Monthly Archives: June 2020

Ein Mensch Namens Slawack

PublishedJune 3, 2020 Post authortorino

I love the fact that we basically ignore the Polabian where it could prove to solve a number of Suavic of Slavic mysteries.

The Monsieur de Baucoeur states in his “Wendische Vocabeln” that the following is the Wendish word for Mensch that is “human” or “man”:

Slawa or Slawack

The latter – Slawack – is also apparently listed by Johann Parum Schultze – with the same meaning.

This basically corresponds to the Polish człowiek.

Now this should make you think as it immediately solves the etymology of Slav – “man/human/person”. Perhaps, in a slight twist, a man that speaks our language (Suovy) but that may well be a secondary meaning.

I am not saying that this is the only plausible explanation of that word.

For example, the river Solawa (Saale) also does so.

Further, a Suav or Slav is listed in some chronicles as the apparently eponymous father of the Suavs/Slavs. Then the Suavs/Slavs would simply “his people”. Similar things are known from other Slavic tribes who took patronymics as their designations. Just a few are Lechici (Licikaviki) or Leszkowice from Lech or in the East Vyatyche from Vyatko or Radzimitsche from Radzim.

So there you go.

The Gods of the Kievan Synopsis or Gustynian Chronicle

PublishedJune 2, 2020 Post authortorino

The Kievan Synopsis aka Gustynian Chronicle was a work of Innocent Giesel published in 1674.

“Innozenz” Giesel was himself an interesting character. His work had a decidedly anti-Polish-Lithuanian and pro-Orthodox take with even a touch of Muscovite bias. The fact that Giesel was actually a German born in Königsberg, Prussia and decamped to Kiev (and converted to Orthodox Christianity) suggests that he may well have been a paid Prussian agent of influence seeking to destabilize the Commonwealth’s eastern flank at a time when Prussia was in the process of reasserting itself. In any event, he did have the following to say in that work as regards Kievan Gods. Note that some of this is from the Primary Chronicle/PVL but some of it is clearly “new” such as the interpretation of Lado (not Lada) as a Suavic Pluto:

“Here we will tell something of the Russian/Ruthenian Gods. Not because they are worth remembering but to demonstrate what blindness the devil brought upon the people and that he brought them to such foolishness that not only did they not recognize the true God but were so far removed from Him, that they worshipped as God bad and lifeless objects and elements.”

“First of all, Perkunos, that is Perun was recognized by them as the oldest God; it was Him that they made into an image similar to that of a man; he held a precious stone in the hand that shone like a fire and to him, as a god, they made sacrifices to so that an undying fire, made from oaken wood, burned unremittingly; when it chanced that as a result of the negligence of a priestly servant, this fire went out, the priest was killed without any investigation and without mercy.”

“The second God Volos, the God of Cattle, was very highly revered by them.”

The third was Pozvizd [whom] the Poles called Pochvist; he was understood as the God of the “aers”, that is of air; others took him to be the God of the good and bad weather; yet others called him Whirlwind, and they prayed to this Pozvizd or Whirlwind as a god, prostrating themselves before him.”

“The fourth [was] Lado, that is Pluto, the subterranean God; they believed he was the God of marriage, of happiness, of comfort and of all welfare, much as the Greeks thought of Bacchus. To Him were made offerings by those who were planning to marry so that, with his aid, the wedlock should prove good and loving. This devil Lado is till now worshipped during baptisms and weddings in some regions, in that one sings certain songs and mentions his [Name] ‘Lado, Lado’ in these songs of theirs [while] clapping hands or clapping on the table”.

“The fifth was Kupalo, I believe, the God of abundance, like Ceres among the Greeks; and to Him the foolish brought their thanks for wealth at harvest time. The memory of this devil Kupalo is celebrated even now in certain regions by the foolish from the 23rd of June, the Eve of Saint John the Baptist till the end of harvest and longer in the following ways: in the evening simple people of both sexes together and they weave for themselves wreaths [made] out of edible herbs or roots and, having gilded themselves with these herbs, they light a fire. In other places, they place a green branch standing and holding each other’s hands they circle around this fire singing their songs in which Kupalo is mentioned; thereafter, they jump over the mentioned fire offering themselves to the above devil.”

“The sixth was Koljada; to honor Him there was a very horrible feast was celebrated on the 24th of December. And, even as the blessing of Christ’s birth has enlightened us and [even as] the idols have perished, the devil has preserved his [Koljada’s] memory among the foolish in this fashion: on Christmas Eve the simple people gather together and sing certain songs in which the birth of Christ is, it is true, mentioned but the devil Koljada is honored more [in such songs].”

“And these idols were ineffective for the foolish folk, for they could not rely on them and dared not to place all their hopes in them and it was not possible for anyone to confide in any of these. But they had even more idols and these are Chors, Dazbog, Stribog, Semargl, Mokos, and some brought offerings to the springs, the lakes and the flowers. Among these there was a certain God to whom they made offerings by drowning people; his memory is celebrated still in some regions: on Easter Sunday, when young people gather themselves, they toss a person into the water playing around and it sometimes happens that these Gods, that is devils, make it so that the person tossed into the water is hits itself on a beam or a stone and dies or drowns. But in other parts they do not throw people in water but rather only spray them with water, though [in doing so] they likewise are making offerings to the same devils.”

From Mansikka:

Note that the Pluto reference may have something to do with the name Ploutos – which was the name of the child of, guess who? Iasion and Demeter (as per Theogonyas by Hesiod):

“fine Plutus, who goes upon the whole earth and the broad back of the sea, and whoever meets him and comes into his hands, that man he makes rich, and he bestows much wealth upon him.”

Thus, Lado may have been the Son of Jasień/Jasion and Marzanna, the God of agricultural wealth which comes from the Earth (Marzanna, Demeter). At the same time, He may have been a chthonic God at least during some parts of the year. When Jasień/Jasion came back every summer to mate with Marzanna, Lado would be returned to life. In fact, the presence of agricultural fertility rites among the Suavs may also be the solution to the riddle of the Suavic population explosion (if there was one, that is). Lada may have been a separate Goddess of Love and Order – Harmonia – coincidentally, Iasion’s sister at whose wedding Iasion and Demeter ploughed thrice ploughed the field, as the saying goes.

Sarnicki’s Thoughts

PublishedJune 1, 2020 Post authortorino

Stanisław Sarnicki published his annals of the Poles and Lithuanians in 1587 under the elaborate, though typical for those times, name:

Stanislai Sarnicii Annales sive de origine et rebus gestis Polonorum et Lituanorum libri 8.

Sarnicki, mentioned a number of Polish and other Deities in a number of passages (all below). This passage was translated by Adam Naruszewicz* in volume 2 of his History of the Polish Nation:

“… this God of thunder was called Piorun from the old Poles as almost all our chroniclers testify. This Piorun was worshipped by the Ruthenians in the old days, and they even burned fires for him, as is attested by Herberstein and Guagnini who wrote of Moscovite matters. For they had an idol and a temple at Great Novgorod that the citizens of that city saw as greater than others. Of this Guagnini reports that this statue was worshipped by the Novgorodians with the greatest idolatry. He had the body of a man, a fiery stone in his hand and similar to a thunder: for Perun among the Poles and in Ruthenia means thunder. In his honor a fire was burned from oaken timbers by day and night without pause; and when it came to pass that by the negligence of those sworn to protect it, it failed, they forfeited their lives…”

* An interesting aspect of that is that Naruszewicz mentions Leibnitz noting that Prove is listed in the Szczecin manuscript of Helmold’s Chronicle as “Prone” and, hence, may simply be a reference to Piorun (as shown here from MGH):

This is nothing new and is mostly a regurgitation of information that Guagnini and others must have gotten from Nestor’s Primary Chronicle (PVL). Nevertheless, it’s worth including it here and, as you will note, there are also references to other Deities as you can see here:

The poem at the back of that section is also interesting. It seems to come from or at least be very similar to that slightly different version by Stryjkowski which was published earlier:

“Christ, you have the blind-born Mieszko
Brought to light, brought Poland to Holy Baptism,
It is you Grom, Ladon, Marzanna,
Pogwizd, Ziewanna gave way to”

(Kryste tys Mieszka sleporodzonego
Oswiecil, Polskes przywiodl do krztu swego,
Tobie ustapil Grom, Ladon, Marzanna,
Pogwizd, Ziewanna)

Since Sarnicki relied on Guagnini who may have plagiarized Stryjkowski, this is not surprising. For more on that see here.

As discussed below, there is no evidence that anyone in Poland (as opposed to in Kiev/Novgorod or, possibly, among the Obotrites in Polabia) actually worshipped Piorun as the original name of a Deity. It seems rather that piorun was a “lightning fork” (and may have later become a nickname) of the primeval Jasion/Jasień (ash) Deity.