On Svarog’s or Svarozic’s Trail

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:

• Thietmar’s Chronicle, and in
• the Letter of Bruno of Querfurt to Henry II, whereas
• Helmold’s Chronicle mentions Radegast whose name may be a name of Svarozic (rady gość, that is, a “happy” or “welcome” guest, an apt description of fire for people in need of its warmth and cooking potential)

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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:

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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):

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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):

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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):

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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):

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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.

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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.

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