Category Archives: Polabians

Jaryło

PublishedApril 26, 2020 Post authortorino

Although information about Jaryło, under that name, comes from rather late sources – 18th and 19th centuries – the feasts of the East Suav Jarilo (Polish Jaryło though that specific name is not attested in Poland – rather we have Jasza or Jesza or Jasień) are easily recognizable in earlier recorded festivities. Perhaps the best Western source on the topic is Felix Haase and his Volksglaube und Brauchtum der Ostslawen. I’ve already previewed here – when discussing Svarozic – a passage from a Jaryło story told by Old Believers that Haase put in that book. Now let’s include more of Haase’s musings on the subject and the rest of the story. Also included are the cites of Haase’s to the Russian authors who actually collected the stories of these customs and beliefs.

Haase’s Jarilo Interpretation

“…Originally, there stood Jarilo in Kupalos place. While he is first mentioned first in the year 1763 in the instruction (poucene) of Saint Tichon Zadonskyi. He had suppressed the old celebration which he labeled idolatrous and devilish and declared it illegal. There had once been an old statue that people had called Jarilo and he [Tichon] had heard from old people that one had called this celebration igrisce (Polish igrzyska) [and] it began on Wednesday or Friday after the Green Holidays and ended on a Sunday. The name is probably derived from jar meaning spring or jaryi meaning bright, strong, tempestuous, young. And also the grains were called jarovyi or jare [compare this with the Polish jarzyny meaning “greens” as in “vegetables”]. In the Cernigov department one speaks of a Jariloviga. In Kostroma there is a Jarilovo pole (Jarilo’s field); in the department Orenburg, a Jarilo annual market [Jahrmarkt or jarmark with a double meaning]. In certain regions of Russia, there were two holidays involving Jarilo, at the end of April and on the last day of the year. Young people played the role of Jarilo. There is the Ivasko Jarilo, the Moscow marksman, known from a 1605 document and Ivasko Jarilo who lived in Astrakhan (mentioned in 1672).”

“In Voronez one celebrated the games of Jarilo till 1673 [lasting] from the last day before the Great Fast/Lent, before Peter’s Fast till the Monday of the Fast [?]. A man was adorned with flowers, ribbons and little bells, and on his head there was a flower decorated hat. His face was painted red and white and in his hand he held bells. Using the name Jarilo he went majestically through the city, followed by youth who laughed at him but also kept him fed with sweets. The feast ended with fistfights, drunkenness and frequently with killings.”

“In Kostroma, where the celebrations were held till 1771, an old man would toss a doll – featuring male genitals – into a grave. Drunk wailing women would accompany him and then the doll was buried. In governorate Tver the celebrations took place on the first day of the Apostles’ Feast on the River Lazur until the year 1805. The youth danced a blanza – a round dance in pairs of eight). In the governorate Penza and Simbirsk, they buried the gorjuna during the Green Holidays; and in Murom on the first Saturday after the Green Holidays. A straw doll was carried out of the village with singing and finally thrown into a river. The custom degenerated into a game: in such children’s games an old woman called Kostroma was declared dead and then suddenly she jumped up and frightened the children. In the governorates Ryazan and Tambov this celebration is called: the burying of the prince.  This is portrayed by a young boy who is wrapped in a towel and his sickness is wept over. When the prince has ‘died’ he is laid down in a cornfield and people sing their lamentations. In central Russia the holiday was celebrated with the first or last sheaf collected. In Vladimir on the Kljazma, in Suzdal, Penza, Simbirsk it was celebrated on the Green Holidays or on the eve of the Green Holidays as the funeral of Kostroma or Kostrobowka; in Murom it was celebrated on the first Sunday after the Green Holidays; at Nizniy Novogorod and Vjatka on Saint Peter’s Day [June 29 which in the Gregorian calendar of today is July 12]; in the governorates Novgorod and Kazan, prayers we held during the Green Holidays on collecting rye or summer cereals and there were dances to honor Jarilo. The fields and the livestock were sprinkled with holy water. In Nizniy Novogorod and Tver there it was common to hold a bridal show on this day and young people were permitted to kiss and hug.”

“From the fact that the holidays were celebrations on different days and in different ways, one can deduct that the meaning of the holiday had changed. In the governorates Penza and Simbirsk a girl was chosen to play the part of Kostroma. The other girls bowed before her, placed her on a plank, tossed her singing into a river and washed her. Then all jumped into the water and bathed. Then one went back to the village and concluded the day with games and dances. In the region of Murom the Kostroma was portrayed using a straw puppet; people danced around her, threw her in water and lamented her death.”

“The Jarilo week held a special potency for love spells. The following spell was especially used: ‘I,   God’s servant, stand up and go into the clean sea. There come towards me fire, polynja? [these days this means something like a watery polana, that is a clearing, amongst ice (as opposed to trees)] and a stormy wind. I bow down before them deeply and say: hail [Haase uses Heisa] fire and polynja.'”

“Since this spell was used precisely during the Jarilo week, we can infer from this that Jarilo was a God of Love. Yet this that this was a love spell can only be shown by connecting this data with other information. From the Old Believers we learn that: ‘the Jar goes by during the nights that are called chmelevyja.’ In certain areas Jarilo is called Ur Chmel’ and the chmelevicy nights are treated by village youth as the merriest. The Jar goes through the nights wearing a white silk fabric with gold and silver patterns, on His head a wreath with red poppies, in His hand ripe ears of corn of all different kinds of grains; where the God Jar steps on the chmel‘, there grains grow high unseeded. He touches with the golden ear a young man in his sleep and ignites his blood; Jar chmel’ touches the sleeping girl with the red flowers and sleep escapes her, resting becomes difficult and she dreams of her beloved.”

“Thus, here we have the proof that Jarilo stood for Eros. Other customs also remind us of this. As already mentioned, there was the custom of putting a puppet in a grave, a man with his member which was often portrayed as a giant phallus. The accompanying women sang during this procession ‘obscene’ songs. Allegedly, during these celebrations ‘male seed’ was released into a bucket [of water?] which was then drunk. And when we have already heard the complaints of the Christian preachers about the shameless practices that were connected with the festivities, these may refer precisely to the Jarilo celebrations. Jarilo is here without a doubt portrayed as a God of love and fertility.  But that is still not the original [function of his]. Jarilo is not originally simply the God who gives people love and fertility, he is the Sun God who celebrates his wedding with Mother Earth, embraces her with love and through this embrace creates fertility for the Earth, even produces man therefrom. We have proof of this here from an old tradition of the Old Believers by whom the old customs have been preserved more purely since they did not concern themselves with the prohibitions that came from church and government places, and since they retained the old customs and ideas consciously in opposition [to the established religious and state order].

A legend of the Old Believers tells of how Jarilo loved the wet Mother Earth:

“Mother Earth lay in cold and darkness. And the always young, always happy Jar of the light spoke so: ‘let us look at the wet Mother Earth, [to see] whether she is pretty, whether appeals to us.’ And the flaming look of the light Jar in one moment cut through the unending layers of darkness which lay over the sleeping Earth. And there where Jarilo’s glance filled the darkness, there the red Sun began to shine. And the hot waves of Jarilo’s light poured out by means of the Sun. The wet Mother Earth awoke from sleep and in her youthful beauty she stretched herself out like a bride on the marriage bed. Eagerly she drank the golden rays of the invigorating light and from this light there spilled out hot life and the bliss of craving into her limbs. And the Sun rays conveyed the sweet words of the God of Love, of the ever young God Jarilo: ‘Oh you wet Mother Earth! Love me, the God of light, as my beloved I shall decorate you with blue seas, with yellow sand, with green grass, with red and blue flowers. By my you shall give birth to an unending number of dear children.'”

“And Mother Earth liked the speech of the God Jarilo, she loved the happy God and thanks to his hot kisses she became pretty and decorated herself with grasses and flowers, with dark woods and blue seas, with light blue rivers and silver lakes. She drank the hot kisses and from her bosom there flew birds, from the caves there there ran out forest and field animals, and in the streams and seas there swam fish, in the air there whirred about the little flies and mosquitoes… and lived, all loved, all sang praise hymns to the father Jarilo and to the wet Mother Earth.”

“And once again there sounded from the light Sun the love words of Jarilo’s: ‘oh, hey you wet Mother Earth! I have adorned you with beauty, you have given birth to many dear children. love me some more and you will give birth to your love children. Mother Earth liked these words. Eagerly did she drink the life-giving rays and she gave birth to Man… and as he rose from the Earth’s bosom, the God Jarilo hit him on the head with his golden leash, his lightning. And from this blow, there arose reason inside of Man… And the God Jarilo greeted his dear Earthborn son with heavenly thunder, with rays of lightning; and these thunder rumbles shook all living things on the Earth… little birds fled into the heavens and wild animals hid in the holes, only Man raised his head towards the sky and answered the speech of the thunder God with eternal words. And as they heard this word and saw their king and ruler, so bowed before him all the trees, all flowers, all grasses, all animals, all birds, all of living creation and they became his servants.”

“And Mother Earth exulted in luck and happiness. She felt that Jarilo’s lover was no mere fortune and that there was no limit to it. But after short time, the Sun began to lower itself, the long days became shorter, the cold winds were blowing, the singers, the little birds fell silent, the wild animals howled and there shuttered from the cold the kong and the ruler of the entire living and inanimate Creation… And the countenance of Mother Earth changed and from grief and worry she washed her face with bitter tears… and so cried Mother Earth: ‘o wind, o wind, why do you blow so ice cold on me? You, eye of Jarilo, you light Sun, why do you not warm me and shine on me as before? Does the God Jarilo not love me anymore? Shall I lose my beauty? Shall my babes go into the ground? Shall I again lie in darkness and cold? Why have I then gotten to know the light? Why have I experienced life and love? Why have I gotten to know the bright rays, the hot kisses of the God Jarilo?’ Jarilo was silent. ‘I do not cry for me,’ complained Mother Earth shuddering from the cold, ‘my heart mourns my dear children.’ Then spoke Jarilo: ‘Cry not, mourn not, wet Mother Earth, I left you not for long. Had I not left you then you would have burned down under my kisses. To protect you and our children, I lessen the warmth and light for a while. The leaves will fall from the trees. The flowers and grasses will wilt. You will dress yourself in a snow garment. You will sleep till my return… And when the time comes, I will send you a messenger, the happy spring and right after spring, I will come myself.'”

“But Mother Erath cried further. ‘Don’t you feel sorry for me Jarilo? Do not the cries of your children reach you? Have mercy at least on your love child, who answered your thunder speech with eternal words. It is naked and weak, it will shortly perish if you take away heat and light from us.’ And the God Jarilo struck a stone with lightning, his flaming blitz hit the trees. And he said to Mother Earth: ‘Now I have brought fire to the stones and the trees. I myself am in this fire. With his mind will Man figure out how to take light and fire from wood and stones. This fire is my gift for my love son. For the entire living Creation will this gift be a fright and terror. Only for him alone will be of service.’ And so the God Jarilo left the Earth. Terrible winds blew, dark clouds covered Jarilo’s eye, the red Sun [and] white snow felt and enveloped Mother Earth like a pall. All froze, all fell asleep, only Man slept [but] did not slumber. He had the great gift of Father Jarilo and with it light and warmth.”

“Here Jarilo is clearly referred to as a Sun God, who brings love and fertility by means of his domain over fire, which causes nature to grow and bloom and gives magical powers to plants which [in turn] benefit people. For this reason is the fern to be explained as the mysterious fire plant, which only flowers on the day of Kupalo; out of this we have explanations for the fire worship associated with Kupalo-Jarilo, for the jumping through fire, for the wheel as symbol of the Sun wheel. The water in the sea and the lake and the streams owes its existence only to Jarilo; it is a element given to the moist Mother Earth that increases fertility. The constantly repeated expression ‘moist Mother Earth’ indicates a natural connection of the Earth with water so as to preserve fertility. We find the above description the idea of the dying of the Sun and of Nature. And so are explained the customs of burying of the originally majestic, possessing the full strength of youth, Jarilo, of that fertility God and love God, [customs] that morphed into obscene pleasures and mocking games, when people had forgotten the original meaning of the festivities. Now it becomes clear why the man who stood in for Jarilo in Voronez was all made up in white and red. Red is the color of the glowing Sun and of the fire. When girls playing the role of Jarilo were bathed or buried by the river, it may still have been the memory of Mother Earth as Jarilo’s beloved.”

Lathander may be the gaming world’s version of Yarilo – at least in concept

Interestingly, Man is the son of Yarilo but can be analogized here also to the fruit of the land, the bounty, the harvest, that is to say, the birth/rebirth has a human but also agricultural aspect. This is further described below when the same cognates/concepts appear in connection with agriculture and growth – ultimately, “wealth” we ought to remember is what is associated with Plutus, the wealth of the soil and the son of Iasion and Demeter. As discussed below, it seems that Iasion/Jasień/Jasion/Jason (?) and Yarilo are the same Deities.

Some Cites for Jarilo

Note that the earliest mention of Iarilo appears to be from 1765 when the Russian Orthodox Church forbade the Iarilo holiday in Voronezh. In Kostroma (see above discussion by Haase) a straw effigy with an enormous phallus was being burned as late as 1771. Since actual mentions of Jarilo are somewhat difficult to find in primary sources here are some cites to secondary sources given by Haase:

  • Golubinsky, Yevgeny Yevsigneyevich (or Evgenij E. Golubinskij, Голубинский Е.) История Русской Церкви or Golubinskij, E. Istorija russkoi cerkvi I 1. 2 1902 II 1 1900; I 2; 2. 855
  • Sobolevsky, A. (or Sobolevskij): Velikorusskija narodnyja pesni 7 Bde 1985-1902; 267, 269
  • Zabylin, M. Russkij narod, ego obycai, obrjady, predanija, sueverija i poezija 1880; 83
  • Zabelin, I Istorija russkoi zizni s drevneiscich vremen 1879
  • Trudy 24, 1 (1883) Nr.10, 292
  • Zapiski: Zapiski russkogo geograf. obsc Etnografija I (1871) ff.; II 85, 87/88

Other cites relating to Jarilo:

  • Melnikov, The Complete Collection of Works (or Collected Works) Polnoe sobranie sochinenii (Полное собраніе сочиненій) by Pavel Ivanovich Melnikov (alias Andrey Pechersky, Russian: Па́вел Ива́нович Ме́льников (Андре́й Пече́рский); hence Melnikov-Pechersky) volume 4, pages 202-203.
  • Anickov, Evgenij Vasilevic, Vesennaja obrjadovaja pesnja na Zapade i u slavjan.
  • Shpilevskiy, Pavel Mikhailovich (Павал Шпілеўскі or Павел Михайлович Шпилевский or Paweł Szpilewski (1827-1861) was a Belarussian ethnographer who wrote a study of Belarussian folklore – Belarussian Folk Traditions (Белорусские народные предания). The first two volumes were written under a pseudonym – Pavel Drevlyanskiy (П. Древлянский). The first volume saw print in 1846 as part of the Supplements to the Journal of the Ministry of Education (Прибавления к Журналу Министерства народного просвещения). 
  • Pogodin, Mythologische Spuren in russischen Dorfnamen.
  • Kulisic, Petrovic & Pantelic, Srpski Mitoloski Recnik; 156-157.
  • Ivanov, V. V. & Toporov, V. N. Issledovanija v oblasti slavjanskih drevnostej, 1974; 215.

Other Related East Suavic Sources

Although Jarilo/Iarilo only appears in the above cited sources, similar names pop up in various other places.

  • In the Laurentian Codex, we have a mention in the Chronicle of Novgorod, under the year 1216 of a commander by the name of Yarun/Jarun/Iarun (compare with Peron/Perun; compare this pairing too with Jason/Paron or Iasion/Pareantus): “And Yarun had shut himself up in the town with a hundred men and beat them off. And Mstislav [Mstislavich the Daring] went and took Zubchev and they were on the Vozuga; and thither came Volodimir Rurikovitch with men of Smolensk. They were coming along the Volga, making war, and said to him: “Knyaz, go to Torzhok.” Mstislav and Volodimir said: “But Mstislav and Volodimir said: “Let us go to Pereyaslavl; we have a third friend.” And there was no news where Yaroslav was, whether at Torzhok or in Tver. And Yaroslav’s guards attacked Yarun behind Tver, and God helped Yarun and they killed many, others they captured, and others escaped to Tver.” [from the Mitchell/Forbes translation]. Jarun is also a neighborhood of Zagreb in Croatia as well as the ancient Greek name of the Iranian island of Hormuz (yes, from the Straight of Hormuz).

Note that though the above name as used in the Chronicle may not have overtly religious connotations, such connotations can be inferred from other sources described here. Indeed, Oskar Kolberg, in his ethnographic description of Chełm area (in eastern Poland, east of Lublin – it seems in Ukrainian villages) says that  “the oldest devil is called Jarynec and he lives on a tall mountain and from their he issues orders to his subordinates, the lesser devils who dwell in the hills and bogs.”Jarynec” is a diminutive form of Jarun/Yarun.

  • In the Chudov codex (16th century) we have the Saint Gregory’s Sermon, where it is said that the ancient pagans worshipped a Yadrey: “…and other pray to the God of the Household, to the Goddess Vela, to Yadrey…” [the below is from Mansikka’s Die Religion der Ostslawen]  

Incidentally, the “d” is not problematic here. Note that there are many similar words in Suavic languages that have approximately the same meaning and are cognates with the yar and yas forms:

  • jędrny (firm, youthful)
  • jądro (kernel)
  • Jędrzej (form of Andrew)

Incidentally, the nasal “ę“ is clearly cognate with the “en” form and hence jędrny is also cognate with jendry which is clearly cognate with Indra.

Likewise the consonants that follow the y sound are aplenty, again though, with similar meanings. Compare, for example, the above “a” and “e” with the “u” sound in: jurzyć się (to be lustful) or  jurność (virility). Check out Aleksandr Nikolaevich Afanasyev’s Поэтические воззрения славян на природу [typically, though awkwardly translated as “The Poetic Outlook on Nature by the Slavs”].

Musings on “Jar” the Green

What else can we say here? Well, apparently, Jarilovo appears four times as a village and there is also a Jarilovic near Great Novgorod. In the Laurentian Codex we hear of a Jarun (compare this form with Perun). 

We note that Shpilevsky portrays Jarilo as a man on a white horse or as a woman wearing a white cloak. Apparently, if he was a man, he would appear naked. His head was covered by a wreath of spring flowers and in his hands were cereal ears/spikes. Jarilo was shown as young, with light eyes and curly, blonde hair. Wherever he walked by the harvest would be good. Whoever he glances at, that person falls in love (though not necessarily with Jarilo!). In many folk songs, people would ask him for a hot summer and a great harvest. Haase weaves this into his theory as shown above.

The Belarussian description is interesting in that the Jarilo songs would be sang by groups of walking women, one of whom was sitting astride a horse that was tied to a pole. Obviously, the a horse tied to a pole cannot get far so how could these women be walking anywhere? A solution would present itself if the horse were walking around the pole, perhaps simulating the revolving Sun. The women apparently sang the following song:

Jarilo wandered / The world whole / Birthed rye in the field /
Sired people’s children / And wherever he took a step / There came rye aplenty /
And wherever he’s on the seeds / There a rye ear blossoms

We have this summary from Jerzy Strzelczyk‘s dictionary-like list entitled “Myths, Legends and Beliefs of Ancient Suavs” (Mity, podania i wierzenia dawnych Słowian):

And Max Vasmer says the following regarding the Suavic word jar:

Obviously the word is the same as the English year or German Jahr and refers to vegetation. As shown in the Vasmer dictionary above, jar also means a “canyon” but not just any canyon; instead, referring to a vegetation covered canyon that had been carved out by a stream.

A jar

In Polish the various yar/jar cognates also include jary – meaning “rushing” or “swift” as in “a rushing river” and jarki – meaning “fast moving”; (compare this with the English verb “to jerk”). Apparently, jarowanie may refer to preparing seeds or prepping a horse for a race.

Along the same line of reasoning, it is important to note also that there was a Thracian Divinity, that these days is commonly referred to as the Thracian Horseman. He was known simply as “hero”. Now, the Thracian language expert Dimiter Detschew speculated (in Die thrakischen Sprachreste, Vienna, 1957) that the Thracian for hero was *ierus or *iarus... (of course you have to be careful some of the stuff in CIL that he cites to support that proposition may actually say IFRU not IERU). This nicely ties into words such as horse or Horsa (Hengist and Horsa) or, for that matter, hero and Chors. For more on the Horseman see here and here.

If you want to get an even bigger kick out of this, note too that the related Dacian Riders were apparently derived from the Thracian Rider. Now, these Dacian horsemen are sometimes shown with a Goddess holding a fish. There is a stone sculpture of such a figure at Ślęża Mountain (see here).

There also a ridiculous number of agricultural connections. For example, you have the Polish (and other Suavic) jarzyny for “vegetables.” A young wheat is in some places called jarkisz and the hordium grain, jarzec.

Finally, an interesting piece of trivia is that in Hebrew the word for “green” is ya-rokh (יָרֹוק) which   (interestingly too, “white” is pronounced, lah-vahn). That rok means “year” in Polish/Czech (Ukrainian, rik and in Russian… god) seems a rather interesting coincidence (?). Of course, we could go further. Take the name Jerusalem – Yerushalayim. Though this is far from clear (and is claimed to be a later development), the ending -ayim indicates the dual form in Hebrew. Since the city has two hills some have suggested that the name may refers to those two hills (rather than a local god Shalem). If so the city name could mean something like “Green Hills”… (For that matter, the Greek ἱερός (hieros) means “holy”).

More Than a Sun Deity or Pure Lunacy?

As already mentioned here, ya-ra-ti (jarać) refers to “burning.”  We are a step away from the “Burning Bush”… BTW This is the same concept as the Russian yarkiy (яркий) meaning “flamboyant” or “bright.”

That Jarilo had solar connections Haase proved in sufficient detail above. The lunar connections of the deity are interesting as well, however. Let’s turn to that.

An interesting connection may be drawn from Egypt and the Levant. The Egyptian Moon was referred to as Yah which name later also came to signify a Moon Deity. Of course, we all know that Ra was the Egyptian Deity of the Sun. So, put together, what we already alluded to before, we mention again because the Y-r form of Jarilo or Yarilo practically invites drawing this connection.

Focusing on Moon Gods, with similar names to Jarilo we have the Moon Deity Yarikh in Canaan (mentioned in the Ebla texts before 2000 BC and another – Yarhibol – at Palmyra.

And then there are these Hittite texts (Johan de Roos translation/edition).

Of course, Osiris too was as much or perhaps more a Moon Deity as a Sun Divinity. The person who noted this earliest in modern times was James Frazer when he wrote the following:

“There are far more plausible grounds for identifying Osiris with the moon than with the sun:

1. He was said to have lived or reigned twenty-eight years; Plutarch, Isis et Osiris, cc. 13, 42. This might be taken as a mythical expression for a lunar month.

2. His body was rent into fourteen pieces (ib. cc. 18, 42). This might be interpreted of the moon on the wane, losing a piece of itself on each of the fourteen days which make up the second half of a lunation. It is expressly mentioned that Typhon found the body of Osiris at the full moon (ib. 8); thus the dismemberment of the god would begin with the waning of the moon.

3. In a hymn supposed to be addressed by Isis to Osiris, it is said that Thoth

“Placeth thy soul in the bark Ma-at,
In that name which is thine, of God Moon.”

And again,

“Thou who comest to us as a child each month,
We do not cease to contemplate thee,
Thine emanation heightens the brilliancy
Of the stars of Orion in the firmament,” etc.

Records of the Past, i. 121 sq.; Brugsch, Religion und Mythologie der alten Aegypter, p. 629 sq. Here then Osiris is identified with the moon in set terms. If in the same hymn he is said to “illuminate us like Ra” (the sun), this, as we have already seen, is no reason for identifying him with the sun, but quite the contrary.

4. At the new moon of the month Phanemoth, being the beginning of spring, the Egyptians celebrated what they called “the entry of Osiris into the moon.” Plutarch, Is. et Os. 43.

5. The bull Apis, which was regarded as an image of the soul of Osiris (Is. et Os. cc. 20, 29), was born of a cow which was believed to have been impregnated by the moon (ib. 43).

6. Once a year, at the full moon, pigs were sacrificed simultaneously to the moon and Osiris. Herodotus, ii. 47; Plutarch, Is. et Os. 8. The relation of the pig to Osiris will be examined later on.

Without attempting to explain in detail why a god of vegetation, as I take Osiris to have been, should have been brought into such close connection with the moon, I may refer to the intimate relation which is vulgarly believed to subsist between the growth of vegetation and the phases of the moon .See e.g. Pliny, Nat. Hist. ii. 221, xvi. 190, xvii. 108, 215, xviii. 200, 228, 308, 314; Plutarch, Quaest. Conviv. iii. 10, 3; Aulus Gellius, xx. 8, 7; Macrobius, Saturn. vii. 16, 29 sq. Many examples are furnished by the ancient writers on agriculture, e.g. Cato, 37, 4; Varro, i. 37; Geoponica, i. 6.” 

Importantly, as seen above, Frazer saw Osiris not as the Sun and not just closer to being a lunar Deity but as the God of Vegetation. He goes on:

“In the course of our inquiry, it has, I trust, been made clear that there is another natural phenomenon to which the conception of death and resurrection is as applicable as to sunset and sunrise, and which, as a matter of fact has been conceived and represented in folk custom. This phenomenon is the annual growth and decay of vegetation. A strong reason for interpreting the death of Osiris as the decay of vegetation rather than as the sunset is to be found in the general (though not unanimous) voice of antiquity, which classed together the worship and myths of Osiris, Adonis, Attis, Dionysus, and Demeter, as religions of essentially the same type…” 

Now the connection of Jaryło to vegetation is obvious from the above and is further discussed below. In the meantime it remains to show the connection to the Moon.

Here we can be helped by one of the best webpages on Polish pre-Christian beliefs (unfortunately, thus far, only in Polish), appropriately named Polish Gods: Bogowie Polscy.* According to an essay on this page by Kazimierz Perkowski:

“The most direct and popular (other than biblical) in the pool of connotations that appears around the name Jaś are those connotations, we stress that come from rituals, connected with brightness and with a person that is widely respected and, we can say, luminescent. For Jaś as well as Jasień are the names given to the bright moon, the maker of storms and rain, a flying persona of a brave warrior, a wanderer, unmarried, a suitor, a groom as well as of a Polish folk name of a devil and a partner of the Goddess Marzanna, which we will write about more extensively in subsequent parts of this piece. Finally, we note that the name Jaś is not any diminutive [of John] but rather a folk name in and of itself. If that were not enough, in one of the traditional Christmas carols from the region of Greater Poland, the name Jaś appears in place of… Jesus and the other way around…”

*note: the site bogowiepolscy.net has been subsumed into something called Weneda which seems an inferior project; many of the essays and posts have been removed. 

It may also be relevant to note here that, aside from Dionysos or Osiris, another deity that may have something to do with the Thracian/Phrygian Sabazios (Ancient Greek: Σαβάζιος) whose name may be pronounced Savázios (Sovi?) or Sabadios (Boda?) who is also referred to as the Thracian Rider and who was also associated with Father Liber and with Dionysos. Not to mention that the Sabazios hand possesses obvious phallic connotations. Sabazios may also have given the name to sobótki, the fires lit by the Suavs in their celebrations of the arrival of summer. Of course Sabazios also has lunar connections (compare the sabattu or sabpattu which has been dated to 2,000 BC and means full day, that is full moon day; note too the similarities between pattu “day” with pater or father).

Jaś – the Master of the Moon’s Power

“In Coats of Arms, legends and old myths” [Herby, Legendy i dawne mity], one of the most important publication dealing with the topic of Polish mythology, its authors, the professors Marek Cetwiński and Marek Derwich observe that the primary Gods of the Western Suavs were most likely Gods with lunar connections. The most telling example here remains the Rugian Svantevit, which according to the sources, was a God on a white horse who constantly travelled at night (like the Moon) fighting the enemies of the Rugians. Attention can be drawn too to the most important attribute of Svantevit, the horn of plenty filled with mead, an object with an obvious lunar symbolism. And among many Polish family legends a main motif features the battle of a hero – aided by the light of the moon – with an enemy possessing chthonic attributes. At the same time, as noted by professor Aleksander Gieysztor, the persons of Svantevit, Jarovit, and Jarilo appear as thunder Gods, the hypostases of the God Piorun. So are all of these research positions presented here inconsistent and the thunder and lunar characteristics mutually exclusive? Absolutely not. The Moon as much as thunder deities were connected after all with rain and the sky water [Wodan] – and these ensured (or took away) fertility and prosperity. We could also point out the East Slavic report about a lunar (as per a common hypothesis) deity Chors, called in some notes “the thunder angel” as well as, most importantly for this essay, Polish folk beliefs. These last ones treat the lunar and thunder ideas interchangeably. Our Jaś appears connected with the Moon:

“Ponad lasejkiem czarna chmurejka,
ponad to chmurejko jasny miesiączejko.
Nie jest to miesiączek, Jasio wojowniczek,
wywojował sobie sto złotych jabłuszek.”

[A carol from the Lublin region, Słownik stereotypów i symboli ludowych, vol. I, part 3, 2012, p. 111]

“Jasna nieba, jasna słońca, jasień miesiąc
i jasne gwiazdy, i święta Trójca, i Matka Boża,
stań do pomocy, jak we dnie, tak i w nocy.”

[a charm asking help from a rose, Słownik stereotypów i symboli ludowych, vol. I, part 1, 1996, p. 171]

„A u miesiąca dwa rogi,
a u Jasieńka dwa braci”

[Słownik stereotypów i symboli ludowych, vol. I, part 1, 1996, p. 162]

“Jedzie Jasieńko do dziewki,
Jako miesiączek do Zorzy […]
Herny (pyszny) Jasieńku kozacze,
Gdzie się mi bierzesz przeciw nocy?”

[Wisła, vol. VII, part 4, 1893, p. 691]

“We see here a solid connection between the folk-preserved persona of Jaś and the Moon. I would warn, however, against assuming the first is the literal personification of a heavenly body. For the Moon [księżyc], frequently called miesiąc or miesiączek [today meaning a “month”], in old Polish folk beliefs was filled with a number of male and female characters. He is a kind of a transporter or a steed allowing travel to and from the netherworld. The Polsh name for the Earth’s natural satellite – księżyc – is curious. This name, as noted by professor Mikołaj Rudnicki, could have originally been connected with a Lechitic [West Suavic] lunar Deity, only later coming to mean the actual Moon. We should add that the Polish association of the Moon [with a male prince] are rather unique in the European context. Hans Biedermann in his “Symbols Lexicon” notes that the Moon is typically associated with female characteristics, just as “the names of the Moon in European languages are female, the exceptions being the German der Mond and the Polish Księżyc.” It is possible that the rural Jaś, described in tens of Polish songs as “serving the lord”, could have been that księżyc – the son of książę [the former is either a diminutive of the latter or the “son” of the latter – much as Svarozic – Svarog]. Another element connecting the image of Jaś with the Moon is the attribute of the golden crown… “

“Jedzie Jasiek z Torunia,
Złota na nim koruna;
Konie z góry stąpają,
Srebrem, złotem brząkają.”

[Wisła, vol. III, part 4, 1889, p. 750]

“Miesiącowi złota korona,
A mnie szczęście i fortona;
Miesiącowi cześć i chwała,
A mnie zdrowie!”

[Wisła, vol. XIV , part 4, 1900, p. 468]

“We will now move on to the mentioned interchangeability of the thunder and lunar portfolio. In Polish myths the Moon battles, similar to a thunder deity, with chthonic beings, and even uses for this purpose the typical weapon of a thunder god – the stone. In a number of variations of this tale, there is an attack that takes place during a full moon and it is against a villain, perhaps a thief in the fields, but most often a water spirit or drowned person (a memory of a chthonic deity) or against smaller female water divinities…”

“…In the syncretic folk traditionalism, the bright and warm season, originally connected with a  thunder deity who opens and closes vegetation, begins in the spring on Saint George’s day [April 23] and ends in the fall on Saint Martin’s day [November 11] (in the Catholic tradition) or Saint George’s day (in Orthodoxy). On Saint Martin’s day, the original manifestation day of the thunder deity – we find preserved to this day an important element of lunar symbolism: the famous Saint Martin croissants. Baked to this day in Greater Poland, they represent, it is believed a memory of a vicarious offering in place of the earlier ox sacrifice. The context is completed by a whole series of Polish riddles wherein the roar of an ox – an animal associated with the Moon (for example the folk bald ox) as well as the animal of the thunder divinity – is identified as a far off sound of thunder…”

“…If Jaś the suitor was perceived as the cause of a storm, was he also, in light of the above, connected to the Moon? Such beliefs have been preserved particularly in Eastern Poland, where in songs and tales, the Moon remains associated with the young groom, a single man. He marries or seduces the bride – the Sun, or rather the “solar sister” – the Zorza/Jutrzenka, the morning Venus (in old Polish tales Lela/Dziedzilela). This motif is visible in a number of wedding songs:

“Jedzie Jasieńko do dziewki,
Jako miesiączek do Zorzy”

[Wisła, vol. VII, part 4, 1893, p. 691]

„A gdzie słoneczko wschodzi,
Młody Jasieńko chodzi…”

[Lud, year 9, 1903, p. 226]

…In the above part of this essay, we took a look at a number of supernatural attributes in the folk image of Jaś. He turns out to be the ritualistic causer of the storm and bringer of rain, as well as the eternal wanderer and sky warrior. Simultaneously,  Jaś like the Moon “runs against the night” and illuminates its darkness. Finally, Jaś is a suitor seducing Jutrzenka-Zorza…”

[the authors cite another interesting tale:]

“Jasio chodzi po drobnej leszczynie,
Orzechy szczypie, w kieszonkę sypie
Nadobnej Marysi, swojej dziewczynie.”

[Polish folk song]”

This obviously suggests a connection between Jaś and Marzanna, potentially the frozen Earth. Also note the nuts are again a motif connected with Jarilo/Iarilo in Rybakov’s listing of songs mentioned below. Some of the above is not necessarily entirely convincing but the essay does contain a number of interesting suggstisons/clues.

The author, of course, notes the similarity of Polish Jaś with the East Suavic Jarilo/Iarilo (particularly, in the attribute of the horn – cornucopia) so let’s bring this back to Iarilo.

Back To Jaryło/Jarilo/Iarilo

The first step is to recognize that Jarilo, as indicated by the above, is either the same Deity or a closely related Deity to the pagan Gods found among other Suavic tribes and Balts.

Take for example, this Ukrainian book, written much like Strzelczyk’s listings, includes entries for:

  •  Jarilo,
  • Jarowit, that is Gerovit and
  • Jasion/Jasień

Further, Jasza/Jaszer is the form promoted among others by Boris Rybakov who provides these creations:

So there sits, sits Yasha under a nut bush (there is that bush again):

Сиди-сиди, Яша, под ореховым кустом,
Грызи–грызи, Яша, орешки каленые, миломю дареные.
Чок–чок, пяточок, вставай Яша, дурачок,
Где твоя невеста, в чем она одета?
Как ее зовут? И откуда привезут?

In another version we have Yasha sitting on a golden chair: (this version from Perkowski is a little different than Rybakov’s above):

Сидит наш Яша
На золотом стуле,
Ладу, ладу, ладоньки,
На золотом стуле.
Щелкат наш Яшенька
Калены орешки…
Калены-калены,
Девушкам дарены…
Бабам посулены…

Roughly speaking the geographic attestation, therefore, is as follows:

  • Western Lechitic tribes (Veleti) – Gerovit (pronounce Yerovit or, if you will, Yarovit)
  • Eastern Lechitic tribes (Poles) – Jasień or Jasion (ash) or Jasza/Jesza (pronounce Yasien or Iasion orYasha/Yesha)
  • Belorussians – Jarilo (pronounce Yarilo)
  • Ilmen Suavs/North-Eastern Russians – Jasza or Jaszer (pronounce Yasha or Yasher)

Of course, one group of northern Suavs is not clearly reflected in the above list: the Ukrainians. And here we have another hint regarding the nature of this Divinity. Among the Kievan Polans, that is Ukrainians, the most obvious candidate for the portfolio of the Sun God and Moon God and, therefore, maybe also Vegetation God, is, it seems, Dadzbog Chors (though, it is also possible that Chors is the son of Jasień – certainly the Osiris-Horus similarities is of interest).

The God of Vegetation and Fertility, Life, Light and Motion

So Haase is not wrong that Jarilo was a Sun God. In fact, Haase was right that Jarilo is, in fact, more than that – in that he is also a God of Love (or at least lust!) and, therefore, vegetation. But beyond that Jarilo is a Lunar Deity. This is the hypothesis of the “one rider” – perhaps akin to the Latvian Ūsiņš. Most generally, perhaps, Yarilo is a God of Life, Virility and, ultimately, Motion.

It is, of course, possible to view this slightly differently. For example, looking to Lithuanian mythology, we can ask whether there were in fact two Deities: the Sky Twins or Ašvieniai. Perhaps their names were Yas and Yar? If you want to spin this out further, a connection can be drawn to the Vandalic Assi and Ambri though this is obviously a major leap.

And another thought, were these “twins” always both men or, to bring this back to “Mother Earth/Father Jarilo/Iarilo” or “Sun/Moon”, was one of the twins perhaps a woman?

Interestingly, also Mars (though seemingly not Ares) had an agricultural beginning before becoming a god of war. If so, the suggestion that Gerovit may have been the same as Mars may actually have been more accurate than the writer of the Life of Otto of Bamberg may have suspected.

To view some other posts on Jaryło you can take a look here as well as here and here.

Copyright ©2020 jassa.org All Rights Reserved

April 26, 2020

On Svarog’s or Svarozic’s Trail

PublishedFebruary 1, 2020 Post authortorino

We have not done articles about Svarog as you do not see this deity in the Polish Pantheon. If by swar we mean “raging” then perhaps he can be connected with Wodan and, hence, Jasion. In this case, he would be the God of the Sky. This would be somewhat consistent with the Svarga or Svarga Loka of Hindu mythology.

But there are signs that point to another role for Svarog – that of a chthonic deity. Both of these suggest a smith deity. Such a smith could be a smith among the stars or, alternatively, could be a smith deep down in the Earth. In other words, the stars can represent a forge via their “heavenly fire” but so can a volcano. In fact, Vulcan may also be relevant here as he is the Roman equivalent of the Greek Hephaestus.

To better address this question, we ought to look at the available sources, first noting that while Svarog does not appear appear among the Western Suavs, Svarozic does among the Polabians in:

PVL
Hypatian Codex/Chlebnikov Codex

The most well-known source mentioning Svarog are two manuscripts of the PVL – the Primary Chronicle. But the mention is present in only two (out of about eight) manuscripts of the PVL – the Hypatian Codex (beginning of the 15th century) which is one of the two main PVL manuscripts (along with the Laurentian Codex) and the lesser-known Chlebnikov Codex (15th or 16th century). In these two codices, under the year 1114 the scribe wrote an interpolation not present in other manuscripts. The following is the text of that interpolation as given by Mansikka (in German) (while that author is overly critical, much like Brueckner, his source compilation is quite thorough and about the only such compilation in Western literature):

“At the beginning Mestrom of the family of Ham began to rule, then Jeremiah and after him Feosta, who was also called Svarog (in the original Sovarog, Zvarog) by the Egyptians. At the time of this Feosta’s rule in Egypt, there fell tongs from heaven and he began to forge weapons for before that time people fought with rods and stones. This same Feosta proclaimed a law that women could marry only one man* and should fast and order that those who commit adultery should be executed. For this reason he was called God Svarog. For before that women lived licentiously with those men whom they liked and were like cattle in their fornication When a child was born that the woman liked, she would say [to her then man] “This is your child”; and he held a party and recognized it [the child as his own]. But Feosta abolished this law and commanded that one man could only marry one woman and one woman could only marry one man; and whoever should break this law, he had to be thrown into the fiery oven. For this reason he became called Svarog and was honored by the Egyptians. And thereafter there reigned his Son, who was called the “Sun”; he was also called Dadzbog… The ruler Sun, who was the son of Svarog and was also called Dadzbog, was a strong man; when he came to hear from someone that a rich and powerful Egyptian woman with whom one intended to cavort, he searched for her so as to capture her, for he did not want to abolish his father Svarog’s law. And he took with him several of his men, calculating the time when the night adultery was to begin, surprised her and he did not find her with her husband but rather lying with another whom she loved. And he grabbed her and toortured her and had her driven about [showcased for shame] as a rebuke, And he had the adulterer be beaten. And a clean life began to be led in all of the Egyptian land he began to be praised.”

Here is Mansikka’s Russian text:

Chronicle of John Malalas
Slavic Edition

The source of this, it turns out, is the Chronicle of John Malalas or, more specifically, since the original of that chronicle does not contain any references to Svarog or Dadzbog, the Slavic manuscript of that chronicle from the 15th-16th century. This was published over time in various publications (mostly; and with some later supplements by others) by Vasilii Mikhailovich Istrin under the overall title Khronika Ioanna Malaly v slavyanskom pervade. The relevant manuscript (Ark) is the 15th century Arkhjivskiy khronograf from TSGADA (Central State Archive of Early Acts), collection of GAMID (Saint Petersburg Main Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) 279/658. There is also an earlier – 13th century – Vilnius version (Vil) of the same (Vilenskiy khronograf) which is BAN Litovskoy SSR 109 – the BAN is the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic; not sure what the current designation is.

This is the same manuscript that also contains the Lithuanian Baltic story of Sovius or Sovii that we discussed here (note too the similarity between Sovarog and Sovius). In fact, according to Mansikka, the same person added the Slavic and Lithuanian glosses about Baltic practices to the edition. In fact, another Mansikka claim is that both the Slavic and the Lithuanian glosses were known to the writers of the Hypatian and Chlebnikov Codices as evidenced not only by the Slavic mentions of Svarog and Dadzbog but also by the mention – this is not part of PVL but rather part of the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle (GVC) that is found in the same codices – under the year 1252 that Mindaugas’ baptism was a deception and that he would continue to make offerings to his pagan Gods:

“…first of all to Nunadiev, Teliavel and Diverikuz, the god of hares and to Meidein.”
(some translate these as Nunadievis, Teliavelis, Diviriks and Medeina)

Later there is also a discussion of the burning of the dead. Also the entry for the year 1258 records the names of the Gods Andajus and Divirikuz/Diviriks. Of these GVC mentions, Teliavel/Teliavelis and Andaeva/Andajus also appear in the Ark manuscript of the Slavic version of the Malalas Chronicle. Further, the main point of the same story of Sovii/Sovius is to discuss the establishment of the rite of cremation. For all these reasons, Mansikka believed that the writers of the Hypatian and Chlebnikov Codices simply inserted the Lithuanian and Slavic mythological references from the Ark manuscript into their codices – the Slavic into the PVL and the Baltic into the GVC. He also noted that the Lithuanian interpolation made its way into the Malalas Chronicle in the year 1262 and so believed, not unreasonably, that that also was the time of the Slavic interpolation. Because of the reference that says “in our Lithuania” in the Vil manuscript’s Lithuanian glosses both Istrin and Mansikka believed that the Slavic glosses of Malalas Chronicle were also made in Lithuania. Again, both of these time/place deductions are based on the reasonable assumption that the same person added both the Lithuanian and the Slavic interpolations. Istrin further believed that they may have been made originally in another manuscript (though around 1262 and in Lithuania still) and only then were introduced into the Slavic Malalas of the Ark manuscript (and the Vil manuscript?). Either from such original works or from these Malalas Chronicle’s manuscripts they made their way into the PVL and the GVC. So, at least, says Mansikka. However, others who prior to his examination looked at the glosses thought the origin may have been earlier. If you believe that the same person added the Lithuanian and Slavic glosses then an earlier date seems unlikely given, a fact pointed out some time back by Łowmiański, the fact that Lithuanian was not particularly relevant to the Kievan Rus prior to the Mongol invasions (though, perhaps, Novgorod might have been interested in the Baltics more). In any event this does not matter that much to the nature of the text.

So what does the Slavic transaction of Malalas say? The following comes from Mansikka who got it from Istrin’s publication of Book II of Malalas. Note that the English translation of the Malalas Chronicle which was made by Elizabeth Jeffreys, Michael Jeffreys and Roger Scott actually has this text appear in Book I and Book II (see the actual text below). In any event, here is the Mansikka text translation. The insertions are in italics. If a word was changed, the word is in italics while the original Malalas version is also given in brackets. To the extent there are differences between the Mansikka text and the Malalas translation given below, those stem from the text Mansikka used versus those used by the Malalas translators. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the text:

“After Feosta’s death, who they also call Svarog, there ruled over the Egyptians his son the Sun [Helios], who they call Dadzbog… The Sun [Helios] being the ruler, son of Svarog’s [Hephaistos’], who is also Dadzbog, was a strong man… He did not want to break his father Svarog‘s [Hephaistos’] law… As Homer the poet said of him, that Dadzbog [Helios] accused Aphrodite of adultery with Ares… [He used the name Aphodite for the desire for fornication condemned by the emperor] Sun [Helios]… After the death of Dadzbog [Helios], son of Svarog [Hephaistos], Sosis ruled over the Egyptians…”

And the Russian text as given by Mansikka (which he got from Istrin):

Sermon of a Certain Christlover and Zealot for the Correct Faith
Слово некоего христолюбца и ревнителя по правой вере

Another potential Svarog source is a sermon the so-called “Christlover” found in manuscripts from the 14th-15th century. It seems to have originally been found by Aničkov. The Sermon conns a number of mentions of East Slavic paganism (to which we can later come back) but the mention that is relevant in this context is the following:

“…and they prayed to the fire, calling it Svarozits [or Svarozich]…”

However, in this case, the name is not Svarog but, as among the Polabian Suavs, “Svarozich.”

Here is the text (again from Mansikka):

Saint Gregory’s Sermon Composed on the Mountain About How the First Pagans Bowed to Idols and Gave Them Offerings, Which They Continue To Do
Слово св. Григория, изобретено в толцех, о томь, како первое погани суще языци кланялися идолом и требы им клали, то и ныне творят

Another mention which probably comes from the above Sermon of the Christlover is a mention in Saint Gregory’s Sermon. Specifically the Chudov codex (16th century) contains the following:

“…and  to the fire, Svarozic, they prayed…”

Here is the text (again from Mansikka):

Sermon of Our Father Saint John Chrysostom (the “Golden-Mouthed”), the Archbishop of the City of Constantinople About How the First Pagans Believed in Idols and Gave Them Offerings and Named Their Names, Which They Continue To Do in Christianity and They Do Not Know What Christianity Is
Слово св. отца нашего Иоанна Златоуста, архиепископа Костянтина града, о томь, како первое погании вѣровали въ идолы и требы имъ клали и имена имъ нарекали, яже и нынѣ мнози тако творять и въ крестьяньстве суще, а не вѣдають, что есть крестьяньство

This slovo is known from the 14th or 15th century Novgorodian manuscript:

“…and others believed in Svarozic…”

Here is the text (once again from Mansikka):

The Original Chronicle of John Malalas

Finally, here is the English translation of the original of the relevant portions of the Chronicle of John Malalas which was made by Elizabeth Jeffreys, Michael Jeffreys and Roger Scott.

Book 1
Chapter 15

“So when Hermes came to Egypt, Mestrem of the family of Ham then reigned over the Egyptians. On his death, the Egyptians made Hermes emperor and he reigned over the Egyptians for 39 years arrogantly. After him Hephaistos reigned over the Egyptians for 1680 days, that is for four years and 38 days. For the Egyptians then did not know ho two measure years but they called the cycle of the year “years”. They called Hephaistos a god, for he was also a fighting man with mystic knowledge. He fell with his horse when he had gone into battle and was left with a limp from his wound. Hephaistos issued a law that Egyptian women were to be monogamous and to live chastely, while those who were caught in adultery were to be punished. The Egyptians were grateful to him since thus was the first law on chastity which they received. Hephaistos through a mystic prayer received tongs from the air for the manufacture of implements from iron. Thus he became dominant in wars. They deified him, since he had legislated for chastity and he had procured food for men by the manufacture of implements and in war had given them power and safety; for before his day men had fought with clubs and stones.”

Book 2
Chapter 1

“After the death of Hephaistos, his son Helios reigned over the Egyptians for 4477 days, that is for 12 years and 97 days; for neither the Egyptians in those times nor any other people knew how to calculate the number.  Some calculated the cycles of the moon as years, others calculated the cycles of the days as years; for counting by the twelve months was devised after this from the time when it was customary for men to be taxpayers to emperors.”

Chapter 2

“Helios, the son of Hephaistos was very generous. He was informed by someone that an Egyptian woman, one of those who enjoyed wealth and rank amongst them, had fallen in love with someone and was committing adultery with him. When Helios heard this, he wanted to catch her, because of his father Hephaistos’ law, so that it should not be broken. He took soldiers from his army, having discovered that her adultery took place at night. He burst in on her when her husband was not there and found her sleeping with another man, her lover. Immediately he took her away and paraded her throughout the land of Egypt after torturing her. Chastity became widespread in the land of Egypt. He put that adulterer to death, and was thanked. The poet Homer tells this story poetically; Helios, he says condemned Aphrodite for having intercourse at night with Ares. He used the name Aphodite for the desire for fornication condemned by the emperor Helios. The truth, as it has been written above, was written by the most learned chronicler Palaiphatos.”

Chapter 3

“After the death of the emperor Helios, son of Hephaistos, Sosis* reigned over the Egyptians; after his reign, Osiris reigned; after Osiris, Horus; and after Horus, Thoulis, who captured all the land as far as the Ocean with a large force…”

[*note: later referred to as Sostris.]

For the mention of Suavs in the Chronicle of John Malalas see here.

Etymologies

What of the name Svarozic or Svarog? Svarozic can mean many things in Suavic. The -zic suffix can be an indication of:

  • A son or a descendant of Svarog (or Sovarog)
  • A “thing” coming from Svarog (or Sovarog)
  • A young Svarog (or Sovarog)
  • A little Svarog (or Sovarog)
  • A diminutive of Svarog (or Sovarog)
  • A thing that swarorzy (or svarycsa from svariti se; in which case swarzy would be a shorter version of the same)

With the exception of the last suggestion, all of the above are derived from Svarog.

What about Svarog? Here we have several possibilities: as well:

  • svar (old Indian) or svarga-s (Sanskrit) (“shine, sky, Sun)
  • *spar (Sogdian) (“to glitter, shine, bloom”)
  • hvar (Avestani) (“sky light, Sun”)
  • Sovarog > Sovi (Baltic)
  • swar (Polish) (“heat” or “quarrel”)
  • Zwerg, schwarz (Nordic)
  • stworek (Suavic) (“little creature”)

The Romanian words Sfarogu or svarogu (meaning “dry” or “glowing”) are probably derived from Suavic.

There is also sfora which means “host”. The following Polish and nearby towns and rivers come to mind though whether their etymology has anything to do with Svarozic is debatable:

  • Swaraszczyzna/Swarawszczyzna
  • Swarawa/Sworawa
  • Swareml/Swaromje
  • Swarliny
  • Swarocino
  • Swarowszczyzna
  • Swarożyn/Swaroschin/Swarisewo/Swarozino/Swarzissewo/Swarzystów
  • Swarreitkehmen
  • Swarren
  • Swarszowice/Swarzischowycze
  • Swarte
  • Swarteze
  • Swartówka
  • Swarycewicze/Swarycewiczy
  • Swaryczew
  • Swaryczów
  • Swaryn
  • Swaryn stream
  • Swarzeń
  • Swarzewo/Swarzow
  • Swarzewska Kępa (Swôrzewskô Kãpa)
  • Swarzędz
  • Swarzędzkie
  • Swarzów
  • Schwerin (Polabian)

Some of these may relate to the German schwartz, others clearly have something to do with the Polish “heat” or perhaps with “quarrels.” The best candidate for a Svarogian etymology would have been Swarożyn since the Polish “g” becomes a “ż”. But, the above show that that town had many other names previously: Swaroschin/Swarisewo/Swarozino/Swarzissewo/Swarzystów – most of which are unlikely to have had any “g”‘s in their earlier forms.

An interesting question is why Svarog nor Svarozic appear in the so-called PVL pantheon. My strong suspicion is that the same Deity is there. Specifically, the above distinction between Dadzbog and Svarog seems weak. Rather, it seems that Svarog, the Sky Deity may have been the single deity Dadzbog Chors – the PVL explicitly names this as a single Deity. Now, why was Dadzbog Chors listed after Perun? I think because Perun (previously meaning just “fork” which then became associated with lightning) was “elevated” by the Varangians who, in their own country, similarly saw the ascent of Thor. This Scandinavian invention mirrors Taranis of the Celts. But on the continent the Suevi, for example, clearly did not know Thor. Rather they worshipped Wodan.

Copyright ©2020 jassa.org All Rights Reserved

February 1, 2020

Radagost the Happy, Welcome Guest, Also Being a Present of Jasień’s

Published Post authortorino

We have suggested previously that Radagost (mentioned by Adam of Bremen as being a Deity worshipped at Rethra contrary to Thietmar‘s reports of the Suavic God Svarozic being venerated there) was the name of the wood around Rethra in which Svarozic was venerated (see here).

In doing so we rejected Alexander Brückner suggestion that Radagost simply means a “Happy Guest” which he, contemptuously, linked with the name of a tavern rather than with the name of a Deity.

But what if Brückner was – sort of – correct? What do we mean by that? Well, he spoke of a happy guest though perhaps he could have also said a “welcome guest.” Since we know that Svarozic was relatively frequently identified – at least among the East Suavs – with fire worship, perhaps Radagost is simply a moniker for “fire.”

Volume I of Pavel (Pavlo) Čubinski‘s (Chubynsʹkyĭ’s) 1872 book “Works of ethnographic-statistical expedition to western Russian region. Materials and researches” (Труды Этнографическо-статистической экспедиціи в Западно-Русскій край, снаряженной Императорским Русским географическим обществом (Юго-Западный отдѣл); матеріалы и изслѣдованія) contains an interesting testimony from villagers living at the upper Boh river (Southern Buh) in the Litinsky Uyezd of the Podolian Governorate of tsarist Russia. The villagers stated:

“We honor fire just as God. He is our dear guest. What he takes [that is, burns down] when he gets angry, that he won’t give again to another.”  

(Ми шануєм вогонь, як Бога, він нам дорогий гість. Він як розсердитьсяі візьме, то другому вже того не дасть; transliterated: My šanujem ohoń jak Boha; vin naš dorohyj hisť. Vin jak rozserdytśa i vizme, to duhomu vže toho ne dasť)

Polish villagers also spoke of fire as a guest:

“Welcome our guest in a red coat; do not go wide but rather go high .”

(Witaj nam gościu w czerwonym płaszczyku; nie bierz się szyroko, a bierz się wysoko…)

Now, the next question is did the Suavs really worship Fire as a God?

The answer to this question seems to be no. Rather they seem to have worshipped fire as present of God, specifically of the Sky God. Do we know this for sure? Of course not. But, there are hints…

For an answer we look to a tale of the Old Believers (starovéry) in the far east of Suavdom and, specifically, as was noticed already by Felix Haase, to Pavel Ivanovich Melnikov (alias Andrey Pechersky, Russian: Па́вел Ива́нович Ме́льников or Андре́й Пече́рский or Melnikov-Pechersky) and to volume IV of his Complete Collection of Works (or Collected Works) (Polnoe sobranie sochinenii or Полное собраніе сочиненій). There we find a story of how Jarilo came upon Mother Earth shrouded in darkness, loved her and as a result of this union all living things – including Man – were born. Jarilo hit Man with lightning which caused Man to awaken his faculties elevating him above the other living things. Man  spoke to Jarilo answering the God’s thunder and was made rule of all living and inanimate things. Long story short, Jarilo then left Mother Earth and all their creation placing it all again in cold and darkness but vowing to return. Mother Earth then pled for Jarilo to take pity on their special love child, that is Man. As a result of these pleadings, Jarilo gave Man fire. Here is that excerpt:

“…But Mother Earth cried further. ‘Don’t you feel sorry for me Jarilo? Do not the cries of your children reach you? Have mercy at least on your love child, who answered your thunder speech with eternal words. It is naked and weak, it will shortly perish if you take away heat and light from us.’ And the God Jarilo struck a stone with lightning, his flaming blitz hit the trees. And he said to Mother Earth: ‘Now I have brought fire to the stones and the trees. I myself am in this fire. With his mind will Man figure out how to take light and fire from wood and stones. This fire is my gift for my love son. For the entire living Creation will this gift be a fright and terror. Only for him alone will be of service.’ And so the God Jarilo left the Earth. Terrible winds blew, dark clouds covered Jarilo’s eye, the red Sun [and] white snow felt and enveloped Mother Earth like a pall. All froze, all fell asleep, only Man slept [but] did not slumber. He had the great gift of Father Jarilo and with it light and warmth.”

An interesting conclusion that can be drawn here is that if Svarozic is fire and Svarog is the Sky God then it is clear that Svarog is merely another title of Jarilo. Of course, I’ve previously made the connection between Jasień or Yassa, Jarilo, Ūsiņš, Usen, Jeuseņš and, importantly, also Iasion who lay with Demeter. Further, the above story neatly fits with the narrative of Jasień “waking” up Man with lightning (“It is almost as if man himself is “unfrozen” after the winter”) that I also alluded to here. Of course, in the above story, Man is not merely woken up after a winter, he is actually given his reason or mind via a thunder strike. Afterwards, Jarilo basically acts as a Suavic version of Prometheus.

Although the name Prometheus has an uncertain etymology, one version of such etymology points to pramantha – a fire-drill, that is the tool used to create fire. Curiously, in Polish promień simply means “ray”. Same for Ukrainian with its промінь.

Copyright ©2020 jassa.org All Rights Reserved

February 1, 2020

Thuringian Jechas

PublishedDecember 9, 2019 Post authortorino

An interesting place deep in Thuringia, way further than any Suavic settlement should have occurred, is a place called Jecha (a part of Sondershausen on the Wipper (Wieprz?)). Next to Jecha lies Jechaburg. Now the name of both of these supposedly comes from a Germanic Goddess Jecha. The mentions are rather late but they were significant enough to merit a discussion in Grimm’s work.

Jecha was first mentioned in 1282. The name varieties include Gicha, Giche, Jicha and Jiche.

Curiously, Jechaburg was first mentioned earlier –  in 1004. The name appears also as Gigenburg, Jechenburc, Jechenburch, Jechenburgk and Jichenburg.

What then is the etymology of this Name? Well, a number of different thoughts have been expressed. For example, perhaps it has something to do with “hunting” – jagen.  Thus, Jecha becomes a Goddess of the Hunt like Diana (or the Polish Devanna). But that etymology seems forced. For one thing, if you really want to use the Huntress notion then you might be better able to apply it to the Suavic Baba Yaga (which may actually be something worth looking into).

Another possibility is that the name comes from something like jach which, apparently, used to mean “fast” in German. Here we may be onto something… Except that the etymology seems to establish a Suavic connection again:

jechać – to ride, drive, go.

And what do we have next to Jecha? Do we have many Suavic place names? Not so much. But there is the town next door: Bebra. Bebra comes from “beavers” (Biberaho) but is this a German beaver or some other? Bebra lies on the Bebra river which also comes from beavers (in fact Bebra’s coat of arms features a beaver with a proper tail). Now there is another river, similarly named. It is in Poland and its name is Biebrza. That name is supposedly of Old Prussian, Yatvingian or, perhaps, Lithuanian origin. Of course, Jesza (not Jess though perhaps Jaś) was also a Polish God with the functions similar to Jupiter.

Copyright jassa.org ©2019, All Rights Reserved

December 9, 2019

Jasiels, Jasieńs, Jasions Gallore

PublishedNovember 27, 2019 Post authortorino

We have talked about the various Iasions throughout Polish history and their connections to antiquity. But what about geography? As mentioned there may be an occasional Piorunowo, Strzybogi or even Swarozyn. Are these town names former worship places? Maybe or maybe not. But what about Jasion? A quick search of the map reveals a huge number of Jasion and related names that dwarfs any of the above. Are these all places owned by a “Jan” or places where the ash tree (jesion) grew aplenty? Or is there a more mystical reason for this topography?

These names along with few (I did not do a review outside of Poland) from Ukraine and Germany are on the map below (in red). The mountain peaks are also listed (in green)

There are also rivers and lakes (in blue) though I only included a few of those items in the list below.

All of this is far from complete and there are many more similar names if you are willing to spend time pouring over the map. 

Towns

  • Jasiel – near Slovakian border
  • Jasienica – (German Jasenitz, then Jasienice) part of Police, a town in Pomerania
    • site of the Jasenitz abbey
    • first mentioned: 1260 but village likely founded much earlier
    • Nowa Jasienica – a village next to Jasienica (Police)
  • Jasienica – a village in the administrative district of gmina Ziebice, within Zabkowice Slaskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship (south-west) (German Heinzendorf since?)
  • Jasienica – a village in the administrative district of gmina Dubienka, within Chelm County, Lublin Voivodeship (east)Jasienica – a village and seat of gmina Jasienica, Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodelship (south)
    • first mentioned circa 1305 in Liber foundations episcopates Vratislaviensis as “item in Gessenita decent ease XI) mansi solubiles” (German Heinzendorf, Czech Jasenice)
  • Jasienica – a village in the administrative district of gmina Myslenice, within Myslenice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship (south)
    • after 1335, probably named after the river Jasieniczanka that flows through the village
  • Jasienica – a village in the administrative district of gmina Łoniów, within Sandomierz County, Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship, (south-central)
  • Jasienica – a village in the administrative district of gmina Ostrow Mazowiecka, within Ostrow Mazowiecka County, Masovian Woivodeship (east-central)
    • also nearby Jasienica-Parcele
  • Jasienica – a village in the administrative district of gmina Tłuszcz, within Wolomin County, Masovian Voivodeship (east-central)
    • first mentioned: in 1414
    • names used: Jassenicza, Jassyenyecz, Jassyenicza, Jaszenicza, Jaszenecz, Jasiennica, Jasszenicza, Jassyeniecz, Jaschenyecz, Jasyenyecz, Jassenycza, Jaschyenycze, Jasyenycza, Yassyennycza (Slownik historyczno-geograficzny ziem polskich w sredniowieczu)
  • Jasienica (German Jessnitz) – a village in the administrative district of gmina Brody, within Żary County, Lubusz Voivodeship (western)
    • first mentioned: in 1452 as Jessenitz
  • Jasienica Rosielna – a village in Brzozow County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship (south-east)
    • was called just Jasienica and was a town as early as 1727
  • Jasienica Dolna – a village near near Nysa
  • Jasienica Gorna – a village near near Nysa on the Czech border
  • Jasienica Sufczynska – a village near near Przemysl
  • Jasienie (Geman Jaschine but the obvious Suavic name made the Nazis change it to Eschenwalde – which just means ash forest)
    • first mentioned: in the Liber foundations episcopates Vratislaviensis as “Cossine solvitur decima more polonico”  “combined with “Lippe Cossine”
  • Jasienna – village in the administrative district of gmina Korzenna within Nowy Sacz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship (south)
    • first mentioned: in 1372
  • Jasiennik Stary – southwest of Biłgoraj
  • Jasień (Cashubian Nënczi or Nënkòwë, German Nenkau) – an administrative part of Gdańsk; previously a separate village;
    • previously Nenkowe village which, however, was then acquired by a certain Jasiński a judge who bought the village in 1704
  • Jasień (German: Lichtenbach) – a village in the administrative district of gmina Tłuchowo, within Lipno County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (north-central)
  • Jasień (German: Gassen) – a town in Poland, within Żary County, Lubusz Voivodeship (west)
    • gmina seat
  • Jasień (German: Jassen; Kashubian Jaséń) – a village in the administrative district of gmina Czarna Dąbrówka, within Bytów County, Pomeranian Voivodeship (northern)
    • lies on Lake Jasień
  • Jasień – a village in the administrative district of gmina Rogów, within Brzeziny County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
  • Jasień – a village in the administrative district of gmina Kobiele Wielkie, within Radomsko County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
    • next to Jasień state park
  • Jasień – a village in the administrative district of gmina Głuchów, within Skierniewice County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
    • near Rawa Mazowiecka
  • Jasień – is a village in the administrative district of gmina Lubochnia, within Tomaszów Mazowiecki County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
    • nearby also Nowy Jasień
  • Jasień – a village in the administrative district of gmina Osjaków, within Wieluń County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
  • Jasień – a village in the administrative district of gmina Brzesko, within Brzesko County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship (southern)
  • Jasień – a village in the administrative district of gmina Chmielnik, within Kielce County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (south-central)
  • Jasień – a village in the administrative district of gmina Łopuszno, within Kielce County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (south-central)
  • Jasień – is a village in the administrative district of gmina Staszów, within Staszów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (south-central)
  • Jasień – a village in the administrative district of gmina Repki, within Sokołów County, Masovian Voivodeship (east-central)
  • Jasień (German: Jasin) – a village in the administrative district of gmina Czempiń, within Kościan County, Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central)
  • Jasień – a hamlet part of the village Czarna Sędziszowska in the administrative district of gmina Sędziszów Małopolski, within Ropczyce-Sędziszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship (south-eastern)
    • also nearby Mały Jasień
  • Jasień – a part of the town Ustrzyki Dolne
  • Jasieniec – a town and a gmina seat near Grojec
  • Jasieniec Iłżecki Górny – between Ostrowiec and Radom
    • Jasieniec Iłżecki Dolny
    • Nowy Jasieniec Iłżecki
    • Jasieniec Nowy
    • Gajówka Jasieniec
    • Jasieniec-Maziarze
  • Jasieniec Solecki – a village near near Zwoleń
    • Jasieniec Kolonia
  • Jasion – a village in the administrative district of gmina Żarnów, within Opoczno County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
  • Jasionka – a village in the administrative district of gmina Trzebownisko, within Rzeszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship (southeast)
  • Jasionka – a part of the village Krzywa in the administrative district of gmina Sękowa, within Gorlice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship (south)
  • Jasionka – a village in the administrative district of gmina Zgierz, within Zgierz County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
    • first mentioned: 1396
  • Jasionka – a village in the administrative district of gmina Parczew, within Parczew County, Lublin Voivodeship (eastern)
    • first mentioned: 19th century
  • Jasionka – a village in the administrative district of gmina Zbuczyn, within Siedlce County, Masovian Voivodeship (east central)
  • Jasionka (German: Jassonke and Neu Jassonke) – settlement in the administrative district of gmina Kołczygłowy, within Bytów County, Pomeranian Voivodeship (north)
    • first mentioned: at least 1749
    • nearby also Nowa Jasionka
  • Jasionka (Ukrainian: Ясінка, Yasinka) – a village in the administrative district of gmina Dukla, within Krosno County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship (southeast)
    • first mentioned: 14th century
    • other: through the village runs the river Jasionka a tributary of Jasiołka.
  • Jasionka – a part of the village Skórka in the administrative district of gmina Parzęczew, within Zgierz County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
  • Jasionka – a part of the village Blizne in the administrative district of gmina Jasienica Rosielna, within Brzozów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship (southeast)
  • Jasionka – a part of the village Krzątka in the administrative district of gmina Majdan Królewski, Kolbuszowa County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship (southeast)
  • Jasionka –  a part of the village Krzewata in the administrative district of gmina Olszówka, Koło County, Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central)
  • Jasionna – a village in the administrative district of gmina Piątek, within Łęczyca County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
  • Jasionna – a village in the administrative district of gmina Błaszki, within Sieradz County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
  • Jasionna – a village in the administrative district of gmina Bolimów, within Skierniewice County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
  • Jasionna – a village in the administrative district of gmina Głowno, within Zgierz County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
  • Jasionna – a village in the administrative district of gmina Jędrzejów, within Jędrzejów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (south-central)
  • Jasionna – a village in the administrative district of gmina Białobrzegi, within Białobrzegi County, Masovian Voivodeship (east-central)
  • Jasionna – a village in the administrative district of gmina Wronki, within Szamotuły County, Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central)
  • Jasionna (German: Jessen) – a village in the administrative district of gmina Jasień, within Żary County, Lubusz Voivodeship (western)
  • Jasionno – a village near near Elblag
  • Jasionowo – a village in the administrative district of gmina Lipsk, within Augustów County, Podlaskie Voivodeship (north-eastern)
  • Jasionowo – a village in the administrative district of gmina Rutka-Tartak, within Suwałki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship (north-eastern)
  • Jasionowo – a village in the administrative district of gmina Szypliszki, within Suwałki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship (north-eastern)
  • Jasionowo – a village in the administrative district of gmina Sztabin, within Suwałki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship (north-eastern)
  • Jasionowo Dębowskie – a village in the administrative district of gmina Sztabin, within Suwałki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship (north-eastern)
  • Jasionów – (Ukrainian: Ясенів, Yaseniv) – a village in the administrative district of gmina Haczów, within Brzozów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship (south-eastern)
  • Jasionów (German: Jeßmenau) – a village in the administrative district of gmina Trzebiel, within Żary County, Lubusz Voivodeship (western)
  • Jasionów – a part of the village Huta Poręby in the administrative district of gmina Nozdrzec, within Brzozów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship (southeast)
  • Jasionów – a hamlet of the village Olszówka in the administrative district of gmina Mszana Dolna, within Limanowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship (south)
  • Jasło – (German: Jassel) – a county seat in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (southeast)
  • Jastew – a village in the administrative district of gmina Dębno, within Brzesko County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship (southern)
  • Jaświły – a village in Mońki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship (north-east)
    • it is the seat of the gmina Jaświły
  • Jesienicha – a settlement in the administrative district of gmina Czarna Białostocka, within Białystok County, Podlaskie Voivodeship (north-eastern)
  • Jesiona – a village  in the administrative district of gmina Kolsko, within Nowa Sól County, Lubusz Voivodeship (western
  • Jesionka – a part of the village Jesiona in the administrative district of gmina Kolsko, within Nowa Sól County, Lubusz Voivodeship (western)
  • Jesionka – a part of the village Szczecin in the administrative district of gmina Dmosin, within Brzezin County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)
  • Jesionka – a colony in the administrative district of gmina Ciechocin, within Golub-Dobrzyń County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (north-central)
  • Jesionka – a hamlet part of the village Nowa Wieś Szlachecka in the administrative district of gmina Czernichów within Kraków County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship (south)
  • Jesionka – a village in the administrative district of gmina Szczawin Kościelny, within Gostynin County, Masovian Voivodeship (east-central)
  • Jesionka – a village in the administrative district of gmina Baboszewo, within Płońsk County, Masovian Voivodeship (east-central)
  • Jesionka – a village in the administrative district of gmina Wiskitki, within Żyrardów County, Masovian Voivodeship (east-central)
  • Jesionka – a village in the administrative district of gmina Czosnów, within Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki County, Masovian Voivodeship (east-central)
  • Jesionka –  a village in the administrative district of gmina Sompolno, within Konin County, Greater Poland Voivodeship (west-central)
  • Jesionka –  a part of the village Sołtysy in the administrative district of gmina Praszka, within Olesno County, Opole Voivodeship (south-western)
  • Jesionka – a settlement in the administrative district of gmina Czerwionka-Leszczyny, within Rybnik County, Silesian Voivodeship (south)
  • Jesionna – a village in the administrative district of gmina Wodzierady, within Łask County, Łódź Voivodeship (central)

Mountain Peaks

(not shown on map)

  • Jasiennik – peak near Lubomierz in Beskid Sadecki
  • Jasiennik – peak at Przysietnica in Beskid Sadecki

Rivers/Streams/Lakes

(not shown on map except Lake Jasień)

  • Jasienica – a tributary of Ilownica
  • Jasienica – a tributary of Klodnica
  • Jasienica – a tributary of Wirowa
  • Jasienica – a tributary of Gunica
  • Jasienica – a tributary of Rega
  • Jasienica – a tributary of Grabowa
  • Jasienica – a tributary of Wieprza
  • Jasieniczanka – a small river flowing through Jasienica, a village in the administrative district of gmina Myslenice
  • Jasień – a river in the Polish city Łódź; a tributary of Ner 
  • Jasień  (Cashubian Jezero Jaséńsczé, German Jassener See) – a lake in the Bytów Lake District (Pojezierze Bytowskie, Cashubian, Bëtowsczé Pòjezerzé)
    • Bytów is the bigger town there (Cashubian, Bëtowò, German Bütow); its name may come (or vice versa) from the river Bytowa (Bytówka, Cashubian Bëtowa) 
    • a part of the Słupia Valley Landscape Park
  • Jasiołka – a river in SE Poland; a tributary of Wisłoka
  • Jasionka – a tributary of Jasiołka

Outside Poland

(these are just some examples – for a great list of all of these see the Allgemeines geographisch-statistisches Lexikon aller Laender, volume 3 pages 469-478, 486-487 (Ja-) and pages 506-514 (Je-))

Towns/Geographic Features

  • Jasionów – a village in the Brod region near Lviv, Ukraine
  • Jasienica Zamkowa – near Lviv, Ukraine
  • Jasenegg – a village in Austria
  • Jessen – a town in East Germany
  • Jasnitz – a town East Germany
  • Jassmund – Rugia, Germany
  • Jestetten – a town in Germany
  • Jesenwang – a village in Germany
  • Jesen – a village in Slovenia
  • Jesenice – a village in Slovenia
  • Jesenice – a village in the Czech Republic
  • Jesenik – a village in the Czech Republic
  • Jesenec – a village in the Czech Republic
  • Jesenské – a village in Slovakia
  • Jasenica – a village in Slovakia
  • Jasenie – a village in Slovakia
  • Jasenov – a village in Slovakia
  • Jasenovo – a village in Serbia
  • Jasenice – a village in Croatia
  • Jasenovac – a village in Croatia
  • Jasenovac – a village in Bosnia Herzegovina
  • Iesi – a town in Italy (hence the Codex Aesinas)
  • Jesolo – a part of Venice

Mountain Peaks

  • Jeseníky (Polish Jesioniki, German, Gesenke) – a mountain range of Eastern Sudetes in northern Moravia, Czech Silesia and partly in Poland.
    • the two main subranges are the Hrubý Jeseník and the Nízký Jeseník
    • Hrubý Jeseník – a mountain range of Eastern Sudetes in northern Moravia and Czech Silesia; the second highest mountain range in the Czech Republic
      • site of such sights as the Devil Stones (Čertovy kameny) and Peter’s Stones (Petrovy kameny)
      • its highest peak is the “Ur-Father” (literally Ur-Old Man or Praděd)  and other peaks include the Great Father (Velký Děd or Great Old Man) and Little Father (Malý Děd or Little Old Man) as well as the Velký Jezerník and Malý Jezerník
      • Velký Jezerník – a peak in the Hrubý Jeseník range
      • Malý Jezerník – a peak in the Hrubý Jeseník range
    • Nízký Jeseník – a peak in the Czech republic on the Polish border
  • Jesza – a mountain in Slovenia

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November 27, 2019

Meanwhile in Auderswoods or the Donatio Liutheri

PublishedOctober 22, 2019 Post authortorino

An interesting document that is part of the Lorsch Codex (Codex Laureshamensis – a 12th century manuscript) is the donation by Count Luther of certain lands to the Lorsch Abbey (he seemed to have promptly gotten the lands back as part of a leaseback of sorts for the duration of his life). Already Wojciech Kętrzynski noticed that the donation, which dates from October 1, 877 mentions (among other personnel) Suavs. The document speaks generally of the lands around Leutershausen and Sachsenheim, each of which is itself very far West of any location typically associated with Suavs (the former lies between Nuremberg and Heilbronn – just East of the Suavic sounding Wörnitz though perhaps from the river, earlier called Werinza or Warinza); the latter, slightly north of Stuttgart).

However, the specific mention of the Suavs comes from a slightly different part of the above region (which reaches to Mannheim), specifically from the lands north of Heidelberg. The following towns are mentioned (current names or likely names in parenthesis):

  • Weinheim (Winenheim)
  • Birkenau (Birchenowa)
  • Ruzondun/Ruzondum (Reissen)
  • Lieberesbach (Nieder- and Obers-Liebersbach)
  • Zozunbach (Zotzenbach)
  • Rintbach (Rimbach)

Here are the relevant locations along with the location of the Lorsch Abbey.

Donatio Liutheri in Husen, Sahssenheim et in aliis locis.

In Dei omnipotentis nomine. Ego Liutharius, cogitans de salute animae meae et de abolendis peccatis meis beataeque ac perpetuae vitae premiis consequendis seu etiam parentum meorum, a quibus ad me pervenit, ut veniam de peccatis nostris apud Dominum adipisci mereamur, dono per hoc testamentum ad sanctum Dei martyrem Nazarium, qui requiescit in corpore in pago Renense, in monasterio cognominato Lauresham, sito super fluvium Wisgoz, ubi moderno tempore vir venerabilis Babo abbas regulariter preesse videtur, et veneranda congregatio monachorum die noctuque Domino deservire dinoscitur, donatumque in perpetuum esse volo et promptissima voluntate confirmo; hoc est, quod trado res proprietatis meae in pago Lobodenense, in Wilarehusa, cum ecclesia in eo constructa et omnibus quae ad illam curtem legitime aspicere videntur; et in villa nuncupata Sahssenheim Minore hubas serviles 9 et quicquid in ea possideo; et in altera Sahssenheim hobam indominicatam unam, serviles 13, molendina 2; et in Dossenheim vineam unam, hubam dimidiam, serviles 2; et in Scriezesheim hubas serviles 4, et dimidiam, molendina 3; ad Hanscuesheim iurnales 8; ad Wilare hobas serviles 3; et inter Vitenheim et Ulvenesheim et Herimuntesheim hubas 3; inter Dornheim et Mannenhem hubas 4 et vineam unam; ad Bergeheim hobam servilem unam; et in Rorbach similiter; ad Leimheim vincam unam; et ad Etingon hobas 4 et dimidiam; et in Granesheim iurnales 8. Haec omnia, ut diximus, sub integritate cum omnibus appenditiis et terminis suis et cum omnibus ad se pertinentibus, id est basilica, domibus caeterisque aedificiis, terris, pratis, silvis, campis, pascuis, aquis aquarumve decursibus, cultis locis et incultis, mobilibus rebus et inmobilibus ac se ipsas moventibus, vel quicquid denominari potest aut non potest, cum mancipiis diversi sexus et aetatis numero 102 cum liberis suis; et ubi Sclavi habitant, hubas serviles tres. Hec enim omnia superius denominata a die presente de iure meo in ius et dominium sancti Nazarii rectorumque ipsius monasterii dono, trado atque transfundo, in Dei nomine perpetualiter ad possidendum. Ea scilicet ratione memoratam donationem atque traditionem faciens, ut quamdiu in hac mortalitate divina iussione vixero, habeam predictas res in mea potestate et sub mea ordinatione, absque ullius personae aut potestatis contra dictione vel impedimento, et tam ipsius a me traditae quam illius quam inde ab eodem monasterio in precariam accepi, hereditatis, id est villam nuncupatam Winenheim et Birchenowa atque Ruzondun et Lieberesbach et Zozunbach atque Rintbach, et illum locum, ubi Sclavi habitant cum ipsis. Post obitum vero meum utraeque memoratae res cum omni integritate ad prenominatum venerabile monasterium absque ullius contradictione recipia[n]tur, et in eius potestate atque dominio permanea[n]t fratribus specialiter ad sustentaculum, et nulli umquam in beneficium de[n]tur. Quod si factum fuerit, haeredes mei illud inde abstrahere licentiam habeant atque inter se dispertiri. Et si aliquis contra hoc nostrae devotionis testamentum resultare voluerit, atque illud convellere et evacuare temptaverit, primitus Christum et sanctum martyrem eius Nazarium nefandis ausibus suis contrarium sentiat, et insuper fisco distringente multam de rebus propriis parti predicti monasterii coactus exsolvat, auri videlicet libram unam, argenti pondo 12, et nec sic, quod conatur repetere, possit evindicare, sed haec donatio omni tempore firma et stabilis permaneat, stipulatione subnixa.

Actum publice in monasterio Lauresham, anno dominicae incarnationis 877; regni Ludowici regis 2, sub die Kal. Octobris.

Signum Liutharii, qui hanc donationem vel testamentum fieri et firmari rogaverat. Signum Adalhardi comitis. Signum Erinfridi comitis. Signum Cristani comitis et aliorum.

Ego itaque Reginbald indignus presbiter et monachus hoc testamentum conscripsi, diemque et tempus ut supra notavi.

The two mentions are:

  • et ubi Sclavi habitant… (and where the Suavs reside…), and
  • et illum locum, ubi Sclavi habitant cum ipsis. (and such places, where the Suavs reside with theirs [meaning with their “folks”]).

The river Wisgoz is today’s Weschnitz. It is a tributary of the Rhine and it is at that river that the Suavs mentioned above are supposed to have been living. The name, we are told, comes from the Celtic God Visucius. If so, it would not be a Suavic name obviously. Of course, no one knows for sure (for example, maybe its waters were very viscous…). The name also got copied, in addition to fluuium Wisgoz, as Wisscoz, Wischoz and Wisoz. All these appear in the Lorsch Codex.

The pago Lobodenense, elsewhere Lobodongau or Lobodingau refers to the Lobdengau a medieval county. It comes from the name of Ladenburg which was then called, among other names, Lobdenburg. That name supposedly comes from the Celtic Lopodunum. Yet, Loboda is a  relatively common Suavic last name these days (Łoboda refers to the atriplex plant or, in German, Melde) and, as for Lada, well, that is a Suavic God or Goddess. That Lada may be etymologically connected to Odin is a possibility and, of course, all of this is in the are of the Odenwald (but this etymology is uncertain given that Odin was Wotan in this region; perhaps the name relates to the Roman Civitas Auderiensium but who really knows).

It was in this area that the Suebi Nicrenses, the Neckar Suevi, were active.

Here is another map of the area for your enjoyment.

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October 22, 2019

The Chronicle of Moissac

PublishedSeptember 2, 2019 Post authortorino

The Chronicle of Moissac (Chronicon Moissiacense) is an anonymous compilation discovered in the abbey of Saint Pierre at Moissac. It was probably created in the first half of the 9th century. Its pieces can be put together from the primary manuscript in the National Library at Paris as well as from certain other manuscripts (for example the Chronicon Anianense). An incomplete text was published by Pertz for the MGH. A more complete version was added onto the Subsidia Anianensia, a dissertation by Walter Kettemann from the year 2000. In 2012, a study of the Chronicle was published in another dissertation or thesis by David Claszen.

Here is Claszen’s description of the Chronicle: “The Chronicon Moissiacense is mainly interesting because of its highly composite nature; it expands on an older, 8th century text that records history up to the year 741 and is a composition of ancient as well as early medieval authors. Bede’s 66th chapter of De Temporum Ratione forms the spine of the chronicle, but this text is heavily interpolated with fragments from Flavius Josephus, Eusebius, Jerome, Orosius, Fredegar, the Liber Historiae Francorum, and other sources. The Chronicon Moissiacense presents a continuation of this text up to the year 818, drawing on other sources such as the Annales Laureshamenses, multiple minor annals, and a ‘southern source’ believed to be lost today. The text attempts to connect Roman with Merovingian and Carolingian history in various ways, such as through the inclusion of a shared Trojan heritage, but also through a reworking of the chronology.”

The above description is, of course, accurate though there are interesting Suavic connections that hide thereunder. For example, under the year 805 we have, perhaps, the first attestation of the name Czechs (the more likely first attestation comes from the Annales Tilliani under the same year 805 (In terram Sclavorum qui vocantur Cinu which should have been Cihu).

Both the Kettemann and Claszen works are available online.

An English description (though not a translation) of some of the Suav related passages of the Chronicle can be found in Sébastien Rossignol’s “The Entry of Early Medieval Slavs into World History – The Chronicle of Moissac” (a chapter of “The Medieval Networks in East Central Europe: Commerce, Contacts, Communication” with Balazs Nagy, András Vadas and Felicitas Schmieder as editors).

The Suavic mentions in the text below come from the Claszen dissertation. Some though not all of the notes are also Claszen’s. Claszen used the following key which I retain:

AA BN lat. 5941 (Chronicon Anianense).
B Besançon, bibl. mun. 186.
Br Brussels, KBR, 17349-60.
Duch. Rome, BAV, MS Reg. Lat. 213, fols. 149-151. (Duchesne Fragment) Vienna, ÖNB, lat. 515. (Vienna Fragment)
FrV Mu Munich, BSB Clm 246.
P Paris, BN lat. 4886 (Chronicon Moissiacense).
S Leiden, Scaliger 28.
StP Sankt Paul, Stiftsarchiv, cod. 8/1.
AL Annales Laureshamenses

Here are the Suavic fragments of the Chronicle of Moissac.

Saint Pierre Abbey at Moissac

632 or 633

“In the tenth year of the reign of Dagobert it was reported that an army of Wends entered from Thuringia; he advances with the army of the kingdom of Austrasia towards the town of Metz, advances towards Mainz and orders the crossing of the Rhine. The Saxons sending ambassadors to Dagobert, ask for their tribute, [which they pay to the treasury], to be waived. The [Saxons] promised to oppose the Wends if the Franks limit the tribute from those lands. To this Dagobert agrees. All of these taxes, which the Saxons used to pay in the form of 500 cows per year, as ascertained by Clothar the Old [497-561], were thus lifted.” 

“Anno X regni Dagoberti, cum ei nunciatum fuisset exercitum Winidorum Toringa fuisse ingressum, cum exercitu de regno Austrasiorum de Mettis urbae promovens, Mogontiam adgreditur, disponens Renum transire. Saxones missos ad Dagobertum dirigunt, petentes ut eis tributa, quas fisci dicionibus dissolvebant, indulgeret Winidos resistere spondent et Francorum limite de illis partibus custodire promitunt. Quod Dagobertus prestitit. Exinde iam Saxones tributa, quae reddere consueverant, per preceptione Dagoberti habent indultum, quingentas vaccas inferendales annis singulis, a Clotrio[g] seniore censiti, solvebant.”

779 or 780

“And in the following year, he brought together a great host, entered again into Saxony and reached even as the great river Łaba [Elbe]. And the Saxons delivered themselves to him and he accepted hostages both nobles and commoners [?] and he divided their country among bishops, presbyters and abbots and they preached and baptized there. And in fact many Wendish and Frisian pagans were [also] baptized. Then he departed for Italy leaving his sons Pippin and Charles in Worms.”

“Et in sequenti anno, congregans exercitum magnum, ingressus est iterum in Saxonia et pervenit usque ad flumen magnum Heilba et Saxones tradiderunt se illi omnes, et accepit obsides tam ingenuos quam et lidos et divisit ipsam patriam inter episcopos et presbyteros et abbates, ut in ea babtizarent et predicarent. Nec non et Winidorum seu et Fresonum paganorum magna multitudo baptizata est. Inde revertens, habiit in Italia et dereliquid filios suos in Wormacia, Pipinum et Karolum.”

789

“And in the following year, King Charles [Charlemagne] went through Saxony to the Calssclavos [Suavs] who are known as Vulti [Wiltzi] and the kings of these lands with their king Tranguito [Dragovit] to meet him, and they asked for peace, delivering all their lands to his sovereignty, and they themselves were delivered [submitted or, perhaps, in the sense of being delivered into God’s Grace]. The king [then] returned to Francia.”

“…Tunc iudicaverunt eum morti dignum. Rex autem, misericordia motus, noluit eum occidere, sed cum ipsius peticionem clericum eum fecit et retrusit in monasterio. Et perrexit rex in Baguaria ad Raganesburg et ibi venerunt ad eum Baguarii et dati sunt ei obsides et ordinata ipsa patria, reversus est in Francia. Et in sequenti anno, Karolus rex per Saxonia pervenit usque ad Calssclavos, [qui]* dicuntur Vulti** et venerunt reges terrae illius cum rege eorum Tranguito*** ei obviam, et petita pace, tradiderunt terras illas universas sub dominatione eius, et se ipsis traditi sunt. Rex reversus est in Francia. Obiit beatae memoriae Vulcadus, episcopus et doctor verbi Dei, VI idus Novembris in aquilonis partibus Saxoniae. Tres patricii ex Constantinopolim cum classe navium venerunt Italia, ut eam ad dicionem Grecorum revocarent, quos Langobardi cum misso Karoli regis debellati sunt. Et in alio anno habuit rex conventum in Wormacia, non tamen Magiscampum. Et ipso anno transiit sine hostae.”

* originally written here was possibly ‘qui’, and afterwards lost by a hole in the folio; ‘Sclavos’ in AL (Saint Lorsch Annals) corrected from ‘Sclavus’; ‘Sclavos qui’ in StP (Sankt Paul, Stiftsarchiv, cod. 8/1.), corrected ‘l’ added above.
** AA (BN lat. 5941.) says ‘qui dicuntur vulzi propie vero id est sua locucione welatabi dicuntur’ (‘that are called Wiltzes though in their language Velatabi [Veleti]’).
*** AA (BN lat. 5941.) has ‘tranvito’; StP (Sankt Paul, Stiftsarchiv, cod. 8/1.) has ‘traguuito’.

795(?)

“And they [Saxons] all came to him, with the exception of those whom I’ve already mentioned above and those that live on the other side of the Łaba [Elbe], those who killed the king’s vassal, Wizizin* – the king of the Obotrites. Therefore, they did not believe they were in his grace….”

* Wiltzan or Witzlaus or Vilčan of Obotrites, leader of the Obotrites (747-795).

“Sed et tunc omnes ad eum venientes, excepto his, quos iam supra comemoravimus et hii, qui trans Albia erant, ipsi ad eum pleniter adhuc non venerunt, eo quod vassum domni regis Wizizin, regem Abotrizarum, occiderunt. Ideo non credebant, quod in gracia eius pervenire potuissent. Caeteri autem omnes pacifici venerunt et iussonem suam promitentes implere. Et ita domnus rex, iterum credens eis, nullam voluntatem interficiens, fidem suam servando. Tunc ad Aquis palatio de terra Avarorum regulus quidam, nomine Todanus, ad domnum regem veniens, cum comitibus suis, quae domnus rex honorifice suscepit et baptizare iussit et eos, qui cum eo venerunt, cum magna honore et donis eum remeare fecit ad propria. Et in eo anno a parte Avarorum venerunt thesauri, magna multitudo, pro quibus domnus rex omnipotenti regi gracias agens, et distribuit ipsum thesaurum inter aecclesias et episcopos, seu abbates et comites. Nec non et universos fideles suos de eodem thesauro mirifice honoravit. Et in ipso hieme, id est VIII Kalendas Ianuarii, sanctae memoriae domnus Adrianus, sumus pontifex Romanus obiit, pro quem domnus rex, piissimus Karolus, orationes per universum christianum populum infra terminos suos fieri rogavit et elemosina sua pro eo multipliciter transmisit. Et epitafium, aureis literis in marmore conscriptum, iussit in Francia fieri ut eum partibus Romae transmiteret, ad sepulturam summi pontificis, Adriani papae.”

798

“The year 798… And in the meantime, our Suavs who are called Obotrites,* came together with the king’s ambassadors to those Saxons and had victory in a battle over those weakings. There fell in this battle 2,801 Saxons…”

* Under Thrasco, Drażko or Drożko (ruled circa 795-808).

“Anno DCCXCVIII. Ipso anno fuit rex Karolus in Saxonia et apud Aristallio Novo ipsum hiemem ibi resedit et ibi celebravit pascha. Quem locum, ut nos audivimus, ipse rex ita appellavit, quia ab hostae ipso, ipse mansiones in qua habitabant, constructae sunt. Et in ipso aestatae pervenit cum exercito suo ad Bardunwico et illi omnes se tradirunt in manus eius et tulit inde illos capitanios, quos voluit, et obsidibus, quantum ei voluntas fuit. Et interim congregati sunt Sclavi nostri, qui dicuntur Abotridi*, cium missis domni regis ad illos Saxones** congregaverunt*** se in unum et comiserunt proelium et habuerunt victoriam. Et ceciderunt in ipso die Saxones in ipsa pugna duo milia DCCCI. Et in Toringas ibi pervenerunt aliqui ad regem et honoravit eos rex, ut digni erant, mirifice. Et inde rex remeavit in Francia et de ipsos Saxones tulit secum quos voluit. Et ipse pervenit ad Aquis palatio et ibi gemavit.”

* ‘Abodriti’ AA.
** in AA ‘ex parte Saxonum’ instead of ‘in ipsa pugna.’
*** congregaverunt – ‘voluit’ not StP, FrV, instead: ‘tamen fides christianorum et domni regis adiuvavit eos et habuerunt iuctoriam’ (‘victoriam’ FrV) ‘super saxones et ceciderunt de ipsis saxonis ante eos in ipsa pugna duo milia DCCCI et in north thuringas ibi perveneunt ipsi sclavi ad domnum regem et honoravit eos domnus rex ut digni erant mirifice et inde domnus rex remeavit ad francia et de ipsis saxonis tulit secum quos voluit et quos noluit’ (‘voluit’ FrV) ‘dimisit’; ‘congregaveruntque’ AA.

804

“In the year 804, Charles [Charlemagne] the Emperor of the Franks pushed forth with a great army of the Franks passed through Saxony and stayed beyond the river Alara* at a place called Oldonastath.** There came to him the king of the Obotrites by the name Irosuc*** and brought him many gifts…”

* The river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, Germany.
** Hollenstedt, a municipality in Lower Saxony, Germany
*** Thrasco, Drażko or Drożko (ruled circa 795-808).

“Anno DCCCIIII, aestatis tempore, Karolus imperator movit exercitum magnum Francorum et perexit in Saxonia et habiit ultra Alaram ad locum, qui vocatur Oldonastath. Et venit ad eum ibi rex Abotritorum, nomine Irosuc et detulit ei munera multa. Et inde transmisit imperator sacras suas in Wimodia, et in Hostingabi, et in Rosogabi* et ut illa ingentem foras patriam transduceret. Nec non et illos Saxones, qui ultra Albia erant, transduxit foras et divisit eos in regnum suum, ubi voluit. Et postea, cum magno gaudio ipse imperator remeavit in Francia et pervenit ad Aquis palatium, sedem regiam, ibique hiemavit atque celebravit pascha.”

* Hostingabi is “Ostingabi, Ostegau; Gau around the river Oste, in Lower Saxony, Germany”; Rosogabi is “Gau between the Weser and Elbe. Kettemann, Subsidia Anianensia. Vol. 2, 106.”

805

“In the year 805, Charles the Emperor sent his son, Charles the King, with a great army to the Beowinidi* and another army with Audulf and Werinar, that is the Bavarians. The third crossed with the Saxons over Werin fields and the land of the Dalaminzi and there they fought a battle against their king, Semela** and defeated him. And he gave two of his sons [as hostages] as a token of his loyalty. And the three armies went together over the Erzgebirge and went to the river that is called Ohře [Eger] and then went towards Canburg which they razed and burned down the countryside on that part of the Łaba [Elbe] and on the other side of Łaba [Elbe].  And thereafter, with victory, King Charles returned to his father in Francia.  The fourth part of the army [together] with ships left the Łaba [Elbe] [region] and went to Magdeburg and there they ravaged the region of Genewana. Thereafter, they returned to the fatherland.”

* The Bohemians – this entry from the year 805 is, arguably, the first ever mention of Czechs. As you can see below the name given is ad Beuwidines. This has been variously read as super Windones or ad euhuvidines but also as Cichu-Windones. This last reading would, of course, be the first historically attested mention of the Czechs. The AA reads a Beuhuvidines which suggests Bohemians.
** Semela – Semil, Semiu or Siemił.

“Anno DCCCV. Karolus imperator misit filium suum, Karolum regem, cum exercito magno ad Beuwidines* et alium exercitum cum Audulfo et Werinario, id est cum Baguarios. Tercium vero transmisit cum Saxonibus super Werinofelda** et Demelcion*** et ibi pugnaverunt contra regem eorum, nomen Semela et vincebant eum. Et ille dedit duos filios eius pro fidelitatae. Et tunc perrexerunt super Fergunna**** et venerunt ad fluvium, qui vocatur Agara,***** illi tres hostes insimul, et inde venerunt ad Canburg, qui et illum occiderunt et vastaverunt regionem illam in circuitu, in ista parte Albiae et ultra Albiae. Et postea, cum victoriam, reversus est Karolus rex ad patrem suum in Francia. Quartus vero exercitus, cum navibus perrexit in Albia et pervenit usque ad Magedoburg et ibi vastaverunt regionem Genewana. Postea reversi sunt in patriam.”

* AA ‘a Beuhuvidines’;
** Hwerenofelda – east of the Soława [Saale].
*** Demelcion, the Dalaminzi area of the Głomacze or Dolomici or Dalemińcy, Polabian Slavs living near the middle Łaba [Elbe]. See also Kettemann, Subsidia Anianensia. Vol. 2, 107.
**** The Ore Mountains, Erzgebirge, in Saxony, Germany, and Bohemia.
***** The Ohře, or Eger in German, a tributary of the Łaba [Elbe].

806

“The year 806. Charles the Emperor Charles [Charlemagne] celebrated Eastern at Nijmegen and sent his son King Charles to Thuringia to a place that is called Waladala* and there he had his host muster. And from there he sent his armies over the Łaba [Elbe]. He himself came over the Soława [Saale] into the Guerena field. And there it was that the proud King Milito** who had ruled over the lands of the Sorbs was killed. And then he [Charlemagne] turned back to Łaba [Elbe] and he ravaged those lands and destroyed their burghs. And the other kings of the same [Sorbs] came to him and promised to serve the Lord and the God-Fearing Emperor and they gave hostages in accordance with his will. And these King Charles ordered to build two burghs, one north of the Łaba [Elbe] opposite from Magdeburg and the other East of the Soława [Saale] at a place that is called Halle. After that he returned to his father. In these days the deacon Albin shone in France”

* Waldau. Potentially connected with Veleda.
** Miliduh or Miłyduch.

“Anno DCCCVI. Karolus imperator celebravit pascha ad Neumaga et misit filium suum, Karolum regem, super Duringa ad locum, qui vocatur Waladala*, ibique habuit conventum suum. Et inde misit sacras suas ultra Albia. Ipse vero movit exercitum suum ultra Sala, super Guerenaveldo. Et tunc fuit interfectus Milito,** rex superbus, qui regnabit in Siurbis. Et postea remeavit Albiam et vastavit regiones illas et civitates eorum destruit. Et ceteri reges ipsorum venerunt ad eum et promiserunt se servituri domno et pio imperatore tradideruntque obsides, sicut ille volebat. Et mandavit eis rex Karolus hedificare civitates duas. Una in aquilone partem Albiae contra Magadaburg. Alteram vero in orientalem partem Sala*** ad locum, qui vocatur Halla. Deinde reversus est ad patrem suum in Francia. His diebus Albinus diaconus in Francia claruit.”

* AA Walada
** AA Melito
*** AA Sola

808

“The year 808. Charles the Emperor [Charlemagne] sent his son, Charles the King, over Saxony through the Łaba [Elbe] land to those Suavs who are called Linai,* and [he] ravaged a great part of their lands. However, some of our men fell. And Godofred,** king of the Normans went over to those Suavs that are called Abotrici and ravaged a great part of their lands and destroyed some of their cities. And in that place Riginold,*** his nephew, died and many Northmen fell there.”

* Probably the area of Linones aka Linaa (Bavarian Geographer) aka Glinianie.
** Gudfred
*** Ragnvald

“…Anno DCCCVIII. Karolus imperator misit filium suum, Karolum regem, super Saxonia ultra Albia ad illos Sclavos, qui vocantur Linai, et vastavit maximam partem regionis ipsius. Sed et aliqui ex nostra partem ibidem ceciderunt. Et Godofredus, rex Nortmannarum, venit super illos Sclavos, qui dicuntur Abotrici, et vastavit magnam partem regiones eorum et aliquas civitates dextruxit. Et ibidem fuit Riginoldus, nepus eius, qui primus post eum in illo regno fuit, interfectus et multi de populo Nortmannorum ibidem corruerunt.”

809

“The year 809. The saintly Emperor Charles [Charlemagne] was at his palace at Aachen. In that summer he sent three of his armies to the borders and some of the Saxons over the Łaba [Elbe] and with our Wends* they destroyed there the town that is called [by the] Semeldinc** Connoburg.*** And in that year many came from the East and passed into the West. And the Emperor Charles celebrated Easter in his palace at Aachen.”

* In particular the Obotrites. Kettemann, Subsidia Anianensia. Vol. 2, 112.
** Curiously the Semeldinc reference smacks of the earlier king Semela (as in “the people of Semela”) of the Dalaminzi.
*** Connoburg of the Smeldingi. Its precise location is uncertain. Kettemann, Subsidia Anianensia. Vol. 2, 112. It seems to be different than the Canburg mentioned above in the context of the Bohemian campaign of 805.

“Anno DCCCVIIII. Karolus imperator pius sedit apud Aquis palatium. Et in illo estatae misit sacras suas ad marchias et aliqui de illos Saxones venerunt ultra Albiam et fregerunt ibi unam civitatem cum nostris Guinidinis,* quei appellatur Semeldinc** Connoburg**. In illo anno venit mortalitas magna animalium ab oriente et pertransiit usque in occidente. Et celebravit pascha apud Aquis palatium Karolus imperator.”

810

“And Godafred, the king of the Normans, sent his vassals as peace envoys and they deceitfully killed Drosco,* the king of the Obotrites…”

* Thrasco, Drażko or Drożko (ruled circa 795-808).

“Et Godafredus, rex Nortmannorum, misit quasi pacifice per insidias vassallum suum ut in dolo Drosocum, regem Abdritorum, occidisset. Quod ita factum fuit. Et occulte, misit piratos cum navibus in Frisia, quae fecerunt ibi magnum damnum de Christiano populo. Et postea ille Godafredus fuit interfectus a suo vassallo et perdidit regnum cum vita. Et Karolus imperator misit sacras suas ad marchas, ubi necesse fuit. Et mandavit civitatem hedificare ultra Albia in loco, qui vocatur Essesveldoburg* et mandavit illis hominibus, qui custodirent civitatem. Deinde reversus est in Francia, ad Aquis, sedem regiam.”

* According to Kettemann, ‘Eisesfeld an der Stör, today Itzehoe’. Kettemann, Subsidia Anianensia. Vol. 2, 114. However, this is not certain and ‘veldo’ may suggest the Wiltzi or Veleti.

811

“The year 811. Charles the Emperor [Charlemagne] sent armies of Franks and Saxons and [other?] enemies to those Suavs that are called Lanai* and Bechelenzi** and they ravaged their lands and built again a castle in the place called Abochi.*** And there was also a killing of many Northmen and Anolo [?] who fell there. In the same year Charles the King died, the son of Charles the Great [Charlemagne], the Emperor.”

* Linones or Linaa (Bavarian Geographer) or Glinianie.
** Bethenici (Bavarian Geographer) or Bytyńcy.
*** Hochbuoki or Höhbeck castle, Lower Saxony, Germany.

“Anno DCCCXI. Misit Karolus imperator exercitum Francorum et Saxonorum et hostem ultra Albia ad illos Sclavos, qui nominantur Lanai et Bechelenzi* et vastaverunt regiones illas et aedificaverunt iterum castello in loco, qui dicitur Abochi. Fuit quoque occisio magna Nortmanorum et Anolo ibi corruit. Eodem anno obiit Karolus rex, filius Karoli magni ymperatoris.”

* Bethenzi AA

812

“The year 812. The Emperor Charles [Charlemagne] sent three armies to those Suavs who are called Wilti. One army came with him by the Obotrites and two came to meet him at the border but these Wilti lifted their right hands and gave hostages and promised to give the lands to Charles the Emperor. And then the people went home.”

“Anno DCCCXII. Misit Karolus imperator tres sacras ad illos Sclavos*, qui dicunt Wilti. Unus exercitus venit cum eis super Abotridi** et duo venerunt obviam ei ad illam marcha, sed et illi Wilti dextras dederunt et obsides obtulerunt et promiserunt se dare partibus Karoli imperatoris. Et postea sic reversus est populus ad propria.”

* clavos AA
** Abodoritos (!) AA

Copyright ©2019 jassa.org All Rights Reserved.

September 2, 2019

Letter of Gregory III from A.D. 737 (or 739)

PublishedJune 1, 2019 Post authortorino

 

Pope Gregory III was best known for being the last pope born outside of Europe (though in Byzantine Syria so not exactly outside of European civilization) until the current jackass. Among his achievements was his prolific letter writing. One of these letters is a letter from 737 – 739 whose opening lines made made their way into Karl Jaromir Erben’s Regesta Diplomatica Nec Non Epistolaria Bohemiae Et Moraviae.

It was mentioned earlier too in Philipp Clüver’s Germania Antiqua in 1616 and by Philippus Jaffé in his Regesta Pontificum Romanorum… (Reg. at page 182, Nr. 1730). It is also mentioned in Migne’s Patrologiae Cursus Completus: Series Latina (vol. 89 at page 602).

It appears in full in Giovanni Domenico Mansi’s Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio (Tomus 12 at page 280).

It then appeared in MGH as letter number 43. It is present in several codices containing Gregory III’s letters, the oldest of which seems to be the Munich codex 8112 from the 9th century (this is labeled version 1). The Karlsruhe codex (Raststatt 22, Durlacher 94) is a 10th/11th century (that was labeled version 2) but it seems to contain only the end of the letter with the prior pages having been ripped out. The MGH lists a few others such as (version 3 does not contain this particular letter):

  • (version 4a) Montis Pessulanus H.3 (12th) (Montpellier)
  • (version 4b) Vaticanus 1340 (13th-14th)
  • (version 4c) Venetus S. Marci Zanetti CLXIX (15th)
  • (version 5) Codex Othloh the monk Trevirensis 93F (Codex of Othloh the monk)

An earlier codex, the Cottonian Otho A I from the 8th century apparently burned down in 1666.

Why is the letter so interesting? Well, as you can see above, the various manuscripts show several tribal names there amongst whom are:

  • Nistresos
  • Wedrecos (Wedrevos)
  • Lognaos
  • Suduodos

Some of these may, in fact, be Suavic which, I suspect, why Erben included it in his Register. For example, Wedrevos (in some variants) appears similar to the Suavic Odra, wydra, wiadro and similar words.  Suduodos sounds like Sudovi – a Baltic tribe. Nistra sounds Itallic frankly but may also be Greek/Thracian (compare with Ister) and do not forget the Slovak town of Nitra – the capital of the famous “Principality”. The Lognaos can perhaps have something to do with the Lugii/Łużyce/Lusatia though that’s a stretch. If these were Longaeos instead (more of a stretch) then we could have Lunsizi or maybe Lendizi. In any event, worth thinking about. If you want the MGH explanation, then see the page above in the footnotes (at least as of the 19th century variation).

The letter’s writing actually says the following (Munich codex):

Gregorius papa universis optimatibus et populo provinciarum germaniae. thuringis & hessis bor tharis & nistresis uuedreciis & lognais suduodis & graffeltis…

Munich 8112

German historians have tended to identify these with with various Teutonic tribes (for example, the Westphalians) but is that right? Sure, the Thuringi, Hessi and Gravelti may have been Teutonic but these other names? I am not so sure.

Two other things. There is also a letter in the same Register that was written by Gregory II that mentions Sarmatians in Constantinople – we’ll get back to that. Further, the letter itself (look at the language above in the MGH version) discusses all kinds of pagan superstitions which are interesting irrespective of whether they are Teutonic or Suavic.

Copyright ©2019 jassa.org All Rights Reserved

June 1, 2019

Ratzeburg Tithe Register of the Year 1230

PublishedMay 25, 2019 Post authortorino

The Ratzeburger Zehntregister (that is, the Ratzeburg tithe register) comes to us from the year 1230. It contains a list of possessions of the bishopric of Ratzeburg around Mecklenburg, Lauenburg and, interestingly, also Holstein. Many of these are mentioned for the first time. It is currently found in Landeshauptarchiv Schwerin. Over time it has been reproduced in the Mecklenburgischen Urkundenbuch.

Fascinatingly, this register caused a minor scandal when it was used by Dmitri Nikolajewitsch Jegorow to publish “Die Kolonisation Mecklenburgs im 13. Jahrhundert” (2 Bände, Breslau 1930) which essentially argued that most of the colonization of these areas was done by Suavic settlers.

The list of towns from the register is below. The Suavic names are in red although the list as usual may be both under and over inclusive. They constitute roughly half of the names on the list. This is certainly curious as the year 1230 was 600 years after the initial wars of the Franks with the Suavs of Samo. Beyond that the list comes from Wikipedia and I retained the rather inconsistent numbering system they have there (not sure what the original source for that system is but it is probably not Wikipedia).

Land Ratzeburg
Parish Schlagsdorf
1 Slaukestorp Schlagsdorf, Dorfkirche Schlagsdorf
2 M[e]chowe Mechow
3 Slaubrize Schlagbrügge
4 Mvltsan Molzahn
5 Villa Elisabet Villa Elisabet (eingegangen)
6 Vtechowe Utecht
7 Campowe Campow
8 Ripece Rieps
9 Ratistorp Schlagresdorf
Parish Carlow
10 uilla Kar[l]owe Carlow, Dorfkirche Carlow
11 slauico Karlowe Wendisch Carlow (in Carlow aufgegangen)
12 Demere Demern
13 Scethinkestorp Schaddingsdorf
14 Klokestorp Klocksdorf
15 Pogatse Pogez
16 Samekowe Samkow
17 Stove Stove
18 Rosenitze Rünz (heute: Groß und Klein Rünz)
19 Nescowe Neschow
20 Woytenthorp Woitendorf
Parish Mustin
21 Mustin Mustin
22 Lankowe Lankow
23 Dechowe Dechow
24 Tvrove Groß Thurow
25 slauico Tvrove Klein Thurow
26 Dvzowe Dutzow
27 Kitlist Kittlitz
28 Goldense Goldensee
29 Ekhorst Ekhorst (defunct; area called “Eichhorster Räumde” in 1777)
30 Rvkelin Röggelin
31 Gardense Gardensee (defunct; by Ziethen on Garrensee)
Parish Seedorf
32 Sethorp Seedorf, St.-Clemens-St.-Katharinen-Kirche
33 Tsachere Groß Zecher
34 slauico Tsachere Klein Zecher
35 Brisan Bresahn
36 Nienthorp Niendorf
37 slauico Sethorp Wendisch Seedorf (defunct)
38 Dargowe Dargow
Parish Sterley
39 [St]Ralige Sterley
40 Holembeke Hollenbek
41 Kerseme Kehrsen
42 nigrum stagnum Schwarzensee (later  empty space at Oldenburg)
43 utrvmque Salim Beide Salem (today there is only one Salem)
44 Cowale Kogel
45 Clotesvelde Klotesfelde (defunct; previously located on the way from Alt to Neuhorst)
Parish Gudow
46 [G]Odowe Gudow
47 Bandowe Bannau (defunct; on Bannauer Moor)
48 Lesten Langenlehsten
49 Mazleviz Maslevitz (eingegangen)
50 Sakkeran (today’s Segrahn comes from a 1564 settlement; the old towns of Segrahn and Wendisch Segrahn (52) are defunct)
51 Lvtowe Lütau (defunct; on the Lütauer See, lay SE of Mölln )
52 sclauicum Sakkeran Wendisch Segrahn (defunct; see 50)
53 Dargenowe Dargenow (defunct; within the area of Bergholz)
54 Besendale Besenthal
55 Tsarnekowe Sarnekow
56 GRambeke Grambek
57 DRvsen Drüsen (defunct; on the SW-end of the Drüsensee)
Parish Breitenfelde
58 [B]Redenvelde Breitenfelde
59 Woltersthorp Woltersdorf
60 Nienthorp Niendorf
61 antiquum Mulne Alt Mölln
62 Belowe Bälau
63 Borchardesthorp Borstorf
64 Logen Logen (defunct; by Mannhagen)
Parish Nusse
65 [N]vsce Nusse, Kirche Nusse
66 Walegotesvelde Walksfelde
67 Pokense Poggensee
68 Hagen Mannhagen
69 Stenborg Steinburg defunct; by Panten)
70 Kvcen Kühsen
71 Dvuense Duvensee
72 Panten Panten
73 Ritzerowe, Manowe, Bercroth, Coberch Ritzerau, Manau (defunct), Bergrade, Koberg
74 Klinkroth Klinkrade
75 Sirikesvelde Sirksfelde
76 sclauicum Sirikesvelde Wendisch Sirksfelde (defunct; subdistrict Sirksfelde)
77 Lvchove Lüchow
78 Zanzegnewe Sandesneben
79 Sciphorst Schiphorst
80 Linove Linau
81 Helle Helle (defunct)
Parish Berkenthin
82 [P]Arketin Berkenthin
83 Gvldenize Göldenitz
84 Ciresrode Sierksrade
85 Hakenbeke Hakenbek (defunct)
86 Climpove Klempau
87 slauicum Sarowe Klein Sarau
88 slauicum Parketin Klein Berkenthin (today there is only one Berkenthin)
Parish Krummesse
89 [C]rumesse Krummesse, Johanniskirche (Krummesse)
90 Scenkenberge Groß Schenkenberg
91 Cronesvorde Kronsforde
92 Stocheslestorp Stochelsdorf (defunct)
93 Nienmarke Niemark
94 Wulvestorp Wulfsdorf
95 Begenthorp Beidendorf
96 Gronove Groß Grönau
97 Sarowe Groß Sarau
98 Toradestorp Gut Tüschenbek
99 Blankense Blankensee
100 Valkenhus Falkenhusen
101 Scatin Schattin
Parish St. Georg (information is missing from the register)
102 Pogatse Pogeez
103 Ad sclav. Pogatse Holstendorf
104 Dvsnik Groß Disnack
105 Ad unam domum Einhaus
106 Hermannestorp Harmsdorf
107 Cvlpin Kulpin
108 Belenthorp Behlendorf
109 Ad minus Belenthorp Klein Behlendorf (defunct)
110 Ad maius Mancre Groß Anker
111 Ad minus Mancre Klein Anker (defunct)
112 Giselbrechtestorp Giesensdorf
113 Albrechtesvelde Albsfelde
114 Lankowe Lankau
115 Ad omnia allodia in monte Domäne Neuvorwerk (today south of the Ratzeburg train station)
Parish Schmilau
116 [S]milowe Schmilau
117 Dormin Dermin (defunct – sount and west part of today’s Ratzeburg subdistrict)
118 Borchvelt Raceburg Burgfeld Ratzeburg (defunct – north part of today’s subdistrict Ratzeburg)
Parish Büchen
119 Boken Büchen, Marienkirche (Büchen)
120 Brotne Bröthen
121 Vitsin Fitzen
Parish Mölln
122 Mvlne Mölln, St. Nicolai (Mölln)
123 Gvletse Gülze (defunct)
124 Pinnowe Pinnau (defunct)
125 Pezeke Pezeke (the old name for Marienwohlde)

Land Wittenburg
Parish Zarrentin
126 Tsarnetin Zarrentin, Kirche Zarrentin
127 Vilun Valluhn
128 Luttekowe Lüttow
129 Cvltsin Kölzin
130 Pampurine Pamprin
131 Scalize Schaliß
132 Bantin Bantin
Parish Neuenkirchen
133 Ad novam ecclesiam Neuenkirchen
134 Stenvelde Steinbeck
135 Melenteke Neuhof
136 Lassan Lassahn, St.-Abundus-Kirche (Lassahn)
137 Techin Techin
138 Tvrkowe Turkow (defunct)
139 Bosowe Boissow
140 Ad sclav. Nienthorp Wendisch Neudorf (defunct)
141 Campe Kampenwerder
Parish Döbbersen
142 Dobersche Döbbersen
143 Tessin Tessin
144 Stulniz Stöllnitz
145 Droneviz Drönnewitz
146 Bodin Boddin
147 Badowe Badow
148 Wozlize Woez
149 Rocut Raguth
150 Bentin Bentin
Parish Parum
151 Parem Parum
152 Dvmmere Dümmer
153 Scarsin Schossin
154 Molenbeke Mühlenbeck
155 Radelube Radelübbe
156 Chemelin Gammelin
157 Pogresse Pogreß
Parish Wittenburg
158 agri civitatis Wittenburg Wittenburg, St.-Bartholomäus-Kirche
159 Karwete Karft
160 Warsekowe Waschow
161 Ziklemarke Ziggelmark
162 Lesen Lehsen
163 Pvtselin
164 Bobecin Bobzin
165 Woltsowe Wölzow
166 Pvtlekowe Püttelkow
167 Lvzowe Dreilützow
168 Cerbeke Düsterbeck (empty space now)
169 Lvkkeuiz Luckwitz
Parish Hagenowe
170 Hagenowe Hagenow
171 Bakenthorp Bakendorf
172 Preceke Presek
173 Vis Viez
174 Potechowe Pätow
175 Todin Toddin
176 Mercrade Merkrade (defunct)
177 Dametze
178 Grancin Granzin
179 Tsabele Zapel
180 Scarbowe Scharbow
Parish Pritzier
181 Priscire Pritzier
182 Gorezlawe Gößlow
183 Wargeliz Warlitz, St. Trinitatis (Warlitz)
184 Goldeniz Goldenitz
185 Grabeniz Gramnitz
186 Scarbenowe Schwaberow
187 Cetsin Setzin
188 Zwechowe Schwechow
Parish Vellahn
189 Vilan Vellahn
190 Clodram Kloddram
191 Tramme Tramm (defunct)
192 Jesowe Jesow
193 Gansethorp Goosfeld
194 Melcohche Melkof
195 Dvssin Düssin
196 Bralizstorp Brahlstorf
197 Domeratse Dammereez
198 Bansin Banzin
199 Bolbruke Bollbrügge (defunct)
200 Panitz Penz (defunct)
201 Marsowe Marsow
202 Sekkevin Segefin (defunct)
Parish Körchow
203 Kurchowe Körchow
204 Kattemarke Helm
205 Zvabrowe Schwaberow
206 Zvre Zühr
207 Cvtsin Kützin
208 Predole Perdöhl
Parish Camin
210 Camin Camin
211 Doytin Doddin (defunct)
212 Golenbowe Goldenbow
213 Holthusen
214 Vitekowe Vietow
215 Cowale Kogel
216 Dadowe Dodow

Land Gadebusch
Parish Rehna
217 Bulowe Bülow
218 Warnekowe Warnekow
219 Lovetse Löwitz
220 Glatsowe Gletzow
221 Parport Parber
222 Nesowe Nesow
223 Ad sclav. Nesowe
224 Rene Rehna
225 Tvrbore Törber
226 Vitense Vitense
227 Woltsekenthorp Wölschendorf
228 Brutsekowe Brützkow
229 Ad sclav. Brutsekowe
230 Cochelestorp Köchelsdorf
231 Bansin Benzin
232 Hunnenthorp Hundorf (Groß/Klein?)
233 Kasthorp Kasendorf
234 Jeserits Jeese
235 Herbordeshagen
236 Prope Tvrbore nova uilla
237 Wedewenthorp Wedendorf
238 Ad aliud Wedewenthorp
239 Valkenhagen Falkenhagen
Parish Vietlübbe
240 Vitelube Vietlübbe, Dorfkirche Vietlübbe
241 Pvtrowe Paetrow
242 Rambel Rambeel
243 Hindenberge Hindenberg
244 Sclavic. Hindenberge
245 Strestorp Stresdorf
246 Vruwenemarke Frauenmark
247 Dargun Dragun
248 Rosenowe Rosenow
Parish Pokrent
249 Pokrente Pokrent, Dorfkirche Pokrent
Coselowe Kaeselow
Cvzowe Kützow?
Baleise Bleese?
250 Antiquum Pokrente Alt Pokrent
251 Rantsowe Renzow
Parish Gadebusch
252 agri civitatis Godebuz Gadebusch, Stadtkirche St. Jakob and St. Dionysius (Gadebusch)
253 Zvemin
254 Radegust Radegast
255 Wokenstede Wakenstädt
256 Ganzowe Ganzow
257 Malin Möllin
258 Metsen Meetzen
259 Holtthorp Holdorf
260 Germerstorp Jarmstorf
261 Bocholt Buchholz
262 Gustecowe Güstow
263 Parsowe Passow
264 Strestorp Stresdorf
Parish Roggendorf
265 Rokkenthorp Roggendorf, Dorfkirche Roggendorf
266 Brezen Breesen
267 Knesen Kneese
267a Ad Sclav. Knesen.
Parish Salitz
Zadewalz Groß Salitz, St. Marien (Groß Salitz)
Sclav. Sadewalz Klein Salitz
Crampiz Krembz

Land Schwerin
Parish Eichsen
248 a Exen Groß Eichsen, Johanniter-Kirche Groß Eichsen
“ Sconevelde Schönfeld
“ Windelerstorp Wendelstorf
“ Godin Goddin
“ Ad molendinum Mühlen Eichsen
“ Sevelde Seefeld
“ Wostemarke Wüstenmark
“ Rutnik Rüting

Land Dassow
Parish Dassow
271 Dartsowe Dassow, Nikolaikirche (Dassow)
272 Allodium militum Christi Vorwerk
273 Sethorp Seedorf
274 Bunesthorp Bünsdorf
275 Pricenthorp Prieschendorf
276 Uilla Thankmari Dönkendorf
277 Uilla Willehelmi Wilmstorf
278 Benekenthorp Benckendorf
279 Uilla Johannis Johannstorf
280 Uilla Volquardi Volkstorf
281 Woteniz Pötenitz
282 Erkense teutonicum Harkensee
283 Erkense sclavicum
284 Indago Thankmari Neuenhagen
285 Tankenhagen Tankenhagen
286 Indago advocati Voigtshagen
287 Rardolueshagen
288 Indago Woldemari
Parish Mummendorf
289 Mummenthorp Kirch Mummendorf / Hof Mummendorf, Dorfkirche Kirch Mummendorf
290 Tramme Tramm
291 Rodenberge Rodenberg
292 Poppenthorp Papenhusen
293 Ponatestorp Pohnstorf
294 Johannisvelt Hanstorf
295 Rucsin Roxin
296 Uilla Reinwardi Roggenstorf
297 in eisdem agris sclavica uilla
298 Uilla Tuscowe Teschow (part of Selmsdorf or Börzow?)
299 Bvrtsowe Börzow

Land Bresen
Parish Hohenkirchen
300 Ad altam ecclesiam Hohenkirchen, Dorfkirche Hohenkirchen
301 Walmanstorp Groß Walmstorf
302 Nova uilla
303 Ad parvum Walmanstorp Klein Walmstorf
304 Euerakkerstorp Everstorf
305 Uilla Hoyken Hoikendorf
306 Gramekowe Gramkow
307 Bekereviz Beckerwitz
Reimanstorp
Wicenthorp Hohen Wieschendorf
308 Mandrowe Manderow
309 Jastreviz Jassewitz
310 Marmotse
311 Nova uilla
Parish Proseken
312 Proceke Proseken Dorfkirche Proseken
313 Uilla Lamberti Landstorf
314 Wizok Wisch
315 Mirowe Zierow
316 Uilla Gerardi
317 Uilla Merzlaui
318 Gvgelowe Gägelow
319 Krukowe (Wismarsche Feldmark)
320 Damenhusen Dammhusen
321 Woytenthorp Weitendorf, Kapelle Weitendorf
322 Uilla Christofori Stoffersdorf
323 Uilla Walteri Woltersdorf
Parish Gressow
324 Gressowe Gressow, Dorfkirche Gressow
325 Sibus Zipphusen (empty space south of Barnekow)
326 Ad aliud Sibus Zippfeld (remains are east of Parkplatz Mölenbarg)
327 Barnekowe Barnekow
328 Coselowe Käselow
329 Tressowe Tressow
330 Quale Quaal
331 Krankowe Groß Krankow
332 Sclav. Krankowe Klein Krankow
333 Cimerstorp
334 Marquardusthorp Meierstorf
335 Plocekowe Plüschow
336 Uilla Thedolfi Testorf
337 Jamene Jamel
338 Rutnik Steinfort
339 Indago Fredeberni Friedrichshagen
Parish Beidendorf
340 Begenthorp Beidendorf, Dorfkirche Beidendorf
341 Uilla Lutheri Luttersdorf
342 Uilla Martini Martensdorf
343 Metenthorp Metelsdorf
344 Uilla Mauricii Schulenbrook
345 Uilla Clitse Klüssendorf
346 Uilla Zscarbuz Scharfstorf
347 Rambowe Rambow
348 Ad unum Stitene Stieten
349 Aliud Stitene
350 Ad tercium Stitene
351 Ad quartum Stitene
352 Uilla Zaviztorp Saunstorf
353 Cogchelestorp Köchelsdorf
354 Uilla Hermanni Harmshagen
Parish Grevesmühlen
355 Gnevesmulne Grevesmühlen, St. Nikolai
356 Natsenthorp Naschendorf
357 Minnowe Hilgendorf
358 Degetowe Degtow
359 Uilla Conradi
360 Vulnustorp
361 Poizcrowe Poischow(er Mühle)
362 Cristane Kastahn
363 Wotenist Wotenitz
364 Quastin Questin
365 Vilebeke Grevesmühlener Flur
366 Uilla Gozwini
Slaukestorp Schlagsdorf, Dorfkirche Schlagsdorf

Gostorf
367 Santekowe Santow
368 Ratnisvelt Grevesmühlener Flur
369 Lutteken Warnowe Warnow
370 Toradestorp Thorstorf
371 Woldenhagen Wohlenhagen

Land Klützerwald
Parish Klütz
372 Uilla Clutse Klütz, Marienkirche (Klütz)
373 Superior uilla Oberhof
374 Wittenburgerhagen Tarnewitzerhagen
375 Uilla Wartus Tarnewitz
376 Erpushagen Arpshagen
377 Indago prepositi Propsthagen?
Parish Damshagen
378 Thomashagen Damshagen, St.-Thomas-Kirche (Damshagen)
379 Bvrissowe Bössow
380 Porin Parin
381 Rolueshagen Rolofshagen
382 Cuzowe Kussow
383 Gvttowe Gutow
384 Ponatestorp Pohnstorf
385 Wulsin Welzin
386 Stellershagen Stellshagen
Parish Elmenhorst
387 Elmenhorst Elmenhorst, Dorfkirche Elmenhorst (Kalkhorst)
388 Wernekenhagen Warnkenhagen
389 Stenbeke Steinbeck
Parish Kalkhorst
390 Calchorst Kalkhorst, Dorfkirche Kalkhorst
Sconeberge Hohen Schönberg
Divelsbrok Brook

Land Jabel
[…]

Land Wehningen
390a Malke Malk
“ Brezegore Bresegard bei Eldena
“ Melgoz Malliß

Land Derzing
(the later Amt Neuhaus)
[…]

Land Sadelbande
Hohenhorn
391 Cornu Hohenhorn
392 Honwarde Hamwarde
393 Gvltsowe Gülzow
394 Tomene Thömen (today part of Krukow)
395 Wigershop Wiershop
396 Toschope Tespe (relocated to the opposite Elbmarsch) and Tesperhude (today part of Geesthacht)
397 Vventhorp relocated to the opposite Elbmarsch Avendorf
398 Crukowe Krukow
399 Crutsen, Hasledale, Sculendorp, Bertoldestorp Krüzen, Gut Hasenthal, Schulendorf, Bartelsdorf
Parish Siebeneichen
400 Soveneken (Ad septem Quercus) Siebeneichen
401 Tramme Tramm
402 Horgenbeke Hornbek
403 Gutzrade Güster
404 Wotartze Wotersen, defunct into Wotersen
405 Rosborch Roseburg
406 Nvssowe Nüssau
407 (Müssen) Müssen
408 Pampowe Pampau
409 Sabenize Sahms
410 Telekowe Talkau
411 Cankelowe Kankelau
412 Elmhorst Elmenhorst
413 Cemerstorp Cemerstorp (defunct)
414 Grabowe Grabau
415 Grove Grove
416 slauico Pampowe Wendisch (Klein) Pampau
417 Pvtrowe Pötrau
Parish Lütau
418 Lvtowe Lütau
419 Wutsetse Witzeeze
420 Dalthorp Dalldorf
421 Wizok Wizok (defunct)
422 Basdowe Basedow
423 Lantsaze Lanze
424 Bochorst Buchhorst
425 uilla Godescalci Villa Godescalci (defunct)
426 Volcmaresvelt Volkmarsfeld (defunct)
427 Albrechteshope Albrechtshop (defunct)
428 Snakenbeke Schnakenbek
429 Abenthorp Abbendorf (since1678 Juliusburg)
430 Coledowe Kollow
431 Borist Börse (defunct)
432 Wankelowe Wangelau
433 Lelecowe Lalkau (defunct)
Parish Hachede (Geesthacht)
434 Hagede Hachede (Geesthacht), till 1684 St.-Peter-Kirche, from 1685 St.-Salvatoris-Kirche (Geesthacht)
435 Wigershop Wiershop
436 Honwarde Hamwarde
437 Hasledale Krümmel (“krummes Hasledale” today part of Geesthacht, the village belonged to Hasenthal)
438 Besenhorst Besenhorst
439 Vorenthorp Fahrender (today part of Kröppelshagen-Fahrendorf)
440 Cornu Hohenhorn
441 Wort Worth
Parish Kuddewörde
442 Kuthenworden Kuddewörde
443 Grande Grande
444 Honvelde Hamfelde
445 Kerseborch Kasseburg
445a Vgenthorp Ödendorf
446 Manse Möhnsen
447 Rodenbeke Rotenbek

Land Boizenburg
448 Grancin Granzin
449 Gervin Greven (Mecklenburg)
450 (G)alin Gallin
451 N(iclesse) Nieklitz
452 C(.)temperowe Klemperow (defunct)
453 (N)ebande Nebein (defunct)
454 Tuscowe Tüschow
455 K(a)rr(entin) Karrentin
456 Bunserstorpe Groß Bengerstorf
457 Tessin Tessin b. Boizenburg
458 Darsenowe Dersenow
459 T(sar)nekest(orp) Zahrensdorf
460 Blugg(ere) Blücher
461 Lvttekemarc Lüttenmark
462 Leister(ue)rde Leisterförde
463 Benin Bennin

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May 25, 2019

Breviarium Sancti Lulli

PublishedMay 24, 2019 Post authortorino

The Breviarium sancti Lulli (aka Brevarium Lulli) is a list of the various properties claimed by the Hersfeld Abbey in Bad Hersfeld in the now federal state of Hesse.

The list refers to the ownership as of the time of the founding of the abbey in the days of Archbishop Lullus (710 – 786). It is part of the Hersfeld Capitulary – Liber de Libertatibus Locorum Hersfeldensium.

The Georg Landau edition from 1865

That book was written about A.D. 1150 and it contains a copy of the Breviarium that reflects a new redaction of the document from the end of the 9th century. It is one of the most important historical documents regarding Hesse and Thuringia from the time of the Carolingians. The document contains three tables listing:

  • royal gifts to the abbey (apparently through the year 802)
  • list of private possessions of the archbishop Lullus (up through the year 786)
  • gifts to the abbey from 776 to 815

That is, if the redaction is similar to the original then we have reflected in this 12th century work the state of affairs from the mid-8th century to the early 9th century. In any event, the list contains several interesting, possibly, Suavic names (others may also be Suavic so this is not an exclusive list):

  • Berisciza (Allendorf am Baerenschusse)
  • Jazaho (Nieder-Jossa)
  • Collide (Koelleda)
  • Seheshobite (Neuhausen)
  • Dribure (Trebra)
  • Bozilebo (Boesleben)
  • Vmisa
  • Juffelze (Giflitz)
  • Lizichesdorf (Lentzdorf)
  • Miluhesdorf (Milndorf)

There also other interesting names such as:

  • Suebada (Schwebda “an der Werra”) which recalls swoboda (though may mean “own Boden“)

Or:

  • Milinge (Mellingen, SE, as per Landau, of Weimar) which makes you think of those other Milingoi (Μηλιγγοί)

Most interesting the Suavs themselves are mentioned as belonging to the abbey. The Suavs come with your property if you own land in the following localities:

  • Bischhausen (near Neuental or, as Landau would have it, near Waldkappel?)
  • Muehlhausen (NE (really NW?) from Erfurt)
  • Remda (NW from Rudolfstadt)
  • Rudolfstadt
  • Buettstedt (N from Weimar)
  • Tuengeda (SW from Langensalza)
  • Schwabhausen (S of Gotha)
  • Rothenstein (on the Saale (Solawa) between Jena and Kahla)
  • Winningen (around Aschersleben)
  • Balgstedt (or Ballstädt?) (N of Gotha)
  • Zottelstedt (on the Ilm NW of Apolda)
  • Lentzdorf (E of Weida) (note this is called Lizichesdorf; note, too, Weyda > Wajda)
  • Rumsdorf (near Oldisleben)
  • Ramsdorf (near Taennich in the former county of Blankenhain)
  • Milndorf (Miluhesdorf) near Oldisleben
  • Drummaresdorf (unknown)
  • Vmisa (unknown)

Of course I was not able to highlight all of these but here are the ones that were easy (blue is the abbey, green are some uncertain places, red is the color of either the name mentioned or the place that, according to Landau, lies near the particular location).

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May 24, 2019