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Slavic Gods and Heroes PDF

199 Pages·2019·6.156 MB·English
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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

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