Baltic mythology is the body of
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
of the
Baltic people
The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages.
One of the features of Baltic languages is the number o ...
stemming from Baltic paganism and continuing after
Christianization
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
and into Baltic folklore. Baltic mythology ultimately stems from
Proto-Indo-European mythology
Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested ...
. The Baltic region was one of the last regions of Europe to be Christianized, a process that began in the 15th century and continued for at least a century afterward. While no native texts survive detailing the mythology of the Baltic peoples during the pagan period, knowledge of such beliefs may be gained from Russian and German chronicles, from later folklore, from
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
and from the reconstructions of
comparative mythology
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used ...
.
[Puhvel (1989:222-229).]
While the early chronicles (14th and 15th century) were largely the product of missionaries who sought to eradicate the native paganism of the Baltic peoples, rich material survives into Baltic folklore. This material has been of particular value in
Indo-European studies
Indo-European studies is a field of linguistics and an interdisciplinary field of study dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct. The goal of those engaged in these studies is to amass information about the hypothetical pro ...
as, like the
Baltic languages, it is considered by scholars to be notably conservative, reflecting elements of
Proto-Indo-European religion
Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested ...
. The Indo-European
Divine Twins
The Divine Twins are youthful horsemen, either gods or demigods, who serve as rescuers and healers in Proto-Indo-European mythology.
Like other Proto-Indo-European divinities, the Divine Twins are not directly attested by archaeological or writt ...
are particularly well represented as the ''
Dieva dēli'' (Latvian 'sons of god') and ''Dievo sūneliai'' (Lithuanian 'sons of god'). According to folklore, they are the children of ''Dievas'' (Lithuanian and Latvian - see Proto-Indo-European *
Dyeus). Associated with the brothers and their father are two goddesses; the personified
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
, ''
Saule'' (Latvian 'sun') and ''Saules meita'' (Latvian 'Sun's daughter').
[Mallory & Adams (1997:163).]
See also
*
Latvian mythology
Latvian mythology is the collection of myths that have emerged throughout the history of Latvia, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives. These myth ...
*
Lithuanian mythology
Lithuanian mythology ( lt, Lietuvių mitologija) is the mythology of Lithuanian polytheism, the religion of pre-Christian Lithuanians. Like other Indo-Europeans, ancient Lithuanians maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. ...
*
Prussian mythology
The Prussian mythology was a polytheistic religion of the Old Prussians, indigenous peoples of Prussia before the Prussian Crusade waged by the Teutonic Knights. It was closely related to other Baltic faiths, the Lithuanian and Latvian mythol ...
*
Baltic neopaganism
Baltic neopaganism is a category of autochthonous religious movements which have revitalised within the Baltic people (primarily Lithuanians and Latvians).Wiench 1995 These movements trace their origins back to the 19th century and they were sup ...
**
Romuva (religion)
Romuva is a neo-pagan movement derived from the traditional mythology of the Lithuanians, attempting to reconstruct the religious rituals of the Lithuanians before their forced Christianization in 1387. Practitioners of Romuva claim to cont ...
Notes
References
*
Puhvel, Jaan (1989
987. ''Comparative Mythology''.
Johns Hopkins University Press.
*
Mallory, J. P. Adams, Douglas Q. (Editors) (1997). ''
Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
''.
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa ...
.
Further reading
* Balode-Anelauskaitė, Laimutė. "Baltic names of deities in the hydronyms of Latvia and Lithuania". In: ''Perspectives of Baltic philology''. 1 / ed. by Jowita Niewulis-Grablunas, Justyna Prusinowska, Ewa Stryczyńska-Hodyl. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Rys, 2008. pp. 21-40. .
* Běťáková, Marta Eva;
Blažek, Václav. ''Encyklopedie baltské mytologie''. Praha: Libri. 2012. .
*
*
* Calin, Didier.
Indo-European Poetics and the Latvian Folk Songs'. Riga: 1996. Thesis (expanded version).
* Dini P. U., Mikhailov N.
Materiali preliminari per una bibliografia della Mitologia baltica In: ''Res Balticae'', Nr. 03, 1997. pp. 165-213.
* Dini P. U., Mikhailov N.
Materiali preliminari per una bibliografia della Mitologia Baltica. II In: ''Res Balticae'', Nr. 7, 2001. pp. 101–116.
*
*
Vėlius, Norbertas. ''Senovės baltų pasaulėžiūra: struktūros bruožai''
he World Outlook of the Ancient Balts Vilnius: Mintis, 1983.
* Young, Francis. ''Pagans in the Early Modern Baltic: Sixteenth-Century Ethnographic Accounts of Baltic Paganism''. Arc Humanities Press, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781802700213.
* Zaroff, Roman. "Some aspects of pre-Christian Baltic religion". In: ''New researches on the religion and mythology of the Pagan Slavs''. Edited by Patrice Lajoye. Paris: Lingva, 2019. pp. 183–219.
* ''Lietuvių mitologija''. T. 3. Sudarė N. Vėlius ir
G. Beresnevičius. Vilnius: Mintis, 2004.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltic Mythology
Mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
Indo-European mythology