1.
Czechs
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Ethnic Czechs were called Bohemians in English until the early 20th century, referring to the late Iron Age tribe of Celtic Boii and the land Bohemia. The Czech diaspora is found in numbers in the United States, Canada, Israel, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Italy. The Czech ethnic group is part of the West Slavic subgroup of the larger Slavic ethno-linguistical group, the West Slavs have origin in early Slavic tribes which settled in Central Europe after East Germanic tribes had left this area during the migration period. The West Slavic tribe of Bohemians settled in the area of Bohemia during the migration period and they formed an independent principality in the 9th century, the Duchy of Bohemia, under the Přemyslid dynasty. According to mythology, the father of the Czech people were Forefather Čech. The Czech are closely related to the neighbouring Slovaks, the Czech–Slovak languages form a dialect continuum rather than being two clearly distinct languages. Czech cultural influence in Slovak culture is noted as having much higher than the other way around. Czech people have a history of coexistence with Germanic people. The Czech National Revival took place in the 18th and 19th centuries aiming to revive Czech language, culture, the Czech were the initiators of Pan-Slavism. The Czech ethnonym was the name of a Slavic tribe in central Bohemia that subdued the tribes in the late 9th century. The origin of the name of the tribe itself is unknown, according to legend, it comes from their leader Čech, who brought them to Bohemia. Research regards Čech as a derivative of the root čel-, the Czech ethnonym was adopted by the Moravians in the 19th century. The name Bohemia is Germanic, English used that name until after the establishment of Czechoslovakia, the population of the Czech lands has been influenced by different human migrations that wide-crossed Europe over time. In their Y-DNA haplogroups, which are inherited along the male line,34. 2% of Czech males belong to R1a, which is particularly common in a large region extending from South Asia and Southern Siberia to Central Europe and Scandinavia. The population of the Czech Republic descends from diverse peoples of Slavic, Celtic and Germanic origin, presence of West Slavs in the 6th century during the Migration Period has been documented on the Czech territory. Slavs settled in Bohemia, Moravia and Austria sometime during the 6th or 7th centuries, according to a popular myth, the Slavs came with Forefather Čech who settled at the Říp Mountain. The Duchy of Bohemia emerged in the late 9th century, in 880, Prague Castle was constructed by Prince Bořivoj, founder of the Přemyslid dynasty and the city of Prague was established. Vratislav II was the first Czech king in 1085 and the duchy was raised to a kingdom under Ottokar I in 1198
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Prague
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Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. It is the 14th largest city in the European Union and it is also the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city has a temperate climate, with warm summers and chilly winters. Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its history and it was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prague is home to a number of cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence. Main attractions include the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The city has more than ten major museums, along with theatres, galleries, cinemas. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city, also, it is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe. Prague is classified as an Alpha- global city according to GaWC studies, Prague ranked sixth in the Tripadvisor world list of best destinations in 2016. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination, and the city more than 6.4 million international visitors annually. Prague is the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Istanbul, the region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. In the last century BC, the Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes, around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map of Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis. In the following century, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in Levý Hradec, Butovice and in the Šárka valley. The construction of what came to be known as the Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, the first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest. The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad, was founded in the 10th century, Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral, which was founded in 1344, but completed in the 20th century. The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied, I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars. She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on the site, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in c.1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya. The region became the seat of the dukes, and later kings of Bohemia, under Roman Emperor Otto II the area became a bishopric in 973
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Goths
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The Goths were an East Germanic people, two of whose branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe. In the Gothic language they were called the Gut-þiuda, most commonly translated as Gothic people, gut-þiudai, or Gutans Inferred from gen. pl. gutani in Pietroassa inscription. In Old Norse they were known as the Gutar or Gotar, in Latin as the Gothi, the exact origin of the ancient Goths is unknown. Evidence of them before they interacted with the Romans is limited, Modern academics have generally abandoned this theory. Today, the Wielbark culture is thought to have developed from earlier cultures in the same area, archaeological finds show close contacts between southern Sweden and the Baltic coastal area on the continent, and further towards the south-east, evidenced by pottery, house types and graves. Rather than a migration, similarities in the material cultures may be products of long-term regular contacts. However, the record could indicate that while his work is thought to be unreliable. Sometime around the 1st century AD, Germanic peoples may have migrated from Scandinavia to Gothiscandza, early archaeological evidence in the traditional Swedish province of Östergötland suggests a general depopulation during this period. However, there is no evidence for a substantial emigration from Scandinavia. Upon their arrival on the Pontic Steppe, the Germanic tribes adopted the ways of the Eurasian nomads, the first Greek references to the Goths call them Scythians, since this area along the Black Sea historically had been occupied by an unrelated people of that name. The earliest known material culture associated with the Goths on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea is the Wielbark culture, centered on the modern region of Pomerania in northern Poland. This culture replaced the local Oxhöft or Oksywie culture in the 1st century, the culture of this area was influenced by southern Scandinavian culture beginning as early as the late Nordic Bronze Age and early Pre-Roman Iron Age. In Eastern Europe they formed part of the Chernyakhov culture and it has been suggested that the Goths maintained contact with southern Sweden during their migration. In the first attested incursion in Thrace, the Goths were mentioned as Boranoi by Zosimus, the first incursion of the Roman Empire that can be attributed to Goths is the sack of Histria in 238. Several such raids followed in subsequent decades, in particular the Battle of Abrittus in 251, led by Cniva, at the time, there were at least two groups of Goths, the Thervingi and the Greuthungs. Goths were subsequently recruited into the Roman Army to fight in the Roman-Persian Wars. The Moesogoths settled in Thrace and Moesia, the first seaborne raids took place in three subsequent years, probably 255-257. An unsuccessful attack on Pityus was followed in the year by another
4.
Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum
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Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum is an iconography book by Guillaume Rouillé. It was published in Lyon, France, in 1553, the work includes portraits designed as medals, and brief biographies of many notable figures. The book includes a total of 950 woodcut portraits, many of the figures portrayed are of English origin. The images begin with Adam and Eve, in the preface, the publisher praises the work. Abhandlungen Der Königlich Preussischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Classe, verlag der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften,1908. The library of Mary Queen of Scots, a Catalogue of Foreign and English Theology. A Collection of Aristotelic, Scotist, Thomist, and Other Writers from the Twelfth to Eighteenth Century, specimens of Early Typography. and a Few Miscellaneous Works. Media related to Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum at Wikimedia Commons Prima pars Promptuarii iconum insigniorum à seculo hominum, subjectis eorum
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Youngest son
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The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the son, but sometimes there are more brothers. In a family of daughters, the youngest daughter may be an equivalent figure. Sometimes, as in Esben and the Witch, they scorn him as small, even when not scorned as small and weak, the youngest son is seldom distinguished by great strength, agility, speed, or other physical powers. He generally succeeds in tasks after his brothers have failed, as in The Red Ettin. This magical helper is often long faithful to him, he may fail many times after the initial test, indeed, in The Golden Bird, the fox declares that the hero does not deserve his help after his disobedience, but still aids him. This success may make his brothers an additional obstacle, as in The Golden Bird and this rivalry is not a necessary component of the character. He may also be the one of the brothers to set about the work. In some tales, such as the Norwegian version of The Master Thief, heroines in fairy tales are more often marked out as stepdaughters, but sometimes they appear as the youngest daughter. In Molly Whuppie, it is the youngest who outwits the ogre, the White Bear in East of the Sun and West of the Moon marries the youngest daughter, in the Black Bull of Norroway, the heroines older sisters set out to seek their fortunes before her. She may be the only one willing to fulfill a promise that their father made, as in Beauty, in The Little Mermaid, it is the youngest daughter of King Triton who falls in love with the prince after she saves him from drowning. In Diamonds and Toads, the younger-&-least favoured daughter of a widow marries a king, sibling rivalry may also spring up in these stories, but usually over the youngest daughters marriage. A ballad may feature three sisters solely so that the youngest of them can be preferred, the choice of a younger and prettier sister may also cause intrafamily friction in a ballad. This is, in fact, the common pattern when the children are of the opposite sex. The story of the kind and unkind girls often features a pair as rivals and they are more often stepsiblings than siblings, but as siblings, the younger is generally the favored, as in Diamonds and Toads or some variants of The Red Ettin. Sibling rivalry in fairy tales is, in general, a trait of same-sex siblings, the ubiquity of this theme has made it an obvious target for revisionist fairytale fantasy. Andrew Lang has his Prince Prigio jeer at the notion that he should go first on the quest, when he is the oldest son, only after his two younger brothers have not returned can he be compelled to go. Likewise, in Diana Wynne Joness Howls Moving Castle, Sophie, being the oldest daughter, is resigned to having the worst chances to make her fortune, but is precipitated into the plot by evil magic
6.
Duke Krok
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Duke Krok is a legendary figure in Czech history, being the first judge, or duke, of the Czech people. He was also the father of Princess Libuše and her sisters Kazi, perhaps the earliest mention of the Duke is in the Chronica Boëmorum, which was originally written in Latin. After Cosmas describes the manner of the first inhabitants of Bohemia, after a time, however, they then began to flourish injustice and envy. And, according to Cosmas, the people had neither the nor the prince. So, Krok rose amongst the people, who was described by Cosmas as a man known for his age, absolutely perfect, rich and worldly in his judgements, and sophisticated. This wonderful man had no heirs, but rather three daughters, whom nature had granted the treasures of wisdom. However, this is the last Cosmas says of Krok, except to describe his daughters, later chroniclers would expand upon this, for example, Václav Hájek of Libočan, who writes about the death of Forefather Cech. He writes that when Cech died he tried to pass the leading the Czech people to his brother Lech, who refused, other theorists suggest a connection with Prince Krak, the mythical founder of Kraków
7.
Rule of three (writing)
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The rule of three, law of three, or power of three is a writing principle that suggests that things that come in threes are funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader or audience of this form of text is also more likely to remember the information. This is because having three entities combines both brevity and rhythm with having the smallest amount of information to create a pattern and it makes the author or speaker appear knowledgeable while being both simple and catchy. Slogans, film titles and a variety of things have been structured in threes. Examples include the Three Little Pigs, Three Billy Goats Gruff, similarly, adjectives are often grouped in threes to emphasize an idea. The Latin phrase omne trium perfectum conveys the idea as the rule of three. The rule of three can refer to a collection of three words, phrases, sentences, lines, paragraphs/stanzas, chapters/sections of writing and even whole books, the three elements together are known as a triad. The technique may be used not just in prose but poetry, oral storytelling, films, in photography the rule of thirds produces a similar effect by dividing an image into three vertically and horizontally. A tricolon is a specific use of the rule of three where three words or phrases are equal in length and grammatical form. A hendiatris is a figure of speech where three words are used to express a single central idea. As a slogan or motto, this is known as a tripartite motto, many advertising campaigns and public information slogans use the technique to create a catchy, memorable way of displaying information. In marketing theory, American advertising and sales pioneer St, if an advertisement contains these three qualities of success, it is a successful advertisement. In comedy, it is called a comic triple. The third element is used to create an effect of surprise with an audience. In storytelling in general, authors often create triplets or structures in three parts, in its simplest form, this is merely beginning, middle, and end, from Aristotles Poetics. Vladimir Propp, in his Morphology of the Folk Tale, concluded that any of the elements in a folk tale could be negated twice, so that it would repeat thrice. In The Silent Princess, a prince breaks a peasant womans pitcher thrice, and is cursed, in The Love for Three Oranges, the hero picks three magical oranges, and only with the third is able to keep the woman who springs out of it. In the musical Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye must give his three eldest daughters away, one after another and this is subverted with the youngest daughter who wishes to marry a Gentile, for which Tevye concludes that No, there is no other hand
8.
Stadice
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Stadice is a small village near Teplice in the northern part of the Czech Republic. It was the home of the legendary ruler Přemysl, the Ploughman and it is a part of the village of Řehlovice. Stadice has a ruined 14th-century Gothic Castle, as well as nearby Royal field with the monument to Přemysl, taken from Google cache of http, //www. calle. com/world/EZ/0/Stadice. html Photos and panoramas of the Přemysls monument
9.
Cosmas of Prague
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Cosmas of Prague was a priest, writer and historian born in a noble family in Bohemia. Between 1075 and 1081, he studied in Liège, after his return to Bohemia, he became a priest and married Božetěcha, with whom he probably had a son. In 1086, Cosmas was appointed prebendary of Prague, a prestigious position, as prebendary he also travelled through Europe on official matters. His magnum opus, written in Latin, is called Chronica Boemorum, the Chronica is divided into three books, The first book, completed in 1119, starts with the creation of the world and ends in the year 1038. The second book describes Bohemian history for the years 1038–1092, the book starts with the heroic deeds of Duke Břetislav, known as the Bohemian Achilles, for example with his victory over Poland. The Chronica also describes the long and great reign of King Vratislav, there is also a reflection on his wars in Italy, this book ends with Vratislavs death. The third book starts with a description of the time of instability, the Chronica ends with the reign of Vladislav between 1109 and 1125. The same year,1125, Cosmas died, media related to Cosmas of Prague at Wikimedia Commons Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Cosmas
10.
Pope Pius II
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Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini was Pope from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. He was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble and his longest and most enduring work is the story of his life, the Commentaries, which is the only autobiography ever written by a reigning pope. He settled in the city as a teacher, but in 1431 accepted the post of secretary to Domenico Capranica, bishop of Fermo. Capranica was protesting against the new Pope Eugene IVs refusal of a cardinalate for him, arriving at Basel after enduring a stormy voyage to Genoa and then a trip across the Alps, he successively served Capranica, who ran short of money, and then other masters. In 1435 he was sent by Cardinal Albergati, Eugenius IVs legate at the council, on a mission to Scotland. He visited England as well as Scotland, underwent many perils, the journey to Scotland proved so tempestuous that Piccolomini swore that he would walk barefoot to the nearest shrine of Our Lady from their landing port. This proved to be Dunbar, the nearest shrine was 10 miles distant at Whitekirk, the journey through the ice and snow left Aeneas afflicted with pain in his legs for the rest of his life. In Scotland, he fathered a child but it died, upon his return to Basel, Aeneas sided actively with the council in its conflict with the Pope, and, although still a layman, eventually obtained a share in the direction of its affairs. He supported the creation of the Antipope Felix V and participated in his coronation, Aeneas then was sent to Strasbourg where he sired a child with a Breton woman called Elizabeth. The baby died 14 months later and he then withdrew to the court of Holy Roman Emperor Emperor Frederick III in Vienna. He had been crowned imperial poet laureate in 1442, and he obtained the patronage of the emperors chancellor, some identify the love adventure at Siena that Aeneas related in his romance The Tale of the Two Lovers with an escapade of the chancellor. Aeneas character had hitherto been that of an easy and democratic-minded man of the world with no pretense to strictness in morals or consistency in politics. He now began to be regular in the former respect. This he did most effectually by the diplomatic dexterity with which he smoothed away differences between the court of Rome and the German imperial electors. He played a role in concluding a compromise in 1447 by which the dying Pope Eugene accepted the reconciliation tendered by the German princes. As a result, the council and the antipope were left without support and he had already taken orders, and one of the first acts of Pope Eugenes successor, Pope Nicholas V, was to make him Bishop of Trieste. He later served as Bishop of Siena, in 1450 Aeneas was sent as ambassador by the Emperor Frederick III to negotiate his marriage with Princess Eleonore of Portugal. In 1451 he undertook a mission to Bohemia and concluded an arrangement with the Hussite leader George of Poděbrady
11.
Tragedy
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Tragedy is a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in audiences. In the wake of Aristotles Poetics, tragedy has been used to make genre distinctions, in the modern era, tragedy has also been defined against drama, melodrama, the tragicomic, and epic theatre. Drama, in the sense, cuts across the traditional division between comedy and tragedy in an anti- or a-generic deterritorialisation from the mid-19th century onwards. Both Bertolt Brecht and Augusto Boal define their epic theatre projects against models of tragedy, taxidou, however, reads epic theatre as an incorporation of tragic functions and its treatments of mourning and speculation. The word tragedy appears to have used to describe different phenomena at different times. It derives from Classical Greek τραγῳδία, contracted from trag-aoidiā = goat song, scholars suspect this may be traced to a time when a goat was either the prize in a competition of choral dancing or was that around which a chorus danced prior to the animals ritual sacrifice. In another view on the etymology, Athenaeus of Naucratis says that the form of the word was trygodia from trygos and ode. There is some dissent to the origins of tragedy, mostly based on the differences between the shapes of their choruses and styles of dancing. A common descent from pre-Hellenic fertility and burial rites has been suggested, friedrich Nietzsche discussed the origins of Greek tragedy in his early book The Birth of Tragedy. Here, he suggests the name originates in the use of a chorus of goat-like satyrs in the original dithyrambs from which the genre developed. Scott Scullion writes, There is abundant evidence for tragoidia understood as song for the prize goat, and as prize was established the billy goat, the clearest is Eustathius 1769.45, They called those competing tragedians, clearly because of the song over the billy goat. Athenian tragedy—the oldest surviving form of tragedy—is a type of dance-drama that formed an important part of the culture of the city-state. Having emerged sometime during the 6th century BCE, it flowered during the 5th century BCE, no tragedies from the 6th century and only 32 of the more than a thousand that were performed in the 5th century have survived. We have complete texts extant by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, Athenian tragedies were performed in late March/early April at an annual state religious festival in honor of Dionysus. The presentations took the form of a contest between three playwrights, who presented their works on three successive days, each playwright offered a tetralogy consisting of three tragedies and a concluding comic piece called a satyr play. The four plays sometimes featured linked stories, only one complete trilogy of tragedies has survived, the Oresteia of Aeschylus. The Greek theatre was in the air, on the side of a hill. Performances were apparently open to all citizens, including women, the theatre of Dionysus at Athens probably held around 12,000 people
12.
Franz Grillparzer
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Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer was an Austrian writer who is chiefly known for his dramas. He also wrote the oration for Ludwig van Beethovens funeral, franz Grillparzer was born in Vienna, Austria. Grillparzer, was a severe pedant and an upholder of the liberal traditions of the reign of Joseph II. His mother, Anna Franziska, was a nervous, highly-strung woman who belonged to the musical family of Sonnleithner. His father destined Grillparzer for the profession, and, after a desultory education. Two years later his father died, leaving the family in difficult circumstances, in 1821, he unsuccessfully applied to the position of scribe at the Imperial Library, and later that same year, he was relocated to the Ministry of Finance. In 1832, he director of the archives at the Imperial and Royal Hofkammer. Grillparzer had little capacity for a career and regarded his position merely as a means of independence. From early youth, Grillparzer displayed a strong literary impulse and he devoted especial attention to the Spanish drama, and nearly all his writings bear marks of the influence of Calderón. It is characteristic of him that he expresses extreme dislike of Hegels philosophy on the ground that its terms are unintelligible, on the other hand, he gives evidence of careful and sympathetic study of Kant. Of modern literary critics, Gervinus was most repugnant to him, of a quiet contemplative nature, Grillparzer shunned general society. It was one of his sayings that the art of writing poetry can neither be taught nor learned, hence before writing a play he worked hard, striving to comprehend the spirit of the age he wished to represent. He was exceedingly fond of travel, and at different times visited all the leading European countries, after 1840, when his solitary comedy was rejected by the public, he almost passed from the memory of his contemporaries. Fortunately for him, his admirer Heinrich Laube settled in Vienna in 1849 as artistic director of the court theatre, by and by Laube reintroduced on the stage some of Grillparzers forgotten works, and their success was immediate and profound. To his own surprise, Grillparzer became the most popular author of the day, he was ranked with Goethe and Schiller and he was buried with an amount of ceremony that surpassed even the pomp displayed at Klopstocks funeral. He was originally buried in the Währinger Cemetery in Vienna, now known as Schubertpark and he now lies in Hietzinger Friedhof. In 1807–1809, Grillparzer wrote a tragedy in iambics, Blanca von Castilien. He also produced the dramatic fragments Spartacus and Alfred der Grosse, when Grillparzer began to write, the German stage was dominated by the wild plays of Werner, Müllner, and other authors of the so-called fate-tragedies
13.
Opera
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Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. In traditional opera, singers do two types of singing, recitative, a style and arias, a more melodic style. Opera incorporates many of the elements of theatre, such as acting, scenery. The performance is given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition, in the 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe, attracting foreign composers such as George Frideric Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Christoph Willibald Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his operas in the 1760s. The first third of the 19th century saw the point of the bel canto style, with Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti. It also saw the advent of Grand Opera typified by the works of Auber and Meyerbeer, the mid-to-late 19th century was a golden age of opera, led and dominated by Richard Wagner in Germany and Giuseppe Verdi in Italy. The popularity of opera continued through the era in Italy and contemporary French opera through to Giacomo Puccini. During the 19th century, parallel operatic traditions emerged in central and eastern Europe, the 20th century saw many experiments with modern styles, such as atonality and serialism, Neoclassicism, and Minimalism. With the rise of recording technology, singers such as Enrico Caruso, since the invention of radio and television, operas were also performed on these mediums. Beginning in 2006, a number of opera houses began to present live high-definition video transmissions of their performances in cinemas all over the world. In 2009, an opera company offered a download of a complete performance. The words of an opera are known as the libretto, some composers, notably Wagner, have written their own libretti, others have worked in close collaboration with their librettists, e. g. Mozart with Lorenzo Da Ponte. Vocal duets, trios and other ensembles often occur, and choruses are used to comment on the action, in some forms of opera, such as singspiel, opéra comique, operetta, and semi-opera, the recitative is mostly replaced by spoken dialogue. Melodic or semi-melodic passages occurring in the midst of, or instead of, the terminology of the various kinds of operatic voices is described in detail below. Over the 18th century, arias were accompanied by the orchestra. Subsequent composers have tended to follow Wagners example, though some, the changing role of the orchestra in opera is described in more detail below
14.
The Pagan Queen
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The Pagan Queen is a 2009 historical drama film directed by German director Constantin Werner. After her father, the great chieftain Krok dies, the tribes of the Bohemian forests elect his youngest daughter Libuše as their new ruler. A seer by nature, she can travel into the Otherworld, during her reign Libuse envisions the city of Prague at the Vltava river, starts mining in the rich Bohemian mountains and helps her farmers to fight a deadly plague. She also starts an affair with the charismatic ploughman Přemysl. Desperate she elects Přemysl to become her husband and king, soon Přemysl takes over the new kingdom and rules with an iron fist, enslaving the formerly free farmers. But Libušes friend Vlasta, who loves her childhood, refuses to follow the new leader. After Vlasta kills Ctirad [Mirek Hrabé), a warrior and blinds Domaslav, Přemysl meets Vlasta in a showdown. At the same time Libuše gives birth to his son Nezamysl, the film ends with Libuše diving into the river Vltava which symbolizes her becoming a legend. The film recreates the pagan, pre-Christian time period of the so-called Dark Ages and shows the transition from a pagan matriarchate to a modern patriarchate. It is also a love story between two lovers from different social status, a queen and a ploughman, who meet in a time when the old ways of the Slavic tribes were coming to an end. The entire film was shot on location in the Czech Republic using reconstructions of Slavic settlements for the buildings in the story, the film had its premiere at the October 2009 Estepona Fantastic Film Festival/Spain where it won the Silver Unicorn award for best original film music. It was released theatrically in the Czech Republic in October 2009 by Atyp Film where it ran in theaters until January 2010. Since then it has sold to over a dozen countries. It was released in Russia and the Russian speaking countries on DVD November 2009 by Lizard Trade and it was released in the German-speaking countries on September 9,2010 by Eurovideo and in Australia and New Zealand February 23,2011 by Gryphon Entertainment. The critical reception in the Czech Republic was very negative, the film was also rejected by the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. In the United States the films reception was much better, ian Jane from AV Maniacs called it a nicely made picture with some beautiful camera work and strong performances. On IMDb, the film has a score of 3,5 out of 10, in 2010 Vanguard Cinema made a co production deal with the Swiss video on demand provider Viewster and the Disney research lab at the ETH Zurich to turn the film into 3D. The 3D version was completed in November 2011 and will be released throughout 2012/13, the orchestral score for Pagan Queen was written by German composer Benedikt Brydern and recorded in Prague with a full symphonic orchestra
15.
Libuse, Louisiana
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Libuse is an unincorporated community in Rapides Parish, Louisiana in the United States and part of the Alexandria, Louisiana metropolitan area. It was founded in 1914 by Czech immigrants, and named after Libuše, as of 2011, fundraising has commenced for a future Louisiana Czech Museum to be built in Libuse. The tribal office of the Talimali Band of Apalachee is located in Libuse, Libuse was the home of the late State Representative Carl Gunter, Jr. At the time of the last census, Libuses population was 1,965 with 800 total housing units, the median household income was $30,370. 50. 7% of the population are male thus the other 49. 3% are female, the median age of Libuse was 34. The racial makeup of the community was 233 people or 11. 9% are Black or African American and 1621 people or 82. 5% are White,5. 5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Libuse is located at 31°21′15″N 92°20′00″W
16.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
17.
Thomas Carlyle
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Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish philosopher, satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher. Considered one of the most important social commentators of his time, a respected historian, his 1837 book The French Revolution, A History was the inspiration for Charles Dickens 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities, and remains popular today. Carlyles 1836 Sartor Resartus is a philosophical novel. A great polemicist, Carlyle coined the term the dismal science for economics and he also wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, and his Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question remains controversial. Once a Christian, Carlyle lost his faith while attending the University of Edinburgh, in mathematics, he is known for the Carlyle circle, a method used in quadratic equations and for developing ruler-and-compass constructions of regular polygons. Carlyle was born in Ecclefechan in Dumfriesshire and his parents determinedly afforded him an education at Annan Academy, Annan, where he was bullied and tormented so much that he left after three years. His father was a member of the Burgher secession church, in early life, his familys strong Calvinist beliefs powerfully influenced the young man. After attending the University of Edinburgh, Carlyle became a teacher, first in Annan and then in Kirkcaldy. His prose style, famously cranky and occasionally savage, helped cement an air of irascibility, Carlyles thinking became heavily influenced by German idealism, in particular the work of Johann Gottlieb Fichte. He established himself as an expert on German literature in a series of essays for Frasers Magazine and he also wrote a Life of Schiller. In 1826, Thomas Carlyle married fellow intellectual Jane Baillie Welsh, in 1827, he applied for the Chair of Moral Philosophy at St Andrews University but was not appointed. A residence provided by Janes estate was a house on Craigenputtock and he often wrote about his life at Craigenputtock – in particular, It is certain that for living and thinking in I have never since found in the world a place so favourable. Here Carlyle wrote some of his most distinguished essays, and began a friendship with the American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. In 1831, the Carlyles moved to London, settling initially in lodgings at 4 Ampton Street, in 1834, they moved to 5 Cheyne Row, Chelsea, which has since been preserved as a museum to Carlyles memory. He became known as the Sage of Chelsea, and a member of a circle which included the essayists Leigh Hunt. Here Carlyle wrote The French Revolution, A History, a study concentrating both on the oppression of the poor of France and on the horrors of the mob unleashed. By 1821, Carlyle abandoned the clergy as a career and focused on making a life as a writer and his first fiction was Cruthers and Jonson, one of several abortive attempts at writing a novel. Following his work on a translation of Goethes Wilhelm Meisters Apprenticeship, he came to distrust the form of the realistic novel and so worked on developing a new form of fiction
18.
Chernobog
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The only historical sources, which are Christian ones, interpret him as a dark, accursed god, but it is questionable how important or malicious he was really considered to be by ancient Slavs. The name is attested only among West Slavic tribes of the 12th century, older scholarship assumed him to be the counterpart of Belobog. Helmold wrote that, The Slavs, too, have a strange delusion, hence, also, in their language they call the bad god Diabol, or Zcerneboch, that is, the black god. On the basis of this inscription, many modern mythographers assumed that, if the god was Chernobog. However, the name of Belobog is not mentioned by Helmold anywhere in his Chronica, svetovid may serve as the opposite deity. A veneration of this deity perhaps survived in folklore of several Slavic nations, in some South Slavic vernaculars, there exists the phrase do zla boga, used as an attribute to express something which is exceedingly negative. Chernobog has made appearances in various media, as Chernabog, he features in the Night on Bald Mountain sequence in Disneys Fantasia, as a gigantic black gargoyle like creature who summons other ghosts and demons. In an interview, Walt Disney referred to him as Satan himself, deems Taylor likewise refers to him as such in the film. This version of Chernobog appears throughout the Kingdom Hearts series, as well as an appearance on the season of Once Upon a Time. Chernobog appeared in the Marvel Comics series Thor and he was slain by a villain, a powerful god-killer. Chernobogs flying steed helps Thor fight back, Chernobog is mentioned in several books in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. Specifically the Russian Volvh is dedicated to Chernobog, tchernobog is the final boss in the video games Blood and Blood II, The Chosen. Czernobog is a character in Neil Gaimans novel American Gods, in Pacific Rim, there is a Russian mech, Cherno Alpha, named after Chernobog
19.
Deities of Slavic religion
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Since Ukrainian independence in 1991, she has undergone a fakeloric metamorphosis, and today is identified as a combination of the hearth-mother and the rusalka. This metamorphosis has its roots in the late 1980s, as several Ukrainian writers sought to personify their vision of an ideal Ukrainian woman, consequently, Berehynia today also has a place in Ukrainian nationalism, feminism, and neopaganism. In 2001, a column with a monument to Berehynia on top, as a protector of Kiev, was erected at Maidan Nezalezhnosti in the center of the city, kievs historic protector Archangel Michael older monument is located just across at the same square. Goddess of the Orange Revolution by Marian J. Rubchak, compares Berehynia with Yulia Tymoshenko, oksana Kis Who is protected by Berehynia, or Matriarchy as a mens invention, Zerkalo Nedeli, April 26 - May 6,2005
20.
Kresnik (deity)
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Kresnik is a Slavic god associated with fire, the summer solstice, and storms. His mythical home, a mountain at the top of the world. Kresnik was worshiped among the Slavic population of the eastern Alps and he is probably the same deity as Svarožič, son of the Slavic sun god, Svarog, described as having golden hair and golden hands. He gradually evolved into a Slovenian national hero who lives on a mountain, sometimes as a deer with golden antlers. He became known as a king with strong magic, yet still a farmer. The name of Kresnik has no clear etymology, connections with Russian Khors and Indian Krishna have been proposed in the past. As Mikhailov has shown, the name of Kresnik could be derived from Balto-Slavic linguistic heritage, festival of Kresze is known among Balts, for Mikhailov there are three possible connections with the root *krês, Sun, Solstice or blow. Kresnik is the son of the creator deity, ruler of heaven. Kresnik is described as having hair and golden hands or arms. He was born either with horse earlaps, horse hooves, or a birthmark shaped like hooves, connected to sun and fire, he travels the sky on his golden chariot, armed with thunderbolt, axe, hammer, club, or sword. Like Hercules, Kresnik performed twelve great deeds, sometimes he is helped by his brother Trot or his four-eyed dog. His chthonic opponent steals his property, cattle, or wife-sister, rain or wheat falls from the sky after such combat. In most tales, his wife is his sister, a goddess of spring named Alenčica, Marjetica, Vesina, or any number of variations. In some versions, Kresnik also has a lover who is the daughter of a snake deity, his perpetual enemy. The comparative mythology showed that this demigod perhaps originated from the Iranian god Yima and his double, on the other side, Kresnik is a storm god and so shares many common features with the Slavic god Perun. Some characteristics even connect him with Slavic hero Yarilo/Jarovit, many correlations with Mithra and Indra exist, too. Kresnik is a very diverse deity with many different faces depending on the location of the myth, Kresnik gradually evolved into a Slovenian national hero who lives on a golden mountain, sometimes as a deer with golden antlers. As a human, he is a great king skilled with magic, in some tales he even fights off the dog-headed Mongols as a peasant youth
21.
Lada (mythology)
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Lada or Lado is the name of a Slavic deity of harmony, merriment, youth, love and beauty. The word Lado appears in many Slavic and Baltic wedding and folk songs, particularly those sung during Ivan Kupala and its meaning, if indeed it has any, is unclear. Certe non venit ad summum bonum nisi quod bonum, croatian ethnologist Vitomir Belaj studied a great number of songs of summer festivities from various Slavic nations. Belaj identified this lost god as Jarilo, a major Slavic deity of vegetation, harvest, the Proto-Slavic *ladъ means pretty, nice, order. The following Serbian Lado-song recorded in Nikola Begovićs Srpske narodne pjesme iz Like i Banije, Vid slept in a meadow Lado is beautiful. Fair elf-maids were waking him Lado is beautiful and your house is on sale, Lado is beautiful. Your mother is dying, Lado is beautiful, then answers young Vid Lado is beautiful. Lado. you are lying fair elf-maids, Lado is beautiful, Lado. neither is my mother dying, Lado is beautiful. Lado. neither is my house on sale, Lado is beautiful, Lado. but my lover serves another. Lada is one of the deities, in order of some modern pagans feast their seasonal holidays. Sometimes the goddess attracted attention of the modern artists
22.
Marzanna
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She is an ancient goddess associated with winters death and rebirth and dreams. In Slavic rites the death of the Goddess Marzanna at the end winter, becomes the rebirth of Spring of the Goddess Kostroma, Lada, some medieval Christian sources such as the Czech 9th century Mater Verborum compare her to the Greek goddess Hecate, associating her with sorcery. 15th century Polish chronicler Jan Długosz likened her in his Annales to Ceres, in modern times the rituals associated with Marzanna have lost their sacred character and are a pastime – an occasion to have fun and celebrate the beginning of spring. The tradition is celebrated around the spring equinox. Usually schoolchildren and young participate in the celebrations alongside local folklore groups. A procession consisting of men, women and children carries handmade Marzanna to the nearest river, the participants sing traditional songs and throw effigies of Marzanna into the water. Sometimes the effigies are first set on fire, or their clothes are torn, on the journey back to the village the focus falls on the copses, adorned with ribbons and blown egg shells. The procession, still singing, returns to the village, in some locations, the beginning of spring is then celebrated with a feast. Marzannas name most likely comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *mar-, *mor-, the Slovak form of the theonym – Mamuriena – suggests that the goddess may have originally been connected to the Roman god of war Mars. The connection to Mars is supported by, among others, Vyacheslav Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov, other theories claim her name is derived from the same Indo-European root as Latin mors death and Russian mor pestilence. Some authors also likened her to mare, a spirit in Germanic and Slavic folklore, associated with nightmares. In Belarusian, Polish, Ukrainian and in some Russian dialects the word mara means phantom, vision, hallucination. Similar to burning witches in some European countries or Holika Dahan in India, in terms of the season when its celebrated - at the end of winter, start of spring - and the evil character involved. The tradition of burning or drowning an effigy of Marzanna to celebrate the end of winter is a custom that survives in the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania. In the past, the festival was held on the fourth Sunday of Lent, in the 20th century the date 21 March was fixed. The rite involves preparing an effigy in female clothing, and either setting it on fire or drowning in a river and this is often performed during a field trip by children in kindergarten and primary schools. The effigy, often made by the themselves, can range in size from a puppet to a life-size dummy. This ritual represents the end of the days of winter, the victory over death
23.
Mokosh
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Mokoš is a Slavic goddess mentioned in the Primary Chronicle, protector of womens work and womens destiny. She watches over spinning and weaving, shearing of sheep, Mokosh is the Great Mother, Mat Zemlya. Mokoš was the female deity whose idol was erected by Vladimir the Great in his Kiev sanctuary along with statues of other major gods. According to Max Vasmer, her name is derived from the root as Slavic words mokry, wet. She may have originated in the northern Finno-Ugric tribes of the Vogul, Mokoš was one of the most popular Slavic deities and the great earth Mother Goddess of East Slavs and Eastern Polans. She is a wanderer and a spinner and her consorts are probably both the god of thunder Perun and his opponent Veles. In saying, the former Katičić follows Ivanov and Toporov without further corroborating their claim, Katičić also points to the possibility that as goddess Vela she is the consort of Veles, and might even be interpreted as another form of the polymorph god Veles himself. Mokosh is also the mother of the twin siblings Jarilo and Morana, archeological evidence of Mokosh dates back to the 7th century BC. As late as the 19th century, she was worshipped as a force of fertility, worshipers prayed to Mokosh-stones or breast-shaped boulders that held power over the land and its people. In Eastern Europe, Mokosh is still popular as a life giving force. She shows up in embroidery, represented as a woman with uplifted hands, sometimes she is shown with male sexual organs, as the deity in charge of male potency. A the key myth in Slavic mythology, is the battle between the thunder god Perun and his opponent the god Veles. Some authors and the original researchers Ivanov and Toporov believe, the abduction of Mokosh causes the struggle, according to Boris Rybakov, in his 1987 work Paganism of Ancient Rus, Mokosh is represented on one of the sides of the Zbruch Idol. During Christianization of Kievan Rus there were issued against worshipping Mokoš. She was replaced by the cult of the Virgin Mary and St. Paraskevia, kikimora Mat Zemlya Moksha Mokshas tribe Moksha language
24.
Perun
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In Slavic mythology, Perun is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of thunder and lightning. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, the oak, iris, eagle, firmament, horses and carts, weapons and he was first associated with weapons made of stone and later with those of metal. Of all historic records describing Slavic gods, those mentioning Perun are the most numerous, as early as the 6th century, he was mentioned in De Bello Gothico, a historical source written by the Eastern Roman historian Procopius. While the name of the god is not mentioned explicitly, 20th century research has established beyond doubt that the god of thunder. To this day the word perun in a number of Slavic languages means thunder and we find the same form of confirmation of a peace treaty by prince Igor in 945. In 980, when prince Vladimir the Great came to the throne of Kiev, Perun was chief among these, represented with a silver head and a golden moustache. Vladimirs uncle Dobrinja also had a shrine of Perun established in his city of Novgorod, after the Christianization of Kievan Rus, this place became a monastery, which, quite remarkably, continued to bear the name of Perun. This could be a reference to Perun, but since he is not named, nor any of his attributes mentioned. Moreover, the name of Perun is also found in Southern Slavic toponymy. The Bulgarian and Macedonian people believe that the name of the Bulgarian mountain Pirin, there are also places called, Perun, Perunac, Perunovac, Perunika, Perunička Glava, Peruni Vrh, Perunja Ves, Peruna Dubrava, Perunuša, Perušice, Perudina and Perutovac. It must be noted that the word Pero means feather and the names of mountains and these names today mostly represent mountain tops, but in medieval times, large oaks, sacred groves and even entire villages or citadels were named Perun. Also, as mentioned already, in Ukrainian perun and in Polish piorun means thunderbolt, among South Slavs, a mountain plant Iris germanica is known in folklore as perunika and sometimes also as bogisha, and was believed to grow from ground that had been struck by lightning. Also the Serbian surname Peruničić and the Macedonian Перуновски are derived from Perun, the root *perkwu originally probably meant oak, but in Proto-Slavic this evolved into per- meaning to strike, to slay. The Lithuanian word Perkūnas has two meanings, thunder and the name of the god of thunder and lightning, artifacts, traditions and toponyms show the presence of the cult of Perun among all Slavic, Baltic and Ugro-Finnic peoples. The cult of Perun in this territory, populated since the 5th century by Slavs, Perun pursued Veles around the earth, attacking him with his lightning bolts from the sky. In the end, Perun managed to kill Veles, or to him back down into his watery underworld. The supreme god thus reestablished order in the world, which had been disrupted by his chaotic enemy and he then returned to the top of the World tree and proudly informed his opponent down in the roots Well, there is your place, remain there. This line came from a Belarusian folk tale, the earliest supreme god was probably Rod, it is unclear precisely how and why his worship as the head of the pantheon evolved into the worship of Perun
25.
Radegast (god)
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Radegast, also Radigost, Redigast, Riedegost or Radogost is an old, well-documented, god of Slavic mythology. Even myths concerning him were constructed based on folk customs of sacred hospitality. Similar customs, however, are known in many Indo-European mythologies without a deity associated explicitly with them. This view could be supported by the political role Radegast temple played in the life of West Slavic tribes, according to some literary sources he is also the god of war, night, fire and the evening sky. He likes to invite to the banquets, is black and is armed with a spear. Mt. Radegast is mentioned by Adam of Bremen in his Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum as the deity worshipped in the Lutician city of Radgosc, likewise, Helmold in his Chronica Slavorum wrote of Radegast as a Lutician god. According to Adam of Bremen, Johannes Scotus, Bishop of Mecklenburg, was sacrificed to that god on 10 November 1066, according to Slavic legends, Radegast was beloved by Hors, described as the beautiful young goddess of the moon. However he ignored her, unlike the god of the wind Stribog, Stribog secretly stole Radegasts cloak and towards morning he sneaked into Hors chamber, where she let him seduce her and got her pregnant. Radegast was outraged, but not because of Hors rather for the stolen coat and she begged for mercy for her newborn girl and suggested that she could be a goddess of autumn, but the main god Svarog disagreed and the dispute was not settled. As a result, this season does not have a goddess, the original statue once found on Mt. Radhošť, sculpted in 1929 by Albin Polasek, is now located in Frenstats Town Hall. When the statue was moved to the mountain in 1931, the truck became stuck in a steep turn, a second cast by Albin Polasek stands in the center of Pragues Zoo. The granite version, now found on Mt. Radhošť, is a recent copy funded by the Radegast Beer Company in 1998. More information and sculptures of Radegast can be viewed at The Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park, the name Radhošť itself is supposed to be a Czech transcription of Radegast. Radagast the Brown is a character in J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium. He is one of the wizards and lives among animals, Radigost is also the name of a Russian black metal band formed in 1994, as well as Radogost being the name of a folk metal band from Poland formed in 2006. Adam of Bremen, Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum
26.
Svarog
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Svarog is a Slavic deity known primarily from the Hypatian Codex, a Slavic translation of the Chronicle of John Malalas. Svarog is there identified with Hephaestus, the god of the blacksmith in ancient Greek religion, and as the father of Dažbog, on the basis of this text, some researchers conclude that Svarog is the Slavic god of celestial fire and of blacksmithing. The only mention of Svarog comes from the Hypatian Codex, a 15th-century compilation of several much older documents from the Ipatiev Monastery in Russia and it contains a Slavic translation of an original Greek manuscript of John Malalas from the 6th century. In the Greek text, the names of gods are Hephaestus, apparently, the unknown Russian translator tried to re-tell the entire story by replacing the names of classical deities with those that were better known to his readers. It is uncertain to what extent the Greeks gods were thought to resemble their Slavic counterparts, furthermore, this passage has raised quite a few theories about family relations between Slavic gods. Franjo Ledić, on the hand, simply assumed that Svarog and Dažbog are one. Eastern Slavic sources also mention Svarožič as a deity, there associated with fire, according to Thietmar of Merseburg, Svarožič was worshipped by a tribe of Ratars in the city of Ridegost. The word Svarog is cognate with the Indo-Aryan Sanskrit word Svarga which literally means Heaven or Sky, in Neopagan religions, Svarog is often the supreme god-creator and the central part of the trinity Triglav. He completed the creation of the world by giving it Prav, Slavic neopaganism Kolovrat, Sun wheel which is a symbol of Svarog. Hod kroz godinu, mitska pozadina hrvatskih narodnih vjerovanja i običaja, the Bathhouse at Midnight, An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia. New York, N. Y. Peter Lang Publishing, the gods of the ancient Slavs, Tatishchev and the beginnings of Slavic mythology
27.
Svetovid
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Svetovid, Svantovit or Sventovit is a Slavic deity of war, fertility and abundance primarily venerated on the island of Rügen into the 12th century. He is often considered a local Rugian variant of the pan-Slavic god Perun, sometimes referred to as Beli Vid, Svetovid is often depicted with a sword or bow in one hand and a drinking horn in the other. Other important symbols included the horse, which were kept in his temple. Svetovid is associated with war and divination and depicted as a god with two heads looking forward and two back. Each face had a specific colour, the northern face of this totem was white, the western, red, the southern, black and the eastern, green. Boris Rybakov argued for identification of the faces with the gods Perun, Svarog, Lada, joined together, they see all four sides of the world. This gave rise to an etymology of the name of the god as world-seer. However, the forms Sventevith and Zvantewith show that the name derives from the word svętъ, meaning saint, the second stem is sometimes reconstructed as vit=lord, ruler, winner. The name recorded in chronicles of contemporary Christian monks is Svantevit, dawning One, implying either a connection with the Morning Star or with the Sun itself. The original name of the island Rügen or Danish Rygen at the Baltic Sea was Rujan, the autochthonous inhabitants of the island were the Slavic tribe, the Rujani, whose name was cognate with the islands, thus translating as people from Rujan. After the destruction and/or assimilation of the Rujani by the Danes, in 1168, according to various chronicles, the temple at Jaromarsburg contained a giant wooden statue of Svantevit depicting him with four heads and a horn of abundance. Each year the horn was filled with fresh mead, the temple was also the seat of an oracle in which the chief priest predicted the future of his tribe by observing the behaviour of a white horse identified with Svantevit and casting dice. The temple also contained the treasury of the tribe and was defended by a group of 300 mounted warriors which formed the core of the armed forces. Some interpretations claim that Svetovit was another name for Radegast, while states that he was a fake god. According to an interpretation, Svantevit was a Rugian counterpart of the pan-Slavic Perun. In Croatia, on the island of Brač, the highest peak is called Vids Mountain, in the Dinaric Alps there is a peak called Suvid and a Church of St. Vid. Among the Serbs, the cult of Svetovid is partially preserved through the Feast of St. Vitus, Vidovdan, a devotee of this god, in the story, is called Boleslav Arkonsky – a name evidently derived from the above-mentioned temple at Arkona. Demiurge The Slav Epic Vidovdan Svetovit from Zbrucz Archeological Museum in Kraków - Poland actual Svetovit monument - galleries from polish cities Svetovit figure discovered in Wolin - Poland
28.
Veles (god)
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Veles, also known as Volos, is a major Slavic god of earth, waters, forests and the underworld. His attributes are wet, wooly, hairy, dark and he is associated with cattle, believed to be related to the Indo-European deity of Mitra, as well as Norse deity of Loki. As such he probably has been imagined as a dragon, which in the belief of the pagan Slavs is a chimeric being and his tree is the willow, like god Peruns tree is the oak. No direct accounts survive, but reconstructions speculate that he may directly continue aspects of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon, Veles is one of few Slavic gods for which evidence of offerings can be found in all Slavic nations. The Primary Chronicle, a record of the early Eastern Slavic state, is the earliest and most important record. Many etymologists, however, suppose them two different gods, here, Volos is mentioned as god of cattle and peasants, who will punish oath-breakers with diseases, the opposite of Perun who is described as a ruling god of war who punishes by death in battle. In the later half of the 10th century, Veles or Volos was one of seven gods whose statues Volodymyr I, Prince of Kyiv had erected in his city. It is very interesting that Veless statue apparently did not stand next to others, on the hill where the castle was. A similar pattern can be observed among the South Slavs, here the name of Veles appears only in toponyms, the best-known of which is the city of Veles in Macedonia, over which looms a hill of St. Elias the Thunderer. Also, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a part of Sarajevo is called Velešići, another debatable if not improbable example is the town of Volosko in Croatia, situated on the seashore under the peak of Mount Ucka, nicknamed Perun. Among Western Slavs, the name can be found in 15th and 16th century Czech records. One possibility is that the name derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *wel- and this seems plausible, since in Slavic cosmology Veles in serpentine form is lying in a nest of black wool in the roots of the Tree of the World and Veles is the shepherd of the dead. Volos is also the Russian word for hair and Veles is hairy in his beastly form, the Proto-Indo-European root *welg- also means humid, wet. Nothing is more connected with Veles than humidity and wetness and his domain is down, у воду пот корч пот колоду. That is where Veles is in his place, there is also the Indo-European word *woltus meaning meadow which is derived from the same root. And Veles is the shepherd of the dead who was imagined to browse the deceased on green lush meadows in the underworld. And finally the Elysian Fields where Ἠλύσιος is etymologically related to the name Veles and in Greek λειμών is a low wet place, a meadow, the name may also be related to Slavic terminology for oxen, for which the South Slavs, Russians, and Poles use вол/vol/wół. Volos can also be a derivation from the root by Eastern Slavic phonetic laws
Libuše (help·info), Libussa,[1] Libushe or, historically Lubossa,[2] is a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty and the Czech people as a whole. According to legend, she was the youngest but wisest of three sisters, who became queen after their father died; she married a ploughman, Přemysl, with whom she founded the Přemyslid dynasty, and prophesied and founded the city of Prague in the 8th century.
Media related to Libuše at Wikimedia Commons