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Calendar holidays and ceremonies
Calendar holidays and rituals of the Slavs were closely related to the economic (and therefore vital) interests of the peasant, therefore their dates are largely due to the agricultural seasons. In addition, the annual holiday cycle could not but be determined by the most important astronomical dates, usually associated with the movement of the sun.
A significant part of the common Slavic holidays was associated with the cult of ancestors. From ancient times to the present day (in particular, among the East Slavic peoples), the custom has been preserved to visit the cemeteries and graves of parents in Radonitsa, Semik (before Trinity) and Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday. The customs of eating at the grave, commemoration with alcohol and leaving food for the deceased on the grave are also ancient. Until recently, remnants of pagan memorial customs were also preserved on other Christian holidays, for example, Christmastide, Maslenitsa and Great Thursday. On Christmastide, due to winter time, the cemetery was not visited, but the ancestors were commemorated at home. On Maundy Thursday, baths were heated for the ancestors (so that they were washed) and bonfires were burned at the gates (so that they would warm up). Usually,memorial holidays were timed to the milestone periods of the year - solstices and equinoxes. Apparently, at this borderline time, the gates were opened between the world of the living and the world of the dead, through which the souls of the dead entered the world. They visited their descendants, and they had to meet them properly - to warm, wash, drink and feed. The souls of the ancestors could bless, or they could send misfortunes - everything depended on how they were met, therefore it was so important to honor the ancestors.therefore it was so important to honor the ancestors.therefore it was so important to honor the ancestors.
Deceased ancestors, like those resting in the earth, in the afterlife, connected in the human mind with the earth, therefore, the future harvest largely depended on the blessing of the ancestors. For example, Maslenitsa is associated with the idea of fertility and the cult of ancestors - it was to them that competitions were dedicated (running, fist fights, the capture of a snow town) and the main meal at Maslenitsa, with pancakes being the memorial. The fertility of the land and the fertility of livestock, as the main economic interests of the peasant, were given special attention in his holidays and ceremonies. On Vasilyev's evening (New Year's Eve), ritual food was prepared - a pig or sheep legs, biscuits were baked in the form of cattle ("roes") - the purpose of all this was to attract fertility and welfare for livestock. The same purpose, as well as ensuring the safety of cattle, was served by numerous rituals of St. George's Day of Spring,when the first pasture took place.
Scarecrow of Maslenitsa
The fertility of the land was facilitated by numerous rituals with stuffed animals depicting various ritual characters - this is Maslenitsa, Yarila, Kostroma, Kostrubonko. The ritual included, as a rule, honoring and venerating the scarecrow, walking with him through the streets, accompanied by fun, and then seeing off - funeral, burning or being torn apart. Apparently, the scarecrow was the focus of fertility and fertility, and the rituals of his seeing off were supposed to convey this fertility to the earth - especially since such rituals were carried out almost always in spring or early summer.
Promotional video:
In Semik and Trinity week, the role of a scarecrow was played by the Trinity (Semitskaya) birch, with which they performed practically the same rituals - they decorated it, worshiped and honored it, ate ritual food under the birch, sang songs and danced in circles, twisted branches to it, performed the ceremony of "boom", carried around the village and, finally, broke and scattered branches across the field - the purpose of all these rituals was to attract fertility and a good harvest, as well as fertility and successful motherhood, as in the case of boom. Only girls and women took part in all the Semites rituals performed with the birch.
In addition, the rituals of inducing rain (in case of drought; in the case of prolonged rains, the ritual was aimed at achieving good weather) should have contributed to the provision of fertility and harvest. The ritual involved a girl, usually an orphan, who was called Dodola or Peperuda. According to scientists, her name and the image itself is apparently associated with the Thunder God-Perun (perhaps Dodola represented the Thunder-God's wife). She was taken through the village, decorated with flowers and watered with water, while songs were sung with requests for rain.
Henryk Semiradsky. Night on Ivan Kupala
One of the most important Slavic holidays was the night of Ivan Kupala. On this night, public festivities were organized - songs and dances. Among the Kupala rituals, it should be noted kindling and jumping over fires, swimming and riding from the slopes of burning wheels. Often the holiday took on a riotous character. In addition, medicinal and magical plants were collected that night.
According to reconstructions, the Slavs had holidays dedicated to the deities as such. In particular, there could have been a Perunov day and a day dedicated to Veles, which were subsequently replaced, respectively, by Elijah's Day and St. Vlasiy Sevastiyskiy or Nicholas Day. However, we do not have direct data on these holidays, so their dates and contents remain only reconstructions.
Wedding customs and ceremonies
Wedding customs varied among different tribes depending on the type of marriage. Slavic pagan marriage was polygamous: in some cases, a man could have several wives and concubines, in other cases, the marriage partners of women could change. "The Tale of Bygone Years" identifies two types of marriage and wedding ceremonies among the Slavic tribes, which can be conditionally called patriarchal and matriarchal.
Patriarchal marriage:
Glades have the custom of their fathers meek and quiet, shy in front of their daughters-in-law and sisters, mothers and parents; they have great modesty before mother-in-law and in-law; they also have a marriage custom: the son-in-law does not go after the bride, but brings her the day before, and the next day they bring her for her - what they give. Similar customs are described back in the 6th century by the Byzantine author Mauritius:
The modesty of their women exceeds any human nature, so that most of them consider the death of their husband to be their death and voluntarily strangle themselves, not counting being a widow for life.
Patriarchal marriage and polygamy were characteristic of the ancient Slavs. For example, the payment for the bride in Ancient Russia was called "veno", and the wedding ceremony was called "blowing" the groom. The ancient “blowing off” is recorded by the late rituals of removing shoes from the groom and the saying “Wash your feet and drink water”. The bride in the cases mentioned in the chronicle was always "brought".
Matriarchal marriage:
… And they never had any marriages, but the girls snatched by the water … And they used to shame in the presence of their fathers and daughters-in-law, and they did not have marriages, but games were arranged between villages, and they converged on these games, on dances and all kinds of demonic songs, and here they snatched their wives in conspiracy with them: they had two and three wives.
Some information about pre-Christian wedding rituals and customs can be gleaned from church teachings against paganism:
And this is done by the pagans: they lead the bride to the water when they are married off, drink a cup in honor of demons, throw rings and belts into the water.
The tradition of marriage by the water (lake, well) is confirmed by later ethnographic data - folk signs and a similar rite, which was revived among some Old Believers after Nikon's reforms. On the other hand, one of the final wedding rites can be reflected here - the test of the bride, walking with her on the water to a river or lake. And when someone has a wedding, they celebrate it with tambourines, pipes and other demonic miracles.
And sometimes it is even worse: they make a male member, put it in buckets and bowls and drink from them, and take it out, lick and kiss it.
There is no doubt that a certain phallic wedding ritual also existed in Ancient Russia. Obviously, the phallus was used as a magic symbol: it was supposed to give the newlyweds fertility, and fertility to the earth. The data of this teaching is also confirmed by archeology - there are repeated finds of phalluses carved from wood, found in ancient Russian settlements.
Funeral rites and ancestor worship
The cult of deceased ancestors was extremely widespread among the Slavs from ancient times to recent times. In this regard, the Slavic funeral rite is of interest. The Tale of Bygone Years describes this rite among the Vyatichi as follows:
And if anyone dies, they perform a feast on him. After it, they make a big fire, put a dead man on it and burn it. After that, having collected the bones, they are put into a small vessel and placed on a post by the road. So do the Vyatichi today. The same custom is followed by the Krivichi and other pagans.
By funeral here, apparently, we mean competitions in memory of the deceased and, in general, memorial events. The custom to leave the vessel with the bones of the deceased on the pillars by the roads is clarified by later ethnographic records: pillars in cemeteries were considered a kind of border between the living and the dead. Utensils used at funerals were thrown at these posts. The pillars themselves were often made with a kind of roof and recesses - for the convenience of the souls of the dead who lived near them. Later, the cemetery columns were replaced by Orthodox crosses.
Data on the funeral rite can also be gleaned from the chronicle story about how Olga buried her husband, Prince Igor, who was killed by the Drevlyans:
Olga sent to tell the Drevlyans: “Here, I am already coming to you. Brew a lot of honey near the city where you killed my husband, so that I could weep over his grave and perform a feast for my husband. Having heard this, they brought a lot of honey and boiled it. Olga, with a small retinue and light, came to Igor's grave and cried for her husband. Then she ordered the people to fill up a large mound, and when they filled it up, she ordered them to perform funerals. Then the Drevlyans sat down to drink, and Olga ordered her youths to serve them.
From this passage it follows that the funeral feast included drinking honey, that mounds were built over the graves (apparently, their size depended on the status of the deceased) and that there was a custom to cry over the grave of the deceased. All this information is confirmed by ethnographic records and (about the kurgans) by archeological data. In addition to these customs, the Prologue mentions such an element of funeral ritual as "bdyn", that is, vigil, vigilance next to the deceased during the night, which, apparently, was performed by a significant number of people with lamentations, songs and games.
Interesting information about the funeral rite is given by the chronicle story about the death of Vladimir Svyatoslavich:
At night, they dismantled the platform between the two cages, wrapped him (Vladimir) in a carpet and lowered him to the ground with ropes; then, placing him on a sleigh, they took him and put him in the church of the Holy Mother of God, which he himself had once built. Upon learning of this, people without number came together and cried over him …
In this case, you can observe the most ancient rite - to take out the deceased, they dismantle the wall. This is done so that the deceased, carried out in an unusual way, could not return and not disturb the living. Another ancient rite described in this passage is the use of a sleigh to transport the deceased, even in spite of summer time. Sleighs were used in funerals as the most honorable, calm and respectable form of transport.
There is also a ceremonial meal at the commemoration common for all Eastern Slavs - kutia, pancakes and jelly. Almost all East Slavic holidays are associated with the cult of deceased ancestors, who were remembered at the turning points of the year - on Christmastide, on Clean Thursday and Radonitsa, on Semik and before Dmitriev's Day. On the days of commemoration of the dead, a bathhouse was heated for them, bonfires were burned (so that they would warm up), food was left for them on the festive table. Yule mummers represented ancestors who came from the other world and collected gifts. The purpose of all these actions was to placate deceased ancestors, who could bless the family, or could do evil - to frighten, appear in a dream, torture and even kill those who did not satisfy their needs.
Belief in the so-called "mortgaged dead" was very widespread among the Slavs. It was believed that people who died not by their own death do not calm down after death and are capable of harming the living, therefore they were superstitiously feared and revered during a general commemoration.
Slavic calendar
The graphical diagram presented here clearly shows how the pantheon of Slavic gods listed in the "Veles Book" easily fits into the seasonal calendar reflecting the main activities of the ancestors of the Slavs: agriculture, hunting, fishing, beekeeping, as well as the main festivals that began and ended each cycle.
In ancient times, the year among the Slavs was divided into three main seasons: the period of agricultural work (spring), the time of ripening and harvesting (covering summer and autumn) and winter. These three seasons are shown on the diagram in green, yellow and blue, which allows you to immediately determine which gods patronized a particular time of the year and when their days were celebrated. The presence of such an archaic three-season cycle in the "Veles Book" testifies to its authenticity. Although, as we will see later, there are already tendencies towards a fourfold division (four months in each season and four weeks in each month).
The indicated three-part nature of the calendar testifies to its deepest roots, going back to the times of the Indo-Aryan community of cultures. The three-season nature of the year was then determined by the idea of the ancient Indo-Aryans about the trinity of the world (Svarog-Perun-Svenovid and Yav-Prav-Nav among the Slavic-Aryans and Vishnu, who created the Universe through THREE STEPS, among the Indians).
As scientists - astroarchaeologists testify, by 2300 BC. the lunar landmarks of the ancient sanctuaries-observatories were replaced by solar ones, and the calendar-astral tandem of Svarog and Dazhdbog (a solar sign with Taurus at the head) arose. Taurus is the embodiment of Dazhdbog. Since Taurus led the Solar Zodiac between 4400-1700. BC, then 2300-1700. BC. - this is the time when the Slavs began to honor the interconnected Svarog-Dazhdbog. At the same time, probably, the Slavic-Aryan three-part calendar began to take shape.
The fact that this calendar was known until the 9th century. AD (the time when the Veles Book was written) indicates both its versatility, it can be used even now, and the deepest traditions of the continuity of the Slavic priests of the Sun, who in turn relied on the system of sanctuaries-observatories of Ancient Aratta in the Danube-Dnieper region V - IV thousand BC, Trans-Ural Arkaim III millennium BC and maidans (Old Indian "aidan").
Such observatory sanctuaries, which stretched along the northern border of the then agriculture, constituted the ridge of Indo-European culture, from which mounds and ancient sanctuaries diverged to the north and south. Their priests-servants for thousands of years maintained contacts with each other, even in late antique times, surprising the enlightened Greeks and Romans with legends about the distant travels of the Hyperboreans led by Apollo. This tradition was finally interrupted with the establishment of Christianity and the destruction of temples, the calendar-observatory functions of which were partially transferred to the church.
So, let's turn to the diagram.
This calendar includes seventy-seven gods located in seven circles-kola (seven is a sacred number for the Slavs)
In the center is the Great Triglav (Svarog-Perun-Sventovid).
Svarog (from Sanskrit svga- "sky") - the Supreme God, the Ruler of the Universe, the Creator of the World. He is the beginning and essence of the entire zodiac. He created Reality from Navi according to the law of Rule, and that's all. that ends in Yavi, again passes to Nav. Nav is blue, the color of the sky. Therefore, Svarog in the sign of Triglav shown in the diagram is focused on the blue segment. And although this is a symbol of Navi, a symbol of Winter, it is during this period that the winter solstice (Kolyada) occurs, when “the sun turns to summer”, and Life (Reality) arises in the depths of Darkness (Navi).
Perun is a sign of Fire, his element is Summer, he is focused on the yellow segment.
Sventovid - Lord of Spring - indicates the green segment. The original ancient Slavic sign of the Great Triglav, placed in the center of the diagram, which was deciphered and executed in a color scheme, fully reflects the close relationship of the substances Navi-Pravi-Yavi, Svarog-Perun-Svenovid, Spring-Winter-Summer, Air-Fire-Earth and other "triunities" that made up the multidimensional philosophy of our ancestors.
Since "three", as already indicated, is a sacred number in Slavic Vedism, all the deities listed below are subdivided into Trinities - Great and Small Triglavs.
Only the first colo is represented by two gods - Belobog and Chernobog, gods of Light and Darkness, Reveal and Navi. At the same time, the world axis separating them is Svarga, on both sides of which they fight and thereby balance the world.
The second colo - Khors, Veles, Stribog - the gods of Summer. Winters, Springs. Veles also acts as the god of the Underworld, the god of the Navi kingdom, where the souls of the dead go after death.
The third colo is corresponding to the previous one, here each segment is divided into two sub-cycles: Stribog includes Roof and Vyshen. Another version of the Roof - Kryzhen. It's time for Kryzhnya - this is the time of ice drift, the time of snow melting, when drops begin to ring from the icicles hanging from the ROOF. The roof is the very beginning of spring, while Vyshen (another version of OYSTER) is already completely spring, OUR season. These two pores include the lord of spring, Stribog, in the same way as Chora is subdivided into Lel (early summer) and Letic (zenith of summer), and Veles - into Radogosch (early winter) and Kolendo.
In the fourth colo, other hypostases of the gods of the three main seasons are presented, where Yar marks Spring, Yes, God is Summer, and Gray is Winter.
Fifth Kolo - each season is subdivided into four months, where Beloyar is March, the beginning of spring and the Slavic agricultural calendar. Further, clockwise - Lado (April). Kupalo (May, - ancient calendars confirm that Kupalo was celebrated in May), Senich (June), Zhitnich (July), Venich (August), Zernich (September), Ovsenich (October), Prosich (November), Studic (December), Ledich (January), Lyutich (February).
The sixth and seventh stakes appear to feature the names of four weeks in each month, again based on nature and main agricultural activities.
So, in Beloyar comes the beautiful (Krasich) Spring-Alive (Zhivich), everything awakens, the first grass appears (Travich). Preparation for agricultural work begins. Sorcerers open the Vedas (Vedic) to people - will the spring be favorable when sowing yarovitsa and so on. The vernal equinox comes, and the holiday of the Great Yar comes, or, in other words, Bogoyar's Day (Great Day).
In the month of Lado, the stems (Steblich) turn green, flowers (Tsvetich) and leaves (Listvich) bloom, birds begin to chirp (Ptichich). On these joyous days of spring awakening, the Red Mountain holiday is celebrated - a memory of the rich and peaceful life of the ancestors in the Karpensky mountains. All deceased relatives are remembered (corresponds to the current Parent's Day).
On Kupalo, the animals (Zverich) begin their spring games. The sky is clearing, people admire the stars (Zvezdich). Water (Vodic) warms up in rivers and lakes, the swimming season begins. Celebrated Kupalo - the god of Slavic Purity and Health.
Thunderous (Gromich) rains (Dozhdich) are falling on Senich, fruits (Plodich) and seeds (Semich) ripen, haymaking is in full swing. The day of the summer solstice is coming - the holiday of the Great Triglav (present-day Trinity).
Zhitnich is rich in linden (Lipich) honey, bees (Pchelich) swarm, in rivers there is an abundance of fish (Rybich), in the forests - berries (Yagodnich). This month the Day of Perun is celebrated, which, performing the functions of the god of Battles and Struggle, is also the patron saint of the harvest. It is thanks to Perun, acting in the guise of Vergunets-Perunets, pouring a blessed rain on the ground, that forests and meadows grow magnificently, and cereals are poured on Ognishan fields, promising a bountiful harvest.
On Venich, birch (Berezich), maple (Klenich) and Reed (Trostich) are harvested. The second mowing of green (Zelenich) grasses. The harvesting of grain begins, - they reap wheat, rye, tie in sheaves ("veno venyat" - hence the VENICH). The First Sheaf or Dazhd God's Day is celebrated.
Zernich - the strada (Stradich) is over. On the currents, the grain is threshed and put into the bins. Lakes (Ozernich) freeze immovably, mountains (Gorich) are covered with haze, autumn winds begin to blow (Vetrich). The day of the autumnal equinox is coming, the Great Fats are celebrated.
Ovsenich - even the straw is removed (Solomich), it is time for leaf fall (Listopadich) and mushroom picking (Gribich). People rejoice that with rich supplies they will be saved (Spasich) in the cold winter. Small Ovseni are celebrated.
Prosich is the first powder. It's time for hunting, as well as autumn trading. Merchants-guests (Gostich) come from all sides, conversations are conducted (Besedich), hospitable and hospitable Slavs celebrate Radogosch.
Studich - snow falls (Snezhich), frost binds the ground. It's time to start military (Ratich) training. You can also go on wanderings (Stranich), visit distant countries (Pages). The month ends with the celebration of Kolyada - the day of the winter solstice and Christmastide dedicated to the completion of the annual colo and the birth of a new young Sun (Christmas).
Ledich is a celebration of Veless, the lord of Svarozh Navi, who from now on begins to add light (Svendich) by a hair's breadth every day. Shchura and Ancestors (Shchurich) who are in the kingdom of Beles are revered. This month meetings of the Clans, Councils of Elders (Radic) are held, princes and elders-relatives (Rodich) are elected and other "social events" are carried out.
Lutsch - although the frosts are still fierce, the sun of the "underworld" is gaining strength and adds light (Svetik). This month Rod-Rozhanich-Svarog (Kindred), the First Ancestor-Progenitor, is honored. Blood relatives (Kravich) get together, discuss all sorts of things, eat pancakes with butter (Maslenich). Maslenitsa and Rooftop are celebrated - people see off the winter.
This is how Svarozhie Kolo constantly and eternally rotates, measuring the Great and Small numbers of Reveal, which Chislobog keeps track of.
It should be noted that this calendar does not include gods that are not associated with seasonal cycles and are, so to speak, "universal" - these are Chislobog, Mother-Swa-Glory, Makosh, Semargl-Ognebog and some others, whose functions were associated with other sides of Being.
You can talk about the Slavs for a very long time, but this will already be the history of the Slavs. Finally, we will touch upon the topic of the origin of the Slavs, and also say a few words about the modern Slavs.
The Slavs (in ancient times Slovenia) are the largest group of language-related ethnic groups in eastern and southwestern Europe, united by a common origin. Depending on the linguistic and cultural affinity, the Slavs are divided into three large groups: eastern, western and southern.
The total number of Slavic peoples according to 2002 data is over 300 million people [2], of which: Russians - 145.2 million [3], Ukrainians - about 50 million, Belarusians - up to 10 million; Poles - about 45 million, Czechs - about 10 million, Slovaks - 5.5 million, Lusatians - 0.1 million; Bulgarians - 9-10 million, Serbs - up to 10 million, Croats - 5.5 million, Slovenes - up to 2.5 million, Montenegrins - 0.6 million, Macedonians - 2 million, Muslims (self-name - boshkatsi (boshnyaki), other names - Bosnians, Bosans, Muslims) - about 2 million
In addition to these ethnic groups, there is an ethnic group that is still emerging. These are the so-called Rusyns. By origin, these are Slovaks who moved to the territory of Yugoslavia (since February 2003 - Serbia and Montenegro). This micro-ethnic group is very small in number - about 20 thousand people. Now the process of formation of the literary language Rusyn is underway.
The Slavs occupy a vast territory of Eastern Europe, as well as northern and central parts of Asia. It is immediately striking that the Slavic states are not gathered in one handful, but scattered, scattered. In the second half of the XIX century. independent Slavic states did not exist. Slavic peoples were part of three empires: Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman. The only exceptions were Montenegrins, who lived in a small independent state of Montenegro, and the Lusatians, who were located in Germany. By the end of the XX century. All the Slavic peoples, except for the Russians and the Luzhichians, already had state independence.
Now the largest Slavic state in terms of area is Russia (Moscow). Russia is located in the north-east of Europe, and also occupies the northern and central parts of Asia. In the west, Russia is bordered by the East Slavic states - Ukraine and Belarus. Further in the north of Eastern Europe are Poland and the Czech Republic. These West Slavic states in the west border on Germany, in part of whose territory (between Berlin and Dresden, along the banks of the Elbe and Spree rivers) Lusatian Serbs live (Cottbus, Bautzen). Another West Slavic state - Slovakia - is located between Ukraine, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic and Poland. The South Slavs partly occupy the Balkan Peninsula and the adjacent territories. They do not border on either the Eastern or Western Slavs. South Slavs live in Bulgaria, as well as in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro.
Slavs, Wends - the earliest news about the Slavs under the name Wends, or Venets, belongs to the Roman and Greek writers - Pliny the Elder, Publius Cornelius Tacitus and Ptolemy Claudius. According to these authors, the Wends lived along the Baltic coast between the Stetin Bay, where the Odra flows, and the Danzing Bay, where the Vistula flows; along the Vistula from its headwaters in the Carpathian Mountains to the coast of the Baltic Sea. The Veneda name comes from the Celtic vindos, which means "white". By the middle of the 6th century. The Wends were divided into two main groups: Sklavins (Sklavas) and Antes. As for the later self-designation "Slavs", its exact meaning is not known. There are suggestions that the term "Slavs" contains an opposition to another ethnic term - Germans, derived from the word "dumb", that is, speaking in an incomprehensible language. The Slavs were divided into three groups.
The Eastern Slavs included glades, Drevlyans, northerners, Dregovichi, Radimichi, Krivichi, Polochans, Vyatichi, Slovenia, Buzhany, Volynians, Duleby, Uchiha, Tivertsy, Croats.
Western Slavs are Pomorians, encouragement, Vagry, Polabs, Smolinsky, Clay, Lyutichi, Velet, Ratari, Drevane, Ruyan, Luzhican, Czechs, Slovaks, Koshubs, Slovins, Moravians, Poles.
The South Slavs included Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Zahlumlans, Bulgarians.
The Slavs are the largest group of peoples in Europe, united by the proximity of languages and common origin. The oldest historical information about the Slavs, known under the name of the Wends, dates back to the 1st - 3rd centuries. AD From ser. VI century the name "sklaveni" is repeatedly found in the texts of Procopius, Jordan and others. To the 2nd half. VII century. are the first mention. about the Slavs from Arab authors. These linguistics connect the ancient Slavs with the region of Central and Eastern Europe - on the territory from the Elbe and Oder in the west, in the Vistula basin, in the Upper Dniester and up to the Middle Dnieper in the east. The northern neighbors of the Slavs were the Germans and Balts, who, together with the Slavs, constituted the northern group of Indo-European tribes. The eastern neighbors of the Slavs were the Western Iranian tribes (Scythians, Sarmatians), the southern Thracians and Illyrians, and the western Celts. The question of the ancestral home of the Slavs remains controversial, but most researchers believe that it is located east of the Vistula.
Vyatichi
VENDS, Wends, Veneti, the collective name for a group of Western Slavic tribes, once (at least from 631-632) occupied a vast part of the territory of the present. Germany between the Elbe and the Oder. In the 7th century. The Wends invaded Thuringia and Bavaria, where they defeated the Franks under the command of Dagobert I. The raids on Germany continued until the beginning of the 10th century, when Emperor Henry I launched an offensive against the Wends, setting their acceptance of Christianity as one of the conditions for concluding peace. The conquered Vendians often rebelled, but each time they were defeated, after which an increasing part of their lands passed to the victors. In 1147 the church sanctioned a crusade against the Wends, which was also approved by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The campaign was accompanied by the mass destruction of the Slavic population,and henceforth the Vendians did not show any stubborn resistance to the German conquerors. German settlers came to the once Slavic lands, and the newly founded cities began to play an important role in the economic development of northern Germany. From about 1500, the area of distribution of the Slavic language was reduced almost exclusively to the Luzhitsk margraves - Upper and Lower, which later entered Saxony and Prussia, respectively, and the adjacent territories. Here, in the area of the cities of Cottbus and Bautzen, the modern descendants of the Wends live, of which approx. 60,000 (mostly Catholic). In Russian literature, they are usually called the Lusatians (the name of one of the tribes that were part of the Wendian group) or the Lusatian Serbs, although they themselves call themselves Serbja or serbski Lud, and their modern German name is Sorben (formerly also Wenden). Since 1991, the issues of preserving the language and culture of this people in Germany are in charge of the Foundation for the Affairs of the Lusatians.
The Slavs, according to many researchers, just like the Germans and the Balts, were descendants of the cattle-breeding and agricultural tribes of the Corded Ware culture that settled at the turn of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. e. from the Northern Black Sea region and the Carpathian region in Central, Northern and Eastern Europe. The Slavs are represented by archaeological cultures, among which were of particular importance: Trzynetskaya, widespread in the third quarter of the 2nd millennium BC. e. between the Vistula and the middle Dnieper; Lusatian (XIII - IV centuries BC) and Pomor (VI - II centuries BC) on the territory of modern Poland; in the Dnieper region - the Chornolis culture (VIII - early VI centuries BC) of Neuros or even Scythian plowmen - according to Herodotus. Presumably the Podgortsy and Milograd cultures are associated with the Slavs (VII century BC-1 century AD). Existing from the end of the 1st millennium BC. e.in the Pripyat and in the Middle Dnieper region, the Zarubinets culture is associated with the ancestors of the Eastern Slavs. This was the culture of the developed Iron Age, its bearers were farmers, herders and artisans.
In the II-IV centuries. n. e, as a result of the movement to the south of the Germanic tribes (Goths, Gepids), the integrity of the territory of the Slavs was violated, after which the Slavs, apparently, were divided into western and eastern. The bulk of the carriers of the Zarubintsy culture moved in the first centuries AD. e. to the north and northeast along the Dnieper and Desna. In the III-IV centuries. in the Middle Dnieper region inhabited the tribes that left the Chernyakhov antiquity. Some archaeologists consider them Slavs, while most are a multiethnic group that included Slavic elements. At the end of the 5th century, after the fall of the power of the Huns, the Slavs began to advance southward (to the Danube, to the North-Western Black Sea region) and their invasion of the Balkan provinces of Byzantium. The tribes of the Slavs were then divided into two groups:the Antes (who invaded the Balkan Peninsula through the lower Danube) and the Sklavins (who attacked the Byzantine provinces from the north and northwest). The colonization of the Balkan Peninsula was not the result of resettlement, but of the settlement of the Slavs, who retained all their old lands in Central and Eastern Europe. In the second half of the first millennium, the Slavs occupied the Upper Dnieper region and its northern periphery, which previously belonged to the eastern Balts and the Finno-Ugric tribes. Both the Antes and the Sklavins split into separate tribal groups already in the 7th century. In addition to the famous Dulebs, there probably already existed other tribal associations of the Slavs listed in the "Tale of Bygone Years": glade, Drevlyans, northerners, Krivichi, Ulici, Tivertsy, Croats, etc.and the resettlement of the Slavs, who retained all their old lands in Central and Eastern Europe. In the second half of the first millennium, the Slavs occupied the Upper Dnieper region and its northern periphery, which previously belonged to the eastern Balts and the Finno-Ugric tribes. Both the Antes and the Sklavins split into separate tribal groups already in the 7th century. In addition to the famous Dulebs, there probably already existed other tribal associations of the Slavs listed in the "Tale of Bygone Years": glade, Drevlyans, northerners, Krivichi, Ulici, Tivertsy, Croats, etc.and the resettlement of the Slavs, who retained all their old lands in Central and Eastern Europe. In the second half of the first millennium, the Slavs occupied the Upper Dnieper region and its northern periphery, which previously belonged to the eastern Balts and the Finno-Ugric tribes. Both the Antes and the Sklavins split into separate tribal groups already in the 7th century. In addition to the famous Dulebs, there probably already existed other tribal associations of the Slavs listed in the "Tale of Bygone Years": glade, Drevlyans, northerners, Krivichi, Ulici, Tivertsy, Croats, etc.so the Sklavins split into separate tribal groups already in the 7th century. In addition to the well-known Dulebs, there probably already existed other tribal associations of the Slavs listed in the "Tale of Bygone Years": glade, Drevlyans, northerners, Krivichi, Ulici, Tivertsy, Croats, etc.so the Sklavins split into separate tribal groups already in the 7th century. In addition to the well-known Dulebs, there probably already existed other tribal associations of the Slavs listed in the "Tale of Bygone Years": glade, Drevlyans, northerners, Krivichi, Ulici, Tivertsy, Croats, etc.
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