The Novgorodians received the news that an army was coming to them to destroy their shrines. Having gathered the veche, the residents decided not to betray their gods, and to strengthen their city. The bridge was dismantled; stone-throwing guns were exposed on the shore. The Kievans did not dare to attack first, and captured several instigators of the resistance by deception. From this turn of events, the Novgorodians were enraged. The priest Bogumil, nicknamed the Nightingale, called on his people to defend the faith of their ancestors. The people did not want to weaken their position and there was a riot in the city. The rebels robbed the houses of the first Novgorod Christians, and the Church of the Transfiguration was ruined. About five thousand citizens joined the battle with Putyatas army. Dobryna had no choice but to resort to extreme measures. Novgorod was set on fire. This event took place at night; he crossed to the Sofia side and set fire to houses on the shore. It was a terrible disaster for the wooden city. Most residents asked for peace, some rushed to extinguish their homes.
The Novgorodians were offended; they went to be baptized forcibly, with great resentment. People were driven into the water in droves. Men were baptized above, and women below the Volkhov bridge. Novgorodians did not want to be baptized. And even on the day of the great sacrament, they tried to deceive themselves by saying that they had already been baptized. Therefore, crosses were put on the neck of all those who were baptized. So in Russia there was a tradition of body crosses.
The neighbors laughed at this event for a long time, recalling to the Novgorodians «how Putyata baptized them with fire and Dobrynya with a sword.» The rude imposition of faith has been imprinted in the memory of the Slavs for a long time. Over the years, Christianity has managed to win their souls. Baptism gave rise to the so-called double faith, a bizarre interweaving of pagan and Christian traditions. Memories of paganism live to this day in the folk festivals of Maslenitsa, Ivan Kupala and many other rituals.
After the baptism of Russia, paganism dominated the country for a long time, there were few pagan communities left, and they existed in some cities, and peacefully got along with Christian ones. At one end of the city, there was an Orthodox church, at the other there was a temple of a pagan god. After decades, the temples disappeared. Pagan magi and after baptism ruled the masses, especially in the villages. Many pagans for another hundred years after baptism worshipped idols and engaged in sacrifices. Christianity finally came to Russia in the 13th and 14th centuries, when there was a need to unite society in the face of the Golden Horde.
With the adoption of the Christian religion, elements of Byzantine culture began to penetrate into Russia, and this contributed to the more intensive development of art in Russia. The widespread dissemination of Cyrillic-based writing has become extremely important. The first monuments of written culture appeared, which have survived to the present day and can tell a lot about it.
I often hear that millions of people died during the baptism of Russia. What millions could Christians destroy on the territory of Russia? At that time, 35 thousand people lived in Kiev in the 12th century, 2530 thousand in Novgorod. In ancient Russia, the average population in the city was about 1,000 people, according to scientists. These were giant cities, by medieval standards! What millions of Russians? In the era of Peter 1, the population of the whole country was 710 million people. There is no doubt that all these weighty arguments are quite adequate scientific data. Of course, there were conflicts between citizens and the state, the imposition of a new religion, however, as in any other country. We also note that there are still many teachings against paganism, starting from I. Zlatoust and ending with todays speeches by Deacon Kuraev. It would be silly to talk about large-scale military operations, there is another fact archeology does not confirm the forced baptism of Russia it is impossible to hide millions of dead. During the archaeological excavations of ancient Russian cities, no such finds were revealed; these finds would have come in very handy in Soviet times to fight the Church.
Neo-pagans consider the weakening of Russia and the emergence of some kind of dependence on the Byzantine Empire to be a consequence of the «bloody» baptism. The roots of the prehistory of the baptism of Rus grow from a military campaign against a Greek settlement and Vladimirs further ultimatum to the whole of Byzantium: «I have already taken your glorious city; I heard that you have a maiden sister; if you dont give her up for me, then I will do the same to your capital as to this city.» Thus, Prince Vladimir managed to get the emperors daughter Anna to marry. The German emperor and the French king sought the hand of the beautiful princess. The baptism of Rus did not stop the Russian-Byzantine wars. From that moment on, European rulers began to seek kinship with Russian princes. Yaroslav the Wise married his daughters to the kings of France, Hungary and Norway, and his son married the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh. Russian lands continued to grow geographically. Does this indicate a «weakening»?
CHAPTER 5
At the baptism of Russia, it is mentioned that Prince Vladimir dissolved his harem. Was there polygamy in Russia? A family for a pagan Slav is a whole world. His peace and procreation, well-being in the family and much more, is above the public. In those days, during the war, the last men in the family were the last to be sent into battle. There also used to be a custom that obliged the brother of a deceased husband to marry his widow. This custom was widespread in Russia until the 16th century. This custom has its roots in ancient times; the elder brother was fully responsible for the children and the spouse of the deceased. There were simply no single families, this is nonsense. At that time, there were no single mothers, orphanages, etc The most terrible punishment for a Slav is expulsion from the family; it was considered the heaviest punishment, which was practically equivalent to the death penalty.
During the pagan period, domostroy reigned in families, children obeyed their parents implicitly. The main factor in the upbringing of children is the love of children for their parents, complete obedience in childhood and youth, as well as in pagan families there is such a moment «and taking care of them in old age.»
The main function in the pagan family was procreation. If there was no childbearing in the family, then this family was considered incomplete. It is necessary and important to emphasize that a pagan family is a large family. The state has always respected large families, and in the 20th century, Stolypin relied on large families.
In ancient Russia, the family did not have the right to terminate the marriage. In the pagan era, marriages were concluded in words, rituals were performed, and there was an understanding that marriage with one wife is «forever» and extends beyond the grave. But since the main factor in the family was childbirth, and if the wife could not give birth to her husbands child, then the husband had the right to take another wife. Most often, there was no divorce as such; just the husband took another wife.
Polygamy in Russia was present in all Slavic tribes, from which the Russian ethnos was subsequently formed. In pagan times, polygamy existed among Western, southern, and eastern Slavs. Before the adoption of Christianity, many princes had several wives. The Polish Prince Mieszko had seven wives, the Czech Prince Slavnik had many wives, the Pomeranian prince had several wives, as well as twenty-four concubines. Among the Old Russian nobility, in addition to polygamy, concubinage also flourished. From our Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich had a whole harem. He had 300 concubines in two ancient Russian cities of Belgorod and Vyshgorod, as well as another 200 in the village of Berestov. The prince brought concubines from military campaigns; the concubine became a prisoner, and served as entertainment to the prince and his retinue, as well as concubines were the subject of trade.
Polygamy in Russia was present in all Slavic tribes, from which the Russian ethnos was subsequently formed. In pagan times, polygamy existed among Western, southern, and eastern Slavs. Before the adoption of Christianity, many princes had several wives. The Polish Prince Mieszko had seven wives, the Czech Prince Slavnik had many wives, the Pomeranian prince had several wives, as well as twenty-four concubines. Among the Old Russian nobility, in addition to polygamy, concubinage also flourished. From our Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich had a whole harem. He had 300 concubines in two ancient Russian cities of Belgorod and Vyshgorod, as well as another 200 in the village of Berestov. The prince brought concubines from military campaigns; the concubine became a prisoner, and served as entertainment to the prince and his retinue, as well as concubines were the subject of trade.
After receiving baptism, Prince Vladimir immediately dissolved his harem and abandoned his usual life; he turned to his wife Rogneda with these words: «I have been baptized now. I have accepted the faith and the Christian law, now I should have one wife, which I took in Christianity, but you choose one of my nobles for yourself, and I will marry you to him.» The adoption of Christianity in 988 significantly affected the life of the Old Russian nobility.
On the subject of concubinage, there is one very heartbreaking story, which is known from the chronicle. Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl of Galicia (reigned 11571187) was so attached to his concubine Anastasia that he decided to marry her. To do this, he needed to get rid of his legal spouse, the daughter of Yuri Dolgoruky. The prince planned to send his lawful wife to a monastery. Having learned about this, the boyars did not allow him to do this, they sided with the princess, raised an uprising, and burned Anastasia alive. The prince sent Anastasias son to prison. The prince was sworn to live with his lawful wife.
Who are the Slavic gods? Gods are a rather late invention of the human mind. The most ancient people did not believe in gods, it is difficult to believe in what you do not see. Almost nothing is known about the religion of the ancient Slavs, the first sources about Slavic culture appear in the 6th century. This is fragmentary information in written sources; they appeared after reaching the borders of the Byzantine Empire. The Slavic religion was formed for quite a long period, it was a process of intertwining the ancient Slavs from the Indo-European community with the mythology and religion of neighboring peoples of the III millennium BC. Therefore, naturally, there is a significant Indo-European layer in the Slavic religion. It is assumed that this period includes images of the god of thunderstorms and fighting squads (Perun), the god of cattle and the other world (Veles), the image of the faceless deity Yarilo, and the deity of the Sky-Father (Stribog). In addition, Indo-European gods include such images as the Mother of Cheese-the Earth, the associated goddess of weaving and spinning (Mokosh), the solar deity (Dazhbog), and many others. In the first half of the 1st millennium BC, the mythology and religion of the Slavs were significantly influenced by the Celts and the steppe Iranian-speaking population of the Scythians, Sarmatians and Alans.
The main features of Slavic paganism as a worldview are the belief in the animateness of nature (animatism and animism), the cult of ancestors and supernatural forces that are constantly present. And take part throughout the life of each person, the developed lower mythology, the belief in the possibility of influencing the state of things in the world by means of primitive magic.
Slavic polytheism (belief in nature) is not the religion of one closed community. This is the religion of small communities connected by a single origin, language and elements of culture, and nothing more. This religion is deeply rooted in the history of the development of Slavic communities. The pagan Slavs worshipped the elements, believed in the kinship of people with various animals, offered sacrifices to the deities inhabiting everything around. Each Slavic tribe had its own gods, For example, the rites of the northern Baltic and Novgorod Slavs were very different from those of Kiev and the Danube. The Slavs never had a single idea of the gods, since the Slavic tribes in pre-Christian times did not have a single state, so they were not united in beliefs. Some gods are similar to each other, but have nothing in common with each other.
As with most peoples of the world, in the paganism of the ancient Slavs there was an idea of a single god. That is, it was a god above all the numerous gods. Who could directly influence all the processes taking place in the universe?
Rod is the main deity in the Slavic Pantheon. The Creator of everything, the primordial spirit, the Primordial God, the Prabog. The genus is also called the Supreme God or the Most High and Belbog, the White God, Sventovit. Sventovit translates as the Knight of Light. Dark Dark Knight, or Chernoboga, the opposite of Belbog. The genus is the ancestor; all other gods obey him, because they are descended from this primordial deity, the closer they stand to their ancestor, the stronger their power.
The Eastern Slavs actually had two supreme gods. Most Slavs especially revered Yar or Yarilo (in some tribes: Khoros). Horse is a borrowed god from Iranian mythology. So the Slavs called the sun, which was considered a living supernatural being, giving people warmth and light. Tribal nobility, engaged in military campaigns, defended their tribal lands from enemy attacks, this was their main occupation. They worshipped the thunder god Perun more. The god Perun was especially revered by vigilantes and warriors.
Svarog is one of the highest gods of the Slavic-pagan pantheon. This is a particularly revered god, the creator of Heaven and Earth. It is believed that Svarog endowed people with blacksmithing and taught them to forge metal products. Any forge itself is a temple of Svarog, and the anvil and hammer are symbols of Svarog. It is also known that the Slavs revered fire as a natural element, whose father was Svarog and affectionately called Svarozhich. Svarog is also considered the patron saint of warriors and weapons.
The patron god of cattle, Volos or Veles, was very revered. It was believed that this god patronizes the reproduction and damage of livestock, good offspring of meat and fat, the size of milk yield. Also, this god is considered the guardian of the forest, patronizes hunters and warriors. The god Veles, he has many personifications the god of wisdom, the patron of the magi, can guide on the path of spiritual self-knowledge in the world of Reality, as a god-magician, the leader of magicians, the patron of the animal world, he is also addressed as the god of prosperity. The god Veles accompanies souls between the gates of the otherworld, helps to cross between the worlds of the doers, the lord of the underworld.
Of the female deities, Mokosh or Makosh is known. The goddess of fate, prosperity, family happiness. Makosh is one of the goddesses of childbirth. She is revered as the goddess of the harvest. Her sign is present in the ornaments of clothing, in spring with her hands raised up, in autumn with her hands lowered down. Makosh is one of the revered goddesses of the Slavic pantheon. She is revered as the goddess of needlework. He really dislikes the lazy, and those who depart from traditions. Her name is also Mati Spinning, her main occupation is spinning. He sits high in the heavenly palace and spins the threads of fate together with a share and a short time. If there was a difficulty on your way, or something went wrong, then Makosh tied a knot on your way. Makosh is especially revered by women, she is asked to create a marriage, the birth of healthy children.