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right or wrong according to their own will. They could plunder, kill and demolish altars, even in their own country (Saxo Grammaticus, XIV, p. 825, 830-831), which reminds the behaviour of Scandinavian squads of berserks (Słupecki, 1987, p. 50-59). It was a mighty instrument of power used on behalf of the god, whose flag was particularly honoured. The priesfs power caused the discontent of the princes, who opted for introducing the country into the Christian community. In 1168 Tetislav with his brother and heir Jaromir waited for new developments in Garz, where they madę an agree-ment with the Danes immediately after the surrender of Arcona. The end of paganism did not mean the end of the Rans State. After baptism the prince became a vassal of the Danish king and strengthened his influence on domestic affairs. The State dependent on Denmark existed until the 14th century (SSS, voL 4, p. 596).

Arcona, as a sanctuary attracting masses of people and an important political centre, was also economically significant. In November a large scalę herring trade took place, but the role of the town as a market place was probably greater than that. There are some mentions conceming the coming of foreign merchants with their goods (but they do not specify when it happened) and the presence of foreigners in the stronghold at the time of its surrender. Holidays provided a perfect occasion for trade, the season of harvest, mentioned by Saxo Grammaticus as the time of celebrations wor-shiping Sventovit, seems a good period for that. Merchants - at least foreign ones - had to pay a special fee to Sventovit’s treasury. The market place was probably situated outside the stronghold, possibly in a suburb at contem-porary Puttgarten, although in Arcona a so-called treasure hoard of a mer-chant from the llthc. was found.

There is also a Polish motive in the history of Arcona. When Szczecin had been christened and new faith was successfully spreading at the Oder estuary, the Rans’ fleet tried to invade the town, but the attack was repelled. In 1135 prince Bolesław the Wrymouth, who had been the supreme lord of Pomerania for morę than ten years, swore an oath of fealty from the island of Rugen to the Emperor. The actual content of the oath has been disputed among historians. We do not know whether Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed was the sovereign of the island, even on the tributary basis, or only claimed the right to it, but undoubtedly Poland was interested in Rugen at the time (Wachowski, 1950, p. 134-135, 214; Osięgłowski, 1967, p. 264—265). This interest may be reflected in an episode from The life of St Adalbert Tempore Mo (ch. 7), written in the 12th c. and showing obvious interest in Pomerania. The story says that in the Capital of Hungary there was a very famous idol, through which devils gave oracular answers to peopłe’s questions, which attracted adoring crowds on particular days. St Adalbert bumt the statuę in the presence of its priests and gathered crowds. No Hungarian sanctuary with an oracie is mentioned in other sources, and the tale resembłes the stories about Arcona. The life of St Adalbert Tempore illo might have incorporated reminiscences of the fali of Arcona. We should also devote some attention to a similar story from The Book of Wonders of abbot Herbert (Szacherska, 1968, p. 88-89; cf. Palm, 1937, p. 43-51). One of the legends collected there concems an adventure of a monk from a Danish monastery. In his youth, still as a layman, he went to a land of pagans, which was probably Rugen (Szacherska, 1968, p. 80-88). He found an enor-mous statuę, through which a demon gave advice to his worshipers. On certain days people gathered in front of his tempie and madę oblations. The demon’s power was so great that he spoke to the inquisitive youth, secretly participating in the ritual, in his native language. The scared Christian was saved from oppression by his faith in the power of the holy cross.

To sum up, we know that sińce the 9th c. in a cape situated 46 metres above sea level in Arcona there was a stronghold, in which at least sińce the mid llth c. a pagan sanctuary existed. We know the name and character of the god worshiped there, as well as his attributes. Many details of the cult and the tempie are described in sources. We know the approximate datę of one ritual, the types of offerings and oracular practices. The existence of priests, their political role and the scope of their power are evident. Finally, we can assume that the tempie stronghold was the place of counselling meetings. The data indicate the existence of a remarkable system comprising a tempie with a statuę of a supreme deity of super-tribal influence, priests, an oracie and divination with the special role of the sacred horse, a tempie treasury, sacriflces including ritual homicide, counselling meetings. The fact that the sanctuary was located near the shore, in an elevated place, is significant. The four heads of Sventovit, a symbol of the highest power dominating over the four ąuarters of the globe (Gieysztor, 1984, p. 261) indicate that Arcona was considered by the Rans as the mythical centre of their world, its Capital function was not a coincidence.

We have no data about a sacrificial or eternal fire in the tempie or its neighbourhood. No relation mentions an altar, either. Saxo Grammaticus, usually very meticulous, did not say anything about the fate of Arcona priests after the surrender of the sanctuary and did not record their names. We can speculate that they escaped death, because they were the only persons entitled to hand the treasury over to the Danes. The transfer of the treasury was decided at Arcona, not in Garz, where Jaromir and Tetislav stayed, which indicates that Valdemar and Absalon negotiated the surrender of the stronghold with the priests.

Studying the history of Arcona tempie we can conclude from numerous mentions that the shrine had a dominant role in the life of the Rans, as well as of other Slavonic tribes from the mainland which were influenced by Rugen. No important enterprise was started without asking the opinion of the islanders, which could be expressed by Arcona oracie. The tribes from the mainland paid tribute to Sventovit, who was regarded as the superior deity, and the cult was enforced. The tribes that were politically dominated

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