Orderic (later Ordericus “Vitalis”) was a Frankish/Norman/English monk. Born in England of a priest who had accompanied one of the Norman lords along with William the Conqueror and of a local (probably) woman, he traveled in England, Normandy and France. Sometime between 1110 and 1142 he also penned an interesting Ecclesiastical History. Although the book deals mostly with English, Norman and French matters, it contains a passage regarding the Danes’ expedition against England in 1069 that may prove somewhat interesting to us as well. Here it is.
Ecclesiastical History (Historia ecclesiastica) Book IV (probably written between 1122 and 1131):
“Hic ingenti potentia pollebat, universas regni sui vires contrahebat, quibus a vicinis regionibus et amicis auxilia magna coacervabat. Adjuvabant eum Polenia, Frisia necne Saxonia. Leuticia quoque pro Anglicis opibus auxiliares turmas mittebat. In ea populossima natio consistebat, quae gentilitatis adhuc errore detenta verum Deum nesciebat; sed ignorantiae muscipulis illaqueata, Guodenen et Thurum Freamque aliosque falsos deos, immo daemones colebat.”
(His [Danish King Svein II Estridsen’s] enormous power let him collect a great strength from a number of neighboring countries that lent their assistance. Poland helped him [the Danish King] as too did Frisland or Saxony. Leuticia too sent auxiliary companies against the English. For this populous nation remained pagan and in the snare of blindness and ignorance did not know the true god but rather worshipped Wodan, Thor and Freya and other false Gods, true demons).
Now what does that mean exactly? Was Leutizia then the land of the Liutizi? Was it Lusatia?
Although this passage has been used to argue that the Liutizi were “Germanic” (but their rulers were Slavic), it is not clear whether one can go anywhere as far as that.
That the Slavs, Danes and other denizens of the Baltic region maintained close and difficult relations is clear. We have written much about the efforts of every tribe in the area to exert influence over every other. Already Gallus Anonymous wrote that Boleslav the Great either defeated or exerted his control over Pomerania, Prussia and the mysterious Selentia which was, most likely, an incorrect (or at least no other source confirms this) reference either to the island of Sjælland (German Seeland) or to the Dutch province of Zeeland (after which New Zealand is named). The Danish King Svein II who mounted this expedition against William the Conqueror (then already in England) had either the Polish duke Mieszko I or the Obotrite duke Mistivoi as one of his great-grandparents.
But Orderic had never traveled (as far as we know) so far East as to come to the Liutizi/Veleti or Lusatia. There is no record of him having even been in Germany. It is likely that he was using the names of pagan Gods known to him which Gods further fit the Danish-led expedition against England. And further we know of no other chronicler of the times that suggests such a cult among the Liutizi/Veleti (i.e., not Saxo Grammaticus, not Adam of Bremen (this one actually met Svein II), not Thietmar, not any other contemporaneous source).
A more realistic (as well as tantalizing) possibility is that the above mentioned names are the functional equivalents (as known to someone like Orderic of actual Liutizian/Veletian Immortals).
Whatever the truth, in the interest of providing interesting sources on Slavic (Suavic?) Gods in as complete form as we can get our hands on, we include this piece as well.
(PS Svein II took York but then was bribed to leave Britain. He came back a few years later but was unsuccessful then)
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