, devoted to idolatrous worship, like hellish horses without law, without any duke or governor or city, like brute animals roaming about scattered, inhabited the Earth alone. Finally, worn down by pestilence, they went to a certain soothsayer witch [this is a reference to Libuše, daughter of Krok], as the story goes, demanding the counsel of spirits and the answers of divination. After receiving this, they set up a city, and gave it the name Prague. Having found there a certain most shrewd and prudent man called by the name of Premizl, whose only vocation was agriculture; they set him up as a prince or governor over them and had him unite in marriage with the aforesaid soothsayer maiden.”

“Sicque a clade et multiplici peste tandem eruti, dehinc a supra memorato principe ex sobole eius rectores seu duces preposuere sibi, servientes demoniorum simulacris et prophanis sacrificiorum ritibus bachantes, donec ad extremum dominatus eiusdem regni pervenit ad unum ex eisdem principibus ortum, vocitatum Borivoi.”

“And thus finally rescued from the disaster and the manifold pestilence, thenceforth the above-mentioned prince appointed from among his sons governors or leaders, serving demon idols and profane sacrificial rites, until at last dominion of the same kingdom came to one of the same princes, called Borivoi.”

“Hic cum excellentissime forme et egregie iuventutis flore nitesceret, quodam tempore negocii sui populique sibi commissi causa ducem suum vel regem Zuentepulc Moravie adiit, a quo benigne suscipitur et ad convivium pariter cum reliquis adsciscitur. Verum sessionis ei locus inter Christicolas minime conceditur, sed ritu paganorum ante mensam pavimento iubetur insidere. Cuius presul Metudius iniurie condolens, fertur dixisse ad eum: Ve, inquit, quod tu talis tantusque haut erubescis a principalibus repelli sedibus, cum et ipse in fascibus ducatum obtineas, sed magis cupias ob nefandam ydolorum culturam cum subulcis humotenus incubare. At ille: Quid, inquit, ob huiuscemodi rem pericli pacior vel quid boni michi conferet Christianitatis ritus? Si, inquit presul Metudius, abrenunciaveris ydolis et inhabitantibus in eis demonibus, dominus dominorum tuorum efficieris, cunctique hostes tui subicientur dicioni tue et progenies tua cottidie augmentabitur velut fluvius maximus, in quo diversorum confluunt fluenta rivulorum. Et si, inquit Borivoi, res se ita habet, que mora est baptizandi? Nulla, inquit pontifex, tantum paratus esto ex integro corde credere in Deum patrem omnipotentem eiusque unigenitum, dominum nostrum Iesum Christum et in Spiritum paraclitum, illuminatorem omnium fidelium, non tantum mundialis causa substancie, verum eciam capessende salutis tue anime pro aquirenda perhennitatis gloriosa palma atque percipienda societate sanctorum ineffabili leticia.”

“[Bořivoj I of Bohemia], in the most excellent shape and in the splendid bloom of his youth, at a certain time went to his ruler Svatopluk I King of Moravia, on account of the business committed to him and his people by whom he was kindly received and he went to a banquet together with the others. But he was not allowed a place among the Christians but ordered to sit on the floor by the table according to pagan custom [similar story in the Conversion of the Carantanians]. The Bishop Methodius, sympathizing with him, is reported to have said: ‘Alas, that you sit with scum and being a man of importance you are embarassed at not being given a place at the table, [simply] because you prefer the unholy rites of idolatry.’ And he [Bořivoj] said: ‘Why would I brave the danger [of renouncing pagan rites], or what good will the rite of Christianity confer on me?’ Bishop Methodius answered: ‘If you destroy the idols and the demons that dwell in them, you will become the master of your masters, and all your enemies will be subject to your rule, and your descendants will multiply daily like a great river in which the streams of different streams converge.’ To which Bořivoj answered ‘If, this be so, what [then] prevents me from being baptized?’ ‘Nothing at all’ said the bishop. ‘Be ready only to believe with all your heart in God the Almighty Father and His only begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ and [too] in the Holy Spirit, the enlightener of all the faithful, and not as exchange for [earthly] things but rather to achieve the salvation of your soul, to acquire the glorious palm of eternity and to perceive the company of the saints in an ineffable joy.'”

“Populum cunctum Boemorum in furorem principis accendit, eo quod paternos mores relinqueret et novam atque inauditam sanctitatis legem Christianorum arriperet. Surgunt adversus eum uno animo eademque sentencia suisque eum a finibus perturbare conantur, seu eciam vitam auferre moliuntur. Quo agnito princeps sese ab eis removit rursusque regem zuentepulc seu pontificem Metudium Moravie repetivit.”

“The Czechs believed that he [Bořivoj I of Bohemia] abandoned the old customs of [their] fathers and accepted the unknown customs of Christainity so they rioted against him, […] and hounded him abroad and even intended to kill him; and thus, [when] the prince learned [about it], he left them and returned to the king Świętopełk, or Bishop Methodius in Moravia.”

From chapter 5

Chapter 6

“Quia vero radicitus necdum avulsi fuerant paganorum supersticiosi ritus, dum plurimi ad immolandum demoniis nefanda properarent sacrificia, cibisque ex ipsis potibusque simul inquinarentur, verum in cunctis se subtraxit, occasione facta qualibet. Carceres destruxit, patibula suppliciaque, que usque adhuc inerant ad excruciandos homines, funditus sua pietate evulsit fanaque profanorum terre coequavit.”

“But because the superstitious rites of the pagans had not yet been rooted out, while many hurried to perform evil sacrifices to demons, and their food and drink were polluted at the same time, he [Saint Wenceslaus] himself was never defiled by following these, but he withdrew himself from all, on every occasion. He destroyed the prisons, the gallows, [ended?] the executions, which up to this time had been used to torture men, completely uprooted by his piety, and razed the profane to the ground.”

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August 9, 2023

Galician Lelia Doura

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An interesting Divine Name appearing in Długosz’s Pantheon is Dzidzilela (a mispronounciation of a Baltic Didis Lela?). Indeed, in addition to Yassa, Lado and Nia, we frequently see in the earliest sources the Name Lela or Leli. Długosz characterized Dzidzilela as the Polish Venus. And indeed, it appears that Venus in its function as the Moon’s (Jasień’s) companion may be connected with Lela. As discussed, the Polish Leliwa coat of arms features the crescent moon and what appears to be a star but is likely Venus. More broadly, in European (and not only) languages, the leli sound is frequently associated with the night (for example, think of a lullaby).  Curiously, layl in Arabic and layla in Hebrew each mean “night”.

Of course, the Alcis are the Lugian Castor and Pollux as per Tacitus (the alleged Polish Lel and Polel) while elkas in Latvian and alkas in Lithuanian may refer to an idol. Then, we have the Polish lalki for puppets/dolls (though lala may also mean a young, attractive woman). All these have been connected with the supposed IE Horse Twins.

We’ve discussed some of this before.

Who is Lela? In Suavic vocabulary the name most frequently refers to an aunt or an older female relation.  Although Lada has been identified as the mother of Lel and Polel (supposedly being the same with the Greek Leda) a question arises: could the Horse Twins be the children of Lela instead in her function as the, well, Mother of the Gods (meaning the Horse Twins)?

Plenty of ink may be happily spilled answering that question (likely to no avail) but, in the meantime, let us note something strange. A curious refrain from a 13th century Galician poem by Pedro Eanes Solaz speaks these very same names in much the same way as the words Leli, Leli or Lado, Lado were sang by Suavic peasant farmers.

The poem has been preserved in three copies written down sometime in the 16th century as part of a compendium of other early Portuguese poetic works.

The Portuguese text is as follows (generally following Cohen and Corriente) in eight strophes:

Eu velida non dormia
lelia doura
e meu amigo venia
edoy lelia doura.

Non dormia e cuidava
lelia doura
e meu amigo chegava
edoy lelia doura.

O meu amigo venia
lelia doura
e d’amor tan ben dizia
edoy lelia doura.

O meu amigo chegava
lelia doura
e d’amor tan ben cantava
edoi lelia doura.

Muito desejei, amigo,
lelia doura
que vos tevesse comigo
edoy lelia doura.

Muito desejei, amado,
lelia doura
que vos tevess’a meu lado
edoy lelia doura.

Leli, leli, par Deus, lely
Lelia doura
Ben sei eu que<n> non diz leli
Edoy lelia doura

Ben sei eu qu<n> non diz lely
Lelia doura
Demo x’ é quen non diz leli
Edoy lelia doura

Here is a copy from the Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional aka the Cancioneiro Colocci-Brancuti (codex 10991, number 829).

An English translation of the text is as follows (from 2005’s Songs of a Friend: Love Lyrics of Medieval Portugal: Selections from Cantigas de Amigo):

I the lovely one, didn’t sleep,
lelia doura,
but my friend was wont to come to me,
e doi lelia doura.

I didn’t sleep and was always grieved,
lelia doura,
but my friend was wont to arrive for me,
e doi lelia doura.

My friend was wont to come to me,
lelia doura,
and he’d speak so beautifully of love,
e doi lelia doura.

And my friend was wont to arrive for me,
lelia doura,
and he’d sing so beautifully of love,
e doi lelia doura.

I ardently desired, my friend,
lelia doura,
that you would be together with me,
e doi lelia doura.

I ardently desired, my love,
lelia doura,
that you would be close at my side,
e doi lelia doura.

Leli, leli, by God, leli,
lelia doura,
I know very well who doesn’t say leli,
e doi lelia doura.

I know very well who doesn’t say leli,
lelia doura.
A demon is he who doesn’t say leli,
e doi lelia doura.

And here is the same in the Cancionerio Vaticano (codex Latinus 4803, number 415).

 

The refrain was not intelligible to those who discovered these manuscripts in the 19th centuries and so much has been written about its meaning. Two theories  prevail. First, that the refrain is onomatopeic or, in this case, basically meaningless singalong gibberish. However, more recently, a theory has been put forward that it is of Arabic origin. This was suggested in 1964 by Brian Dutton (“Lelia Doura, Edo y Lelia Doura, An Arabic Refrain in a Thirteenth-Century Galician Poem?”) and reproposed in 2002 by Rip Cohen and Federico Corriente (“Lelia Doura Revisited”). Lelia Doura would mean something like the “night turns”. Why Arabic? Well, as mentioned above, layl refers to night or nighttime and we know that Muslims had conquered portions of the Iberian peninsula at some point.

But this is rather strange. The poet in question is Galician and Galicia had never been conquered by the Muslims. The local Muslim population was nonexistent save for Muslim serfs captured by Galician rulers raiding parts of Al-Andalus to the south (serfs who may well have been Christian in any event). Perhaps most well-known was Alfonso II who more or less successfully fought off both Muslim marauders only to succumb for a time to Charlemagne.

It is safe to say that of all parts of the Iberian Peninsula the Asturian Kingdom of Galicia seems the oddest choice for preserving fragments of the Arabic language. And this is even more so if we are talking about the 13th century when the poem was composed by Pedro.

Galicia, however, had been, the home of:

  • Celtic Luggones
  • briefly of the Hasdingi Vandals (of whom the Lugii are suspected to have been a part), and
  • Suevi 

In the south Al-Andalus was also a major site of Suavic slave trade and, later, integrated many of the imported Suavic slaves into the local polity.

So a Central European connection seems better suited as an explanation of this refrain. Leli may not refer to “my night” but rather to either the Great Lela or, perhaps, Her Divine Twins.

Why Great Lela? Well, Didis Lado was supposed to mean Great Lado in Lithuanian but we also have Dzidzilela, perhaps a rendition of Didis Lela. It is interesting that the Polish word for “large” , “great” or “big” is durzy or, feminine, durza (see here, for example). This might be an explanation for the word doura. An alternative may be dobra meaning the “good”. And, frankly, these words may themselves bear a mutual relation.

Curiously, Cohen and Corriente use another poem by Pedro Eanes Solaz to conclude that the whole song has to do with a competition between two different women for the affections of a man. The other poem reads as follows:

Dizia la ben talhada:
“Agor’ a viss’ eu penada
Ond’ eu amor ei!”

A ben talhada dizia:
“Penad’ a ciss’ eu un dia
Ond’ eu amor ei!”

Ca, se a viss’ eu penada,
Non seria tan coitada
Ond’ eu amor ei!

Penada se a eu visse,
non á mal que eu sentisse
Ond’ eu amor ei!

Quen lh’ oje por mi dissesse
Que non tardass’ e veesse
Ond’ eu amor ei!

Quen lh’ oje por mi rogasse
Que non tardass’ e chegasse
Ond’ eu amor ei!

Thus, they render the following translation of both of these poems:

So sang the lovely girl:
“Now may I see her tormented
Whence I feel love!”

The lovely girl was singing:
“May I see her tormented one day
Whence I feel love!

For if I saw he tormented
I wouldn’t be so saddened
Whence I feel love.

If I saw her tormented
I wouldn’t be so saddened
Whence I feel love.

I wish someone would tell him for me
Not to tarry but to come
Whence I feel love.

I wish someone would beg him for me
Not to tarry but to arrive
Whence I feel love.”

Then the object of our discussion is translated thusly:

I, lovely girl, was not sleeping
(It’s my turn)
And my boyfriend was coming
(And today it’s my turn).

I wasn’t sleeping and was longing
(It’s my turn)
And my boyfriend was arriving
(And today it’s my turn).

My boyfriend was coming
(It’s my turn)
Any my boyfriend was arriving
(And today’s my turn).

My boyfriend was arriving
(It’s my turn)
And chanting so well of love
(And today’s my turn).

I really wanted, friend,
(It’s my turn)
To have you with me
(And today’s my turn).

I really wanted, beloved,
(It’s my turn)
To have you at my side
(And today’s my turn).

My night! My night! Bt God, my night!
(It’s my turn)
I know well who won’t say “my night!”
(And today’s my turn).

I know well who won’t say “my night!”
(It’s my turn)
She’s the devil who won’t say “my night!”
(And today’s my turn).

No this is curious because this love story (triangle?) is very similar to folk songs of Suavic lands where the name Leli as well as the word Lado come up. There is Queen Lela in Croatian and Serbian songs (see for example Vuk Stefanović Karadžić’s “Serbian National Songs” in Milan Milićević’s ethnological writings). We have “leliy, leliy, my lado” in Russian songs as per Karol PotkańskiOr “Łado, my Lelu” (Chronicle of Stryjkowski). Similar songs were sung in Ukraine. Finally Leliwa may have been a reference to the planet Venus itself (the Star of Leli, as per Kazimierz Perkowski).

Beyond Suavic lands we have the Hittite Lelwani (eventually a female) whose name features the suffix -vani which may mean “desire” (comparable with Venus) and which was like Persephone/Proserpina connected with the underworld (Stanisław of Skalbmierz mentions the cults of Venus and Proserpina in Poland). Or, for that matter, we may also mention the Hindu Lalita.

In fact, a recent work on the Polish Dzidzilela concludes that the whole story of Lado and Leli may be summarized as a love affair whereby a God arrives (often a Moon God) and falls in love with a Goddess, betrays her with another and then is punished (either by the brothers of his love or by someone else). He is later reborn. While this myth has a clear connection to the vegetation cycle, it is also reminiscent of the myth of Jason and Medea (miedza?) or Iasion and Demeter that we have written so often about here. Did the Moon God betray his love with another celestial? If so was it Lela? Or was Lela, as the Name itself indicates perhaps an older sister or an aunt? Did the God of the Moon tarry on Earth as Łado/Mars and seduce Marzanna? Only then to return to His true love, the celestial Łada/Lela?

As an aside, it is worth noting that the word lada in Spanish also refers to a side. It is tempting to speculate that that meaning arose from the function (my dear) of one of the Divine Twins in relation to the latter, especially, since Lada and Jasień may have been responsible for different “sides” of the Year divided in two by Midsummer’s Eve. Lela may then have been the Mother of Both (and they, the Lelki or, in Lithuanian, Alcis).

For other discussions of pottential Suavic connections to the Iberian Peninsula see here, here, here, here, here and here.

And if you want a real mindtwister, recall that wyspa – earlier yspa – is the Polish word for an island. The etymology of Hispania is not fully understood so throw this possibility into the mix as well.

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December 26, 2022

Green Holiday Celebrations From the Collection of Piotr from Miłosław

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Here are some quotes from the Sermones dominicales et festivales cum glossis Polonicis (from the so-called Collection of Piotr from Miłosław)

Aleksander Brueckner brought this to the scholarly world’s attention finding cantica lascivia wherein ladies “saltant ad sonum chori et cytharae concinnando swathky lyecze” (Archiv für slavische Philologie,14, 481 at 505),

Here are different versions of the same:

Jasna Góra Monastery Manuscript

“Sed quid locusta nisi fatuas virgines et mulieres signat, saltatrices, cantatrices et coreatrices, que hodie adinstar locuste saltant ad sonitum cytare concinantes szwanthki lecze, sed sunt immemores future hiemis vernis et dire, si quando dira mors eos.”

Polish National Library

“Sed quid locusta nisi fatuos viros  et mulieres signat, saltatrices, cantatrices et coreatrices, que hodie adinstar locuste saltant ad sonitum cytare concinantes, sed sunt immemores future hiemis vernis et dire, si quando dira mors eos constriget.”

Another Manuscript
(as per Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego)

“Sed quid locusta nisi fatuas virgines et mulieres significat saltatrices, cantatrices…, que hodie adinstar locuste saltant ad sonitum cithare concinantes wszytky latą [wszytki lata], sed sunt immemores future hiemis et dure, scilicest quando mors constringet swyaze [zwiąże]

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December 26, 2022

Poenitentiale Merseburgense

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Karl Heinrich Meyer notes in the appendix to his compendium on Suavic religion (Fontes historiae religionis Slavicae) certain passages from the Merseburg Penitential (Poenitentiale Merseburgense) which may or may not refer to Suavic customs. Nevertheless, given that some of these may in fact have a Suavic origin we include them here. The ones included are only the ones mentioned by Meyer and represent his choice of those that appeared to him to be most likely connected with Suavs.

For the complete penitential (which contains a total of 169 different punishable offenses (some quite, including those shown here, gross) see F.W.H. Wasserschleben’s Beitraege zur Geschichte der vorgratianischen Kirchenrechtsquellen (Leipzig, 1839, page 88) and also Die Bussordnungen der abendlaendischen Kirche (Halle, 1851, page 387) by the same author (which also includes other versions of similar penitentials).

The manuscript itself is Merseburger Dombibliothek nr. 103 (from the 9th century).

Cap. 22: Si quis sacrilegium fecerit, id est quod aruspici vocant, qui auguria colunt, sive per aves aut quocunque malo ingenio augeraverit, III ann. cum pane e.a. poen.

Cap. 23: Si quis per ariolos, quos divinos vocant, aliquas divinationes fecerit, quia hoc daemonum [or daemonicum] est, V ann. poenit., III ex his in pane et aqua.

Cap. 26: Si quis sortes sanctorum, quas contra rationem vocant [or Si quis sortes, quas sanctorum contra rationem vocant], vel alias sortes habuerit, vel qualecunque alium malum ingenium sortitus fuerit vel veneraberit, III ann. poen.

Cap. 27: Si quis ad arbores vel ad fontes, vel ad cancellos, vel ubicunque, exceptum in ecclesia, votum voverit aut solverit, III annn. cum pane et aqua poeniteat, quia et hoc sacrilegium vel daemonium est; et qui ibidem ederit aut biberit, annum integrum cum pane et aqua poeniteat.

Cap. 32: Si quis, quod in Kalend. Januar. multi faciunt, quod adhuc de paganis residit, in cervolum [o cervolo], quod dicitur, aut in vecola [or vetula] vadit, III ann. poen., quia hoc daemonum [or daemonicum] est.

Cap. 34: Si quis mathematicus fuerit, i.e., per invocationem daemonum mentes hominum tulerit aut debacante [or debacchantes] fecerit, V ann. poen., III ex his i.p.e.a.

Cap. 36: Si quis ligaturam fecerit in herbas vel quolibet ingenio malo incantaverit et super Christianum ligaverit, scias eum fidem Dei amisisse, III ann. poen., I ex his i.p.e.a.

Cap. 48: Si qui simul edunt festivitates in locis abuminandis more gentium, III ann. poen. i.p.e.a.

Cap. 50: Si quis secundo et tertio idolis immolaverit per vim, III annn. poen., II sine oblatione communicet.

Cap. 74: Si quis sanguinem animalium manducaberit nesciens, aut morticinum aut idolis immolatum, IV menses poen., i.p.e.a., si autem scit, II ann. sine vino et carne.

Cap. 103: Si qua mulier semen viri sui in cibum miscens, aut inlicitas causas fecerit, ut inde plus ejus amore suscipiat, III ann. poen.

Cap. 108: Si quis [or aliquis] infans per ignorantiam gustaberit idolis immolatum aut morticinum, aut aliquid abhuminabile, III ebdom. poen.

Cap. 167: Si quis emissor tempestatum fuerit, VII ann. poen., III ex his i.p.e.a.

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December 26, 2022

Yāqūt on the Rus Religion

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Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-‘Abdullāh al-Rūmī al-Hamawī (1179–1229) was a Greek (al-Rumi) born in Constantinople captured by the Muslims, made a slave but then freed.

His most famous work is the “Dictionary of Countries” (Kitāb Mu’jam al-Buldān), compiled between 1224 and 1228. It is in that work that he briefly mentions the Rus religion – notably distinguishing the Rus from Suavs. It is that passage that made it into Meyer’s compendium and it is for that reason that we include it here:

“The Rus are one of the peoples who border the Suavs and the Turks. They have their own language and a religion (din) and a law based on religion which is different from everyone else’s… These days, as is well known, they belong to the Christian religion.”

Note that Yāqūt’s work contains other entries on Suavs themselves but not on their religion.

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October 8, 2021

Czech Gods Part III

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Here is a list of the remaining sources that appear in Meyer’s compilation and that we have not yet covered. The translations come (mostly) from Juan Antonio Álvarez- Pedrosa, Julia Mendoza Tuñón, and Sandra Romano Martín (“Sources of Slavic Pre-Christian Religion.”)


Legenda Bohemica “Oportet Nos Fratres”

[section 1]

“For the inhabitants of this region lived without law until the time of the Roman-Germanic Caesar Henry [the Fowler],* knew not the king of heaven, as if they were deprvied of reason, and, forgetting that creation is the work of such a great Creator, served deaf and mute idols, straying far from the truth… After… the illustrious male Spytihnev became leader of the principality and took firm hold of the throne of this kingdom for himself and at the same time, by the will of God, began to love in earnest the cult of the Christian religion, to observe with devotion the law of God, to feel hatred for the followers of the idols and to love all those who believe in the one true God as if they were the children of his own loins. And without more delay, regenerated with the mystery of the holy baptism, wisely edified in the faith of the most Holy Trinity, he destroyed the majority of the temples of the idols and with the greatest veneration built many temples and chapels in honor of the Holy King of Kings.”

* note: Henry was a king, not an emperor.

Ilius enim regionis incole usque ad tempora Romani Cesaris Heinrici sine lege uiuebant, celi regem, quasi ratione carentes, nesciebant, seque facturam tanti factoris esse negligentes, surdis et mutis ydolis seruiebant, a ueritate longe deuiantes (…). Postquam (…) preclarus uir Zpitigneus peruenit ad ducatus principatum et eiusdem regni solium sibi subiecit bene subiugatum, statim Deo predestinante christiane religionis cultum studiose cepit amare, legem Dei deuotus obseruare, sectatores autem ydolorum odio habere et omnes in unum uerum Deum credentes quasi filios uterinos diligere. Nec mora, sacri baptismatis mysterio regeneratus, in fide sancte Trinitatis sapienter edificatus, plurima idolorum templa destruxit, regi regum eiusque sanctis perplures domos et oratoria cum summa ueneratione construxit.

[section 3]

“As proof of his goodwill, the exalted emperor of the Romans, Otto I… granted this happy son Wenceslaus the enjoyment of the duchy and advised him with great emphasis to be, like his father Vratislaus*, a dedicated soldier of the imperial army, to act with loyalty like a good leader all the days of his life and to always stay far away from the cult of the perverse idols.”

* note: Vratislaus I of Bohemia (circa 888-921), duke of Bohemia from 915.

Summus autem Romanorum imperator,scilicet primus Otto(…) beatum puerum Wenzezlaum bona uoluntate constituit ad ducatus dominationem et monuit eum summis ammonitionibus patri suo Wratizlao similem esse regali militie strennuum militem et bonum ducem omnibus diebus uite sue fideliter interesse et a peruersis ydolorum culturis semper abesse.

[section 13]

“All that which he (Wenceslaus) dared not do openly before his semi-pagan subjects to serve God, he performed in full over the course of the night at desired intervals. Because there existed a pledge among the pagan subjects, and confirmed by criminal analogy, whereby, should they find a clergyman or a Christian anywhere with the Servant of God, they would immediately cut off his head or subject him to another cruel death with no possibility of defense. For this reason, the pious Wenceslaus built hidden passages.”

Quicquid propter semipaganos ciues palam facere non ausus est in Dei seruitium, hoc pernox totum impleuit per desiderabile cuiusque noctis intersticium. Erat enim a paganis ciuibus constitutum et federatum celestaque conratione confirmatum, ut si quis clericorum aut ceterorum christianorum cum Dei seruo alicubi inueniretur, statim aut capite truncaretur aut alia seuissima morte sine contradictione puniretur. At beatusWenzezlaus fecit occultas posterulas.

[section 15]

“To them, the man of the Lord (Wenceslaus), moved for a brief time, answered them saying: ‘Oh incredulous fools, enemies of the Christian name… You are worshippers of loathsome idols and pagans who persecute nearly all Christians. What is more, that which at some moment was my wish for the service of God, was without doubt that which you wished for not… You established your ceremonies and festivals dedicated to the demons and not to God, you offered victims and burnt offerings to alien/strange gods, and reduced to nothing all those things connected with the true God. And on top of this, with threats and flattery you prohibited me from celebrating the divine mysteries.”

Quibus uir domini paulisper commotus respondit et dixit: “O increduli et insani, o inimici nominis christiani (…) Vos estis cultores inmundorum idolorum et profani persecutores omnium pene christianorum. Preterea quicquid umquam in Dei seruitium meum erat uelle, procul dubio uestrum erat nolle (…) Demonibus et non Deo solemnitates et ferias uestras constituistis, uictimas et holocausta diis alienis obtulistis, et omnia, que ueri Dei sunt, ad nichilum redegistis. Insuper minis et blandimentis me ipsum prohibuistis diuina mysteria celebrare.

Concilia Pragensia


sub anno 1366

“On the image of death (regarding those who bring death to the outskirts of town in the middle of Lent). It is known that in some cities, towns and villages the pernicious habit has taken root, on the part of clergy and laymen, of bringing images in the form of death around town to the river in the middle of Lent, accompanied by chants and superstitious representations and that there they sink said images vehemently arguing to their own shame that in this way death will not do them more harm because it has been destroyed and wiped out from the town’s boundaries. Therefore, it is ordered that each and every one of the heads of the diocesan churches, upon discovering that there are such people in their parishes, immediately remove them from divine functions, until said transgressors and superstitious fraudsters receive from the Archbishop a penitence that corresponds to their excesses and will free them from sin. Absolution for these excesses is especially reserved for the Reverend Father.”

De mortis ymagine (de his, qui in media quadragesimae portant mortem extra villam). Item quia in nonnullis civitatibus oppidis et villis prava clericorum et laicorum inolevit abusio , qui in medio quadragesimae ymagines in figura mortis per civitatem cum rithmis et ludis superstitionis ad flumen deferunt ibi quoque ipsas ymagines cum impetu submergunt, in eorum ignominiam asserentes quod mors eis ultra nocere non debeat tanquam ab ipsorum terminis sit ultra nocere non debeat tanquam ab ipsorum terminis sit consumata et totaliter exterminata. Quare omnibus et singulis ecclesiarum parochialum rectoribus precipitur quod cum tales in suis plebibus resciverint, mox a divinis officiis tam diu abstineant, donec dicti prevaricatores lusoresque superstitiosi a domino Archiepiscopo peniterntiam recipiant pro excessibus condignam et salutarem quorum absolutionem sibi reverendus pater specialiter reservat.

sub anno 1384

“It is also ordered that the parishioners or the leaders who represent them in the diocese of Prague should not allow superstitious representations in their parishes, and especially should not allow images representing death, which are made so as to be displayed, midway through Lent, on city outskirts, accompanied by music, on account of the bad custom that is established in some places.”

Item mandatur ne plebani seu eorum vices gerentes per diocesin Pragensem ludos superstitiosos in plebibus suis admittant specialiter ne in medio quadragesimae extra portas urbis vel ville ymaginem ad hoc factam in modum ortis cum rithmis sicut consuetudo prava in quibusdam locis inolevit, offerri permittant.

(another) sub anno 1384

“It is also ordered that all parishioners and the leaders who represent them shall not allow, on the anniversaries of their dead, for the parishioners in their own houses to make sacrifices with torches, on their behalf or the behalf of others, nor for them to sign the responses that are often used n such occasions. For this custom should be considered a bad habit.”

Item mandator omnibus plebanis et eorum uices gerentibus ut in anniuersariis mortuorum in domibus plebizanorum ipsorum non permittant ut faiant fieri aliqua offertoria cum luminibus per se uel alios nec eciam cantent responsoria in talibus consueta fieri. Nam hec consuetudo uel potius abusio dicenda est.

sub anno 1407

“Against money-lenders and fortune-tellers. In addition, oh! It has been reported before the tribunal of our Lord that many money-lenders, fortune-tellers, sorcerers and sorceresses are appearing in different parishes and this is publicly tolerated by the parishioners, who, free from all censure, openly practice different spells, disregarding and setting aside the one holy Christian faith. Thus, it is ordered that each and every parishoiner should no longer tolerate such sorcerers and sorceresses any longer in their parishes but rather they should condemn them and expel them and send them before the tribunal of the authority so that they may complete the punishment imposed upon them for their salvation. Moreover, any parishioner who does not heed this must be reported by the prior of that place to the higher prelates, and must be punished by them with aseverity as a prticipant in a crime that has been condemned and is condemned.”

Contra usurarios (et) sortilegos. Item heu ad nostri domini audienciam est deductum quod multi usurarii sortileges incantatores et incantatrices in diversis parochiis commorantur et publice tolerantur per plebanos absque omni correccione libere diversa sortilegia exercentes in sancte et (et) unite christiane contemptum fidei et scissuram. Igitur mandatur plebanis universis et singulis quatenus tales sortilegos et sortilegas non tolerent ulterius in parochiis eorum, sed corrigant et expellant tales pro poenitencia peragenda ad superiorum audienciam remittant eis salubirr imponendo alias quicunque plebanus circa hoc negligens fure debet per loci decanum denunciari prelats superioribusi.

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August 9, 2021

Spanish Religious Connections

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In Polish folk songs we have the Names of Leli and Didzilela. These are frequently associated (whether correctly or not) with celestial objects. Similar Names appear in Croat songs and among other Suavs. We know we also have Yassa and Lada.

There is a coat of arms by the name Leliwa which, in its objects and the blue background also has celestial connotations:

Now, this obviously brings up the Moon and either the Sun or perhaps some other bright light in the sky – Venus maybe?

Note that the Moon and the Sun sometimes appear at the same time (same with Venus).

In any event, there is a town in Spain in the province of Toledo called Velada. Velada refers to a soirée or an evening party or late evening vigil. This is that town’s coat of arms:

What does this mean? Perhaps nothing but it is still interesting. Perhaps the ancients were intent to honor the time of day when the lunar bodies joined in the sky (as husband and wife or two lovers?).

For the Bructeri prophetess Veleda/Velaeda see an earlier post.

Copyright ©2021 jassa.org All Rights Reserved.

July 26, 2021

Some Musings on Suavic Beliefs Regarding the Earth’s Satellites

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A few years ago a reader asked about the cult of the Sun among the Suavs. Back then I was dismissive. I thought (and still do) that neither the Sun nor the Moon were worshipped as Gods among the Suavs. That said, I had not been entirely fair. While the Sun and Moon were clearly not Deities in Suavic tales, they had been revered and divine tales had been spun around them. It feels, though I can’t prove it, that at some point at least some Suavs anthropomorphized the Sun and the Moon and then may have developed Divinities that, while not themselves these celestial bodies, were represented by them. Alternatively, this may have occurred in reverse such that the worship of Divinities was associated over time with the Sun and Moon.

Let’s start with the Sun.

I do not intend to write about Dadzhbog as that “tale” such as it is, has been exhaustively discussed. Let’s rather touch on some other aspects of the reverence for the Sun. Perhaps the most famous example of the veneration of the Sun is the “swearing on the Sun” – the act of swearing by raising your hand and, specifically, extending two fingers towards the Sun. This was a ritual present in Poland but also in the Czech lands and portions of Germany. Here the bibliography includes most notably:

  • Władysław Aleksander Semkowicz, Przysięga na słońce: studyum porównawcze prawno-etnologiczne (1916) in: Księga pamiątkowa ku czci Bolesława Orzechowicza, t. 2, Lwów 1916, pages 304-377.
  • Władysław Aleksander Semkowicz, Jeszcze o przysiędze na słońce w Polsce, in: Studia historyczne ku czci Stanisława Kutrzeby, t. I, Kraków 1938, pages 429-444.
  • Stanisław Szczotka, Stosowanie przysięgi na słońce w polskim sądownictwie wiejskim w XVIII wieku in: Czasopismo Prawno-Historyczne 2 (1949), pages 452-458.
  • Waldemar Bukowski, O przysiędze na słońce raz jeszcze. Przysięga w postępowaniu granicznym w księstwie zatorskim w 1529 roku, in: Memoria viva. Studia historyczne poświęcone pamięci Izabeli Skierskiej (1967-2014), red. G. Rutkowska, A. Gąsiorowski, Warszawa–Poznań 2015, pages 789-804.
  • Entry for Przysięga (by Wojciech Hejnosz) in the “Dictionary of Suavic Antiquities” (Słownik starożytności słowiańskich), volume 4, p. 402 and the following.

Semkowicz gives the following examples of this act from Mazovia, Greater Poland and Silesia:

  • On May 3, 1466, Conrad III, the Duke of Czersk certifies in Łomża that Jacob and Alex Szczodruch of Zalesie (coat of arms Trzaska) established in his presence their nobility with witnesses delivering sworn testimony by raising two fingers towards the Sun:
    • errectis versus solem duobus digitis
    • source: Wywody szlachectwa w Polsce XIV-XVII, page 38, number 138 in Rocznik Towarzystwa Heraldycznego, volume III
  • On June 22, 1468, six brothers, the heirs of Tykiewki (coat of arms Kościesza) established their nobility relying on sworn witness testimony which witnesses attested to that fact by raising two fingers towards the Sun:
    • duobus digitis in solem elevatis et errectis
    • Wywody szlachectwa w Polsce XIV-XVII, number 141 in Rocznik Towarzystwa Heraldycznego, volume III
  • On March 21, 1471 Bolesuav V, the duke of Warsaw confirms the nobility claim of Jan of Kutyłów  (coat of arms Doliwa), who presented witnesses attesting to this with fingers raised towards the Sun:
    • errectis versus solem duobus digitis
    • Wywody szlachectwa w Polsce XIV-XVII, number 142 in Rocznik Towarzystwa Heraldycznego, volume III

Semkowicz notes the following additional examples from F. Stanisław Kozierowski:

  • Under 1450, Kościan (Greater Poland) books list three knights being cleared of theft charges and, in court proceedings, swearing to their innocence by raising, in accordance with chivalric custom, two fingers of their right hands towards the Sun:
    • debent iurare iuxta ius militare, intuendo solem, elevatis duobus digitis dextrae manus

The Poznań court official present (subcamerarius) notes that such two -finger oath was done in appropriate fashion:

    • spectato sole (solem inspiciendo), duobus digitis dextrae manus elevatis 

These citations are from:

    • F. Stanisław Kozierowski, Nieznane zapiski heraldyczne from Roczniki Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk Poznańskiego, 1915, numbers 45, 46, 60, 81
  • In 1484, in Poznań Piotr Więckowski swore to his innocence again by raising two fingers towards the Sun:
    • erectis duobus versus solem (in solem) digitis
    • F. Kozierowski, l c. number 60
  • In 1456, John duke of Oświęcim confirms the nobility of Jan Nowowiejski whose witnesses were his relatives and who testified with two fingers raised towards the Sun
    • mit vfgeracten czweyen fingern kegen der zonnen nachritterlichen lowfe
    • in German from the Codex Diplomaticus Silesiae, v. 1 CXXVIII

Curiously, to this day, Polish officers salute using two fingers. Now, this custom supposedly derives from the much later Napoleonic era but making a connection might be tempting…

Why two fingers?

Here let’s indulge in some speculation. The Polish (and Suavic more generally) word for the Sun is słońce. This is a bit unusual because the -ce (or -cie or sometimes -cy) suffix indicates the presence of either something that isn’t really present in today’s Suavic languages – the dual noun form – or, sometimes, of the plural noun. Thus, we have, to give a few examples:

  • miesiące
  • skrzypce
  • lejce
  • łapcie

The singular would have the -iec suffix. Thus, skrzypiec, lejec, łapiec and so forth.

Could słońce itself be a plural?

Brückner does not even consider that, instead pushing the theory that this is a diminutive:

Vasmer is not that far off from Brückner:

And yet what examples does Brückner give to justify his view?

He brings up serce meaning “heart” (from an earlier sierce) and miejsce meaning”place.” And yet are these other examples diminutives? Anyone supportive of Brückner’s view here must wince at the example of serce – at least anyone aware of the heart’s four chambers, that is the two atria and two ventricles.

As to miejsce, the earlier mieśćce or miestce, that is supposedly a diminutive of miasto which in Polish means “town” but in other Suavic languages may just mean a “place” – a concept that in Polish is expressed in miejsce. If this is correct and if we disregard serce – as per the above obsevation – then this, it seems to me, would be about the only example I am aware of a singular diminutive with the -ce suffix.

It is also curious that:

  • słońce is obviously related to Sun

while

  • serce could be mistaken (?) for being a cognate of sur (south, also the Kern of our solar system),

while

  • miejsce, the (meeting? compare with Lithuanian mietas) place, appears cognate with miesiąc meaning “Moon”

Putting that aside, what would this singular of słońce be?

Here the answer must be słoniec which itself would have to be a diminutive of, what, słoń?

Well, this is not to suggest that Suavs thought of the Sun as being pulled by elephants (rather the elephant is more likely to have been named after the large beasts pulling the Sun).

But the Suavs may have believed that the Sun was pulled by  multiple creatures – horses? dragons?

But were these creatures – that we project deep into the PIE times – really called individually a słoń? Or was a słoniec simply a derivative of another Name that sounded like the Sun? In other words, was the Sun driven around by the słońce, that is “servants of the Sun” (an interesting exercise too in light of the above would be an examination of the etymology of this term – PIE *seruo- “guardian” – of what? of the Sun – Sur – maybe?).

But then what was the Sun? In Suavic languages this term is the purportedly neuter singular słońce. Neither he nor she. But as shown above, the term may have originated in a plural concept for those creatures which pull the Sun across the sky. So what was the Name of the Sun itself? Could it have been Sune or Suna – a Name that was preserved only in obscure Norse tales?

In fact, the Suavic word sunąć meaning, roughly, “to glide along at a fast but steady pace” may itself be derived from “Sun”. (Curiously, in Greek stories Ladas is the name of two very fast runners – why are runners called Ladas?)

If this is the case then we would have to show that the Sun – or rather the Deity of the Sun – was a female in Suavic beliefs. That is not like Helios a God but a Goddess. Is this possible?

Here we have very scant, though not immaterial, evidence for this claim.

The first and only constant in our quest to assign gender to the heavenly bodies is that the Moon is (almost) always male, that is księżyc or miesiąc. Thus, implicitly, you’d think that the Sun should be female.

An immediate objection is that – at least in Polish – księżyc means “little primce” such that the “big” prince must surely be the Sun. This, however, has been shown many years ago to be no more than scientific folklore by Kazimierz Moszyński who pointed out that Polish peasants only referred to the waxing crescent of the new Moon as księżyc, that is the “young” moon (młody księżyc). Thus, ksiądz, meaning “ruler” refers to the full Moon and not to the Sun.

Having dispensed with the above objection, we still have to show positive proof of the Sun being associated with the female. This does happen in Polish belief but it is rare. Apparently, there is evidence that newlyweds in parts of Poland have traditionally called upon the Sun and the Moon to bless their marriage. That, however, is, again, circumstantial evidence.

Well, again, there seemingly is some evidence for this belief but only in Eastern Poland. Specifically, you have to go to the PhD dissertation written by Wanda Drabik – “The Customs of Podlachia” (Obrzędy Podlasia) to come upon a claim that in wedding songs found in that part of Poland, folk refer to the Sun as the bride and to the Moon as the bridegroom.

Traces of this appear further West as reported in, for example, the Silesian Józef Lompa’s Bajki i podania (being the compendium of his work Sitten und Gebräuche des schlesisch-slavischen Volkes).

Curiously, the work of another Silesian Nicolaus Magni de Iawor – the ever popular party hit Tractatus de supersticionibus – contains the story of an old woman who called the Sun the Holy Lady, spoke to Her, performed blessings in Her name and, the old lady claimed, healed many a sickness in the Sun’s name over the course of forty years. Here is that text as given by Krzysztof Bracha:

Sic aliquam vetulam novi, que credidit solem esse quasi deam vocans eam sanctam dominam et alloquendo solem benedixit per eum sub certis verbis cum observancia quadam supersticiosam, que dixit: se plus quam 40 annis se credidisse hoc et multas infirmitates curasse

What was the source of this anecdote? A Suavic Bohemian or Silesian tale or a German story? Bracha notes that the same story appears in the Kommentar zur Dekalog written by the German preacher Gottschalk Hollen.

Another potential Suavic female connection for the Sun is with the Goddess Lada. If the reference to Lada as Minerva is accurate and we know that Minerva was just the Roman Athena then we can connect Lada with Athena. Athena was not a solar goddess per se but she does have some solar connections. Most importantly, we are told that on the day that she was born Helios stopped the Sun chariot.

Of course, as previously noted, Lado was the Sun Eye of Piorun according to a Ruthenian saying and, though, the provenance here is unclear, apparently, in Lithuania, peasants sang Lado, Lado saule, duok jam sameziu per gałwe, that is, “Lado, Lado Sun, hit him [the wolf] on the head with a ladle*” (as this comes from Narbutt, we may be suspicious whether the song is genuine).

* note that, curiously, “ladle” comes from hlædel, itself from hladan “to load, to draw up water” (see also lade)

Turning to the Moon, what can be said unequivocally is that the Moon was (almost) always associated  with a Man. Of course the Moon was also associated with the Name Jasień, Who, in turn, seems to have been the youthful Sky Rider.

Incidentally, are miesiące also the creatures that pull the Moon or is the fact that the Moon is always a miesiąc while the Sun is always “a” słońce mean that the Moon has one horse but the Sun has multiple horses?

And remember our discussion about the strange “2” symbol (see here or on some of these spears)? The symbol that can, when duplicated, form a heart or horseshoes or the Ω Omega sign? Did you know that the horseshoe “luck” symbol may go back to the worship of the Moon (perhaps by the Chaldeans)?

Check these decorations out that were found in Piast Silesia and have been labeled “Scandinavian” (while similar motifs do appear in Scandinavia, they are hardly unique to that area).

Were these – so similar to some of these other designs – horses or other creatures? And were they pulling the Moon or, in fact, the Sun?

Let’s now look at Kazimierz Moszyński’s treatise on Suavic solar and lunar practices.

Moszyński mentions some Suavic tales that speak of multiple Suns. For example, he recalls the tales of the Smolensk Suavs and the Bulgarians who claimed that there had once been two (the former) or even three (the latter) Suns but a snake or a dragon had apparently either “drank” or stolen the other Suns.

Whether that dragon can be associated with the “Ladon” of the Argonauts* or Níðhöggr (Nya?) is another matter. Obviously, cold-blooded lizards like roasting themselves in the Sun so the myth may have its roots in that behavior as well as the daily disappearance and reappearance of the Sun. Alternativly, the many Suns may come from the sun dogs phenomenon.

* note that, interestingly, Diodorus Siculus suggested the name of Jason and the Argonauts’ ship, the Argo, was derived from an ancient Greek word for “swift” (IV.41.3: “The vessel was called Argo after Argus, as some writers of myths record, who was the master-builder of the ship and went along on the voyage in order to repair the parts of the vessel as they were strained from time to time, but, as some say, after its exceeding great swiftness, since the ancients called what is swift Argos.”) . This too is the meaning in Polish of jary – meaning “rushing” or “swift” as in “a rushing river” and jarki – meaning “fast moving”. For more on this rather intriguing subject see here. Were the Argonauts then “sailing” the Sky on the Moon as their vessel? It is also interesting that the Latin word for “silver” is argentum (hence the periodic table symbol Ar) and the Greek was ργυρός (which also referred to “money” regarding which see the various monetary customs below that involved the Moon). Of course, you also have ἀργός meaning “white” or “bright” or, in Sanskrit, árjuna, with all these meanings.

Moszyński also relates that peasants would, particularly on Saint John’s Eve come out to the borders of the village and stare at the Sun. The Sun would then be described as “dancing”, “playing, “laughing” or even “bathing”. This custom was generally limited to Central Europe but apparently also present in Bretagne (Veneti?) and some other unspecified parts of France. When associated with Easter the same custom appears too in Russia, Germany and the southern Caucasus. Other phenomena that were related by the peasantry, according to Moszyński also included a Sun that jumped up and down, rotated, broke into separate parts or recombined itself into a single body. Moszyński then brings up the work of D.O. Svyatskiy (perhaps Astronomiya Drevney Rusi) who methodically exclaims some of these optical phenomena as green flash and green ray illusions.

Moszyński also discusses the various customs associated with the Moon. Of particular note is the fact that Suavs apparently associated the new Moon with wealth (Nya as Pluto?) or, more particularly, with accretion to wealth – perhaps a result of the expectation that the Moon will over time get fatter and so, the peasants would also welcome the same as in this Polish “spell”:

Witaj, Księżycu, niebieski dziedzicu! Tobie złota korona. Mnie zdrowie i fortuna!
(“Welcome, oh Moon, the heavenly ruler*! For you the golden crown. For me health and fortune!”)

* note that although dziedzic can mean “heir”, in the context of a village it meant the local feudal lord.

Curiously, a similar association is mentioned by Nicolaus Magni de Iawor (as per Bracha):

Insuper hic hodie inveniuntur homines tam laici quam clerici, tam litterati quam illiterati, quos et plus dolendum est quidam magistri, cum primo novilunium viderint flectis genibus adorant et deposito capucium vel pileo capite inclinato honorant, alloquendo et suscipiendo, ymmo plures ieiuniant illo die, scilicet novilunio.

Bracha also reports similar beliefs reported by Caesarius of Arles (of Chalon) or in parts of Germany citing Nikolas von Dinkelbühl who noted that at the new Moon, people would lift open their money satchels towards the Moon to show the Moon the coins or would  shake the satchel and utter a prayer for successful month. The same author further cited an actual German prayer to the Moon (from De decem praeceptis or De preceptis decalogi):

Ad idem reduci potest stultissimus iste error, quod quidam quando primo vident novam lunam ipsam venerantur immo adorant dicentes hec aut similia verba: „Bis got wilkum newer mon holder her, mach mir myns geltes mer“; et aperta bursa ei monstrant pecuniam aut eam in bursa vibrant, credentes per huiusmodi deprecacionem et reverencie exhibicioem ab ea obtinere prosperitatem per istum mensem et augmentum diviciarum.

Bracha cites a number of other examples from German lands (see also in Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens) found in Thomas von Haselbach (reporting the similar Bis got bilchom ein newer man holder her, mach mir meins gutz mer), Thomas Peuntner and Johann Militsch von Kremsier. For more on this see also the older Der Magister Nikolaus Magni De Jawor by Franz Adolph. Bracha also finds (citing an article by Maria Kowalczyk given here in English, though she seems to cite the wrong page) further examples from Poland such as this instance from Stanisuav of Skarbimierz  (Stanisław ze Skarbimierza or, in Latin, Stanislaus de Scarbimiria) from Sermo 47 where there is an order to bend the knee during the New Moon and recite Psalm 67.1, (here given as “Lord, shine your face upon us”); then the sermon orders an oath be performed (presumably facing the Moon), to remain in the Catholic faith and then, at the very end, to utter a prayer:

In novilunio cum primo perspexeris lunam flexis genibus dic hunc versum. Illumina domine, vultum tuum super nos et fac hoc, quam diu vixeris. Et tunc vade domum ad cameram tuam devoveno, quod nunquam peririum voluntarie volueris facere et quod in fide katholica semper volueris perseverare et dic aliquias 0oraciones

Or, from other Suavic lands (via Moszyński’s book), you have this Croatian iteration (which incidentally also relates a fight between the Moon and a snake or dragon):

Pomladi ti mene, kak si sam sebe. Kad tebe zmija ujela, onda mene glava zabolela! Kad tebe zmija ujela, onda mene groznica uhvatila!

Incidentally, the Moon, as Moszyński notes, was also a Deity but among the peasants (at least in Christian times) only of demons such as water demons. And here we have the curious connection to water – woda – and, perhaps, Wodan. The Moon-Water connection is not that difficult to make – it is delivered by the tides. From there you can also imagine thunderstorms full of rain as the Wild Hunt. In the Balkans Moszyński finds evidence of the Moon “drinking” water much as the snakes “drank” the Sun in the Russian fables.

The Moon is, however,  susceptible to being eaten itself – by wolves. This association should also be obvious if you consider the changing Moon as a Moon from which some animal takes a bite out of (other Suavs associated the Moon, for the same reason, with the sickle – naturally – but also with “horns” – of course).

Both the Sun and the Moon cold be stolen (by witches) and, among Southern Suavs, the Sun could also be eaten by a werewolf or a type of dragon called Hala. This, of course, brings associations with Hela.

Further, let’s mention that Krzysztof Bracha also notes other references in Polish sermons to Sun as well as Moon veneration. Here are the actual copies of pages he cites from:

BN III 3025 (242v)

BN III 3022 (92r) (Sun & Moon worship)

 

So then the ultimate question must be: was the Rider in the Sky riding on His White Horse which Horse was the Moon? Remember from Saxo Grammaticus the tale of Svantevit who would ride at night on a white horse that the priest kept at the Svantevit Temple, located, nomen est omen (?), at Arkona.

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June 29, 2021

On Luticios and their Minerva, Gardina Yesse

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We return to this inscription, the stone on which it was once etched had apparently been incorporated into a local cathedral wall.

The meaning of the inscription is not entirely understood. Specifically, there is the confusing Ladae. Several theories have been proposed:

  • it’s the name of the wife of Titus Puniceus who along with the hubby donated this altar to Minerva (unusual to have the wife’s name first but, hey, maybe she was the one with the dough); the CVR. is in that case referencing cūrāre, in the sense of “donating”; presumably then it would not be Ladae T.Puniceus but rather Lada et Puniceus;
  • it refers to a curia, a rada (“wheel” (?) because, well, they sat in a circle…) a body of local officials (like the Chruch curia) and Mr. Titus;
  • it refers to Ladas the ancient Greek Olympic runner (cursor);
  • it refers to a Morin or Breton word for a “causeway” over a marsh;

The first of these would be of interest to us since it would be an attestation of the name Lada in the ancient world (third century?). The other three are also of interest but we will not discuss them now.

Incidentally, the Latin cūrāre may mean any of procure, heal, look after or govern. But CVR., as noted above, usually referred to the act of donation.

Other possibilities include curator as in “caretaker” (in which case Lada would be the protector of Minerva or vice versa?). But the noun’s case does not work; presumably, again you would have to say that this should be read “et” rather than “Ladae T.”

From myself, I can add the word curis which refers to a “spear”.  This is interesting since there is another inscription P. VAL. LADAE which features a thyrsus (a pine-coned spear) above the inscription and a caduceus (a messenger’s wand) below. Noteworthy is the fact that the Polish coat of arms lada features two arrows/bolts/spears (?).

The Morini were, of course, based in Tarvana (Czerwona? 🙂 ) and rebelled against the Romans right about the same time as the Bretagne Veneti.

I will note also that the arrows above can also be interpreted as “up” and “down” signs as shown in the second version of the coat of arms. I’ve already mentioned that the rune *jēra- contains the same symbols albeit arranged differently. It’s worth asking whether these rune portions, rather than just referring to the harvest, could have referred to the entire “year”. Specifically, note that for half the year the Sun is ascending and for the other half descending. The “trees” featured on ancient pots could then be viewed as simply showing a count of years. Hence in this context, the tree of life on an urn could mean the age of the deceased. All of this is a topic for another discussion.

Finally, Janssen suggested that it could refer also to Lada, the Suavic Goddess about Whom he first learned from Grimm. Schneider, noted that Lada was a spouse of the”Lycian” Jupiter. Whether he really meant Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis is unclear (more on that below and we will explore the topic in more detail later). In this respect, we also note that Giovanni Villani made the following statement in 1903:

“It seems that the name Lada ought to refer to an epithet of Minerva hiding the name of a local divinity.”

Now, as for this “local” divinity, it is worth noting also that this was found in 1427 in the area of Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

Also from the northwest of Continental Europe comes the following inscription:

(LUTATIIS SVEBIS was found at the foot of the Hunerberg in 1541)

Sed Liutici redeuntes irati dedecus deae suimet illatum queruntur. Nam haec, in vexillis formata, a quodam Herimanni marchionis socio lapide uno traiecta est 

Liutici were earlier known as the Vuilzi, perhaps referring to wolves (wilk meaning “wolf”). If the above connection to Leto is accurate then this may be another connection given that Leto was apparently given help by wolves (indeed, some argue that Lycia’s name comes from a reference to wolves or, alternatively, means “illuminated” – referring to Leto’s son – Apollo).

ON the other hand, maybe this is just a name of some Lutatius or Lutatia. An earlier mention talks of LVTATIAS SVEBAS.

Rybakov may have underestimated Lada’s range of worship (though he did get the Venedskiy zalyv right)

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April 2, 2021