Slavic Gods and Heroes

199 Pages·2019·6.156 MB·English

by  Judith Kalik, Alexander Uchitel

SLAVIC GODS AND HEROES
Judith Kalik and Alexander Uchitel
Slavic Gods and Heroes
This book offers a radical reinterpretation of the Slavic pagan religion made on
the basis of a thorough re-examination of all reliable sources. What did Slavic
pagan religion have in common with the Afro-American cult of voodoo? Why
were no Slavic gods mentioned before the mid-tenth century, and why were
there no Slavic gods at all between the Dnieper and the Order? Why were Slavic
foundation legends similar to the totemic myths of the nomadic peoples of the
Eurasian Steppe, and who were Slavic Remus and Romulus? What were the
Indo-European roots of Slavic hippomantic rituals, and where was the Eastern
Slavic dragon Zmey Gorynych born? Answers to these and many other provocative
questions can be found in this book.
Judith Kalik teaches East European history at the Hebrew University of Jeru-
salem. She has written extensively on the inter-religious encounters in Eastern
Europe from the early Middle Ages to the early twentieth century.
Alexander Uchitel taught ancient history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
and the University of Haifa between 1985 and 2017. He is the author of numerous
articles on diverse subjects related to the history and philology of ancient Greece
and the ancient Near East.

Slavic Gods and Heroes
Judith Kalik and Alexander Uchitel
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
 2019 Judith Kalik and Alexander Uchitel
The right of Judith Kalik and Alexander Uchitel to be identified as authors
of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Ḳaliḳ, Judith, author.
Title: Slavic gods and heroes / Judith Kalik and Alexander Uchitel.
Description: 1 [edition]. | New York : Routledge, 2018. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018009437| ISBN 9781138493193 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781351028707 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Mythology, Slavic. | Gods, Slavic. | Slavs—Religion.
Classification: LCC BL930 .K287 2018 | DDC 299/.18—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018009437
ISBN: 978-1-138-49319-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-02870-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
Contents
List of charts ix
List of tables x
Preface xi
Introduction 1
PART I
Ancient Slavs 7
1 Ancient Slavs and their neighbors 9
Slavic languages 9
Slavs’ homeland 9
Hydronymics 10
Names of the Slavs and Slavic names for their neighbors 11
Slavic migrations 12
Slavic scripts 12
Slavic society 13
Slavic states 14
The Christianization of the Slavs 15
2 The earliest evidence of Slavic religion 20
Procopius, The Gothic War 20
St. Boniface, A Letter to King Ethelbald of Mercia 21
Ahmad ibn Fadlan, Travel-Report 24
Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De administrando imperio 26
Widukind of Corvey, Deeds of the Saxons 27
Leo the Deacon, History 28
3 Conclusions 31
vi Contents
PART II
Gods 33
4 Sources 35
Documentary evidence 35
Bruno of Querfurt, A Letter to King Henry II 35
The Magdeburg Charter 36
Historiography 36
Thietmar of Merseburg, The Chronicle 37
Adam of Bremen, History of the
Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen 38
Helmold of Bosau, The Chronicle of the Slavs 38
Saxo Grammaticus, The History of the Danes 39
The Knytlinga Saga 40
The Russian Primary Chronicle 41
Hagiography 41
The Life of Otto, Apostle of Pomerania 42
Ebo 43
Herbord 43
Wolfger of Prüfening 43
Poetry 44
The Tale of Igor’s Campaign 44
5 Svarozhich 46
6 Sventovit 52
7 Rugevit 57
8 Porevit, Porenut, and Turupid 59
9 Pizamar and Chernoglav 61
10 Prove and Podaga 62
11 Triglav 64
12 Gerovit 66
13 Pripegala 68
Contents vii
14 “Vladimir’s gods” 69
Perun 69
Khors 71
Dazh’bog (Dazhd’bog) 72
Stribog 73
Simar’gl 73
Mokosh’ 75
15 Volos (Veles) 81
16 Conclusions 83
PART III
Heroes 87
17 Sources: Slavic national historiography 89
Cosmas of Prague, The Chronicle of the Czechs 89
Gallus Anonymus, The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles 90
Wincenty Kadłubek, Chronicles of the Kings and
Princes of Poland 91
The Chronicle of Great Poland 92
The Chronicle of Dalimil 92
Jan Długosz, Annals or Chronicles of the Famous
Kingdom of Poland 93
18 Bohemia 95
Čech 95
Krok 98
Kazi 100
Tetka 102
Libuše 103
19 Little Poland 108
Wiślanie 108
The Dragon of Wawel (Smok Wawelski) 108
The fratricide 111
Wanda 113
viii Contents
Lędzianie 114
Leszek I 115
Leszek II 116
Leszek III 117
20 Great Poland 120
21 Kiev 123
22 Croatia 125
23 Reconstruction 127
Appendix 1: Indo-European hippomancy 132
India 132
Persia 135
Parthia 136
Greece 137
Rome 138
Germanic tribes 139
Slavs 139
Redarii 139
Pomerania 140
Rani 140
Bohemia 141
Little Poland 142
Ireland 143
Reconstruction 144
Appendix 2: Zmey Gorynych 149
Afterword 152
Bibliography 154
Index 167
Charts
1 Christianization of the Slavs 17
2 Danish kings, descendants of Sven II Estridson 40
3 Bohemia 127
4 Little Poland (Wiślanie) 128
5 Little Poland (Lędzianie) 128
6 Kiev 128
7 Croatia 128
8 Slavic totemic family 129