Roman Zaroff

This paper critically analyses and discusses two recent re-interpretation of the name of the Slavic god known as Sventovit.  This deity was worshiped on Rügen Island, on Wittow Peninsula, at a locality called Arkona.  The temple of Sventovit, with his four-headed statue, stood there on the cliff there in the Middle Ages until its destruction by the Danes in 1168/9.  The paper explores an article by Michał Łuczyński published in the Polish journal Ling Varia in 2015, and a chapter on Sventovit in the book by Judith Kalik and Alexander Uchitel titled Slavic Gods and Heroes that was published by Routledge in 2018, in USA and UK.  In his work Łuczyński postulated that root-stem -vit in the name of a deity is in fact a suffix –ovit implying its attributive character.  The paper argues for a widely accepted explanation that root-stem -vit derives from the Slavic vitędzь denoting warrior, hero, free man, lord, master or ruler.  In their book, Kalik and Uchitel argued that the name Sventovit was a corrupted form of the name of the Christian Saint Vitus.  The article challenges this notion arguing that the deity’s name Sventovit has nothing to do with Saint Vitus.

The chapter provides an interpretation of certain, selected aspects of pre-Christian Baltic religion from the Middle Ages, prior to their official conversion to Christianity.  The Balts were the last people on European continent that became Christians, albeit many rites, customs and beliefs entered into Baltic folklore and many survived till today.  In a post-Soviet era we observed revival of scholarly interest in their ancient beliefs and many new interpretations.  Moreover, we have observed a revival of Neo-pagan movements in all independent Baltic states.  The paper attempts to interpret and reconcile some known Old Prussian deities with those of  the Lithuanians and Latvians.  It also explores the nature of Baltic beliefs addressing the question of its polydoxy, polytheism or henotheism.

This study discusses the relations between the peoples known as Sarmatians, Alans, Vandals, and other groups in the context of fluid identities and political affinities of Late Antiquity and early medieval Europe. It is argued that the Vandals underwent a substantial transformation from being dominantely farmers to centre on horse breeding and mounted warfare. In this process, Sarmatian and Alanian influence on the Vandals was crucial. One could speak of a 'Sarma-tisation' of Vandal warfare, economy, dressing, and conduct, but also of a Vandal confederation of identities to which other 'barbarian' peoples could be connected .

The paper explores time measurements and perception of time by the ancient Slavs in the Pre-Migration Period and Slavic settlement of Central and Southern Europe.  It attempts to reconstruct a year, seasonal, month-like division and naming, as well as lunar and solar time measurement.  Moreover, it explores and attempts to reconstruct what were the common Slavic month names that, is before 5th-7th centuries.  It also, discusses the issue of adoption of Julian calendar across the Slavdom in the period between the 9th-11th centuries.  The research is based on scarce limited written historical records as it explores the times before writing came to the Slavs.  Hence to a large degree it relies on abundant ethnographic sources, as well as on linguistics.  Therefore, in principle it employs a comparative methodology and often draws from Indo-European examples.

The article explores the naval raid of the Slavic forces on the coastal Norwegian port-settlement of Konungahella in the mid 1130s.  The paper analyse the raid in the context of regional politics and from the perspective of Baltic Slavs.  It also encompasses a wider political context of a contemporary Imperial and Polish politics.  It addresses the issue of timing of the raid, participation of other than Pomeranian Slavs, and the reasons why and what for it took place.  It focus on reasons behind the raid which are surrounded by controversy and various interpretations.  The paper postulates an alternative explanation not necessary as much politically motivated as commonly accepted.

The time frame of the paper is the period approximately from the tenth to the twelfth century and it focuses on the Baltic Slavic principality centred on Rügen Island. Particularly on the development of a peculiar political system there. On one hand, the people of Rügen, called the Ranove retained an old institution of a tribal assembly, called in Slavic veche, despite emerging local elites and upper class. A common development among many mediaeval Slavic principalities. On the other, however, the most unique characteristics of their political system was the very prominent role of the pagan priesthood , revolving around a pagan deity known as Sventovit. The paper demonstrates that the Rügen Island the pagan priests were clearly a dominant political force, and in fact they were the real rulers of the principality. Therefore prior to the Danish conquest in 1168 the system can be described as a theocracy. This finding challenges the commonly accepted notion that Rugian priesthood played a much less prominent role and was the same footing the tribal assembly and local elite or " princes ". Introduction In the year 1168 Danish forces led by king Waldemar I and bishop Absalon ransacked a stronghold of Arkona on Rügen Island, destroyed a pagan centre there, and subjugated the island's Slavic population, known as the Ranove. This event marked the end of the independent existence of pagan Slavic polities between the Oder and Elbe-Saale rivers. This paper explores the political development among the Ranove, between the tenth and twelfth centuries, focusing on the period prior to their foreign subjugation in 1168 and their subsequent Christianisation. In this period, the major political players in the principality appeared to be the pagan priesthood; the tribal assembly – veche; and the emerging tribal aristocracy and local " princely " family. This article aims to demonstrate that the dominant decision making force in Rugian politics was a pagan priesthood and in fact the political system of principality was theocracy-like. The paper is based mainly upon written sources with other material such as archaeological finds serving a supportive or explanatory role.

Artikkelen behandler de polabiske slaviske stammene som bodde i området mellom elvene Elbe-Saale og Oder-Neisse, i perioden fra slutten av 700-tallet til 1100-tallet. Artikkelforfatteren går imot det hevdvunne synet om at disse slaverne forble organisert i små, lokale stammer. Tvert imot mener forfatteren å kunne belegge at disse polabiske slaverne pga. sterkt ytre press i perioden organiserte seg i en større sammenslutning over stammenivå, sentrert rundt obotritt-stammen. Denne sammenslutningen var en politisk enhet på linje med samtidige tyske hertugdømmer og markområder og de skandinaviske landene.

The origins and functions of the Polabian god Sventovit venerated at Arkona temple on the island of Rügen eluded most of the past and modern scholars. Most common, current theory postulated by Aleksander Gieysztor claims that Sventovit was an incarnation of Perun. 1 A deity that evolved to prominence with the rise and growth of Ranove's principality and acquired different, local name during the process. However, deriving Sventovit from Perun is based on a false assumption that both were war deities. It is true that Perun attained war-god attributes among the Eastern Slavs and was perceived as such, but this does not imply that he was a common Slavic war deity. On the contrary, evidence shows that Perun was initially an atmospheric deity sharing its origin with Indian weather god, Parjanya, whose domains were atmospheric forces, thunderstorms and seasonal monsoons. He was also a deity that made things grow, and like the Slavic Perun he was associated with cattle. 2 At the same time Sventovit's war functions and attributes are beyond doubt as they are well attested in the sources. A huge sword and Ranove's war standard that belonged to Sventovit 3 is a prime example. Other evidence provided by Saxo Grammaticus explicitly stated that the Ranove believed in Sventovit riding his horse at night, and fighting their enemies. Moreover, divinations involving a horse to predict the outcome of oncoming conflicts or raids 4 are also the evidence for the warlike characteristics of this god. Furthermore, there were 300 mounted horsemen assigned to the temple at Arkona who must have been the core of the Ranove's army as they carried Sventovit's war standard during the war. 5 However, one of the primary domains of Sventovit of Rügen was farming and agriculture. This should not be a surprise taking into consideration that like the all Slavs, the Ranove of Rűgen was predominantly an agricultural society. The Ranove's harvest festival is relatively well documented in the sources. The first reference to it comes from William of Malmesbury, an early twelfth century English chronicler. 6 He lived in western England and it is commonly believed that he used a now lost German source of the middle of the eleventh century from the times of the emperor Henry III. 7 Another 1

The article explores the question of how the pagan Polabian Slavs could perceive Christianity at the time of its expansion to the East. An attempt is made here to distance ourselves from our Christian background, and to analyse how other people can see beliefs that we often ...

The time frame of the thesis is the period approximately from the tenth to the twelfth century and it focuses on the area of north-eastern Germany that was more or less the north-eastern quarter of the former German Democratic Republic. The Warnow river, the Baltic sea, the Oder river and the Havel river basin roughly define this region.  The thesis concentrates on the Slavic inhabitants of this area in that time and their political and ideological response to challenges from the Empire, in political terms, and Christianity in the ideological and religious spheres, looking also into a similar pressures, albeit much weaker, from other neighbours such as Poland and Denmark.
The thesis not explore a single issue, and as it follows Emil Durkheim’s notion of  social basis of religion, it analyses not only political but also religious developments.  One of the major findings of the research is that, despite the strong influence of and extensive contacts with Western Christendom, Polabian religion remained basically Slavic in character, and there were not significant borrowings. Nonetheless, Christianity provided  ready models for organized cults, a formal priesthood and temples.  The research demonstrates that from various early and common Slavic deities new syncretic gods and cults emerged, comprising features and functions from numerous deities.  At the same time certain tribal deities emerged as dominant ones and Polabian beliefs underwent a transformation into a clearly defined henotheistic religion.
A certain uniformisation of these Polabian deities was also observed. Various, originally different tribal gods with different functions evolved into deities that shared many functions, rituals and characteristics.  In reality although their names differed they turned functionally into practically the same deities. The findings challenge common assumption of the origin of Polabian deities. In particular, they show that Polabian gods were not Perun (allegedly a war god) disguised under a different name, and that Perun was not originally a war deity but rather an atmospheric god.  The research shows that gods like Sventovit of Rügen and Yarovit at Wolgast and Havelberg were initially agricultural Slavic deities, who in the course of the time amalgamated other functions and characteristics.  As war dominated the last centuries of the Polabian independence, all these gods evolved into clearly martial deities.
In the political sphere the research demonstrates that under strong external pressure many Polabian Slavs organized themselves into larger, supra-tribal political entities.  In some areas a city emporium such as Wolin, Szczecin or Wolgast emerged. They were characterized by the dominant role of craftwork and commerce in their economy and relatively small size.  Generally all north-eastern Polabian political entities developed a peculiar political system.  They retained in most cases the old institution of a tribal assembly, called in Slavic veche, despite emerging local elites and upper class.  One of the unique characteristics of their political system was the very prominent role of  the pagan priesthood.  Nowhere did this system become a true theocracy but at least on Rügen island the pagan priests were a dominant political force, and in fact they were the real rulers of the principality.  This finding challenges the commonly accepted notion that the north-eastern Polabian priesthood played a much less prominent role and was the same footing  the tribal assembly and local elite or "princes".

The third and fourth century confederation of Germanic tribes known to the Roman world as the Goths occupied the steppes of the Black Sea from the Don River to the mouth of the Danube. During the fourth and fifth centuries they played an important part in Roman history by contributing to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. They controlled the Apennine Peninsula until the Byzantines in the middle of the sixth century defeated them. 1 The Getica, a sixth century history of the Goths written by the Gothic writer Jordanes, implies that they originated in Scandinavia. Jordanes mentioned their place of origin as the "island of Scandza". 2 This has been often identified with various places in Scandinavia such as the region of Scania or the area around Götaälv in Sweden or the island of Gotland on the Baltic Sea. 3 Jordanes' account has been accepted by many historians in the past and still has many supporters today. The main problem with the credibility of this story is that the beginning of the alleged Gothic migration and the Jordanes account is separated by around five hundred years. Oral tradition always played an important part in non-literate societies, however it is often mixed with myths and legends. Hence, to be accepted, it requires to be confirmed by independent sources. The following paper will explore the emergence and question of the Gothic origins in the course of the first five centuries of the Common Era. The origin of the Goths could have been solved by the acceptance of the simple notion that the Goths originated on the steppes of the Black Sea. This is a genuine claim, taking into consideration the following. The Goths, as the Romans knew them, formed an ethno-political entity as a result of amalgamation of various Eastern Germanic groups that had migrated there in the first half of the third century. 4 Archaeological evidence as well as written sources suggests that those Eastern Germanic tribes were clan-based groups with no wider ethnic or political unity. At that stage their political or ethnic affiliation did not go beyond small tribal units comprising a number of clans. 5 The presence of Eastern Germanic peoples on the Pontic steppes in the third and the fourth century was manifested by the culture known as the late Chernyakhov 6 that clearly shows many Eastern Germanic elements. 7 Nevertheless, the association of archaeological culture with a particular ethnic or linguistic group is a tricky business. Also in this case, equation of the Chernyakhov culture with the Goths is a gross oversimplification.

The article brings to the attention of the scholarly world a hardly known medieval source Gesta Regum Anglorum written by William of Malmesbury. Who was an early 12th century English benedictine monk from Malmesbury in Western England. The article revolves around the outmost relevance of William of Malmesbury to the study of pre-christian Slavic religion, and provides two interpretations of William's account.

The paper explores the scarcely researched  topic of germanization of the area between the Elbe-Saale and Oder-Neisse rivers, corresponding roughly with the former state of East Germany. The process  began in the 10th century after the Empire extended its authority beyond the Elbe and Saale rivers.  This process is still incomplete, taking into consideration that even today around Bautzen and Cottbus in Lusatia some Slavic speakers survive, being known as Wends or as they call themselves, Serby - the Sorbs. 

Basically, the article researches  two major elements in the germanization of these territories: colonization by German settlers and germanization of the local Slavic population.  It focuses on the political and social aspects of the process during the course of almost one millenium.  It explains  the mechanisms, modes and forces that caused the loss of Slavic identity on this territory.  It also includes a detailed case study for the region of Thuringia.  It concludes that a major factor in  the germanization of the area was the assimilation of the Slavic population with colonization playing a significantly lesser role.  This is a finding contrary to the common  assumption widely accepted even among  scholars.