In Defense of P(io/e)run?

PublishedAugust 16, 2019 Post authortorino

I have never been a fan of “Perun” as an “all-Suavic” God. The reason is simple. Outside of the Eastern Suavs of Kiev and the Balts (Perkunas), references to Perun are nonexistent. In Poland, you have Yassa who may be viewed the same as the titular Svantovit of Arkona. In some Western Suavic lands you have Svarozic. That much is attested. Of course, the Perun word comes form a Suavic (likely all the way back to PIE) word. Thus Piorun > Perun > Perkunas (Perku-nas?). But this is merely a word for an obviously unnerving atmospheric phenomenon. That the Suavs, like many other people, should associate thunder and lightning with a divinity is not surprising and perhaps even quite expected but there is a long way from that to having a “specialized” thunder God whose primary (and perhaps only) aspect is that thunder. That such a dedicated God of Thunder may have arisen among the Eastern Suavs even independent of any Scandinavian influence is naturally possible but, if so, there is no evidence of this God being worshipped among the other – western – Suavs (a better candidate there is Tyr/Taranus whose name seems to have survived in, for example, the Polish taran and perhaps also tija known from the statuta breviter). I have also questioned whether the God found in the famous passage by Procopius was in fact Piorun/Perun or Someone Else (the maker of lightning – not thunder!) – specifically, “Jassa” that is Iasion. I have not, however, questioned the underlying truth of the passage, that is that the God mentioned by Procopius was a genuine Suavic God.

Let’s give that passage again (History of Wars, Book 7, 14):

“For they believe that one god, the maker of the lightning, is alone lord of all things, and they sacrifice to him cattle and all other victims.”

Now, however, here come Florin Curta and Bartłomiej Szymon Szmoniewski who in their “The Velestino Hoard” book make the following surprising statement:

“It is now generally accepted that, far from being a genuine description of Slavic religion, Procopius’ account is in fact an attempt to present Slavic paganism as comparable if not similar to Greek pagan mythology. The reference to the god of thunder is therefore to Zeus, not to Perun, who was unknown to both Procopius and the sixth-century Sclavenes he described in his Wars. See Aleksander Loma, ‘Procopius about the supreme god of the Slavs (Bella VII 14, 23): Two critical remarks…’ To Jerzy Strzelczyk… Perun was unknown to the Slavs before the tenth century, when Thor of the Norse mythology was introduced by Varangians to Rus. For a critique of attempts to ‘read’ into Procopius much later sources pertaining to the religion of the Slavs, see Judith Kalik and Alexander Uchitel, Slavic Gods and Heroes…”

The prolific Curta – an archeologist and not a historian – has made his career out of asserting that the Byzantines “created” the Suavs. I’ve critiqued this bizarre suggestion on linguistic, historical and genetic grounds before (see here). Its worst sin, as discussed, is that it is merely a retread of the same deconstructionist theories circulated earlier about the Germans (that the Romans “created” the Germans in the same sense). All these theories make as much sense as claiming that humans created the “elephant identity” by calling these big eared creatures with their funny trunks by the name “elephants”.

What is interesting about the above passage, however, are the (once again given Curta’s involvement) exaggerated claims it makes.

If Curta and Szmoniewski were writing a Wikipedia entry, the Wikipedia editors would no doubt have met the assertion of “It is now generally accepted that…” with the notorious “[by whom?]”.

Presumably, the “general acceptance” of the fact that Procopius’ God was Zeus (!) is derived solely from Loma. The main problem and, shall we say, the quintessential one, is that Loma says nothing of the sort. Here is the referenced article:

As you can see Loma makes no connection between the God mentioned by Procopius and Zeus.

Now Curta and Szmoniewski do not claim that they pulled this “the Christian Bishop Procopius is talking about Zeus” thing out of their asses. They could have done that but that’s not what they say.

No, no. They say that this proposition is a “generally accepted” proposition.

They then give one source (Loma who is a Serbian philologist) who, as it happens, does not support their “generally accepted” proposition but, in fact, says something else (his article is primarily concerned with the correct reading of the passage rather than its subsequent interpretation) and leave quite open the possibility that the reference is to Perun.

Although the authors cite the Polish historian Strzelczyk for an entirely different proposition (that Perun was Varangian in origin), I did not check whether he somehow could be used to salvage their initial claim. Feel free to try that on your own.

As for Uchitel and Kalik, two Israeli academics of unrelated matters, the main value of their heavily negativistic booklet (much of it a retread of Brueckner’s own deconstructionist ideas) is the very timid criticism of Curta’s theories…

(Specifically, they say, ‘well, maybe Byzantines may have constructed the Slavic identity but surely someone spoke the Slavic language before that ‘construction’ happened so… where did those people live?’ Which seems a more than reasonable question to ask, even if ever so timidly.)

I am willing to assume this is not bad faith but merely extreme laziness in proofreading propelled by a heavy dose of wishful thinking on the part of the authors. On the other hand, given Curta’s other theories, one might say, enough is enough. Whatever the root cause, how does this crap get published? Don’t these guys have editors who would check their foonotes and challenge their assertions? Or do they just run this through a spell check and off to the printers we go.

Finally, to leave you with something more interesting to think about regarding “Zeus” and Piorun – check this out.

Gawiński’s Sobótki

PublishedAugust 12, 2019 Post authortorino

The longest night of the year – so-called “Saint John’s” Eve – was also an occasion to perform ancient rites. Those typically involved making wreaths and garlands for the ladies followed by late night gatherings and the setting of fires usually in the fields (going ku-pole) or on hilltops. Next came the dancing around these fires. Young women lead those gatherings and young men joined later. They would then couple up and dance around the fires and, often, jump through them – sometimes together. Some of the older records (Lucas of Great Kozmin) also mention dances with swords (“I recall that in youth I read in a certain chronicle that there were in Poland Gods and from those days to our times such rites come that, young women [in his time] dance with swords, as if in offering to the pagan Gods, and not to [the] God, as well as [dances of] young men with swords and sticks, which they then hit about…”). (see here).

The wreaths would typically be made of bylica (artemisia or mugwort) though other plants were utilized as well, including piołun (common wormwood also a type of artemisia), dziurawiec (Saint John’s wort), leszczyna branches (hazel), mięta (mint), ruta (ruta or rue), biedrzeniec (pimpinella) or czarny bez (black elderberry) were seen as having beneficial powers on this day. Of course, the most coveted was the fern flower – a mythical flower much like the four-leafed clover. Women would take venture naked into the woods, most often with their male companions, in search of this flower. As I understand it, few had found the flower though some had had an altogether good time nevertheless.

In a related custom, the wreaths (wianki – pronounced “vianki”) would often end up being placed on the surface of local rivers and sent gently floating with the current. Frequently, they would also carry an attached candle so that they remained visible from afar. While women would float the wreaths on water, young men would light small fires on the river banks. These custom continued even into the 18th and 19th centuries when inhabitants in Warsaw would gather on the banks of the Vistula to send their wreaths on the way to the sea while cheering them on from the local bridges. Local potentates would also give out small gifts to the public on the occasion and the common people would exchange presents amongst themselves. The last Polish king – Stanisuav Poniatowski – was recorded attending these events. Sometimes the plants were forgotten and other means were used to float a fire; for example, in Pomerania, local inhabitants would place small barrels full of tar on the water surface and set them on fire, watching them head out to the Baltic.

Such gatherings were known in Poland as sobótki (diminutive for “sabbaths”) or palinoce (pronounced “palinotze“) aka palinocki (pronounced “palinotzki”) (that is “burning nights”). The rituals are alluded too already in the 11th century by Thietmar who describes Mount Ślęża in Silesia. That same mountain would be referred to as sobotka in the 13th century. The clergy typically bemoaned such pre-Christian relicts and forbade them as we have described previously:

Bishop Andrzej Łaskarz Statutes (1420s): “Prohibit too the nightly dances that take place during days of the sabbath (sobotki or kupalnocki in the summer) and on the days of the Saints John the Baptist and Saints Peter and Paul, for there are fornications and adultery and incest committed in those times.” (see here); or

Royal Decree of Casimir IV (1468): “populi multitudo sexus utriusque assolet de consuetudine confluere, ubi tubarum, timpanorum. fistularum, aliorumque musicorum generum exercicia adhibentur, chorearum ceterorumque jocorum plausus exercentur…” (see here); or

Marcin of Urzędów (circa 1500 – 1573): “For this reason these pagan [maidens] dedicated this herb to her and when the day [of Diana/Artemis] was celebrated some hung it up around houses while others girded it on: and this was done on the twenty fourth day of the moon [month] June, on our day of Saint John: and so they [the ladies] lit fires in the night, danced, praying and honoring the devil. [And] this pagan custom they [women] refuse to forsake to this day, for so they make offerings of this herb hanging it and girding it on. And they honour holidays of this devil [i.e., Diana/Artemis] by making sabaths [sobotki], burning fires, kindling fires with planks [sticks], so that there should be the right devilish holiness: there they sing devilish songs, obscene/filthy while dancing.” (see here);

Many Polish writers wrote about these customs quite affectionately – among them the 16th century poet Jan Kochanowski and the 17th century poet Jan Gawiński.

Kochanowski wrote about the custom in his “Saint John’s Song About Sobótka” which features twelve maidens (see this website for the whole thing in Polish) whereas Jan Gawiński wrote the following in his twelve months’ compilation (featured in June of course):

“Saint John the Baptist hath come, hence they burn the sabbaths and round these they sing and dance the village lasses. Don’t abolish their rites. What has come to us through the ages and withstood centuries, must continue through the ages yet.”

Jan święty Chrzciciel przyszedł, więc palą sobótki a koło nich śpiewając skaczą wiejskie młódki. Nie znoście ich zwyczajów. Co nas z wiekiem doszło i wiekom się ostało, trzeba by w wiek poszło.

Curiously, in describing the customs of the month of December, Gawiński speaks of the daughter (Mary) giving birth to the father (Jesus). This convoluted concoction also smacks of pre-Christian beliefs where he Earth (Demeter, perhaps Marzanna-Ceres) gave birth to Jasion (Iasion) who then – in June (that is on “Saint John’s” Eve) would fertilize the same Earth before he withered in the winter only to be reborn (with the “invincible” Sun) in December again. Once again I recommend James Frazer’s “The Golden Bough”.

Ūsiņš, Usenj, Usen, Jeuseņš, Jasień, Jasio, Jasinek, Iasion, Jason?

PublishedAugust 6, 2019 Post authortorino

The Latvian “light” God is Ūsiņš (see here and here) but Ūsiņš appears in Latvian role in other forms – specifically as Jeuseņš (excuse the mangling of the Latvian alphabet – will try to clean it up later):

For example (all from Haralds Biezais’ Lichtgott der alten Letten):

Tecit skrinit iz piguli!
Jau Jeuseņš joj pigula:
Jau Jeuseņš pigula.
Pices üles ozüte.
Buteleite kuldena,
Treis glazeites reikleite,
Pa licena kabata,
Pa licena kabata.

Or:

Eita broli, paleidit
Jeuseņam padzidit:
Vista ula nudejuse,
Visu dinu kacenoj.
Zirgs nudersa lila gubu
J vardena nasceja.

Or:

Jeuseņ, Jeuseņ, a beus lobs jüstena(s)!
Saimeniks bogotais, lobu zirgu globötojs,
Lobu zirgu globötojs, globöj zirgu globotoj(e)s
Dzersim olu, ulavusim!
Visu zirgu globösim!
Pigulä jösim, pigulä jösim!

Now compare this with the Polish Jasień:

Jedzie, jedzie, mój Jasień kochany ku zielony dąbrowie,
Rozpuścił sobie te złote piórecka kónikowi po głowie.
A nie tak ci mi zal tych złotych piórecek, com sobie je rozpuścił,
A najbardziej żal moja Marysiu, com ciebie opuscil.
A jedzie, jedzie mój Jasień kochany, ku tej Bozej męce,
Co na mnie spojrzy, co się obejrzy, załamuje ręce.

There are literally of dozens of other examples like this from all over Poland and, as noted above in the links, similar, occurrences take place in northern Russia . Other Polish forms are Jas(io) or Jasinek/Jasienek (diminutive) (“A Jasienek za jabłuszka dziękuje, a Kasinka małe dziecię A Jasinek na koniku wywija, a Kasinka małe dziecie powija.”). All of which, for the Latvians and the Poles brings us back to Iasion. And, if you want to see the Greek interpretation (which in the Greek form made its way back again to the Slovenes), see here.

Beginnings: Greater Poland Chronicle

PublishedAugust 5, 2019 Post authortorino

The story of the Suavs as told by the Greater Poland Chronicle (aka the Wielkopolska Chronicle; let’s call it GPC) is very interesting and under appreciated work. This 13th-14th century medieval chronicle reiterates some of the writing of Master Vincentius “Kadłubek” but its story flows much more smoothly than that author’s slightly earlier but rather heavy and meandering chronicle. I’ve cited certain portion of this work such as here, here and here, but now is the time to showcase the story of the beginnings of the Suavs in its entirety as portrayed by the GPC.

Incidentally, Greater or, really, “Great” Poland simply referred (and still refers) to the area around Poznan – the old haunts of the Polanie tribe – as opposed to the Cracow lands which are referred to as “Little” (or more frequently though less correctly, as “Lesser”) Poland. Here are the first chapters of the GPC all the way to the reign of Mieszko I.

In the Name of the Lord, Amen. Those historians – who are now called Poles from the northern Pole or from Polanow, a town in the land of the Pomeranians over which they ruled – have broadly and truthfully and through their written testimony conveyed to eternal memory of their descendants the origin of the kings and dukes of Poland and their stories.

You see, in the oldest books they state that Pannonia is the mother and the cradle of all Suavic nations. For “pan,” in accordance with the Suavic and Greek translation is the name for someone who has everything and, in accordance with this, in Suavic the name “pan” stands for a lord, though, in accordance with the vagaries of Suavic languages the same [lord] may also be called “gospodzin.” And “ksiadz” [xandz] is even higher than “pan” as if a lord [over a pan] or a king [over him]. And all the lords are called pans, whereas the military leaders are called “wojewody.” Now, they say that these Pannonians who are so-called by reference to Pan drive their heritage, as they say, from Janus, a scion of Japhet’s. The first of these was supposed to have been that mighty duke Nemrod who was the first to conquer people, his brothers and force them into obedience.

It is from these Pannonians, thus, that there came three brothers, the sons of Pan, the leader of Pannonians; the first-born of whom was named Lech, the second Rus, the third Czech. And these three, having had issue of themselves and from their clan, ruled over three kingdoms: Lechites, Ruthenians and Czechs (who were also called Bohemians) and they rule them still and in shall so rule them in the future, however long this should please God’s will. Amongst these, attested both by the chronicles as well as by the [breadth of the] borders, the dominant place and rule as well as the lordship over the entire Empire, was held by the Lechites.

The Suavs speak different kinds of languages, which are mutually intelligible, though differ somewhat in certain words, though they originated, of course, from the language of the one father – Suav, from whom also [come] the Suavs. To this day they do not stop using this name as witnessed by names such as: Tomisuav, Stanisuav, Janisuav, Venchisuav and so forth. They say that it was also from this Suav that Nemrod came from. For Nemrod, in the Suavic language is called Niemira, which in Suavic is translated as “not mir” that is “he does not value peace.” It was from his that servitude befell man for earlier all had enjoyed untouched freedom. He first tried foolheartedly to place his brothers under his rule and then this boldness imposed the laws of servitude not just onto his brothers of the Suavic tribe but also onto the entire world.

And they live in the four above-mentioned countries, named, as is known, as those of the Pannonians, the Lechites, the Ruthenians and the Czechs or Bohemians. And because there later arose many other kingdoms and countries of the Suavic nation, it is worth it here to mention them and to explain their names. And so the kingdom of the Bulgars is called this from the river Bulga [Volga]. Also the kingdom of Rascia was, as they say, named so from rać which means the tracks of many horses of one army. From this, Suavs call a large group of riders by the word rać. Also the kingdom of Dalmatia is called this by reason [of the fact] that the Queen of Pannonia gave the coastal portion of it [of Pannonia] to her son and ordered to have him crowned king. And some believe that this was the queen of the South, Saba who had earlier visited king Salomon to hear his wise answers. For, also, there is a river in Pannonia that is called Saba, which took its name, as they claim, from her [the queen]. And the kingdom itself is called Dalmatia, that is “dala mac” [“the mother gave”] as if the “mother gave”. Also the Rani or Rana are called this by reason of the fact that when they collided with their enemies they had the custom of yelling “rani! rani!” that is “wound, wound!” Also the Sorabi [Sorbs] are called this from the word “sorban” which has a twofold explanation. For the Galls call that country Servia, wanting to convey that Nemrod’s prisoners had been settled there, as if they were his slaves. But this does not seem rational because not only this branch of the Suavic trunk but rather all of the Suavic people were believed to be subordinate to him [Nemrod]. Those are, however, closer to the truth who claim that Sorabi are named that from Sarb who was called Sorban, much as the Judeans are named from Judah, Lechites from Lech and others too. There is a certain Suavic tribe, called the Cashubians; these were called that by reason of their clothes which they had to fold because of their breadth and length. Because in the Suavic language a fold or a wrinkle on clothes is called huba, and from that is the ethnonym of the Cashubians exclaimed as: kasaj huby. A great number of them lives on the North Sea. There are also other Suavs who are called Drevnyane; these are called Holzatians by the Teutons. They had three main towns: Bukowiec, which is now called Lübeck, Ham, also called Hamburg and Brema [Bremen] which was their capital. Therein lies also the ducal town of Schleswig and a town [named] The Straight. They were led by magnates [comites] who were made such when the emperor Henry brought these countries under his rule. And this tribe was so called because of the thick forests and woods for Drevnyane are called so from wood [drewno]. They are also called Travyane from the name of a certain river called Trawna [Trave].

It is worth knowing that Suavs and Teutoni are said to descend from two brothers, John and Kus, [themselves] descendants of Japheth, in accordance with what Isidore says in the first volume of his Etymologies and what Martin says in his Roman Chronicle. For Germania is described by means of rivers, for example the Danube, the Rhein, Vistula or Wandalus, Odra or Gutthalus and Laba or Albis; the realms are found by reference to these larger rivers, going from the source to the mouth. For the Rhein and the Danube are the large rivers of the nation of the Teutons whereas Wandalus, Odra and Albis of the countries Poland and Bohemia. Among these three rivers, they [Suavs] controlled too all the areas in the middle and adjacent to them and they control them, as is known, to this day all they way to the North Sea. And in the meantime the Saxons, leaving the meager lands and villages of their nation and moving into the wide countries of the Suavs, made their permanent settlements therein.

And [from] all these Suavic nations – with the exception only of Pannonia but together with Carinthia – whose inhabitants are called Carinthians from koryto [trough] which is explained to mean “channels”* and always remained tributary to the Lechites – did [the Lechites] receive tribute until the days of Casimir the Monk [that is, the Restorer]. For in his days, before he was able, by papal dispensation, to leave the Cluny Abbey where he had earlier [made] his monk’s vows, a greater part of these tribes breaking allegiance to the Lechites, refused to deliver to them the common tribute.

* Presumably the author refers to the mountain topography of the area.

And now also to explain the name Germanorum. The name comes from “german” because the one and the other is bound together with the blood of brotherhood [i.e., is related]. For “gerzmo” is a certain type of tool, in which two cattle are united pulling behind them a plough or a wagon. And so too the Teutoni who have countries neighboring the Suavs, frequently interact with them and there are in the world no other nations who are so pleasant and friendly to one another as the Slavs and the Teutoni. So too, from the Latin speakers comes the name Ducz [Deutsch], from which later comes Teutoni and Slavus from which comes the name Slavs, and then germane, that is brothers.

One also ought not to fail the Hungarians [Ungaris] who are also Suavs. For the Hungarians are called that [Polish Węgry or Węgrzy] from a certain river named Wkra [Węgrzy from Wkra or Ukra] which empties itself into the Northern Sea from a great lake near which lies the town of Przemysław.* For when the Goths left the islands which are called Skandza and Gotalric aiming to destroy nations and troubled them [the nations] in their homes and overly threatened them, [they, the Wkranie] taking their wives and little children with them, decided to seek refuge in the land of the Pannonians, from whence they originated [themselves], and to permanently settle in those [lands]. But since God decided to use them to punish the sins of certain nations, they [the Wkranie] did not take the straight path but instead, not wanting to cause damage and hardship to their fellow Suavic nation, travelled in a very dangerous manner going through the country of the Teutons and through Burgundy and then though Lombardy all the way to Slavonia, all along with great destruction of cities and the shedding of human blood. Their king, by the name of Tila, known in books as Attila, arriving in Pannonia chose to settle there. And because many Suavic nations flocked to him, they became known not as Wkranie but as Vandals.** And a part of these Suavs who, from the river Wkra, were called Wkranie, having mixed themselves with the people of the Huns, who, as Martin details in his Roman chronicle, having left the mountains of Sicily entered Pannonia in great numbers and held it as their own – this part from both the Huns and the Wkranie became called Hungarians [Polish Węgry or Węgrzy].

* It is not clear which river the author refers to; there is the Wkra which is a tributary of the Narew which obviously does not empty itself into any sea. There is also the Wkra or Ukra that is the Ücker in German – the river of the Suavic tribe of Ukranie – that river empties itself into the Szczecin Harbor, so technically into the Baltic or Northern (though not the North) Sea, at Ückermünde – this interpretation is supported by the reference to the town of Przemysław which likely is today’s Prenzlau. Thus, it would seem that the Hungarians are identified with the Ukranie. These Ukranie or, as the author says Wkranie, are said to have originated in Pannonia, settled on the Ukra/Ücker/Wkra and, when attacked by the Goths, returned to Pannonia – albeit in a roundabout way, having caused much damage to neighboring Teutonic (but not Suavic) nations. Tila was their king and because other Suavs also arrived in Pannonia at the same time, they now all became known as Vandals [will try to explain that one later]. Then the Huns arrived in Pannonia and a portion of them mixed with those Vandals that previously were known as Wkranie and became Hungarians.

** A couple of curious points are worth noting here. First, the actual word that the author uses for “flocked” is cōnfluxerat which is cōnfluō which means, literally, to “flow together”. Thus, “confluence” in English. It is tempting to think that the author was aware of the meaning of wende in Baltic language meaning “water” – hence “Wanda” who is identified with the Vistula and who, in some tellings, including that of the GPC, perishes in water. And hence, too, Vandals. Another point, which is rather uncanny, is that the author identifies the Ukranie with a group of Suavs that left, under pressure from Goths, the area in today’s NE Germany on the Ukra/Ücker/Wkra river and ended up (after much wander-ing) in Pannonia where they were now, together with some other Suavs, known as Vandals. It is more than curious that Ukra/Ücker/Wkra river area is also, approximately, the same area where Ptolemy in his Geography locates the Silingi (or Lingi depending on the manuscript) – a tribe that supposedly became one of the constituent tribes of the – later – Vandals. Did the author of the GPC make the connection between these two tribes based on his reading of Ptolemy or is something else going on here?

And when Lech together with his offspring was wondering through the vast forests, wherein lies the Polish kingdom, arriving finally at a certain lovely place where there were [found] very fertile fields [and] a great abundance of fish and wild game, he set up his tents there. And wishing to build there the first dwelling to provide protection to himself and his [people], he said: “Let us build a nest!” Therefore, this place to this day is called Gniezno, that is the “building of a nest.”

Since I went off on a tangent somewhat forsaking the matter of which I intended to write, let us now return to our subject. And so that a clear conciseness of my writing permit the remembrance of events, aided by the help of the Almighty God I began [or, rather, begin] to write succinctly of the kings, lords and dukes of the entire Polish kingdom, that is of the vast country of the Lechites, and too of their descendants, in accordance with that which I had learned from Polish annals, from what I had seen from church records and those certain details that I had learned and conveyed [to the reader] based on tales of [those] old men [who were] dignitaries of [the kingdom of] Poland and who knew of matters of war and historic events such as, indeed, did not escape their attention.

Krak, the First King of the Lechites

First, let us see where the kings of the Lechites came from. Specifically, [this was] during the times of king Aswer, when the Galls were raiding various countries and provinces and then took control control of them. [At that time the] Lechites were like brothers of one father did not tend to have amongst them a king or a duke, but only chose from among their ranks twelve who were the wisest and wealthiest who ruled on all conflicts that should arise among them and ruled the country not demanding from anyone any tributes or deeds. [These Lechites] fearful of an assault by the Galls, unanimously selected as their leader, or to put the matter more accurately, as commander of armies – for in Polish wojewoda means a leader of the warriors – a man of great vigor by the man of Krak whose dwelling was at that time near Vistula. And this fate came to him from among the Lechite brothers by the will of God. This Krak, who in Latin is called corvus [that is “crow”], being a conqueror was chosen by the Lechites to be a king. He built a burgh [grod], which from his name became called Krakow and prior to that was called Wąwel. For with Wąwel one designates a certain swelling which mountain men tend to have on their necks from drinking waters. And thus also the mountain* on which now lies the Krakow burgh was called Wąwel. There nearby, on the other side of the Vistula, there lies a small hillock on which there now stands on the Rock (Kościół na Skałce) the Church of Saint Michael and which [hillock] had the diminutive name Wąwelnica. At the foot of this hill. there had once been a great and mighty city which, as they say, had been destroyed by Alexander the Great.

Wanda

For they say that he [Krak] had two sons and one daughter. One of them, Krak the younger deceitfully and secretly slew his older brother so as to be able to inherit the throne after his father though he died without offspring so that there was only the sister – Wanda, which in Latin means hamus that is węda** – that was left. For they write that she was beautiful and of pleasant disposition and that by her gorgeous looks she caused all to love her and for this reason they started to call her wąda, that is węda. She, quite sensibly scorning marriage, profitably ruled the Polish kingdom in accordance with the desires of the nation.

* That is the mountain, or really the Wawel Hill, was like a “swelling”.
** Hamus means “bait” or “hook” in Latin. Węda or wędka translates into “fishing rod” in Polish these days. Ultimately, the source of the Polish may be similar to the Baltic Prussian and Lithuanian of wendu meaning “water”. For more on this see here. It is curious that this etymology also comes close to the English “want” (though this meaning was only recorded in the early 18th century with the word meaning “lacking” (that is “wanting”) before that).

It was then that news of her beauty reached a certain king of the Allemani. And when he could not move her to marriage by pleas and by gifts, then, desiring and expecting to bend her to his will with hostile threats and through insults hurled by [his] armies, he gathered countless armies and approaching the lands of the Lechites, he attempted a hostile invasion. Against his might there came with her [warriors] Wanda, the afore-mentioned Queen of the Lechites and she was not afraid. This king upon seeing her arrive with her brave hosts was deeply moved, though it be unclear whether by love or by outrage and said: ‘Let Wanda rule the sea, let Wanda rule the Earth and let Wanda rule the air and let her make sacrifices to the immortal Gods on behalf of her [people]. And I for all [people] curse you, oh lords, that your offspring and that of your successors should grow old under a woman’s rule.’ And having said this] he thereafter ended his life by piercing himself with a sword.’ And Wanda, having received tribute and a promise of faithfulness from the Alemanni, returned to her own country and sacrificing herself to the Gods for such great glory and successful outcome [of the confrontation], willingly jumped into the Vistula. By stepping past the doorsteps of the dead she repaid her mortal debt. From then on, the river Vistula received the name Wandal. And by reason of this, the Poles and other Suavic nations bordering with their [the Poles’] countries were [henceforth] named not Lechites but Wandali.

Lestko I

After the death of Queen Wanda, the Lechites for many years did not have a king but only chose a wojewoda and twelve rulers up until the times of king Alexander. It was then that a certain valiant man, a master goldsmith, who through skill and cleverness rather than through battle bravery resisted the might of Alexander, forced this [king] to depart the lands of the Lechites without any tribute and with great shame. For this reason, the Lechites, having given him the name Lestek,* made him their king. Because Lestek means as much as “clever” for it was that he defeated the invincible king Alexander by guile and cunning. He died then withou heirs.

* Compare this with the German listig. Compare also with the name of the Longobard ruler, Lethuc (Leszek).

Lestko II

After the death of Lestek there arose great turmoil among the citizens of the Lechite kingdom. Seeing this, the lord and the commoners decided to gather together in one place and to debate the election of a ruler. When they had congregated there, a proposal was accepted made by certain ambitious men that he should be made king who should arrive the swiftest riding a pied horse. And one of them striving to rule spread triangular caltrops throughout the length of the meadow that had to be traversed in order to reach the finish pole, though having left one path free of these. Two youths from the lower classes undertook a game whereby they would run on foot towards the pole with the one finishing in second place being then obligated to title the winner “king”. But when they tried to do this, they had to stop right away for their boot soles were right away pierced by the spikes that the culprit had spread in the field. And when the day came on which the riders were to race, the cunning perpetrator attempted to stay within the path which he had previously laid out for himself. He also protected his horse’s hooves so that [the horse] would not be injured by the caltrops that he had earlier placed. And when the riders raced towards the pole, one of those two youths who were racing on foot and who was less injured and had recovered his health, running across [the meadow] among the laughter of the crowd meandered his way through the field and eventually approaches the finish line ahead of the others. But the cunning [rider] managed to beat him and so it was he who was then named king. Nevertheless, those others whose horses had been harmed by the spikes noticing that the steed racing ahead of them had iron shielding on his hooves recognized the ploy and called its perpetrator Lestko, that is “cunning.” And when the vote on this matter was held, in the end he was torn to pieces. And the one who had run on foot was accepted as king by the dignitaries and by the people. All acclaimed him as king and they called him Lestko II, that is they gave him the same name as the name that had been given to the executed rider. But when he was to ascend the throne and put on royal garments, he placed his simple raiments on the right side of the throne, underlining thereby his lowly origin and the virtue of humility. Also to his descendants he wanted to convey the lesson that humility more than the royal purple marks a king worthy and admirable. He was too a man of great magnanimity such that he preferred to lack things by reason virtue than to enjoy they bounty of being miserly. He was also very wise and of a sober mind radiating many a virtue. He left one son by the name Lestko and rested happily.

Lestko III

During the days of this Lestko, Julius Caesar striving to conquer the countries of the Suavs invaded the borders of the Lechites as well. Three times did the afore-mentioned Lestko resist [Caesar] along with the bravest of the Lechites and in the third battle, he inflicted terrible carnage on the armies of Julius Caesar. [Lestko] also defeated the tyrant Crassus who was leading the Parthians and ordered that gold be poured into Crassus’ mouth saying ‘you lived thirsty for gold, so now quench yourself.’ Julius Caesar thereafter having found himself in the neighborhood of Suavonia betrothed to this Lestko as wife [Caesar’s] sister Julia and, as dowry, gifted him Bavaria. It was this Julia who, by order of her husband, had two mighty grods built. One of these received the name of her brother Julius, though currently it is called Lubusz. The other she called Julin, and this is now called Wolin. When she had a son by her husband she notified her brother Julius of this who at the time was still in Suavonia. Julius Caesar thrilled at having a nephew born gave him the name Pompilius. When Julius returned to Rome [officially] as the conqueror of Suavs he was accompanied by the Lechites. Yet when the Lechites returned to their country, the Romans expressed their unhappiness that he had to surrender Bavaria onto the rule of the Lechites. And so he reneged on his dowry present which he had earlier himself offered. For this reason Julia was sent away by Lestko the king of the Lechites having left with Lestko her above-referred to little son Pompilius. This Lestko, after sending away his wife Julia, begot twenty sons with other wives and concubines to whom he gave coastal countries as duchies and counties. These are some of their names: Bolesuav, Casimir, Wladysuav, Wrocisuav, Odo, Barnim, Prybysuav, Premysl, Jaksa, Siemian, Siemovit, Ziemomysl, Sobiesuav, Wysimir, Cieszymir and Wisuav. Some of them named the towns they founded by their own names. To these their father give each one duchies on the Northern Sea all the way to Westphalia, Saxony, Bavaria and Thuringia. But the first born Pompilius he decreed to be king above all of these and ordered to have him crowned. Some say that it was during the times of this Lestko that Christ was born of the Virgin. And during the rule of Nero, the Emperor of the Romans, Lestko the happiest ruler of the Kingdom of the Lechites, in advanced age paid off the debt of his body.

Pompilius I

After this Lestko there came to the throne his oldest son Pompilius whose overlordship his afore-mentioned brothers genuinely acknowledged. And when they learned that he had grown weak, with great brotherly love they hastily rode to Kruszwica aiming to see him. When they found him dead there, they elevated his son, the younger Pompilius, to the throne. They stayed with him some time after he received the royal crown and then, having made their loyalty oaths, happily returned to their dwellings.

Pompilius II

This Pompilius, however, became ignonimous. For he was more eager to dance with women than to head out to war; and when he did make an appearance, by reason of the excessive frolicking and laziness, he was then the first to flee and the last to war, expertly trained in all the dishonorable deeds. He rapid his uncles’ faithful loyalty with tyranny. For it was that, at the instigation of his shameless wife, in the most vile manner did he repay his uncles through hatred, [responding] to friendship with persecution and [repaying] love with cruelty. Pretending that he had grown weak and that he nears death, he calls up his uncles. Resting in bed of his false sickness he announces that he cannot live any longer and, with sweet talk, invites them and cajoles them to consider the election of his successor, the king. Finally, he murdered them in a terrible manner with a drink that his wife served them at the farewell. And this tyrant rather than king ordered this too that their bodies should not be buried as if by God’s will they had been killed. And this wretch was called Choscisko, for he had clumps of long hair on his head. Choscisko he was nicknamed as if [he was] a little broom. But the crime that was committed on his uncles did not remain without vengeance. For the rotting corpses of his poisoned uncles which on his orders had not been buried attracted a remarkable horde of mice and they swarmed the mentioned Pompilius such that neither fire nor sword nor staff could halt their chase of him and their gnawing. Finally, he escaped to a certain very tall tower that stood in the town of Kruszwica and there ended his last poorly having been devoured by the mice together with his wife and two sons.

The Election of the King Called Piast

When the clan of Pompilius called Choscisko was thus utterly destroyed, the nation’s dignitaries came together to the afore-mentioned town of Kruszwica which was in those times seen as the greatest and strongest amongst the cities of the Lechites, and began to ponder the selection of the future ruler. They aimed, it is true, to choose one of the sons of the poisoned dukes but when each voted, he voted for his own choice [and] they could not agree on one of them, putting their own opinion above the common weal. They agreed then to select someone from the lowest and modest clan so long as this was someone freeborn and from the Lechitic tribe. There was, it turns out, living in the afore-mentioned town of Kruszwica a poor ploughman by the name Piast and his wife’s name was Rzepica.

Previously, during the time of Pompilius Choscisko, they [Piast and Rzepka] hosted two travelers – who were, it is believed, angels, or according to some, the martyrs John and Paul. They did this even though [Pompilius’] gatekeepers had driven them away, denying them entry. These two guests then came back to [Piast’s] farm when the royal election was taking place and in a miraculous manner caused it that their host, the afore-mentioned Piast, was chosen as king. For when the unexpected arrival of so many at the royal election caused there to be a shortage of beer and Piast had only brewed a small amount of mead in his house for himself and members of his family, there [suddenly] appeared such an abundance of mead – for in Polish this drink is called mead – that [Piast] treated all the people with this mead such that each one could drink as much of it as desired. When the people saw this miracle, by God’s grace they unanimously selected Piast as their king. He was called Piast for he was of small stature but tough of body and handsome in looks.

Semovit I

And Piast who had been honored with royal symbols and who wisely ruled the country received from his wife one son. When he boyhood years had passed, he named him Semovit. This one having reached fourteen years of age took over the royal rule after his father and for this reason he was named Semovit by his father as also by others. For the name Semovit is applied to one who is already heard. For he reached fourteen years before the death of his father and recovered much of what had been lost by Choscisko and in all matters he was regarded as entrepreneurial and possessing of great luck. But the sons and grandsons of those treacherously murdered dukes he could not move to obedience whether by military expeditions, threats or gifts so that they would not constantly resist him and his successors – and this was so until the times of the Great Bolesuav. For they refused his and his father Piast’s overlordship for two reasons. First, because of the horrible crime committed by Choscisko on their fathers and grandfathers who had been deceitfully poisoned. And the second was that they had been disregarded while Piast, a man of low birth, had been made king.

These afore-mentioned dukes possessed the following countries: Bolesuav held Lower Pomerania; Casimir held Cashubia; Wladysuav that part of Hungary that lies between Tisa, the Danube and Morava; Jaksa held Serbia; Wrocisuav the country of the Rani; Pribisuav and Odo held Drevania; Premysl held Zgorzelec [Brenna] what is now called Brandenburg. Also others inherited other countries and lands of Suavonia and Carinthia that lay among the rivers Łaba [Elbe], Odra [Oder], Piana [Peene], Dołęża [Tollense], Ukra [Uecker], Rzeknica [Recknitz], Warnawa [Warnow], Hobola [aka Obła] [Havel], Sprewa [Spree], Hyla, Suda [aka Luda], Mieca [aka Mecza], Trawna [Trave] and others in the area. From them two: Wisuav founded a grod Miedzyborz now known as Merseburg and Sobiesuav a grod named Dalen that the Germans now call Dalenberg. Cieszymir too held a part of Drevania which is now called Holsatia near Schleswig. And Wysimir a grod on the Northern Sea where now lies Wismar, a city named after him. For the more important gross of the above-mentioned dukes lay in the West and on the Northern Sea. Brema [Bremen] so-called from brzemie [that is a burden or a heavy weight] for it carried the load of wars against enemies, that is with Westphalians and Frisians as well as other tribes that invaded the [lands of the] Suavs or who resisted them. Also the grod Łuna which is nowadays called Lüneburg. It is called Łuna for it grew on a wide rock amongst the fields. And so it was that the Suavs who call the light of the moon shining at night the moon’s łuna, so too do they call the afore-mentioned grod lying on the plateau amongst the fields like a shining łuna. There was also there great city which was called Bardowick [Bardewik]. For the Suavs commonly call towns by the name of viks. Vicus, namely, means in Suavic properly a town in which there is a targ [that is a market]. They never say ‘let us go to town’ but rather ‘let us go to the vik.’ And in this manner Bardowick received this compound name from the river that flows there and from the vik. And also Schleswig [is a Suavic name] from a “herring” for that is what allec [Latin for “herring”] is called in Suavic. And too the grod Bukowiec where nowadays ‘in Lübeck’ you see the [newly] built abbey of the Dominican brothers. But the Suavs who live there do not call this town Lübeck but rather Bukowiec. Also the grod Racibor [Ratibor in Pomerania]. Also the grod Schwerin. For a certain Emperor having defeated a Suav king by the name of Mikiel [Niklot] was supposed to have gifted this grod to a magnate from Dalen or, as it is also known, Dalenberg who this Emperor had made a lord of Schwerin so as to have a defense against the sons of Mikiel. For this Mikiel had built a certain grod in a bog, in the vicinity of the village of Lubowo near Wismar. This grod the Suavs – from the name of the village – used to call Lubowo but the Germans called it Mecklemburg from the name of Mikiel himself. For this reason the dukes there name themselves dukes “at Mecklemburg” but in Latin, from the great fields [surrounding the area] they are sometimes called Magnopolenses – that being a word combination made up, as if, of a Latin and Suavic part, for the Suavic pole [field] translates as “campus” in Latin. Also the grod Ilow [Ihlow – there are two in Brandenburg but (!) also in Ostfriesland] which is named from ił [a type of rock]. Also Roztoka [Rostock] is named after river waters. Also Werla [in Lower Saxony] from “faith” [wiara]. Also grod Zwanowo so-called from a proper name. Zwan means someone who was “called”. Also Ostrow from [the word for] an “island.” And so too Cieszyn, Marlow, Bolek, Trzebucice, Wologoszcz [Wolgast], Kazow, Wieluniec which also called Wolin and Kamien [Cammin]. It is written that these grods lay not he Northern Sea. And other grods were held by Saxon, dukes, Brandenburg margraves and the Dukes of Szczecin. Some of those names have been replaced by new ones but others are called their original [names].

Lestko IV & Ziemomysl

And so during the few years’ reign of Semovit there was born to him a son, who was called Lestko. This one following his father’s footsteps was generous in all respects. As a young man he begot a son and gave him the name Ziemomysl, which, translated, means “thinking of the lands.” For it was with this son that he [Lestko] ruled in peace over the lands of his overlordship since he did not have trouble with any of his neighbors. Thus, all the tribes under his rule happily enjoyed undisturbed peace. His happy triumphs brought wide fame to both such that in their virtues they exceeded all their ancestors.

Mieszko I

And Ziemomysl from his wife begot a son who, having been born blind, for seven year lived sightless. The Poles, seeing this and concerned that during those seven year King Ziemomysl did not beget another son said: ‘Once again there will be disturbances in the kingdom.’ For Mieszko means “disarray” from “disorder”. For they remembered that after the death of Choscisko, who was devoured by mice, much disorder arose in the Polish state and so they feared that they will resurface and so they called this blind prince Mieszko [as in “stirrer of trouble”]. And Ziemomysl, as many Polish annals tell, ascended the throne after his father Lestko IV in the year of our Lord 913 and he begot the aforementioned sone Mieszko in the year 931. This Mieszko in the seventh year of his life, by divine will, received light in his eyes. And finally in the year 931* took to wife Dobrochna, the sister of Saint Wenceslaus. And in the next year, at the urging of his wife and inspired by God’s grace he accepted baptism together with the entire Lechitic, that is Polish, kin. And from this wife, in the year 937 he had a son, whom he ordered to be give the name Bolesuav at his holy baptism and in the year 938 he made Jordan the bishop of Poland.

* At least from here these dates are clearly incorrect.

Suavic Antiquity in the Chronicle of Martin of Opava

PublishedAugust 4, 2019 Post authortorino

Aside from the Venetic connection, another source for the claims of Suavic antiquity is Martin of Opava (also known as Martinus Oppaviensis, Martinus Polonus) (1215/1220 – 1278). This gentleman was a Polish or Czech (of Goduła or Boduła coat of arms) Dominican born in Opava (Opawa) and an author of the famous Chronicle of Popes and Emperors (Chronicon pontificum et imperatorum). He became a chaplain to Alexander IV and later popes and authored/coauthored a number of other works. Pope Nicolas III appointed him the archbishop of Gniezno (i.e., the primate of Poland). Unfortunately, Martin never made it to Poland dying on his way there in Bologna.

Opavan coat of arms

The Suavic lands feature in his Chronicle at different places but the most interesting reference to the Suavs comes in the section dealing with Roman times, namely the days of Lucius Aurelius Commodus and his younger brother Marcus Annius Verus. Thus, we are talking about the 160s-180s and the Marcomannic Wars. Here a reference is made to the war against the Germanics, Suavs, Glaucos and Sarmatians. It is not clear what “Glaucos” refers to (can’t be “sharks” presumably).

A similar passage in the Historia Romana mentions Germanos et Marcomannos, Quados et Dacos et Sarmatas. Assuming Marcomannos belong with the Germanos, we have Quados et Dacos in place of Sclavos as well as Glaucos.

CLXII. Marchus Antonius Verus cum fratre Lucio Aurelio Commodo imperavit annis XIX. Ab isto Roma incepit duos imperatores habere. Iste optimus fuit, tamen a suis mota est christianis persecutio quinta. Horum tempore primum res publica equo iure imperium administrantibus paruit. Mortuo tamen altero, solus Antonius rem publicam rexit et tam in oriente in Asia, quam in occidente in Galliis multi martirio coronati sunt. In Asia sanctus Policarpus, alii etiam cum eo XII ex Philadelphya, in Gallia Sanctus Iustus Viennensis episcopus et Fotinus Lugdunensis episcopus cum innumerabili multitudine martirio coronantur. Quem Marchum Antonium quis laudare possit? A principio enim vite sue tranquillissimus fuit adeo, ut ab infancia sua vultum [suum] nec ex gaudio nec ex merore mutaverit. In sciencia philosophica litteris tam Grecis quam Latinis peritissimus fuit. Hic ad nullum eventum elatus provincias ingenti benignitate ac moderamine tractavit. In datione munerum post victoriam magnificus. Hic in Pannonia mortuus [est et] ab omnibus conclamantibus certatim inter divos relatus est. Per idem tempore floruit Egesippus, scriptor historiographus. Huius tempore floruit beata virgo Praxedis, que iugiter martirum sepeliendo corpora, ipsa orante, ut transiret ex hoc mundo post eos ad Dominum, mox exaudita fuit migrando in pace ad Christum. Hic post bellum, quod habuit contra Germanos, Sclavos, Glaucos et Sarmatas, cum iam erario exhausto nil haberet militibus dare, nulli volens esse molestus, magis elegit vasa sua aurea et ornatum uxoris et multa alia ornamenta alienare, quam senatum vel provincias gravare. Sed victoria habita non solum illa recuperavit, verum etiam omnibus provinciis tributa relaxavit.

Wadon of the Suavi in the Life of Columban

PublishedJuly 13, 2019 Post authortorino

We’ve already discussed “The Life of Columban” in the context of the Suavs/Wends here.

But what of the Suavi? They are mentioned there as well as and, interestingly, with their God Wodan or Odin.

Below we bring up this “Odin” once again… or is it Wadon?

The pictures are, same as in the original posting referred to above, from the oldest codex of the abbey of Saint Gall (MS 553). Contrary to MGH, the name is not Vodano but Uadono. From that name it is an easy leap to Łado & Łada. And so here we are.

The English translation is, as in the original posting, by Dana Carleton Munro.

Book I

“At length they arrived at the place designated, which did not wholly please Columban ; but he decided to remain, in order to spread the faith among the people, who were Swabians. Once, as he was going through this country, he discovered that the natives were going to make a heathen offering. They had a large cask that they called a cupa, and that held about twenty-six measures, filled with beer and set in their midst. On Columban’s asking what they intended to do with it, they answered that they were making an offering to their God Wodan (whom others call Mercury). When he heard of this abomination, he breathed on the cask, and lo! it broke with a crash and fell in pieces so that all the beer ran out. Then it was clear that the devil had been con- cealed in the cask, and that through the earthly drink he had proposed to ensnare the souls of the participants. As the heathens saw that, they were amazed and said Columbrn had a strong breath, to split a well-bound cask in that manner. But he reproved them in the words of the Gospel, and commanded them to cease from such offerings and to go home. Many were converted then, by the preaching of the holy man, and turning to the learning and faith of Christ, were baptized by him. Others, who were already baptized but still lived in the heathenish unbelief, like a good shepherd, he again led by his words to the faith and into the bosom of the church.”

…Ad destinatum deinde perveniunt locum. Quem peragrans vir Dei non suis placere animis aiet, sed tamen ob fidem in gentibus serendam inibi paulisper moraturum se spondit. Sunt etenim inibi vicinae nationes Suaevorum. Quo cum moraretur et inter habitatores loci illius progrederetur, repperit eos sacrificium profanum litare velle, vasque magnum, quem vulgo cupam vocant, qui XX modia amplius minusve capiebat, cervisa plenum in medio positum. Ad quem vir Dei accessit sciscitaturque, quid de illo fieri vellint. Illi aiunt se Deo suo Vodano* nomine, quem Mercurium, ut alii aiunt, autumant, velle litare. Ille pestiferum opus audiens vas insufflat, miroque modo vas cum fragore dissolvitur et per frustra dividitur, visque rapida cum ligore cervisae prorumpit; manifesteque datur intellegi diabolum in eo vase fuisse occultatum, qui per profanum ligorem caperet animas sacrificantum. Videntes barbari, stupefacti aiunt magnum virum Dei habere anhelitum, qui sic possit dissolvere vas ligaminibus munitum; castigatusque euangelicis dictis, ut ab his segregarentur sacrificiis, domibus redire imperat. Multique eorum tunc per beati viri suasum vel doctrinam ad Christi fidem conversi, baptismum sunt consecuti; aliosque, quos iam lavacro ablutus error detinebat profanus, ad cultum euangelicae doctrinae monitis suis ut bonus pastor ecclesiae sinibus reducebat.

* Vadono (A1a), Wodano (A1b), Woda (A2)

Lelum Polelum

PublishedJuly 6, 2019 Post authortorino

The earliest recorded mention of the Polish lelum, polelum comes from the “Prayer Book of Sister Constance” (Modlitewnik Siostry Konstancji) which seems to have been put together in 1527 (at least, that is, according to Jerzy Samuel Bandtkie aka Bandtke the famous Polish philologist, linguist and historian). It is a copy of earlier (probably end of 15th or early 16th century) books. The prayer book itself was mostly handwritten it seems but also, apparently, contains some printed material. It is stored in the Jagiellonian Library though was published by Władysław Wisłocki (1841-1900) in 1882. From there it came to the attention of Brueckner and others.

In the prayer book, the saying lelum polelum seems to mean as much as “easily” or “without effort.” Wisłocki gives the full sentence as:

“But who should receive it [the glory of eternal life] for free leli poleli, without suffering anything, without performing any good deeds?”

„A któż ją daremno otrzyma (chwałę żywota wiecznego) leli poleli, nic nie cierpiąc, nic dobrego nie działając?”

As to who this sister Constance was, your guess is as good as anyone’s.

Of course, lelum polelum, continues to be a favorite of many a Suav with some Suavic warriors being particularly fond of it.

The History of Leo the Deacon

PublishedJuly 3, 2019 Post authortorino

“The History of Leo the Deacon” contains a significant amount of information regarding the Varangian Rus and their wars with the Byzantines. We are not going to give all that here but we will include a passage that discusses some religious customs of the Rus. Some of this made its way into Karl Meyer’s “Fontes historiae religionis Slavicae.” It’s not clear whether these religious customs are customs of the Suavs or of the Rus. My bet is on the latter. For example, the killing of the chickens is similar to that described earlier by Constantine Porphyrogennetos as being done by the Rus. Alternatively, there are also apparently similar customs amongst the Hungarians, Mongols and Tatars. Nevertheless, since Meyer saw it fit to include this in his book, we will include it here as well. Note that the History itself is a 10th century book. The English translation is from Alice-Mary Talbot and Denis F. Sullivan edition. The events described below date back to 971 when John Tzimiskes defeated Svyatoslav of Kiev (whose parents were Igor and Olga) who was roaming through Bulgaria.

Book IX

6. Elated by this victory, the Rus’ issued forth from the city the next day, and drew up their ranks on the batdefield; and the Romans also were arrayed in close order and in a deep formation and went to meet them. At this point Anemas, one of the imperial bodyguards and son of the leader of the Cretans, caught sight of Ikmor, second in command of the Scythian army after Sphendosthlavos and ranked immediately after him, a huge and vigorous man, who was frenziedly attacking with a company of infantry following him and killing large numbers of Romans; and Anemas was incited by his innate prowess, and drew the sword which was hanging at his side and turned his horse this way and that, and goaded it with his spurs, and headed toward Ikmor. And he overtook him and struck him in the neck; and the Scythian’s head and right arm were severed and dashed to the ground. As he fell, a cry mingled with lamentation arose from the Scythians; and the Romans attacked them. They could not withstand the enemy assault, but, grievously distressed by the death of their general, raised their shields, covering their shoulders, and withdrew to the town; and the Romans pursued them and slaughtered them. When night fell, since the moon was nearly full, they [the Rus’] came out on the plain and searched for their dead; and they collected them in front of the city wall and kindled numerous fires and burned them, after slaughtering on top of them many captives, both men and women, in accordance with their ancestral custom. And they made sacrificial offerings by drowning suckling infants and chickens in the Istros, plunging them into the rushing waters of the river. For they are said to be addicted to Hellenic mysteries, and to make sacrifices and libations to the dead in the Hellenic fashion, having been initiated in these things either by their own philosophers, Anacharsis and Zamolxis, or by the comrades of Achilles. For Arrian says in the Periplous that Achilles, son of Peleus, was a Scythian, from a small town called Myrmekion located by Lake Maeotis; and that he was banished by the Scythians because of his harsh, cruel, and arrogant temperament, and then went to live in Thessaly. Clear proofs of this story are the style of his clothing with a brooch, and his fighting on foot, and his red hair and grey eyes, and his reckless and passionate and cruel temperament, on account of which Agamemnon reproached and mocked him, speaking as follows: “Always is strife dear to you and wars and battles!” For the Tauroscythians are still acccustomed to settle their disputes with killing and bloodshed. That this people is reckless and warlike and mighty, and attacks all the neighboring peoples, is attested by many people, among them the holy Ezekiel, who alludes to them when he says as follows: “Behold, I will bring upon you Gog and Magog, the ruler of the Rosy. But this is enough about the sacrifices of the Taurians

7. Then, since day was already dawning, Sphendosthlavos assembled a council of nobles, called a komentoh in their language. When they were all gathered round him, and had been asked by him what the course of action should be, some advised that they should embark on their boats in the middle of the night and steal away by any means whatsoever; for they were not able to contend with ironclad horsemen, and besides they had lost their best warriors, who had encouraged the army and sharpened their mettle. Others counseled, on the contrary, that they should come to terms with the Romans [that is the Byzantines], and receive pledges in return, and thus save the remaining army. For they could not easily escape by ship, since the fireships were keeping watch over the transports on both sides of the Istros, so that they could immediately set fire to all of them, if they attempted to sail out on the river. Sphendosthlavos groaned deeply and bitterly, and said: “If we now yield ignobly to the Romans, gone will be the glory that has attended upon the arms of the Rus, as they have effortlessly overwhelmed neighboring peoples, and enslaved whole lands without bloodshed. Rather, let us again manifest the valor of our ancestors, and, remembering that up till now the might of the Rus has been unvanquished, let us fight ardently for our safety. For it is not our custom to return to our fatherland as fugitives, but either to be victorious and live, or to die gloriously, after displaying deeds [worthy] of brave men.” Such was the advice of Sphendosthlavos.

8. This also is said about the Tauroscythians, that never up until now had they surrendered to the enemy when defeated; but when they lose hope of safety, they drive their swords into their vital parts, and thus kill themselves. And they do this because of the following belief: they say that if they are killed in battle by the enemy, then after their death and the separation of their souls from their bodies they will serve their slayers in Hades. And the Tauroscythians dread such servitude, and, hating to wait upon those who have killed them, inflict death upon themselves with their own hands. Such is the belief that prevails among them. But then, after listening to the words of their leader, out of love for life they decided to choose danger for the sake of their own safety, and spiritedly drew up to oppose the Roman forces.

When the Lithuanian Columbus, the Chinese Quetzalcoatl and the Polish Vandals All Met and Had a Blast of a Great Time

PublishedJune 29, 2019 Post authortorino

That academics write stupid things is hardly a secret. I’ve recently come across people asking questions asking about books/articles claiming a “Vandal” connection for the Przeworsk culture. These were written by Andrzej Kokowski with some other (for example, Magdalena Mączyńska) archeologists working in Poland.

Ok, well, these guys may well be good at digging holes and item reclamation (which are important!) but their cognitive skills appear to be underdeveloped. The thesis they present is a retread of various stories previously told by the linguist turned dilettante archeologist, Gustaf Kossina (who also gets the title of the (prior) turn of the century’s most prominent self-hating Pole), the Nazi Martin Jahn or the old Spinner Herwig Wolfram. Indeed, Kokowski’s book cites many of the above (and then some) approvingly as authorities on this topic. Usually, citing a Nazi for substantive claims is not the best career move but, hey, Nazi, Shmatzi (I’ve written about these gentlemen before.

Kokowski, who branched out into Vandals, taking time from his primary career focus of locating Goths (the man finds Goths wherever he looks – about the only thing he can’t ever locate are Suavs – perhaps even today) seems to believe that the Przeworsk culture must have been Vandalic because, among other things, a few Przeworsk artifacts had been found in Denmark. Now this is, of course, quite an unassailable argument… But it does leave one confused since, typically, a finding of a clearly Scandinavian provenance in Poland would, among the researchers of this crowd, be viewed as proof of Scandinavian presence in Poland. Yet the finding of Przeworsk artifacts in Scandinavia proves that all of Przeworsk was Scandinavian. This method of conducting archeology appears distressingly similar to the method described before here by Karel Sklenář: “wherever a single find of a type designated as Germanic was found, the land was declared ancient German territory.“

Of course, as far as the substance is concerned, there is less evidence for the existence of the Vandals in Poland in antiquity than there is for Chinese in the Americas pre-Columbus (indeed even less than for Goths!). In effect, both Kokowski and Menzies are activists of a cause and their science, such as it is, stands on the ever-wobbly feet of wishful thinking. The only difference is that the UK has not made the latter a professor of anything. That is pretty much all that needs to be said about the theories spouted by Kokowski, and others.

Guerriero Ostrogoto!

Kokowski, who, I think, is a sincere believer in his theories, is not alone. Other academics are excited to find allegedly foreign artifacts in Poland. Here you can find out about the Bodzia cemetery where Andrzej Buko found a “Viking” using genetic testing. How can you argue with genetics – a “hard” science after all. Now, the testing showed that this particular Viking’s closest relatives today live in Tyrolean Alps (not Scandinavia or Russia where he is said to have come from) but never mind that since, after all, even the hilly Tyrol may have once sat under the Tethys Ocean.

Vikings in Tyrol

Another archeologist, Ewa Pawlak discovered a silver cup and a spoon with old-Germanic “runic” inscription at Jarocin. How do we know these runes were Germanic – as in Teutonic? Surely, because they decoded the runes, right? Unfortunately, that was not possible so they just concluded that since runic alphabets were used by people living in Central Europe and since we all know that Central Europe was at the time occupied by Teutons, therefore the spoon must be Teutonic too… thereby, proving definitively that Teutonic tribes occupied Central Europe at that time. It is unclear whether these folks believe that the present finding of the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals in Poland strongly suggests that Poland is currently primarily occupied by an Italian-Arabic mix (perhaps, Indian, given the origin of our numerals). (Incidentally, if anyone knows where a picture of that spoon may be obtained, let me know – the spoon seems to have gone underground).

Ze proof vee hav biin veiting vor!

If you are interested in alternative history of the type practiced by Menzies or Kokowski, check out Manuel Rosa’s Columbus book where the author claims Columbus was a Polish prince (actually (part-Portuguese and part) Lithuanian since, his father – Władysław III of Varna – had both Lithuanian parents – Władysław II (Jogaila) and Sophia of Halshany). In any event, whatever his parentage, the Chinese apparently beat him to the Americas. Sigh.

Medieval Connections or More Likely Lack Thereof

PublishedJune 7, 2019 Post authortorino

It is interesting to note how the same symbols crop up in different contexts. To illustrate here are some samples from an article by Piotr Kotowicz.

Here is an axehead from Over Hornbæk in Denmark:

And here is a mason’s mark from Saint Peter’s collegiate church in Kruszwica, Poland (full disclosure: I flipped it to match 🙂 ):

Here is an axehead from Pień in Poland:

And here is the “infamous” urn from Biała, Poland (3rd-4th century) that “proved” to the Nazis that their ancestors had beaten the Poles to, well, Poland (it was found by Poles pre-WWII):

Another similar motif appears on an urn from Wąchock:

Similar symbols were found in England (in this case, again, as masonry marks!) and on pottery as early as the Sintashta culture.

Now, part of the problem here is that these symbols are not exactly that difficult to come up with which means that they likely repeat themselves quite independently. Of course, the closer people live, the more likely it is that they will try to steal each other’s artistic ideas too. For these reasons, the “meaning” of these things might be entirely different depending on the location and time.