To be honest, I do not hope that these lines will change anything in science. Even more - I am sure that after reading this post, none of the readers will change their opinion. I know very well how people who do not have scientific titles are related to research. “A dabbler, a dreamer, scientists have long proved that it would be better to do his own thing …” I understand all this.
Below will be information from rarely cited sources on the mythology of the Baltic Slavs, with the light hand of would-be researchers declared a falsification.
The fact is that yesterday a nondescript worn brochure accidentally fell into my hands. This is a 68-page German study of the name of the city of Parchim, written in 1962. The author of the study set out to prove the falsity of the legends about the connection of the city with the Slavic gods and he succeeded very well - no one returned to this issue again. Meanwhile, the author himself, without suspecting it, points to information that makes us take a fresh look at the entire Slavic mythology. I will give a short retelling of the study, the sources will be cited in Latin, German, and in my translation from German.
So, the study is about the city of Parchim in the south of Mecklenburg. The first mention of it in historical sources dates back to 1170. The German Emperor Frederick I establishes the Schwerin Bishopric, which, among others, includes the city of Parchim. Later it is also mentioned in writing Parchem, Parcheim, Parcheym, Parchym, Parchyn, Parcheme, Parchime, Parcham. Needless to say, you can't imagine more varied.
But the most interesting thing begins in 1521, when Professor Nikolaus Marschalk (born in 1470 in Thuringia and later held high posts in various cities of Mecklenburg) writes the following lines in his work Annales Herulorum ac Vandalorum.
1. “In the middle of the country there are many cities, including the one described by Ptolemy (I hope you don’t need to imagine - nap1000) Alistos, which corresponds to Parhunum, named after the god, whose golden statue is believed to have been buried nearby. Elda (the river flowing through modern Parchim - nap1000) flows in the middle of this city …"
And then Marschalk notes:
Promotional video:
"Alistus, according to Ptolemy, is a city in Mecklenburg, named after the god who was once revered there, usually called Parhunum, in German - Parheim."
2. Further, the author of the study analyzes the messages of Ptolemy proper. I will not dwell here in detail, I will only note that the author concludes that the aforementioned Alistos was not exactly where the modern Parchim is, but in fact not far away, west of the mouth of the Pena, in the upper reaches of the Gavola.
3. The following testimony was left in 1610 by the famous historian Bernhard Latomus, he writes:
"Nikolaus Marshalk thinks that the city of Parchim was called in the time of Ptolemy Alistus, after the local god Parchumi, whom Jordan knew."
4. So, having received a link to Jordan, the author analyzes it as well. At Jordan, the author finds only one name for the deity proper - this is Mars.
5. The following testimony was left by Master Conrad Dietericus (professor of theology, who died in 1639), in his work "Predigten über das Buch der Weisheit", known to the author of the study only in the paraphrase of a certain Cordes.
"The Prussians had a weather god called Pargum, who was invoked during great thunderstorms."
Cordes, retelling this story, adds:
"What was in Prussia could have been in Mecklenburg, in view of the fact that these places are not very far from each other and earlier these areas were immersed in the darkness of paganism."
"Some say it was the god Parchum, the god of fire."
6. This is followed by a message from the late 17th century Lusatian Serb and historian Abraham Frenzel. In his work "Nomia urbium Slavica" he identifies the god Parcheym with the god Percunus:
“God of thunder and lightning. From the Lithuanian Percunos - thunder, as well as lightning, in Prussian still today Pernuns - thunder; and in Polish Piorun means lightning, Piorunek means thunder. Hence the meaning of Parhim - the city of thunder and lightning."
In another work "De diis Soraborum" Frezel writes:
“About Perkunus, the god of thunder and lightning. The figure of Perkunus, made of gold, used to stand in Mecklenburg, near the town of Parchim, according to Marshalk, but he does not describe what it looked like."
“Perkunus was destroyed by the Mecklenburg people in 1128 after the birth of Christ - this year almost the entire Mecklenburg principality adopted the Christian faith. And the Russians (meaning Perkunus was destroyed - nap1000) in 997, because Vladimir, the prince of the Russians, adopted the Christian faith in 950."
7. Let's follow. Joachim von Westphalen, who also held senior positions at the universities of Mecklenburg in the 18th century. Describing the worship of bulls among the Slavic and Germanic peoples, he also mentions Parkhim Parkunas, even cites his image.
“Percun or Parkun or Occepirnus with lightning, a bull, a goat, a sheaf of ears, producing lightning, on a pedestal, holding a red-hot iron on the right, cast in gold; according to Helmold, standing in an oak forest near Starograd. He was revered by the inhabitants of Parhim in Mecklenburg, Lithuanians, Prussians, Livians, Novgorodians and eastern Kievan Rus. Pirun - in Moravia, Ozek - in Poland. In Mecklenburg, his statue was destroyed in 1128 …"
Further, the author of the study makes a correction. It turns out in the Latin original the word tintiNNabulum, which means - a bell. He replaces it with tintiNabilum (one N, instead of two), which means trough. Since, in his opinion, this is a slip of the tongue, a trough, this is, according to him, a pedestal on which the statue stands, since, according to the author, the bell does not fit the golden statue and is not depicted. On my own behalf, I note that bells played an important role among the Baltic Slavs in pagan cults, including in Starigard, about which we are talking. Obviously, the bell is not a slip of the tongue. Occepirnus - the author gives 2 options - Perun's father or Perun's eyes-sun (variant of the Bayera researcher), the latter he considers incorrect.
Same source further:
“Prusians, Ruthenorum, Livians worship the trinity of gods - Piccolus, Percunus, Potrimpus. Percunus got its name from the Slavic pruni - to beat, pieron - lightning, and from the fire eternally supported in his honor. Sacred oak in Romov, with three branches, dedicated to the three gods Piccolus, Percunus, Potrimpus, whose statues were placed on the branches. The heads of dead people, animals, bulls and horses, fire, snakes and stakes were sacrificed. I provide a picture published by Hartknoch (surname - example nap1000)
8. Having received a link to Hartknoch (professor at the gymnasium in the city of Thorn, 1644-1687), our author, of course, quotes him:
“The ancient Prussians worshiped these three gods - Piccolus, Percunus, Potrimpus, and represented the sun, moon and stars under them. It is believed that Perkunus was Mars."
9. Masch-Wogen. This source gives the following picture of the two-faced (in fact - two-shaped - nap1000) god Percunust, clearly from the Prilwitz idols.
10. Weltzien. The last source. Commenting on the above image (Percunus):
“Whether this image was real or fictitious, there is no point in doubting that such an image stood, it has been proven. Our research on the Vendians shows that not only the god Parhum … but, like the famous idol in Retra, was the foremost among their gods, to whom the place of worship and sacrifice was dedicated. To him, to this god, according to the beliefs of the Wends, lightning and thunder were subordinated to him, and what, in their words, was divine - the sun, was attributed to him. The Vends came to this god Parhum not only from all over Mecklenburg, but also from Brandenburg and the Prussian lands. He was an inexhaustible source of strength for the entire people - he, whose idol was made of gold, was the second golden calf, as the chronicles show."
Further, the author tries to determine where the sanctuary of Parhum could be. It provides 4 options - St. George, built according to rumors on the site of a sanctuary in Parchim, a bunch of some large stones, a kind of "sunny" mountain and a couple of other incomprehensible places.
One cannot but admire the author - he did a titanic job, collecting so much information about Perun from the Baltic Slavs from the 15th to the 20th century, personally translating (I believe for the first time) many sources from Latin. But what conclusion does he draw from all this? I could hardly believe my eyes as I read his findings. Having laid out everything on the shelves, the author begins to crawl with every word into the deepest … well, in general, there … where the other would be ashamed. He concludes that all this is nonsense, since the data of completely different peoples have been collected in a heap - cheer, Poles, Balts and even (!) Russians. In his opinion, all these Peruns, Perkunases, Pironas and Perkuns have nothing to do with Parhun, since they are completely different lands and peoples. He does not stop there, stating that the Russian Perun is not connected with the Baltic Perkunas, and even more, the God of Thunder is in no way connected with the god of the oak. However,these are still flowers. The author persistently climbs deeper and deeper in the unattractive direction chosen by him. He states that it is historically proven that the Slavs did not have images of gods at all. As proof, he cites that in Starigard, Helmold really describes an oak grove, without idols, and Otto from Barmbek, once breaking through to a Slavic temple, found a shield there, not an idol. It is clear that a person in a sober mind and commenting on such nonsense will regret the time, let alone refute. According to the author, Parhim should have had its own god Parhun, not connected with other Peruns in any way. But since other Slavic peoples do not know him (and here he contradicts himself), then, he sums up, the chroniclers invented this god, taking as a basis the name of the city of Parchim. Then he goes deeper and deeper in his direction, trying to explain the words of Parhim,then from the Polish "fence" (although he himself says that Polish is not connected with the Mecklenburg dialects) and from the Greek "demon", and then he suddenly turns out that the sanctuary and God were still … then there is absolutely complete nonsense … I will not. But, as the author reports, he simply expounds all the versions known to him, without insisting on anything. And then he notices that the word could come from anything, but not from the Slavic "Perun".but not from the Slavic "Perun".but not from the Slavic "Perun".
The case is clinical, but, unfortunately, not rare. However, what is interesting, arguing his nonsense, the author simply sprinkles us with the most valuable historical data. So, in particular, he points to the fact that although it is believed that the idol was demolished in 1127, during baptism, it turns out that after 100 years a law is issued in Parhim restoring the old Slavic pagan laws of Parhim on inheritance - if the father dies, not having time to transfer the property to the sons, it is all the same given to the sons, and not to the church. The author is greatly surprised by the fact that 100 years after the baptism, Parkhim is still so full of pagan Slavs that they have to restore their laws. But this, in his opinion, is only a confirmation that the chroniclers in the 15th century had nowhere to learn about the idol and they came up with everything from the very beginning. Where is the logic? I have not found.
Further, the author first points out that St. George is the conqueror of the serpent and all evil spirits in general, and churches dedicated to him are a rarity in Mecklenburg, for the entire district only in Parchem (valuable information!), But this, of course, he declares, clearly shows that the church has no connection with Perun.
Prilvytsky idols, in his opinion, were forged by the Prussian flag depicting the trinity of the gods Picolo, Perkunas and Potrimpus, under which two white horses trample the image of a man with a bear's muzzle. What nonsense! - the author is surprised - and here is the bear!
And so on all points. I personally came to the conclusion that, having done such a huge research work, having completely correctly systematized all the facts and having spent years on this, the author cannot be such a clinical idiot. After all, he cites all the information on the case, as if guiding the reader. Is this a hidden message? 1962 - after all, it was strict then, it was difficult to open up against the line and opinion of the party. Only the message remained unreceived, it even worked exactly the opposite. It's a strange thing, if you search about the history of Parhim on the Internet, you will not find anywhere else, not that this legend about the god Parhun, who gave the city a name, you will not even find an explanation for this word. And this despite the fact that for FIVE centuries the leading German scientists had a unanimous opinion about the veneration of Perun by the Baltic Slavs. Why are modern books silent about this? Moreover, in 1926 (!), A festive procession dedicated to the 700th anniversary of the city took place in Parkhim, where they solemnly carried … the image of Perun!
And then you know who came to power. And the Slavic history of Germany, in principle, did not become, books were burned, it was a crime to talk about it … By the way, many modern German historians did not go far from the Fuhrer in this.
All sources can of course be considered unreliable or even fake. But can anyone explain to me why a German Christian scientist at the beginning of the 16th century came up with the idea of forging data about Perun? What was the benefit to him? Indeed, in those days, the Germans did not care much who the filthy Vendians worshiped, that Perun, that Odin … But, as the researcher showed us, this testimony could well have been first-hand, although it probably had already turned into a legend by that time: if in the city of Parchem, considered a German, not a Slavic, and a Christian (it was transferred to the Schwerin bishopric a century earlier), even a hundred years after the baptism, there were so many pagan Slavs that laws were passed under their pressure … it could well have been 2 centuries later, at the time of the first mention of the legend of Parhun, a certain number of them remain there,which spread such legends.
The Church of the Conqueror of the Dragon is the only one in the whole district, namely in Parhim … hmm …
It's enough to look at the first illustration! If this is a fake, then the author knew about Perun no less than modern scientists. Lightning, a sacrificial animal - a bull (almost to this day, the whole village will feed a bull in Russia by Perun's Day), a goat playing an important role on Christmas time, red-hot iron is an ancient pagan way of checking "sincerity", and Perun is a judge, ears of corn - fertility - Perun's connection with the rain-thunderstorm and, as a result, no one will deny fertility, after all ?, the bell that played such an important role, including among the wagrs, who absolutely revered Perun. How could a person know all this if he drew the illustration from the bulldozer? I don’t believe in such a thing … and after all, this painted idol is not placed somewhere, but in the sacred oak forest of Starigrad! But Perun was really revered there,but only "proved" that this is already in modern times, modern scientists … the illustrator did not have a time machine … Mystic? Coincidence? Falsification? No, I'm sorry, what a falsification if you can't portray Perun better! But these are only flowers, if you think about it.
1. Idol of Perun-Parhom made of gold, Idol of Radigast-Svarozhich - too, the Russian Perun has a golden mustache.
2. Parkhom holds a red-hot iron in his hand, and in Russian sources Svarog is the heavenly blacksmith-Hephaestus.
2. Parkhom - the god of fire, and in Russian sources "fire and pray calling him Svarozhich"
3. Parhom is in the lands of the cheer tribe, and Helmold informs (and in this case there is no reason not to believe him) that the god of the cheer tribe is Radegast.
4. Perun-Parhom is associated with oak and wild boar (boar jaws are known sacrificed near the oak, which have grown into it later, the boar is still associated in the folk tradition first of all with acorns-oak, in the sacred groves of Perun it was impossible to hunt, they just had to abound in these boars), and one of the attributes of Radegast is a boar emerging from the water.
5. Both Perun and Radegast are associated with war and fertility (in Radegast, this is indicated by the horns of animals in his temple - a symbol of fertility) …
6. According to some sources, the head of a bull was depicted on the shield of Radegast. The same head of a bull will be depicted on the coat of arms of the city of Perun-Parhim, and in general, very often on the arms of Mecklenburg. As you know, the bull was sacrificed to Perun.
There are a lot of coincidences in all this. Helmold wrote about the Baltic Slavs that in addition to numerous small deities, they also knew one supreme God. Procopius of Caesarea wrote that the Slavs worship, in addition to many small deities, one God, the creator of lightning and sacrifice bulls to him. The Arabs wrote that the Slavs were fire worshipers. Gerbord, describing Triglav, wrote that he has three heads, because he is the lord of three worlds. That is, the entire Slavic universe. It turns out he is the main god. And other sources say that all Slavs, except for local small cults, know one main God - the ruler over all. Why are medieval sources silent about Perun among the Baltic Slavs, at a time when his name is found everywhere in toponyms?
Is it not by the fact that under Perun, and under Radegast, and under Svyatovit, and under Svarozhich, and under Svarog and under Triglav, the same Deity was meant? After all, it is quite logical that the creator of sacred lightning was also the creator of sacred fire. Lightning kindles a fire - not a simple fire, but heavenly, divine, Svarog (h). On special occasions, the Slavs both in Russia and in Rugen kindled the sacred unearthly divine fire by rubbing wooden wedges. The fire appeared in this case from "nowhere", as well as kindled by lightning. In pagan sanctuaries, a sacred fire was maintained, but to whom was it dedicated? On Rügen in the 16th century, peasants poked fire at sheaves of wheat after the harvest. Sacred fire was also associated with fertility. Farmers of Perun asked about fertility-rain. All this is closely related. How closely blacksmith's craft is connected, first of all, with military affairs and with fire. But what these Gods have contradictions that do not allow them to be one and the same, I don't understand something.
Such a bull's head is depicted on most of the coats of arms of Mecklenburg. Where did it come from?
I certainly understand that the sources are not directly from the time of Christianization. But after all, according to quite historical data, in many cities of Mecklenburg there were still enough Slavs (and they were most likely not the most zealous Christians) in the 16th century for sure. All this is not so fantastic. Is it not worth discarding prejudices and taking seriously the data that Perun was not only the god of thunder, but also fire, fertility, and was associated with red-hot iron (blacksmithing)?