This article is about the Slavic town of the Lutici. For the Nazi prison in occupied Poland, see Radogoszcz prison. For the constitution of ancient Sparta, see Great Rhetra.
Rethra (also known as Radagoszcz, Radegost, Radigast, Redigast, Radgosc and other forms like Ruthengost) was, in the 10th to the 12th centuries, the main town and political center of the SlavicRedarians, one of the four major Lutician tribes, located most likely in present-day Mecklenburg. It was also a major worship center, devoted to the cult of the Slavic deityRadegast-Swarożyc.
The name "Radgosc" (or its close forms) derives from old Slavic and roughly translates as "hospitable" ("radość" or "radi" meaning "glad" or "happy"[1] and "gość" or "gost" meaning "guest").[citation needed][2][3]
In Czech, the word "radohostinství" means 'hospitality', and "radovati se" means 'to rejoice'.[4]
Alternately it may be translated as "council hosting", from "rada" (Czech, Polish, Slovak, Ukrainian) - council (also advice, counsel, committee), and "hostit" (Czech "to host"), "goszczący", "gościć" (Polish "hosting", "to host"), and relate to a place, person, or deity hosting the council.[citation needed]
The name Rethra was suggested by T. Witkowski to be a "distorted form" of the name of the Redarians.[5]
Chronicles
Radagosc is described in the chronicles of Thietmar of Merseburg, who used the name Riedegost, while, writing about fifty years later, Adam of Bremen referred to it as Rethra.
Thietmar (VI, 23) described Riedegost as a castle (urbs) with three horns (tricornis) and three gates (tres in se continens portas), two of which could be reached by land, while the third, smallest gate faced a lake (mare) to the east.[6] This complex was surrounded by a virgin forest (silva),[6] and a wooden temple elevated on animal horns was inside. Idols of several pagan deities were there, each of whom had a name engraved and wore helmet and armor, with "Zuarasici" being the highest deity.[7] Guidons (vexilla) of these deities were stored inside the temple and were only to leave the room during a war.[7]
Thietmar wrote his chronicle when the Lutici were allies of the Holy Roman Emperor, an alliance he opposed, and composed his report to advise the Holy Roman Emperor against it.[7] He also explicitly addresses the reader and advises him not to follow the pagan Lutician cult, but instead to adhere to the Holy Bible.[8]
Adam of Bremen wrote his Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum when Radgosc was already in decline, and gave a somewhat different account: according to him, Radgosc, or "Rethra", "seat of the idols" (sedes ydolatriae) was surrounded by a deep lake and had nine gates. He described Redigast as the superior deity in a large demonic temple (templum ibi magnum constructum est demonibus, princeps est Redigast), that could be reached by a wooden bridge by those who wanted to sacrifice or ask the oracle.[9] The 12th-century chronicler Helmold largely followed Adam's version.[9] The difference in the numbers used by Thietmar ("three", tricornis) and Adam ("nine") might be explained with the symbolic use of these numbers, meant not to accurately describe Radgosc, but rather connect it to the underworld.[10]
The boar, who according to Thietmar came out of the lake before a war to take pleasure in the mud, thereby "terribly shaking and appearing to many", might likewise be a symbol that Thietmar used for the devil rather than an actual oracle, in contrast to the horse oracle.[11]
The precise location of the city is unknown, however, its most likely location is on the islands and in the swamp area of the Lieps and Tollense lakes near Neubrandenburg (see Fischerinsel). Theories that the town might have been at Feldberg, Wanzka Abbey or Gnoien were refuted.[12]
In addition to the disputed location of the place, even the assumption that Thietmar and Adam were writing about the same town has been controversial.[13] This is in part because the main deity worshiped in Riedegost/Rethra was reported as Zuarasici (Swarożyc) by Thietmar (VI, 23), and as Redigost (Redigast, Riedegost) by Adam of Bremen (II, 21; III, 51) as well as the 12th century chronicler Helmold (I, 2).[14]
This is interpreted by historians and linguists in different ways: probably, the different names mark the transition from an appellativum related with the Iranian root xvar, "sun", to a distinct personalized deity with the name Riedegost.[15] This could then have been adopted as the name of the temple in the town and as the name of the tribe settling there (Redarii, Redarians, Redars).[15]
Following the alternative hypothesis, it was the other way around: Adam of Bremen and Helmold mistakenly adopted the name of the temple site as the name of the deity, which was correctly identified by Thietmar and corresponds with Svarožič or Svarog.[15] According to a third theory, Riedegost was the second name of Thietmar's Zuarasici.[15]
In Slavic languages, the suffix "-yc","-ič", "-wicz", "-vič" added to a personal name creates a patronym, meaning a "son", or more generally "offspring" or "descendant" of the person bearing the name, therefore Svarožič, or Swarożyc is "a son", "grandson" or other offspring of Svarog (with "g" replaced with "ż", or "ž", according to Slavic grammar rules).
Political center and Slavic revolts
According to Helmold of Bosau, the Slavic revolt of 983 was started after a meeting at the civitas Rethre.
Likewise the successful beginning of the Obotrite revolt of 1066 was, according to Adam of Bremen celebrated in "Rethra" by the ritual decapitation of captured bishop Johann of Mecklenburg and the sacrifice of his head, stuck on a lance, to Riedegost.[16] The last historical record of "Rheda" is an entry in the Annals of Augsburg for the year 1068,[16] describing its capture by bishop Burchard and the abduction of its sacred horse.[16]
It is assumed that Radgosc was destroyed either in this or one of the following campaigns; probably it was destroyed and rebuilt several times since Ebo's Vita Ottonis episcopi Bambergensis (III, 5) mentions the destruction of "the Lutician civitas and temple" by king Lothair of Supplinburg in 1126/27, without specifying its name.[16]
Related Research Articles
Helmold of Bosau was a Saxon historian of the 12th century and a priest at Bosau near Plön. He was a friend of the two bishops of Oldenburg in Holstein, Vicelinus and Gerold, who did much to Christianize the Polabian Slavs.
Chernobog and Belobog are an alleged pair of Polabian deities. Chernobog appears in Helmold's Chronicle as a god of misfortune worshipped by the Wagri and Obodrites, while Belobog is not mentioned – he was reconstructed in opposition to Chernobog. Both gods also appear in later sources, but they are not considered reliable. Researchers do not agree on the status of Chernobog and Belobog: many scholars recognize the authenticity of these theonyms and explain them, for example, as gods of good and evil; on the other hand, many scholars believe that they are pseudo-deities, and Chernobog may have originally meant "bad fate", and later associated with the Christian devil.
Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century.
Svetovit, also known as Sventovit and Svantovit amongst other variants, is the god of abundance and war, and the chief god of the Slavic tribe of the Rani, and later of all the Polabian Slavs. His organized cult was located on the island of Rügen, at Cape Arkona, where his main temple was also located. According to the descriptions of medieval chroniclers, the statue representing this god had four heads, a horn and a sword, and to the deity himself were dedicated a white horse, a saddle, a bit, a flag, and eagles. Once a year, after the harvest, a large festival was held in his honor. With the help of a horn and a horse belonging to the god, the priests carried out divinations, and at night the god himself rode a horse to fight his enemies. His name can be translated as "Strong Lord" or "Holy Lord". In the past it was often mistakenly believed that the cult of Svetovit originated from St. Vitus. Among scholars of Slavic mythology, Svetovit is often regarded as a Polabian hypostasis of Pan-Slavic god Perun. His cult was destroyed in 1168.
The Veleti, also known as Veletians, Wilzi, Wielzians, and Wiltzes, were a group of medieval Lechitic tribes within the territory of Western Pomerania, related to Polabian Slavs. They had formed together the Confederation of the Veleti, also known as the Union of the Veleti, a loose monarchic confederation of the tribes. Said state existed between the 6th and 10th centuries, after which, it was succeeded by the Lutician Federation.
Drahomíra of Stodor was Duchess consort of Bohemia from 915 to 921, wife of the Přemyslid duke Vratislaus I. She also acted as regent of the Duchy of Bohemia from 921 to 924 during the minority of her son Wenceslaus. She is chiefly known for the murder of her mother-in-law Ludmila of Bohemia by hired assassins.
Radegast or Radogost is, according to medieval chroniclers, the god of the Polabian Slavs, whose temple was located in Rethra. In modern academic literature, however, the dominant view is that Radegast is a local nickname or a local alternative name of the solar god Svarozhits, who, according to earlier sources, was the chief god of Rethra. Some researchers also believe that the name of the town, where Svarozhits was the main deity, was mistakenly taken for a theonym. A popular local legend in the Czech Republic is related to Radegast.
The Rani or Rujani were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia (Rügen) and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany.
The Nakonids were the leading noble family of the Slavic peoples of the Elbe River from ca. 960 until 1129. They were themselves of Obotrite origin and engineered the formation of a Slavic principality in the region. They became extinct in the male line in the early 12th century. Their capital was Mecklenburg Castle.
Pomerania during the Early Middle Ages covers the History of Pomerania from the 7th to the 11th centuries.
The Rugini were a pagan tribe living in or near present day northern Germany in the 9th century. They were only mentioned once, in a list of pagan tribes drawn up by the English monk Bede in his Historia ecclesiastica of the early 8th century:
Sunt autem Fresones, Rugini, Danai, Hunni, Antiqui Saxones, Boructuari; sunt alii perplures hisdem in partibus populi paganis adhuc ritibus servientis.
The Lutici or Liutizi(known by various spelling variants) were a federation of West Slavic Polabian tribes, who between the 10th and 12th centuries lived in what is now northeastern Germany. Four tribes made up the core of the federation: the Redarians, Circipanians (Circipani), Kessinians and Tollensians (Tholenzi). At least in part, the Lutici were a continuation of the Veleti. In contrast to the former and the neighboring peoples, the Lutici were not led by a Christian monarch or duke, rather power was asserted through consensus formed in central assemblies of the social elites, and the Lutici worshipped nature and several deities. The political and religious center was Radgosc.
Yarovit, Iarovit is a Polabian god of war, worshipped in Vologošč (Circipanians) and Hobolin. Sources give only a brief description of his cult, his main temple was located in Vologošč, where there was a golden shield belonging to Yarovit. By one Christian monk he was identified with the Roman Mars.
Fischerinsel is a lake island in Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in the district of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte, near Neubrandenburg. It is located in the southern part of Lake Tollensesee, in front of the city of Penzlin.
Svarozhits, Svarozhich is a Slavic god of fire, son of Svarog. One of the few Pan-Slavic gods. He is most likely identical with Radegast, less often identified with Dazhbog.
A zhrets is a priest in the Slavic religion whose name is reconstructed to mean "one who makes sacrifices". The name appears mainly in the East and South Slavic vocabulary, while in the West Slavs it is attested only in Polish. Most information about the Slavic priesthood comes from Latin texts about the paganism of the Polabian Slavs. The descriptions show that they were engaged in offering sacrifices to the gods, divination and determining the dates of festivals. They possessed cosmological knowledge and were a major source of resistance against Christianity.
Hennil or Bendil is an alleged agrarian Slavic god worshipped by the Polabian Slavs. He was mentioned by Bishop Thietmar in his Chronicle as a god who was represented by a staff crowned by a hand holding a ring, which is interpreted as a symbol of fertility. However, there is no general consensus on the authenticity of the deity.
Mistislaw, also known as Mstislav, was an Elbe Slavic prince of the Nakonid lineage and ruled over the Obotrites in what is now Mecklenburg and eastern Holstein from 990/995 to 1018.
The Slavic rebellion of 1066 was a pagan reaction to the spread of Christianity among the Obodrites. It was the third of three major pagan uprisings among the West Slavs against Christianity and its German supporters after the revolt of 983 and that of 1018. It was the most effective of the three.
References
↑ Rosik, Stanisław. The Slavic Religion in the Light of 11th- and 12th-Century German Chronicles (Thietmar of Merseburg, Adam of Bremen, Helmold of Bosau). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2020. p. 216. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004331488
↑ Unbegaun, Boris-Ottokar. L'Ancienne religion des Slaves de la Baltique. In: Revue d'histoire et de philosophie religieuses, 26e année n°3-4, 1946. pp. 218-219. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/rhpr.1946.3182; www.persee.fr/doc/rhpr_0035-2403_1946_num_26_3_3182
↑ Šmitek, Zmago (2010). “Od Staroslovanskega Svarožiča/Radogosta Do Slovenskega Kresnika" [From the Ancient Slavic Svarožič/Radogost to the Slovene Kresnik]. In: Studia Mythologica Slavica 13 (October). Ljubljana, Slovenija, pg. 197. https://doi.org/10.3986/sms.v13i0.1647.
1 2 3 4 Schmidt, Roderich (2009). Das historische Pommern. Personen, Orte, Ereignisse. Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Pommern. Böhlau. pp.75–76. ISBN978-3-412-20436-5.
Literature
Miller, E., Postan, C., Postan, M. M., The Cambridge Economic History of Europe, Cambridge University Press, 1987, pg. 494.
Further reading
"Radogosc (Rethra) and other temples of the Lutizens and Abodrites". In: Slupecki, Leszek Pawel. Slavonic Pagan Sanctuaries. Translated by lzabela Szymańska. Warsaw: Institute of Archeology and Ethnology; Polish Academy of Sciences, 1994. pp. 51-69. ISBN83-85463-27-5.
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