image045

Fig. 21. Wolgast - a plan from about 1760 (a siraplified copy). The stronghold and St Peter’s church are visible. After N. Buske, 1984, p. 33.

beliefs about the coiour suitable for this profession. The shield is the only insignium of Gerovit mentioned in the sources.

There are two possibilities of localizing the tempie, which has not been identified by archaeology yet. It might have been situated on a hill towering over the town, where now St Peter’s church stands. The walls of this church contain two reliefs, or rather pictures engraved in stone, one of which shows a man with a spear in his hand and is sometimes interpreted as Gerovit’s image. The other picture includes a cross engraved - possibly later - over the head of a similar figurę with a spear (see ch. 11 below). Ebo’s text, however, explicitly says that the priest disguised as the deity went out of the stronghold in order to perform the “miracle,” so the tempie should be situated in the town, in an island at the western bank of Piana where later the castle was built (Buske, 1984, p. 33). Herbord mentions temples in plural, which suggests the existence of at least one cult hall, Like in Szczecin.

We have no information conceming the celebrations in Gerovit’s shrine in Wolgast. In Havelberg, where this god was worshiped as well (Ebo, III, 3), one of the rituals was held at the beginning of May. The military character of Gerovit, identified with Mars by Herbord, is unąuestionable. We should also point to his strong ties with agriculture, stressed in the priesfs speech. In Ruthenia the same deity, called Yarila, was a special patron of agriculture and his holiday, marking the beginning of spring, was celebrated in late April, nearly as in Polabia. A. Gieysztor (1982, p. 108-U5; cf. Ivanov, Toporov, 1974, p. 180-216) interprets Gerovit-Yarila as one of incamations of Perun.

From Wolgast St Otto went to Giitzkow, the seat of prince Myslav, who was baptized in Uznam. According to Ebo (111, 9) in this town there were “temples richly decorated with admirable art, erected by the inhabitants for the sum of 300 talents.” They offered much money to Otto to convince him not to destroy it. Herbord (III, 7) writes in similar words, but about only one “tempie of remarkable size and beauty.” The inhabitants of Gutzkow tried to save it, “as it had been built not long before at great expense and they were very proud of it, treating it as a valuable ornament of the town. They tried to bribe the bishop secretly and persuade him to keep the tempie intact, suggesting that it could be turned into a church.” The bishop, how-ever, was imbribable and argued with the inhabitants until they pulled down the tempie and the idols.

Ebo (III, 10) recorded morę information about the statues: “At that time, when in the town of Gutzkow temples built with wonderful skill were being destroyed (...) indeed it was a joyful sight, when sculptures of amazing size and incredible beauty, which over a dozen pairs of oxen could hardly move, were dragged down through the bridge destined for buming, with arms and legs cut off, eyes gouged out and noses broken, in front of idolaters who wept bitterly. (...) The idols’ priests tried to instigate a rebel-lion for their own benefit.” Ebo seasoned the information, which seems reliable, with a story about repulsive toads of unprecedented size which bred out of the destroyed idols and, chased away by the sign of cross, found shelter in Rugen.

As in the case of Wolgast, the sources diverge as to the number of temples. Herbord writes consistently about one magnificent tempie built at a great expense a short time before. Ebo uses the plural form, which can be explained if we assume that the tempie was accompanied by a house or houses of meetings. Both Live$ localize the tempie (or temples) within the stronghold, both refer to statues of gods, but neither gives their names. Besides, Ebo mentions priests. The sources do not allow for any further hypothesizing about the detaiis, except of a supposi-tion about a tempie treasury, derived from the information that the tempie

93