SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY
803
SLAVONIC VERSIONS
lations and privilecfes. This did not arise from any hostility or desire to oppress on the part of the Cluirch, but rather from the necessity of respecting the legal rights of the master. 1. They were debarred from the privilege of ordination, for the reason that, being orig- inally tied by birth or purchase to their patron's or master's service, they could not be legally ordained; the service of the Church being incompatible with their other duties, and no man was to be defrauded of his right under pretence of ordination. If, however, a slave was found worthy, and his master gave con- sent, then he might be ordained. 2. If the master of a slave was a Christian, his testimony concerning the life and conversation of the slave was required before the latter could be admitted to the privilege of bap- tism. The design of this course was to enlist the in- terest of the master, and prevent the over-hasty ad- mission of unfit persons. 3. The slave could not mar- ry without his master's consent, being looked upon in this respect as a child; nor could he enter a mon- astery without this permission, because this would de- prive his master of his legal right of service. 4. The privilege of sanctuary was also denied them if it would excuse them from the proper duties of their station. If they fled to a church, they might be reclaimed and brought out immediately. Other facts relating to slaves may not be uninteresting: e. g. exception was made in their favor so that the judge might on Sun- day go through the civil process of law necessary for their emancipation. It was thought a highly proper and commendatory act to celebrate Easter by grant- ing freedom to slaves. Further, if the slave of an apostate or a heretic fled from his master and took sanctuary in the church, he was not only to be pro- tected, but to have his manumission or freedom grant- ed him likewise. See Bingham, Christ. Antiq,
Slavic Mythology. This term may cover the religions of the early I'oles, Russians, Wends, Bohe- mians, Moravians, Servians, Masuri, and Silesians. The teaching of these systems is based on the idea of dual principles, a race of good and another of evil deities, with whom are associated numerous inferior gods. The principal divinities may be connected with a tree whose root is God — called Bog or Swantewit. All the subor- dinate gods are in pairs, as Belbog and Czernebog, lyoofZ and evil, and Kazi and Zirnitra, counsellors and inuf/i- cians, as follows :
Swantewit, Triglaf, or Bog=God.
I Belbog
i I
K;idegast Razivia (Razi)
Czernebos
Flins Ilela TCemisa (Ziruitra) (Razi) (Ziruilra) I (Ziruitra)
I I Mita
Prove Podajra (Razi)
Hierowii Slebog Sieva Zilsbog
I I Berstuk Gasto
Gilbog Jutrbog Rugiewit Karewit (Razi) (Razi)
I ^1 I I I I
Perk 11 n
Swaixtix Siska Gudji
Marowit.
This plan assumes that the principal seat of the Sla- vonic religions was at Arcona, since Swanteirit was there only venerated as the supreme divinity; at Kief and Komowa the lightning-darting Perim, or Perhin, stood first, and at Khetra Radegast ; but Swantewit was at all events the chief deity worshipped among all the Western Slavs, and was esteemed as one of the chief gods among the Eastern Slavs as well. The Rus- sians and the Poles residing nearest to Kief or Novo- gorod distinguished the gods into four classes, which contrasted with each other, and whose respective mem- bers were similarly various in their natures. There were, for instance, gods of men and of beasts. In the
former class were found gods of lore and of pain ; in the latter, gods of growth and of destruction. The other classes were that of the nation and that of inan- I imate nature— the one including gods of war and of peace; the other, gods of the land and of the water, of the house and of the field. To these deities of the gen- eral populace must be added innumerable private and local gods, especially among the Poles, each tribe, town, or institution having its own patron divinity, and each one regarding its own god as superior to others of his class. The most insignificant duties, such as the light- ing of lamps, the cutting of bread, the tapping of a fresh barrel, etc., were under the guidance of the gods. A numerous priesthood conducted the religions rites, which generally took place in front of the temples, and sometimes involved bloody sacrifices of human be- ings. Princes were accustomed to devote prisoners of war in this way, though the interested priests would sometimes spare the latter for a life of servitude; and the people were in the habit of contributing material of every kind and in lavish quantity to the support of their religion. Such contributions afforded the sup- port by which the priestly class was sustained. The temples were rude structures of logs and were sur- rounded by hanging cloths. The devastating cam- paigns of Henry the Lion destroyed the temples of the western Slavonian tribes and brought the preva- lent paganism to an end, though certain superstitious customs have been preserved in the regions of their former occupancy to this day. — Yollmer, WOrterb. d, Mythol. s. V.
Slavonians is the general designation of a race of great antiquity, who were found on the Don among the Goths, and afterwards on the Danube among the Huns and the Bulgarians. Their ancient religion was a system of unmixed paganism, their chief god being Perun {thunder), while the other principal deities were Lada (goddess of love and pleasure), Kupala (god of the fruits of the earth), and Koleda (god of festivals). From Procopius we learn that they worshipped also rivers, nymphs, and other deities, to whom they offered sacrifices, making divinations at the same time. The most celebrated deity of the Baltic Slavonians was Swantewif, whose temple was at Arcona, the capital of Riigen, For a lengthened and graphic account of the temple and worship of Swantewit, see Gardner, Faiths , of the World, s. v. Each of the different Slavonian nations had its own special deities. At Pliin, in Hol- stein, there was an idol called Podaga, and at Stettin there was a temple dedicated to the Slavic god Trig- laf, whose image was triple-headed. Notwithstanding the numbers of their deities, the Slavonians seem to have believed in a supreme God in heaven, and held that all other gods issued from his blood. In addition to their gods, they believed in good and evil spirits and daBmons of different kinds, in the immortality of the soul, and in a retribution after death. Worship was held in forests and temples, and sacrifices of cattle and fruit were offered. The dead were burned and their ashes preserved in urns. For literature, see Miklo- sich, Verf/leichende Grammatik der slavischen Sprachen Wien, 1852-71); Naake, Slavonic Fairy Tales (Lond. 1874); Schafarik, Slavhche AltertkUmer (Leips. 1843, 2 vols.) ; Talvi, Historical View of the Langiiafjes and Literature of the Slavic Nations (N. Y. 1850). See Sekvia.