CHAPTER I
WORSHIP OF THE GODS
SACRIFICES of animals, grain, and food were offered to the gods and genii; and in time of war captives were slaughtered in their honour,1 These sacrifices were performed by fathers of families, by chieftains of clans, and by princes; but the existence of a special and highly developed priesthood is proved only among the Elbe Slavs, where the head priest received the same honour as the king himself.2
The Elbe Slavs worshipped their idols3 in temples adorned with great taste and splendour;4 and In addition to this, trees and groves were consecrated to the gods, both among the Elbe Slavs and among the Russians.5 Such a svatobor, for example, was on the island of Rügen;6 while between Stargard and Lübeck stretched a great oak grove, guarded by a wooden fence provided with two gates. This grove was full of idols in whose honour sacrifices and feasts were held; and whoever concealed himself there when threatened by death was considered inviolable, being under the protection of the gods.7 In Bohemia it was not until 1092, in the reign of Bfetislav II, that the sacred groves, held in high honour by the people, were hewn down and burned.8 The pagan Russians, so far as historical evidence goes, did not build special temples for their gods, but erected their idols in the open on slopes and hills.9 Besides trees and groves, sanctity also attached to mountains,10 as well as to rivers and fountains.11
Among the annual festivals, that of Svantovit in Arkona, which reminds us of the autumnal dziadys,12 is described at considerable length,13 whereas the other feasts, which in the
