Monthly Archives: September 2019

O’Dan & Diva, Adam & Eva

PublishedSeptember 23, 2019 Post authortorino

One of the interesting aspects of the Suavic language are its numbers. I wrote about some of these quirks here but there are others. How about this:

“one” – Polish jeden, Russian один or odin
“two” – Polish dwa, Russian два or dva

That the word for the number one should refer to a God or, in the alternative, that a God should have been named using the word for “one” is interesting in and of itself. However, is this interpretation persuasive or is the above odin just coincidence?

Interestingly, the female may come to help (though, perhaps to the chagrin of feminists, literally in second place). How is that?

This, comes from Brueckner’s “The Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language” regarding the Polish dwa (“two”):

dwa: … Ancient word; ind. duwau, grec. dyō, łac. duō, ang. two, niem. zwei, lit. du, dwi, prus. dwai.

And what do we know of the word “two” in English? This comes from the “Online Etymology Dictionary”:

“Old English twa “two,” fem. and neuter form of twegen “two” (see twain), from Proto-Germanic *twa (source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian twene, twa, Old Norse tveir, tvau, Dutch twee, Old High German zwene, zwo, German zwei, Gothic twai), from PIE *duwo, variant of root *dwo- “two.”

Ok, so what?

Here is a hint:

dziewa, dziewica, dziewka; dziewczyna, dziewczę

All these mean a (young) woman, a girl or virgin.

Thus, we have one and two, jeden and dwa, the male and the female and the male Deity and the female Deity. This hearkens back to Iasion and Demeter.

The Polish dziewa is of the same root as the word diva which the same etymological dictionary derives as follows:

diva (n.) “distinguished woman singer, prima donna,” 1864, from Italian diva “goddess, fine lady,” from Latin diva”goddess,” fem. of divus “a god, divine (one),” related to deus “god, deity” (from PIE root *dyeu- “to shine,” in derivatives “sky, heaven, god”).

Note too the Suavic words for “day”:

dzień (Pol)
den‘/день (Rus)
den (Czech)
dan (Slovenian)
dan/дaн (Serbo-Croatian)
deň (Slovak)

What is interesting is that the Danube (and other river names) are derived from PIE *danu- “river.” The worship of rivers may have eventually led to the adoption of the word Don or Dan to mean as much as “Lord” such as Adonis (derived from the Canaanite ʼadōn which is probably the source, so to speak, too of, or at least related to, the Hebrew Adonai).

Interestingly, the River Don also appears in Aberdeenshire where its name is derived from the Celtic Devona “goddess.” Needless, to say that Devona sounds very much like the Polish Dziewanna.

Incidentally, the autocorrect feature changes, were you to attempt to type it, dva into eva. Take that for what you will.

Of Coins and Their Sky Riders

PublishedSeptember 19, 2019 Post authortorino

The motif of a rider with various celestial signs has been present throughout Europe. Here are some examples. The Celtic and Germanic rider is from the Wolanski collection (full disclosure: flipped the Celtic one so as to make him go in the same direction) but you can find similar coins in abundance. The Suavic coin is a coin issued by Bolesuav II the Bold. You can clearly see the triskelle, the swastika and, in Bolesuav’s case, an “S”.

What is that “S”? Some believe it is a minter’s sign. If so, it would have been one very prominent minter. Some variations include what looks like a sideways “H”. Was this then intended as an “HS” and somehow a symbol of a warrior of Christ? There are other variations of the coin that clearly show a cross but the “S” is far more prominent in these coins and most do not seem to have an “H” at all.

Notice too the “lance”. It looks like a lance but… it also looks like a Jasieńczyk symbol or a type of an ansuz rune. For more on that see here.

Finally, note that Bolesuav II was also the king who took on Bishop Stanisuav (the patron saint of Poland by virtue of having been abused by Bolesuav) and issued the following coin.

This was supposed to have been a cross of Saint-John’s though the name Iohannes is featured on the side without the cross whereas the name Bolezlaus is featured on the side with the cross. The cross where only one set of arms is bent is, of course, reminiscent of the “swastika” found on some of the coins of Mieszko (whether I or the II is another matter). See here for that.

To put it mildly, these symbols are ambiguous and can be read as a way of sneaking in pre-Christian beliefs into what was then, formally, a Christian state – particularly by those rulers who, like Bolesuav II, were not always seeing eye to eye with the Church hierarchy.

Incidentally, it should be clear that this “swastika’ or “triskelle” or, perhaps too the “S” have nothing to do with “fire.” These symbols are symbols of motion and, specifically, if I may venture a guess, of rotational star motion.

An interesting example of a rider is on the so-called Leźno (by Kartuzy) stone (Głaz z Leźna) (German Grosslessen) as can be seen here (at the Gdańsk Archeology Museum). The pictures are from the museum as well as from lucivo.pl website and the article is by Weigel:

Finally, as to Who exactly may be pictured in all of these, see here.

Czechs & Balts

PublishedSeptember 12, 2019 Post authortorino

The relatedness of some Suavic and Baltic Gods can be shown by references to the same vegetation Deity – Zelu. This name appears in the Czech Neplach but also is reported – as Želus – among the Prussians by Matthäus Prätorius (1635 – 1704) in his Deliciae Prussicae oder Preussische Schaubühne (written in 1698 but not published till 1871).

The name may also appear in Laskowski or in the De diis Samagitarum caeterorumque Sarmatarum et falsorum Christianorumi if I recall correctly.

It seems that this is the “Green Deity” the God of Vegetation though because of the Suavic Jarylo/Yarylo‘s connection with yar, it seems that this is simply another name for Yassa/Jassa or Jarowit/Yarovit/Gerovit.

Curiously, while Jassa and Jarylo bear clear connections to the word jar and Jahr/year, Zelu may not only be cognate with the obvious ziele (herb) and hence zielony (green) which is derived from it – but also may bear a connection to the word “zealot” as in eifrig, jarski that is animated, driven – adjectives very connected withe the growth of vegetation in the spring, that is the return of Life to the Earth.

Jasien and Piorun

PublishedSeptember 9, 2019 Post authortorino

I do not necessarily agree with the stuff that Jason Colavito writes here in his “Jason and the Argonatus Through the Ages” but I think his observations about the distinction between Jason and the Storm God are interesting and point the way to new research. This is the same distinction that I wrote about before – the distinction between Jasien and Piorun, between Iasion/Jason and Zeus and between the Aesir and Thor/Tarhunt/Taranus.

“Yet we sense in the evidence that has come down to us a tension between the ‘popular’ Jason myth and the elite poets who operated in Greek literary culture. Homer clearly knew of Jason and chose to minimize him, almost with a whiff of disapproval. The iconographic evidence records exciting and magical adventures the Archaic and Classical poets appear to have purposely rejected or dramatically transformed. I think the reason for this is because the Argonaut story reflects religious ideas that belonged to another time and were no longer in favor among the elite of Dark Age and Archaic Greece. The earliest Jason stories reflect a time when Hera was far more powerful that she would be in Classical Greece, when she was an earth goddess and could even have headed the pantheon of gods in some places. The earliest Jason stories also reflect a culture where humans and chthonic gods interacted closely, and humans could wield heard-divine supernatural powers, including Jason’s own powers of extraordinary healing. We know that in the Iliad Homer (or, perhaps more likely the Dark Age poets whose stories he drew upon) purposely transformed Hera from a powerful and beneficent goddess to the angry but subordinate consort of the all-powerful Zeus. Similarly, Hesiod too takes great pains to place Zeus supreme above a much diminished Hera.

This, then, must be the reason that the Jason story found no great Homeric epic – he was too closely associated with the old, Mycaeneam-era worship of Hera, a hero closely entwined with a chthonic goodies and the unsettling supernatural powers associated with the old religion. Such subjects were clearly inappropriate for the pious poets of Zeus. Only when a way could be found to transform the popular hero into a Greek worthy of Zeus’s divine grace could Jason form a suitable subject for the highest levels of elite poetry. This, I would suggest, accounts for the origins of Medea, a pointedly non-Greek figure who derived from the earth goddess (who, of course, was now also alien to Green religion) and could absorb the unwelcome, impious aspects of Jason’s supernatural power. Through this innovation, the story of Jason could be welcomed back into the fold of elite myths. But something had been lost.

In the attempt to reach into the dragon’s belly and resurrect the Jason of ancient myth, we are confronted with a chasm between the Mycenaean faith and that of Homer, between the religion of Hera and that of Zeus, between the gods who live in the earth and those who live in the sky. Jason’s voyage, then, is at one level a voyage between the lands of the living and the dead, and at a larger level a voyage between the earliest human faith and the powerful new religious order dawning across the Western world. Wherever the storm god went, from Greece to Persia to India, even down into Israel, where he would take the name Yahweh, the storm god came to reign supreme, replacing the worship of Hera, Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Astarte, and all her kith and kin. When Jason left Iolcus, he did so with the aid of Hera. When he returned from Colchis. he had come back with the golden fleece dedicated to the glory of Zeus and had brought back to Greece the symbol of the supremacy of a powerful and terrible new god.“

The above fits into a Gimbutas-like narrative of a matriarchal society overturned by, potentially IE-speaking, invaders from the East with their violent storm gods.

This is, I think, an incomplete story. The story of Jason is the story of Iasion and of Demeter (Dea meter) or Jeusens and, potentially, Ceres-Marzanna (though that latter name became associated with the cold season and dying – this is suggested by the fact that in Suavic the word for the Earth and for winter are quite similar – ziemia and zima). The key that Jasienczyk sports is the key to, if you will excuse the seemingly apt analogy, the Earth’s (Mother Goddess’) chastity belt – which opens in the spring and closes in the fall. But Jasion/Iasien is, himself a Sky God – the rider on a horse – though a God that dies with the passing of the summer season (after the “deed”, if you will, of impregnating and harvesting the Earth) and is reborn in the winter.

The thunder it seems to me was originally an aspect of the Sky God that, over time, morphed into the worship of a separate Deity – Thor/Taranus. When the Rus invaded the Polan land of Ukraine they brought Thor with them and the local Suavs adapted the name Piorun/Perun for the new Deity. But Piorun/Pierun/Perun or the Baltic Perkunas seems to have been the same God-Father, Sky-Rider as Iasion. That is why we have Jasny Piorun.

There is a coin that was unearthed in Hungary that shows this quite well. The Sky Rider’s face is shown with a tear streaking down his cheek – that tear is in the shape of a spear or lightning. This is a hugely evocative image as it suggests that the rain with thunder is merely the angry Sky God crying – perhaps for Mother Earth. Surrounding the rider are obviously images of various constellations.

Before Kolberg There Was Gołębiowski

PublishedSeptember 8, 2019 Post authortorino

Oskar Kolberg is the premiere Polish ethnographer of the 19th century. But before there was Kolberg, there was Łukasz Gołębiowski (1773 – 1849). In fact, Kolberg himself frequently cited Gołębiowski. An interesting description of the Lublin marriage customs comes from his “The Polish Folk: Its Customs and Superstitions” (Lud Polski : jego zwyczaje, zabobony). As you will note the ceremonies involved the frequent invocation of a youthful rider – Jaś as well as of Łado or Łada.

I might try to translate some of this later. In meantime click away. Gołębiowski wrote many other ethnographic books. Himself being born in Pohost in today’s Belarus, he also reported on Belorussian and Lithuanian customs.

The Chronicle of Bernold of Saint Blasien

PublishedSeptember 4, 2019 Post authortorino

The Chronicle of Bernold, a monk of Saint Blaise orBlasien abbey, aka Bernold of Constance (11th century) does not have many mentions of Suavs and it is a rather late chronicle for purposes of this site but the few mentions it has are interesting. Here are those mentions in the translation by Ian Stuart Robinson from his “The Swabian Chronicles.” The abbey itself was in the Black Forest. The notes come from that editor.

1067

“Saxony was afflicted by civil strife. The Normans wished to make a hostile advance on Rome. Bishop Burchard of Halberstadt courageously wrought destruction* among the people of the Liutizi…”

* This expedition of Burchard II (1066-1085) took place in 1068.

1069

“…King Henry brought destruction to the people of the Liutizi…”

1077

“The duke of the Poles crowned himself king.* A very great quantity of snow covered the whole kingdom from 31 October of the previous year until 26 March of the present year… King Rudolf, however, celebrated Easter with the greatest splendour in Augsburg with the legates of the apostolic see… After Easter the king held a great assembly with the princes of the kingdom in Esslingen. When this was over, he went with an extremely small body of men to lay siege to a certain fortress. But behold! His rival Henry unexpectedly arrived with a very great host of Bohemians and Bavarians, whose services he was suddenly able to purchase with church property. The king would most willingly ave encountered them, even with the few men whom he had with him at that time, if his princes had not judged it more prudent to defer the encounter to another time. Henry, therefore, took the opportunity to lay waste all the surrounding lands with unceasing plundering and with fire and sword and also to hold men captive like cattle. For his supporters from Bohemia preyed on men more willingly than on cattle so that they might inhumanely prostitute them to satisfy their lust and afterwards even more inhumanely sell them to be eaten by wild men…”

* Bolesuav II the Bold, duke of Poland (1058-1076), king (1076-1083).

1087

“..A that time also Henry, although ill, led an expedition into Saxony with the Bohemians. But since Saint Peter protected his vassals he withdrew from there ingloriously and extremely hastily. For King Herman pursued him with so great a host of Saxons that eh could very easily have seized him, had he not escaped through the cunning of Count Ekbert…”

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

Going Back to Those Polish Rosettes

PublishedSeptember 1, 2019 Post authortorino

Regarding the rosette sign from the territories (or former territories) of Poland, here are a few examples from the “Folkart in Poland” (Sztuka Ludowa w Polsce) by Kazimierz Mokłowski from 1903. For other examples you can see here. Of course, if you really want to see rosettes, check out Romania – the place is full of them.

Violin from Bilgoraj

On the left we have the Bilgoraj violin. On the right another string instrument – the so-called Lithuanian klawec from East Prussia

Chest from Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanisławów)

Pomeranian Chairs

These chairs’ rosettes are not the usual hexapetal rosettes but they are quite similar so I also include them.

Jabłonowo Prayer Stand

This is from a bóżnica – a Jewish temple. Note that the symbol is, of course, also represented in other Jewish art such as the Magdala Stone.

Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanisławów) Table

Another Table
(more contemporary)

Podhale Spoon Holder

These are so-called łyżniki – spoon racks. If you look closely, you will see the same hexapetal rosette.

Sosrębs From Little Poland (Bogusza near Grybów in the Nowy Sącz Area) and Great Poland (Gniezno Area)

A sosręb is a beam holding up a roof. It was common in Poland to carve images of the rosette in such beams. Below you have examples from Bogusza (near Grybów in the Nowy Sącz area), Gniezno (from the local collegiate church!) and from Kłecko (near Gniezno).

The final example is from Kniahynyn (Knihin) in the Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanisławów) area. Though this sosręb does not feature a rosette – rather a type of a cross made up of triangles.

The Gniezno sosręb is from 1750. The Kłecko sosręb is from 1733. The Knihinin sosręb is from 1886.

Lviv (Lwów/Lemberg) Sosrębs

This sosręb dates to 1669,

And this sosręb dates to 1690.

Huculsko or Huculszczyzna

This sosręb is from Huculsko or Huculszczyzna – today’s Ukrainian Гуцу́льщина. The text also describes other examples from other places in Poland (e.g., Pomerania).

Here are a few rings from Moszyński’s Suavic Folk Culture – the one on the right features a similar rosette motif: