Swietowit

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