Startseite Literaturwissenschaften The Slavic Way of Death. Archaeological Perspectives on Otherworld Journeys in Early Medieval Poland
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The Slavic Way of Death. Archaeological Perspectives on Otherworld Journeys in Early Medieval Poland

  • Leszek Gardeła
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Between the Worlds
Ein Kapitel aus dem Buch Between the Worlds

Abstract

The early medieval Slavs who inhabited the area of Poland did not leave behind any textual sources regarding their beliefs about journeys to the Otherworld. We do not have a Slavic equivalent of the Poetic Edda or any other vernacular texts which illuminate the preChristian world views of these people. Nevertheless, it is still possible to get a glimpse of their conceptions of the Otherworld through a careful analysis of later materials (e.g. folkloristic accounts) and the rich archaeological evidence from the early Middle Ages. By critically combining different categories of data, this paper presents a range of hypotheses about how the early medieval Slavs may have imagined their cosmos and various otherworldly destinations. The article begins with a presentation of different ideas about the soul and various places to which souls were believed to have ventured. Some remarks are also provided regarding the different names of Slavic Otherworlds and the gods who may have presided over these realms. Based on this material, and critically acknowledging its often scarce and problematic nature, it is argued that the Slavs may have shared a belief in a tripartite cosmos comprising sky/heaven (the realm of the gods), earth (the realm of humans) and underworld (the realm of the dead). This tripartite cosmos, it is suggested, could also be visually represented in archaeological finds such as the Zbrucz statue, a number of intricately decorated knife sheaths and copper alloy spurs. After examining textual and folkloristic accounts as well as archaeological and iconographic sources, further parts of the article focus on different forms of burials among the early medieval Slavs dating from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries. Based on the external and internal composition of these graves and the different objects that accompany the deceased, attempts are made to understand the symbolic undertones of past funerals. It is argued that the form of burial and items interred with the dead could allude to Slavic beliefs about how they journeyed to the Otherworld and the activities they performed there.

Abstract

The early medieval Slavs who inhabited the area of Poland did not leave behind any textual sources regarding their beliefs about journeys to the Otherworld. We do not have a Slavic equivalent of the Poetic Edda or any other vernacular texts which illuminate the preChristian world views of these people. Nevertheless, it is still possible to get a glimpse of their conceptions of the Otherworld through a careful analysis of later materials (e.g. folkloristic accounts) and the rich archaeological evidence from the early Middle Ages. By critically combining different categories of data, this paper presents a range of hypotheses about how the early medieval Slavs may have imagined their cosmos and various otherworldly destinations. The article begins with a presentation of different ideas about the soul and various places to which souls were believed to have ventured. Some remarks are also provided regarding the different names of Slavic Otherworlds and the gods who may have presided over these realms. Based on this material, and critically acknowledging its often scarce and problematic nature, it is argued that the Slavs may have shared a belief in a tripartite cosmos comprising sky/heaven (the realm of the gods), earth (the realm of humans) and underworld (the realm of the dead). This tripartite cosmos, it is suggested, could also be visually represented in archaeological finds such as the Zbrucz statue, a number of intricately decorated knife sheaths and copper alloy spurs. After examining textual and folkloristic accounts as well as archaeological and iconographic sources, further parts of the article focus on different forms of burials among the early medieval Slavs dating from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries. Based on the external and internal composition of these graves and the different objects that accompany the deceased, attempts are made to understand the symbolic undertones of past funerals. It is argued that the form of burial and items interred with the dead could allude to Slavic beliefs about how they journeyed to the Otherworld and the activities they performed there.

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Inhaltsverzeichnis V
  3. Zwischen den Welten: Kontexte, Quellen und Analogien zu skandinavischen Jenseits- und Andersweltreisen 1
  4. 1. Die altnordische und altsächsisch-altenglische literarische Überlieferung
  5. Journeys to Other Worlds in pre-Christian Scandinavian Mythology: Different Worlds – Different Purposes 15
  6. Quest in die Unterwelt. Narrative Metamorphosen von Jenseitsreisen und anderen phantastischen Fahrten in Sagaliteratur und Eddischer Dichtung 31
  7. Zwischen Diesseits und Jenseits. Die skandinavischen Gedichte Draumkvæði und Sólarljóð 43
  8. Der Teufel im sächsischen Garten: Loki und eine Jenseitsreise in der altsächsisch-altenglischen Genesis B 76
  9. 2. Archäologie
  10. Die Jenseitsreise auf den Bildsteinen Gotlands 117
  11. The Possibilities for an Afterlife. Souls and Cosmology in the Nordic Bronze Age 185
  12. The Slavic Way of Death. Archaeological Perspectives on Otherworld Journeys in Early Medieval Poland 203
  13. 3. Mittellateinische und keltische Überlieferungen
  14. Nigromantie in den Tod- und Jenseits-Exempla des Dialogus miraculorum des Caesarius von Heisterbach 251
  15. The Question of Irish Analogues in Old Norse- Icelandic Voyage Tales in the fornaldarsögur and the Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus 283
  16. Andersweltreisen der Kelten in der antiken Literatur: ein kurzer Baedeker 346
  17. 4. Die antike Mittelmeerwelt und der Alte Orient
  18. Die Reise zu den Inseln der Seligen von Hesiod bis Lukian 373
  19. Märchenhexe oder göttliche Ritualexpertin? Kirke und Kult im Kontext der homerischen Nekyia 389
  20. Calypso and the Underworld: The Limits of Comparison 417
  21. Wege der Lebenden ins ‚Land ohne Wiederkehr‘ in Mythen und Ritualen der mesopotamischen Antike 432
  22. 5. Finno-ugrische Perspektiven
  23. “Hard it is to stir my tongue”: Raiding the Otherworld for Poetic Inspiration 461
  24. uupui kolmea sanoa (‚es fehlten ihm drei Zauberworte‘) – Die Jenseitsreisen der Kalevala-Helden 554
  25. Practice-Bound Variation in Cosmology? A Case Study of Movement between Worlds in Finno-Karelian Traditions 566
  26. Register
  27. Namen und Begriffe 693
  28. Wissenschaftliche Autoren 703
  29. Orte 707
  30. Texte 713
  31. Bilddenkmäler 721
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110624663-008

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Inhaltsverzeichnis V
  3. Zwischen den Welten: Kontexte, Quellen und Analogien zu skandinavischen Jenseits- und Andersweltreisen 1
  4. 1. Die altnordische und altsächsisch-altenglische literarische Überlieferung
  5. Journeys to Other Worlds in pre-Christian Scandinavian Mythology: Different Worlds – Different Purposes 15
  6. Quest in die Unterwelt. Narrative Metamorphosen von Jenseitsreisen und anderen phantastischen Fahrten in Sagaliteratur und Eddischer Dichtung 31
  7. Zwischen Diesseits und Jenseits. Die skandinavischen Gedichte Draumkvæði und Sólarljóð 43
  8. Der Teufel im sächsischen Garten: Loki und eine Jenseitsreise in der altsächsisch-altenglischen Genesis B 76
  9. 2. Archäologie
  10. Die Jenseitsreise auf den Bildsteinen Gotlands 117
  11. The Possibilities for an Afterlife. Souls and Cosmology in the Nordic Bronze Age 185
  12. The Slavic Way of Death. Archaeological Perspectives on Otherworld Journeys in Early Medieval Poland 203
  13. 3. Mittellateinische und keltische Überlieferungen
  14. Nigromantie in den Tod- und Jenseits-Exempla des Dialogus miraculorum des Caesarius von Heisterbach 251
  15. The Question of Irish Analogues in Old Norse- Icelandic Voyage Tales in the fornaldarsögur and the Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus 283
  16. Andersweltreisen der Kelten in der antiken Literatur: ein kurzer Baedeker 346
  17. 4. Die antike Mittelmeerwelt und der Alte Orient
  18. Die Reise zu den Inseln der Seligen von Hesiod bis Lukian 373
  19. Märchenhexe oder göttliche Ritualexpertin? Kirke und Kult im Kontext der homerischen Nekyia 389
  20. Calypso and the Underworld: The Limits of Comparison 417
  21. Wege der Lebenden ins ‚Land ohne Wiederkehr‘ in Mythen und Ritualen der mesopotamischen Antike 432
  22. 5. Finno-ugrische Perspektiven
  23. “Hard it is to stir my tongue”: Raiding the Otherworld for Poetic Inspiration 461
  24. uupui kolmea sanoa (‚es fehlten ihm drei Zauberworte‘) – Die Jenseitsreisen der Kalevala-Helden 554
  25. Practice-Bound Variation in Cosmology? A Case Study of Movement between Worlds in Finno-Karelian Traditions 566
  26. Register
  27. Namen und Begriffe 693
  28. Wissenschaftliche Autoren 703
  29. Orte 707
  30. Texte 713
  31. Bilddenkmäler 721
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Heruntergeladen am 2.10.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110624663-008/html?srsltid=AfmBOopPXDjisFPOSp710hOn0SUlrZ2oGg5gkvEfJuqh0dZ4flP6Q6I5
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