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by the Rans got under the influence of their sanctuary. It is difficult to State when exactly particular tribes fell into such dependency, but they were mainly the inhabitants of the Baltic coast. Rugen controlled the territory stretching from Wagria, which “with all Slavonic countries” - i.e. Abodrites and Lutizians in Helmold’s terminology (1,108) - paid tribute to Sventovit, through Lubeck, attacked by the Rans’ fleet in order to capture the whole area (Helmold, I, 36), to Wolin and Szczecin, which was attacked by the Rans without success after its Christianization (Herbord, III, 31; Ebo, III, 23). Initially the influence of Rugen, based on the power of its fleet, did not penetrate far into the mainland (Bruske, 1955, p. 100-103), which was dominated by RadogoSć and its land forces, but after their defeat in the 1060s the authority of Arcona may have been extended also to this region. The narrower scope of Arcona’s influence is delimited by the native land of the Rans, including the island and an adjacent part of the continent. According to Saxo Grammaticus (XIV, p. 826) “the deity had also other temples in many places [there], which were in care of priests who enjoyed equal respect, but lesser power.”

The above quotations provoke two issues, namely: can we rely on the information about the hierarchy of priests subordinate within a strict system to the tempie in Arcona? and: Is the cult of Sventovit confirmed in the descriptions of other sanctuaries in the island? The sources do not provide conclusive answers. We can try to approach the problem of priests answer-ing the latter ąuestion flrst. If Sventovit indeed had other sanctuaries of lower rank in the island, the hypothesis about hierarchy of priests seems highly motivated in view of the ąuoted fragment from Saxo Grammaticus.

At flrst glance there are serious counterarguments against the thesis. Arcona seems to be the only place in Rugen and in all Slavonic territories where Sventovit was worshiped, as nowhere else his name was recorded. On the other hand Saxo’s information is usually highly reliable, and other sources exactly coincide with his chronicie. Sventovit and Arcona appear even in texts which know hardly anything else about Rugen. The solution of the puzzle may be the following: Sventovit was not a separate deity, but - as Gieysztor (1982, p. 90-105) proved - an incamation of Perun, worshiped in Rugen under a nickname. Was it the only name of this god used in Rugen? The sources present Sventovit as the ruler of the island and the supematural leader of the tribe (Trębaczkiewicz-Oziemska, 1968), collecting poll-tax from his subjects. Such a deity should not coexist with another sovereign of the island. Surprisingly, Saxo Grammaticus says that in Garz Rugevit, whose name means “the lord of Rugen,” was worshiped (Gieysztor, 1982, p. 106; SSS, vol. 4, p. 573).

In 1168 Garz was the seat of princes Tetislav and Jaromir, who - after the fali of Arcona and reconciliation with the Danes - opened the local temples to the invaders (Saxo Grammaticus, XIV, p. 839-841; Osięgłowski, 1967, p. 284). According to Knytlingasaga (ch. 122), the day after the treaty

Fig. 13. Korzeni ca-Garz. The location of the stronghold near the town of Garz. 1:23,000 scalę. A simplifled copy from C. Schuchhardt, O. Stiehl, W. Petzsch, 1928, p. 464.

was concluded, “the king with his men came to the town called Karennz, and ordered to destroy three idols named Rinvit, Turupid and Puruvid...” What follows is an obscene anecdote from which we can infer that a taboo forbade sexual intercourse in the stronghold sacred because of divine pres-ence. Although almost all data about Slavonic pagan rituals seem to contra-dict such a conclusion, we cannot easily dismiss it, as the same obscene anecdote is known to Saxo Grammaticus (XIV, p. 844). Knytlingasaga’s relation ends with a mention that the statues were burnt and robbed of “lots of money, gold and silver, silk cloth and robes, the purple, swords, helmets and all kinds of weapons.” Saxo Grammaticus (XTV, p. 841-844) gives morę extensive information: “In this magnificent town there were three temples,

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