Rugen
largest island of Germany, in the Baltic Sea opposite Stralsund and separated from the German mainland by the Strelasund (Strela Sound) and Bodden Strait. It is administered as part of MecklenburgWest Pomerania Land (state)...Rgen is rich in prehistoric artifacts. There are Upper Paleolithic remains, traces of the Neolithic Beaker folk, and the Bronze Age Hgelgraber Culture (distinguished by burial tumuli). The Germanic Rugieri tribe was displaced by the Slavic Wends (c. 500 BC), whose fortress on the northern promontory of Arkona was destroyed by the Danish king Waldemar I when he conquered and Christianized the island in 1168. Rgen was thereafter ruled by native princes under Danish supremacy until 1218 and passed to Pomerania (Pomorze) in 1325, to Sweden in 1648, and to Prussia in 1815... Copyright 1994-2002 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc
Arkona West Slavic citadel-temple of the god Svantovit, dating from the 9th10th century AD and destroyed in 1168/69 by Christian Danes when they stormed the island of Rgen in the southwestern Baltic. Saxo Grammaticus, the 12th-century Danish historian, wrote that the Arkona was a wooden structure of consummate workmanship; around the temple extended a yard, and around this was a wooden fence, splendidly carved and bearing various painted symbols. The temple itself was log-built and was topped by a red roof; the inner chamber had partitions of heavy tapestry. In this inner sanctum loomed the statue of Svantovit, larger than life size, awe-inspiring with its four heads and throats joined together facing in opposite directions. Saxo mentions that not only the whole land of Wends but also Scandinavian neighbours paid tribute to Svantovit. When the statue was cut and removed, the Danes carried away seven boxes of treasures (gifts to the god). C. Schuchhardt's excavation in 1921 proved the actual existence of the temple. Repeated excavations in 196970 revealed an earlier layer of the sanctuary dated to the 10th and possibly 9th century AD. Copyright 1994-2002 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc
It is presumed (by some historians) that ancient Vanas mentioned in Sagas r infact Slavs( comp.to Wends, Veneds), whose judgment was greatly trusted by the Northerners.I havent found (yet) more clues...The fact that Slavs lived in Rugen since 500 BC puts even more weight to these claims.Tacitus in chapter 40 of Germania writes about an island sacred to Germani.Now, my translation is dated 1927.(by Veselin Cajkanovic)-back then the most likely candidates were Seeland(maybe not spelled properly) and Rugen-it is also mentioned that the very name could be originally Slavic-Rujen(comp to rujevina- a plant specie; or rujno-red(dish)).Anyone got any further info on this?Btw, is there a word in German (or Swedish or Danish) that could be rooted in Rug ?Your oppinions and speculations on the subject...
One thing I find particulary interesting-in aprox. the same time Herodotus describes Budini and Neuri living in whats todays Ukraine and White Russia I found some references they could be Slavs and Balts-so were the Slavs that widespread (in ancient times)-from Ucraine to Elbe?And if the Slavs were infact living in the area of todays eastern and north eastern Germany-before the germanic tribes and later as their neighbours, they had to influence Germanic culture in some way.Now the German historians r emphasising only the Germanic influence on Slavs-sometimes theyre going too far by claiming that many slavic cultural traits r infact of germanic origin.Perun(slavic deity) is just one example-they say that its infact germanic Donner...I guess Baltic Perkunas is also of germanic origin-seems like everyone borrowed from germanics? I mean, why would that be true-ancient germanic culture wasnt more advanced or superior then slavic in any way.Infact they were more or less similar to eachother...Oppinions?
Edited by Socrates