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Rostock (PUB Conrad, vol. 1, 1970, No 55, p. 68; Kahl, 1964, vol. 1, p. 337, vol. 2, p. 704; Leciejewicz, 1968, gloss 131; Herrmann, 1988, p. 273). The name of the deity remains unknown, but the ąuoted fragments create a picture of a tempie recognized by two tribes, called famous, renown for rich forms of rituals, perhaps connected with a holy grove, and situated near the tribal centre. We can speculate that when the Kessiners and Zirzipans overthrew the influence of Radogość, this shrine became their main tempie. In Rostock, according to Saxo Grammaticus, there was some worshiped statuę.

Under 1128 Ebo (III, 5) refers to another Lutizian sanctuary. Writing about Christianization of Dymin, he says that “the Lutizens, whose town with a tempie was bumt down by famous king Lothar not long ago, tried to destroy Dymin (...)” It has already been indicated that some historians want to interpret the “town with a tempie” as the last tracę of Radogość, others think it was Gutzkow. Other Lutizian temples, mentioned by Thietmar (VI, 25) and Armales Weissenburgenses (a. 1069) in plural, remain unknown.

It seems necessary to connect also the two statues from Fischerinsel in Tollense Lakę, dated to llth-12thc., with the territory influenced by Ra-dogość. The female figurę may represent the war goddess from Lutizian standards, while the famous two-headed deity is sometimes interpreted as a tracę of a cult of twins, similar to Dioscuri (Gieysztor, 1982, p. 150-153).

Despite the temporary German invasion, the Lutizens remained pagan until the 12th c. The Abodrites, on the other hand, at least at the time of prince Gotschalk, were not entirely resistant to Christianity, but after 1066 the old faith was fully revived. Victorious rebels elected as their prince a pagan thane Krut, “a persecutor of Chrisfs name.” When he got older, Henry, Gotschalk’s son, killed him deceitfully and gained control over his heritage. Although he was a Christian, he had to tolerate his subjects’ paganism, or rather vice versa they tolerated Henry’s “German” faith, which was not very influential, as the only Church in his State was situated in his seat in Old Liibeck. When Henry was assassinated, the Gotschalk dynasty lost the throne, which was seized by a relative of theirs, Kanut Laward, son of Danish king. He was killed by his own brother and the former State of Gotschalk was divided between Henry’s nephew Pribislav and “starost of Abodrite land” Niklot. The former ruled the Vagrians and Polabians, the latter the tribe of Abodrites. According to Helmold (I, 22-26, 34, 49-52), “both were real beasts, very unfavourable towards Christians” (cf. Kahl, 1962; Lammers, 1964; Struve, 1988).

Paganism celebrated the last triumphs before the decline. Along with holy groves in the land of Abodrites there existed roofed shrines. Pointing to the variety of cult forms, Helmold (I, 84) stated that the Slavs of that territory “erect strange statues in their temples, for example the effigy in Plon, which is called Podaga.” The tempie in Plon, although used only for illustration by Helmold, is the only one straightforwardly mentioned in the sources, but as the Lutizens had as many temples as tribes, we can suppose that the same applied to the Abodrites. Helmold (I, 52) presented a map of their cult in the following way: “In those days varied cult of idols and superstitious practices were revived (...). Apart from holy groves and gnomes numerous in the fields and towns, the most important were Prove, god of Oldenburg, Siva, goddess of the Polabianś [in the Copenhagen manuscript with the addition: that is the inhabitants of Ratzeburg] and Radogost, god of the Abodrites.”

We have morę information about the Vagrians, who had a grove called Prove, regarded as the most sacred place in the country, near the main stronghold, Starigard (Oldenburg), which is described in another place in Helmold’s chronicie. There was no tempie in the grove, but a roofed shrine might have been situated in the stronghold. According to Widukind’s chronicie (III, 68), in 967 the Saxons captured in a certain town, probably Oldenburg, a statuę of “Saturn” madę of copper, or morę likely covered with sheet copper. Excavations carried out lately in Oldenburg by Ingo Gabriel discovered some traces of an unroofed shrine and buildings that might have been used as cult halls. Another tempie in Vagria, in Plon, had a lower status that the Prove grove. The name of the god worshiped there, recorded as Podaga or Pogaga, is sometimes related to Pogoda, known from the Polish “Olympus” of Jan Długosz, or to Daźbog. It can be also derived from the stem *dag (to bum: Jakobson, 1985, p. 8; SSS, vol. 4, p. 166) and deciphered as Pożoga (great fire), then it would not be a female name, but rather a personification of the power of fire. Similar deities, such as Śmierć (Death) or Dola (Fate) were common in Slavonic pantheon.

Ratzeburg, the main town of the Polabianś, was the centre of cult of goddess Siva. This name reminds of Żywię, a detity mentioned by Długosz (Gieysztor, 1982, p. 150). The only tracę of pagan cult discovered in this settlement is a smali one-headed statuę found near the stronghold situated at a peninsula at Ratzeburg Lakę (Lammers, 1964, p. 141).

The god of the Abodrites was the aforementioned Radogost. A stream named after him, Radegast, separated their land from the territory of the Polabianś, who lived morę to the west. The sanctuary might have been situated in one of two main strongholds: Mechlin (Mecklemburg) or Schwerin. There are morę arguments for Schwerin. Both towns appear in written sources at the tum of the 1 lth c., but information about paganism is connected only with Schwerin. According to Thietmar’s relation about Lutizian attack on Abodrite prince Mstislav (VIII, 5), the latter sought refuge from them “behind the entrenchments of the fortress in Schwerin,” but the rebellion madę him escape from the stronghold and from the country. “At that time all the churches that had been erected in that country to praise and serve God were demolished and bumt down. And, what is even morę regrettable, the holy cross was cut down and idolatry, preferred to the tme faith, reintroduced.” This relation is accompanied by a mention about

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