Leshy Stories - Page 20 of 24

2019-11-232020-06-16

Slavic amulets – Part 2

When analyzing the semantics of the animal fangs amulets used in the Middle Ages, it is important to consider that the cult of some animals (bear, wolf, etc.) was in the system of mythological beliefs of various European nations and that it was associated with certain pagan gods (for instance the pair of Bear and Veles). Such an amulet could be worn as a sign of patronage from this god and be directly related to the functions and attributes that this god was endowed with.

We continue to familiarize you with the customs and beliefs of the ancient Slavic people, while working on the animated fantasy comic book series. In such posts, as if jumping forward in time, we shed light upon and help to understand the events that will occur in our story … 😉

Amulets were crafted by “knowing” people – healers, sorcerers, blacksmiths. Blacksmiths made amulets of silver or iron, bound belemnite stones, claws, shells, made silver images of animals and reptiles, agricultural tools and weapons.

Special rituals were observed for the amulet making process. Among the southern Slavs, for example, the amulet was often forged by a naked blacksmith at dead midnight from a horseshoe of a dead mare, in eastern Serbia – on Friday eve, with complete silence by a naked husband and wife.

Amulets were also made of leather and could be made in the form of a bag, which contained objects possessing magical protective properties.

Amulets were worn on a chain or on a lace around the neck (standalone or as part of a necklace), also attached to a belt, sewn onto clothes (on a shoulder, under an arm, etc.) and a hat (most often for children). Cattle amulets were hung around the neck, tail, inserted into the horn in a drilled hole.

Sources:

(1) E. A. Tyanina, “Amulets Made from Animal Teeth and Bones in Mediaeval Novgorod” / Archeological News. Vol. 17, 2011 (photo is also taken from this article);
(2) Levkievskaya E.E., “Slavic talismans and protective spells. Semantics and structure”, 2002;
(3) “Slavic Antiquities” – encyclopedic dictionary in 5 volumes by Institute for Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Slavic amulets

2019-11-202020-06-16

Slavic amulets – Part 1

Personal amulets, as a magical way of protecting a person and his world from danger, have been used by the Slavs since ancient times. This is verified by numerous archaeological finds of teeth, claws and animal bones with drilled holes in them in the layer of early medieval settlements in Eastern Europe.

Fangs and claws belong to the category of talismans of “chase off / strike” magic, which are used for preventive magic strike on the “enemy”. For example, two fangs of a wild boar, connected in the form of a crescent moon, were hung on the horse neck as a shield from an evil eye. To protect the child from the Bosorka, on the modern Ukrainian-Slovak borderlands, as well as in Polesie region, a wolf fang was hung on the neck of a child as a talisman, where Serbs used the fang of any beast for that purpose. To protect child from an evil eye Russians hung a wolf fang on the cradle.

Hunters carried a lynx claw as protection against wild beasts and various dangers during the hunt, and sailors also took it with them while sailing, so as not to drown. Pike teeth were used as protection of a person from illness.

In the Polish Beskids and in Novgorod, the fangs of a bear were worn as a talisman, and the Russians and Serbs also used its claws and wool as an amulet. One scientific theory suggests that the bear’s claws were used in a funeral cult and were associated with belief in the “world mountain”, on which the soul with their help climbed after death. This theory is supported by medieval sources which recorded very similar belief in the pagan rituals of the Baltic people.

To be continued…

Slavic amulet

2019-11-132020-06-16

Gnilusha – villain or hero?

This is Gnilusha (resembles the word “rotten”). What do you think about the personality of this character? 😉 He will play his important part in our story…

We continue to work on the first story from the animated fantasy comic book series about the life, customs and beliefs of the Slavic tribes in the early Middle Ages.

Gnilusha - villain or hero?

2019-11-092020-06-16

Slavic tribes – Lendians and Vervians (Lędzanie & Wierzbianie). Part II

We continue a string of posts about various Slavic tribes, which are to be mentioned in our animated fantasy comic book series about the customs and beliefs of the ancient Slavic people.

Interestingly, according to the most accepted point of view in etymology, the word “Lech” is derived from the name of the Lędzanie tribe. The name “Lędzianie” itself derives from the Proto-Slavic and Old Polish word “lęda”, meaning ” uncultivated field”. In other languages, this name was distorted according to phonetic laws: Lendizi (Bavarian Geographer), Lendzanenoi , Lendzaninoi (Constantine VII), Lz’njn (Josippon), Landzaneh (Al-Masudi), Lachy (Nestor), etc.

Even more mysterious tribe was the Vervians (Wierzbianie) with even fewer historical references. They were also mentioned in the treatise «De administrando imperio» (Βερβίανοι). They lived near the Lendians (Lędzanie), and also had economic and political ties with Kievan Rus.

Some scientists believe that reference to the Lendians and Vervians by a number of famous sources can be attributed to the significant role those tribes played in the region due to its geographical position on the important trade route from east to west: through the passes of the Carpathian mountains and further to the Moravian Gate.

Sources:
– Henryk Łowmiański “Zagadnienia roli Normanów w genezie państw słowiańskich”, 1957 (PL);
– Krzysztof Tomasz Witczak, On two Prapolian tribes inhabiting the Przemyśl and Chełm Lands – Lędzany and Wierzbiny , ” Acta Archaeologica Carpathica ” R. 38, 2003, pp. 157-172. (PL);
– Krzysztof Fokt “Lędzanie – how far from the Empire”, 2007 (EN);
– Maksim Zhikh, Lendians of Constantine Porphyrogenitus and Radimichs “of Lyahis’ origin”, 2018 (RU with EN summary);
– Atlas historyczny Polski, Państwowe Przedsiębiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych im. Eugeniusza Romera, Warszawa-Wrocław 1979 (PL);
– We also recommend Wikipedia articles on Lędzanie and Wierzbianie in PL, RU and EN languages.

Slavic tribes Vervians

2019-11-072020-06-16

Slavic tribes – Lendians and Vervians (Lędzanie & Wierzbianie). Part I

Lendians (also: Lendzaninoi, Lz’njn, Lachy, Landzaneh and Lendizi) is a West Slavic Lechitic tribe that lived in the border region of modern Ukraine and Poland.

We are starting a string of posts about different Slavic tribes, which are to be mentioned in our animated fantasy comic book series about the customs and beliefs of the ancient Slavic people.

Lędzanie is one of the most mysterious Slavic tribes due to the small amount of historical information. Their reliable localization and identification are still a subject of debate between scholars.

Lędzanie (Λενζανηνοι / Λενζενίνοι) are mentioned in the treatise of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (Κωνσταντίνος Ζ ‘ο Πορφυρογέννητος, 945-959) «De administrando imperio» (Πρὸςτὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ρωμανόν, 948-952) among the Eastern Slavic ethno-political unions (Σκλαβηνίας / Sclavenias). Lędzanie supplied logboats (Monoxylon / Μονόξυλον) to Kievan Rus, which were then used in the campaigns against the Byzantine Empire.

This reference gave researchers reasons to believe that the Lędzanie’s lands also included the area in the upper reaches of the Dniester, San, Western Bug and Styr rivers. The latter, being a tributary of the Pripyat river, gave direct access to the Dnieper and Kievan Rus, with whom Lędzanie had economic and political ties.

The “Bavarian geographer” («Descriptio civitatum et regionum ad septentrionalem plagam Danubii») says that Lędzanie (Lendizi) had 98 settlements.

To be continued…

Slavic tribes – Lendians and Vervians