With illustrations and a chapter on baltic mythology. The latter occurred at various stages between the 8th and the th century. Slavic mythology mcgill school of computer science. Slavic mythology behind the popular witcher series slavorum. It is a force of nature, which shortens the day and lengthens the night.
In a series of belorussian songs a divine figure enters the homes of the peasants in four forms in order to bring them abundance. Max vasmer derived the name of the holiday from the proto slavic korcunu, which is in turn derived from the verb korcati, meaning to step forward. This book, taken from the mythology of all races, is the most complete study of slavic mythology available. All slavic mythology paintings ship within 48 hours and include a 30day moneyback guarantee. Most slavic mythologies hold that god ordered the devil to bring up a handful of sand from the bottom of the sea and created the land from it. It was also him who coined the notion of a slavic mythology or slavic folk culture as the stories about the baba yaga, the kikimora, the vampir, the vodnik etc. He is seldom seen, but his voice can be heard in the forest laughing, whistling, or singing. Nov 14, 2017 the first museum of slavic mythology has been existed in tomsk since 2007. In slavic mythology this was the name of the goddess of. The slavic star goddess zorya, guardian of the doomsday hound and servant of the sun god. In ancient slavic mythology, jarilo is the god of spring vegetation and fertility, but sometimes even associated with war. The scope of the bibliography is all written materials books, dissertations, pamphlets, articles, and selections published in all slavic languages and major western languages. Except for a hilarious parodyripoff of harry potter called tanya grotter, but im not sure that counts. Slavic mythology all the tropes wiki fandom powered by.
It possesses numerous common traits with other religions descended from the protoindoeuropean religion. Slavic mythology represents all of beliefs, myths and cultural practices of prechristian slavs. Written for students and general readers, this book offers a brief but thorough introduction to s. On the other hand, hugo schuchardt, vatroslav jagic and luka pintar proposed a. The old sun god was identified as svarog, and his son, the young and new sun, as dazbog. He is thought to be an exquisitely handsome young man, riding on a white horse, dressed in white and barefoot, tasseled with wild flowers and carrying a bundle of wheat in his hands. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The leshy is a sportive spirit who enjoys playing tricks on people, though when angered he can be treacherous. Alexander afanasyev was the russian responsible for recording the folk tales in the fashion of the german brothers grimm. Max vasmer derived the name of the holiday from the protoslavic korcunu, which is in turn derived from the verb korcati, meaning to step forward. Baba yaga flies around in a mortar, wields a pestle, and dwells deep in the forest in a hut usually described as standing on chicken legs.
The religion possesses numerous common traits with other religions descended from the protoindoeuropean religion. Each group created its own distinct set of localized mythologies, deities, and rituals based upon the beliefs and legends of the original protoslavs. Slavic mythology and slavic religion evolved over more than 3,000 years ago. Slavic paganism or slavic religion describes the religious beliefs, myths and ritual practices of the slavs prior to christianisation. In slavic folklore, baba yaga is a supernatural being or one of a trio of sisters of the same name who appears as a deformed andor ferociouslooking woman. Fortunately, the medieval slavic peasant did not embraced christianity on any more than a surface level. Unlike ancient greek, indian hindu, chinese or egyptian mythology, there are no firsthand records for the study of slavic mythology. Early slavic mythology has been a challenge for historians to study. The goddesses of slavic folklore are shrouded in mystery, their true nature obscured by the christian faith which sought to eradicate all pagan worship. Slavic mythology project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Mokosh was a slavic goddess of weaving, women, water and fertility. However, according to many dictionary definitions, these terms can also mean a traditional story or narrative that embodies the belief or beliefs of a group of people, and this. The scope of the bibliography is all written materials books, dissertations, pamphlets, articles, and selections published in all.
Fortunately, the medieval slavic peasant did not embraced christianity on. The world of ancient gods slavic goddesses meet the slavs. History of religious beliefs and ideas by mircea eliade, slavic mythology by anca ionescu irina. For the slavs though, much to the vexation of the priests, christianity was more of an addition to their ancient beliefs than an actual replacement. Christianization affected slavic mythology as gods and goddesses were replaced with religious icons, and vampires and werewolves were fought now by a holy brotherhood of christian believers. However, according to many dictionary definitions, these terms can also mean a traditional story or narrative that embodies the belief or beliefs of a. Karachun is the lord of frost, snow storms and blizzards. The witcher games and books are full of slavic mythology.
It is impossible to mention all of the slavic gods in one article, and each region had own local deities. When dealing with slavic mythology, one cannot be too careful or too critical about the validity and authenticity of sources. Thus, we present the list of the most popular slavic male deities, who supported slavs for millennia. However, a large part of their mythology can be reconstructed from linguistics, folklore and comparative mythology.
After my last video on the slavic mythology in the witcher, i received a number of suggestions for a. In comparative mythology, perun is a descendant of protoindoeuropean perkwunos and a brother to figures such as thor mighty bearded thunderer, zeus supreme ruler of the sky or lithuanian god perkunas notice the almost. It is conjectured that some parts of it are from neolithic or possibly even mesolithic times. Gustav weigand, alexandru cihac and alexandru philippide offer a similar slavic etymology, based on kratuku curt, short or kracati to make steps. Men and monsters by elena may, the bear and the nightingale by katherine arden, uprooted by naomi novik, wicked saints. This period is characterized by a polytheistic religious system. Slavs are usually subdivided into east slavs russians, ukrainians, and belorussians, west slavs poles, czechs, slovaks, and lusatians sorbs, and south slavs bosnians, serbs, croats, slovenes, macedonians. An alternative or perhaps the original name for this festival was korochun. This was the name of a fourheaded slavic god of war and light. What is known about slavic mythology article culture. As you are probably aware there is not much out there in the english language. His images will definitely inspire you and motivate you to explore the ancient religion and myths of slavic people because after viewing these images you will feel a need to do so. Slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the slavs before christianization. How to find book recommendations for slavic mythology quora.
What is the best booktextbook to learn more about slavic. It is either an oak tree, or some sort of pine tree. In slavic creation myths, creation of the world is usually attributed to him. Many english speakers understand the terms myth and mythology to mean fictitious or imaginary. The religion possesses many common traits with other religions descended from the protoindoeuropean religion. The museum is located in a threestorey building behind voskresenskaya hill. Michal zebrowski, marina aleksandrova, malgorzata foremniak, daniel olbrychski.
See more ideas about slavic mythology, mythology, slavic. Scholars working with slavic literatures and linguistics, particularly early literatures and medieval slavic texts, will also find it indispensable. Religion and mythology differ, but have overlapping aspects. In the 9th century, a tyrant oppresses prechristian slavic tribes living on the polish lands. Recently i once again became interested in slavic mythology, the main reason being the witcher games many quests are based on slavic stories and myths and the second one being my childhood older people always told me stories about creatures or events that were known in the area where i lived. Slavic mythology kindle edition by machal, jan, gray, louis h. In edward fallon s second book in his linger series of novels, trail of the beast, a rusalka taunts a trio hunting a serial killer. Unlike greek or egyptian mythology, there are no firsthand records for the study of slavic mythology. The south slavs living on the balkan peninsula in south eastern europe, bordering with the byzantine empire to the south, came under the sphere of influence of eastern orthodox.
Svetovid m slavic mythology derived from the slavic elements svetu blessed, holy and vidu sight, view. Jun 10, 2018 slavic mythology1 slavic mythology slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the slavs prior to christianisation. A handbook greenwood folklore handbooks first edition slavic folklore has great cultural significance and international influence. A bibliography of slavic mythology slavica publishers. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading slavic mythology. Choose your favorite slavic mythology paintings from millions of available designs. The great red dragon and the woman clothed with the sun by william blake wikimedia commons in this tale, the tsarina militza is said to have been visited by a zmaj from yastrebatz every night for a year. Slavic mythology and slavic religion evolved over more than 5,000 years. Research must then be done through the study of folklore and folk customs. Slavic mythology the gods of eastern europe and russia. Slavic religion, beliefs and practices of the ancient slavic peoples of eastern europe.
Runes by ednah walters, valkyrie by kate ohearn, the swan road by angeline hawkes, viking myths stor. Slavic mythology1 slavic mythology slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the slavs prior to christianisation. The pagan slavs had a unique view of spirituality, and their own pantheon of fascinating gods. Morana f slavic mythology, croatian from a slavic root meaning death, plague. The mythological symbol of the world tree was a very strong. As opposed to, say, greek mythology, where a single goddesss mood brings both summer and winter, in slavic mythology winter is ruled by a separate deity.
The early protoslav tribes split into groups, consisting of the east, west slavs, and south slavs. Intro introduction to slavic mythology pantheon the slavic pantheon explore browse our entries on slavic mythology find gods search the holy database of all known gods az index list of deity names from slavic mythology. An alternative or perhaps the original name for this festival was korochun or koleda. Slavic pantheon is rich like in the case of greek, roman, egyptian and other ancient groups of deities. The winternight trilogy, by katherine arden, is inspired by slavic mythology and includes many characters, such as the domovoi, the rusalka and other beings. Slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the slavs before christianisation. Despite some arguable theories for instance, the book of veles, it has not been proven that the slavs had any sort of writing system before the arrival of saints cyril and methodius to slavic lands in 862. There are no known written accounts of slavic mythology predating the fragmentation of the protoslavic people into western slavs czechs, slovaks, sorbs and. Slavic and greekroman mythology, comparative mythology. These traditions show the singular goddess vesna, but there is a mythology surrounding the plural vesnas. Slavic mythology which is almost a internet celebrity when it comes to his images of slavic history with motives of our mythology. Zmaj and the dragon lore of slavic mythology ancient origins.
The first museum of slavic mythology has been existed in tomsk since 2007. The first recorded usage of the term was in 1143, when the author of the novgorod first chronicle referred to the winter solstice as korocun. Slavs are usually subdivided into east slavs russians, ukrainians, and belorussians, west slavs poles, czechs, slovaks, and lusatians sorbs, and south slavs bosnians, serbs, croats, slovenes, macedonians, and bulgars in antiquity the slavs were perhaps the largest branch of the indoeuropean. See more ideas about mythology, gods and goddesses and russian mythology. It was considered the day when the black god and other spirits associated with decay and darkness were most potent. Pagan gods, creation of the world and men, demons and such.
Scholarly interest in beliefs of ancient slavs has been continually waxing since the times of renaissance, and with it the overall number of confusions, errors, misinterpretations, and unsupported reconstructions not to mention inventions has also increased. Slavic mythology and magick has been translated into english, makes studying the subject extremely difficult. I am looking for some books about slavic mythology. Storytelling is a big part of the slavic culture and many tales have been passed on for countless generations. It is believed that slavic mythology can trace its roots back to the protoindo european period, and perhaps as far back as the neolithic era. When her husband, the 14 th century serbian ruler, tsar lazar, hears this, he tells the tsarina to ask the zmaj if he feared anyone besides god, and whether there is a hero on this. Mokosh f slavic mythology derived from slavic mok meaning wet, moist.