Slavery, Religion and the Prus

In: The Dawning of Christianity in Poland and across Central-Eastern Europe: History and the Politics of Memory, eds. I. Kąkolewski, Ch. Lübke, P. Urbańczyk, (= Polish Studies - Transdisciplinary Perspectives 26), Berlin 2020, 91-109., 2020

This chapter discusses the earliest traces of Christianity's spread into Pomerania (Pomorze) during the two centuries before a lasting Church organization was finally built in the 12th c. As evidenced through archaeological finds, already in the late 10th /early 11th c. do we observe an erosion of the traditional sepulchral behaviors and the appearance of new grave and burial-site forms among the Slavic Pomeranians. This phenomenon might be associable with the stronger penetration of Christianity into this region, i.a., during the short-lived conquest of Pomerania by the Piasts at the end of the 10th c. Moreover, the rhythm of economic development in the early-urban residential merchant settlements in this Baltic region, ones which functioned in the pre-state (tribal) period, implied a regular arrival of merchants, including Christian ones. In contrast to the early-Piast monarchy, the penetration of Christianity into Pomerania before the 12th c. was not supported by powerful structures of centralized power.

2010

The written evidence gives us a view of the conversion of the peri‐Baltic area through the eyes of the successful Christianizers because, unfortunately, no other contemporary “eyes” are available. Sources from the 10th–11th century paint a pro‐ cess that was quick, historically necessary, and politically effective. Those especially active in spreading the Faith are naturally the focus of attention, hence the ac‐ counts we are dealing with refer for the most part to political elites and ruling dy‐ nasties in particular. Therefore, the historiography of Christianization is not much different from political history. Medieval Christian ‘historians’ dichotomized the past into two distinctive epo chs separated by decisive events which introduced divine order into ungodly chaos. This uniform vision makes us also think in terms of sharp contrasts be‐ tween “what was Christian” and “what was not‐Christian”, thus confronting the two “worlds” in order to achieve better focus and typological cl...

“Some aspects of pre-Christian Baltic religion”, in New researches on the religion and mythology of the Pagan Slavs, Edited by Patrice Lajoye (Paris: Lingva, 2019), pp. 183-219., 2019

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.

2016

Saints' cults played a crucial role in medieval society. Although we know very little about the beliefs and rituals of the indigenous peoples of Livonia, either before or after the thirteenth-century conquest, we may assume that the process of Christianization must have caused major changes in their religious practices.! How quickly these changes took place, and how deep they were, is a question which is difficult to answer, given the scarcity of sources describing the attitudes of the indigenous peoples towards the Christian faith, or dealing with their religious customs. This is valid not only for the thirteenth century but also for the rest of the medieval period. There exist, of course, brief complaints in documents such as church statutes about the ignorance and superstition of the 'non-Germans', but these texts were written by and from the point of view of the ruling elites and not that of non-Germans themselves, who did not possess a written culture before the nineteenth century. One may also assume that complaints about such matters were a commonplace in other newly Christianized countries as well. However, it is not only the beliefs and customs of the native inhabitants of Livonia that we are interested in, but also those of the 'newcomers' in the country, that is, the (predominantly German) upper and middle classes. The location of Livonia between the Roman Catholic West and the Russian Orthodox East (not to mention the neighbouring Lithuanians who remained pagan until the late fourteenth century) makes this region an interesting melting pot of different cultural and religious influences. The political, economic and cultural connections to Germany, Denmark and Sweden, the role of the Hanseatic League, the presence of the military orders (first the Sword Brethren, then the Teutonic Order) and the monastic orders (most notably the Cistercians and the Dominicans) must all have had a significant impact on the development oflocal religious life. This chapter explores only one aspect of religious life in Livonia, namely the cults of saints. This is perhaps most conspicuously reflected in the choice of the patron saints of the churches, towns and other institutions. However, the study is hindered by the scarcity of sources: there are very few surviving calendars and dedication charters of churches and altars. In the majority of cases we do not know when a church or altar was founded and by whom. This makes it difficult This article was written under the auspices of grant no. 6900 awarded by the Estonian Science Foundation. See Marek Tamm and Tönno Jonuks, 'Religious Practices of the Estonians in the Medieval Written Sources (11th to 15th centuries)', in Estonian Mythology, ed. Mare Köiva (Helsinki, forthcoming).

Speculum, 2021

Starohrvatska prosvjeta 47, 2020

Changes in the Dalmatian Slavs’ funeral customs during the eighth and ninth centuries were a side-effect of radical social transformations caused by economic growth and the emergence of Christianity. This paper discusses the causes of these processes and their manifestation in the archaeological record. Promjene u pogrebnim običajima dalmatinskih Slavena tijekom 8. i 9. stoljeća popratna su pojava korjenitih društvenih transformacija uzrokovanih gospodarskim rastom i pojavom kršćanstva. Ovaj rad donosi raspravu o uzrocima ovih procesa i njihovoj manifestaciji u arheološkom zapisu.

Acta Historica Tallinnensia, 2017

This article discusses the use of the cult of the Holy King in the context of the Baltic Crusades at the end of the 12th century and in the early 13th century. The analysis is based on the account of the miracle of St Olaf performed in Estonia, the story of the King's visit to the island of Gotland reflected by Gutasagan and the spatial relation of St Olaf's churches to the landscape. It also discusses three Danish sources which have previously not received attention from historians dealing with the Baltic Crusades, but which actually can change our understanding of the history of the Baltic Sea region and the foundation of the town Reval as well. Particular focus will be placed on the commercial interest of the Danes in communication with the Rus' and its reflections in the building of St Olaf's churches.

2015

Medieval Lithuania was the last state in Europe to accept Christianity officially, pagan Lithuanians converted to Roman Catholicism in 1387; the westernmost part of the country, known as Žemaitija (Samogitia), became ‘Christian’ only in 1417, when the diocese of Medininkai was established by the commission of the Council of Constance and through the good offices of King Jogaila of Poland and Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania. It took almost a millennium from Clovis to Jogaila to complete the project known as Christian Europe: eleventh-hour Christians arrived not long before the Discovery of the New World and the final break-up of medieval Christendom. The aim of this book is to reconstruct the road the medieval Lithuanians took tip-toeing a delicate line between Latin and Greek Christendom. Once crossed, Lithuanians embraced essentially all paraphernalia of late-medieval Christian spirituality thus becoming a recognizably European nation. In its scope and detailed analysis this monograph is the first attempt to introduce English readership to the arcane world of Baltic-speaking tribesmen who succeeded in countering expansionist Latin and Russian Orthodox Europe by employing much the same means and devices as their Christian neighbours; it also examines how Lithuanian society adopted and adapted Christian institutions and practices during the long fifteenth century.he Conversion