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combined various occurrences from a long span. Wolfgang Bruske (1955, p. 39-40) supposes that the core of his narration is the uprising from 983, while Gerard Labuda doubts whether Helmold knew about it at all, like Adam of Bremen, whose chronicie supplied him with Information contained in this fragment. According to G. Labuda (1960-1975, vol. 1, p. 224) the uprising of the Abodrites led by Mstivoy and Mstidrog broke out in 990, while other details of the relation refer to the events of the years 1011-1013 and 1019-1020. For the issues discussed here it is important that, according to Helmold, Mstivoy might have sought help in Radogość, which proves the place was commonly regarded as the centre of paganism.

Thietmar’s information is confirmed by a contemporary source, the famous letter from Bruno of Querfurt to Henry II from 1008. Although St Bruno did not mention the name of RadogoSć, he wrote about Svaroźic, who was worshiped there, posing a rhetorical ąuestion to the German ruler: “Is it suitable to persecute a Christian people and live in amity with pagans? What is this alliance of Christ with Belial? How can we equal light with darkness? How can the devil Svaroźic agree with the leader of saints, yours and ours, Maurice? Is it not shameful that the holy spear and the devilish banners of those who drink human blood come together? Don’t you regard it as a sin when a Christian’s head is - abhorrent to say - sacrificed to demons’ flag?” Indeed, the details of alliance with the Lutizens were not suitable to publicise. The ritual of offering an enemy’s head to Svaroźic, mentioned only in passing in the letter, is confirmed by morę concrete descriptions. According to Thietmar (TV, 13) Bohemian prince Boleslaus the Pious, reinforced by Lutizens, besieged a stronghold in the land of Mieszko I, seized it and captured the commander, “whom he gave to the Lutizens to be beheaded. They immediately sacrificed him to their patron gods near the town, and then resolved to come back home”. Around 1050 two martyrs were murdered in Radogość: “Rumour has it that at this time two monks (...) arrived in Rethra. When they tried to preach the Gospel in public, the council of pagans put them to torturę and finally they were beheaded for the glory of Christ, as they wished themselves. Their names are unknown to people, but, as we strongly believe, recorded in heaven” (Adam of Bremen, III, 20/19/, schol.71).

On June 7th, 1066 a Christian prince of Abodrites, Gotschalk, who tried to consolidate the country through Christianization, was assassinated. The murder initiated a violent pagan reaction, possibly instigated by Radogo$£ (Bruske, 1955, p. 81-83), as its success was celebrated by sacrifices right there. One of the captives was the old bishop of Mecklemburg, John, who was of Irish origin (Strzelczyk, 1987, p. 360-361). As Adam of Bremen (III, 51/5Of) said - and Helmold (I, 23) quoted after him - the bishop was kept alive “until the moment of triumph. For Christian faith he was lashed, and then led through many Slavonic towns in derision. When he refused to renounce the name of Christ, the pagans chopped off his arms and legs and left his body in the Street. They impaled his head onto a spear and offered it the their god Radogost as a sign of victory. It happened in the Capital of Slavs, Rethra, on the llth of November.” The bishop’s death is also recorded in Scandinavian sources (Rehfeldt, 1942, p. 40-41).

The pagan reaction among Abodrites resulted from political reasons. In 1057 a civil war broke out in the Lutizeń Union. According to Helmold (I, 21), who, surprisingly enough, seems to have known morę about the events a century after them than their contemporary, Adam of Bremen, wrote: “those (...) who cali themselves Lutizens or Vilzens consist of four tribes. Of those, as we know, the Kessiners (Chyżanie) and Zircipans (Czrezpienianie) live at this side of the Peene (Piana) river, and the Redars and Tolensans - at the other one. A violent fight for dominance started between them.” Adam of Bremen had the same information (III, 22), but Helmold added a reason or excuse for the conflict: “The Redars and Tolensans, because of the antiquity of their town and the famous tempie in which the effigy of Radogost is shown, wanted to hołd the supreme power. They believed themselves to be specially significant, as other Slavonic peoples often visited them to get answers from the oracie and to make annual oblations. But the Kessiners and Zirzipans did not want to submit to them and decided to defend their freedom with armed force. So, when the unrest had gradually increased finally the war broke out and after bloody fights the Redars and Tolensans were defeated,” As a result of the war, in which later the Saxon prince, the prince of Abodrites and the king of Denmark intervened, the Kessiners and Zirzipans fell under the influence of the Abodrite State of prince Gotschalk, which explains why Radogość contributed to this ruler’s defeat.

Helmold (I, 2) also gave the details concerning the appearance of the tempie in Radogość, but he borrowed them directly from Adam of Bremen, and did not add anything. Adam of Bremen’s description (II, 21/18/) starts from a list of tribes living between the Elbę and the Oder, including the Havellians, Lubushans, Wolinians and Stodorans. Then the chronicler says: “In the middle there are the Redars, who are most powerful among them. Their town is Rethra, the famous centre of idolatry. A large tempie has been built there for demons, among which Redigast is the first. His effigy is madę of gold, a purple bed is prepared for him. The stronghold itself has nine gates; it is surrounded by a deep lakę, over which one can pass through a wooden bridge, but the passage is allowed only to those who bring offerings or come for divination. It is a sign, I believe, that doomed souls of idolaters gathered together

are confined within the nine circles of Styx.

The tempie is said to be four days of travel from Hamburg.” The details recorded by Adam of Bremen differ quite significantly from Thietmar’s description, written only half a century earlier.

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