The Slavic Religion in the Light of 11th- and 12th-Century German Chronicles (Thietmar of Merseburg, Adam of Bremen, Helmold of Bosau)

In this volume, Stanisław Rosik focuses on the meaning and significance of Old Slavic religion as presented in three German chronicles (the works of Thietmar of Merseburg, Adam of Bremen, Helmold of Bosau) written during the time of the Christianization of the Western Slavs. The source analyses show the ways the chroniclers understood, explained and represented pre-Christian beliefs and cults, which were interpreted as elements of a foreign, “barbarian”, culture and were evaluated from the perspective of Church doctrine. In this study, individual features of the three authors are discussed– including the issue of the credibility of their information on Old Slavic religion– and broader conclusions on medieval thought are also presented.

Stanisław Rosik, Ph.D. (1998), Prof. Dr. habil., historian, medievalist, University of Wrocław, Institute of History, head of the Laboratory of Research on Early History of Central Europe; since 2017 president of the Standing Committee of Polish Medievalists; author of over 250 publications, including several books, e.g. Bolesław Krzywousty (Chronicon, 2013).