Widewuto or Videvutis (also ''Viduutus'', ''Vidvutus'', ''Witowudi'', ''Waidewut'', ''Vaidevutis'') was a legendary king of the

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

Baltic Prussians who ruled along with his elder brother, the high priest ('' Kriwe-Kriwajto'') Bruteno in the 6th century AD. They are known from writings of 16th-century chroniclers ,

Simon Grunau Simon Grunau () was the author of ''Preussische Chronik'',Full title: ''Cronika und beschreibung allerlüstlichenn, nützlichsten und waaren historien des namkundigenn landes zu Prewssen'' or ''Chronicle and description of the most amusing, useful a ...

, and

Lucas David Lucas (or Lukas) David (1503 - April 1583) was a historian, who from ca. 1550 on compiled extensive volumes on Prussian history. Life David was born in Allenstein (Olsztyn), Royal Prussia, Poland, to Gerhard Dönhoff. He studied at the Univer ...

. Though the legend lacks historical credibility, it became popular with medieval historians. It is unclear whether the legend was authentically

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n (i.e. recorded from

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 mytho ...

) or was created by Grunau (possibly inspired by Biblical

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

and

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

), though Lithuanian researchers tend to support its authenticity.

Names

Widewuto's name is found in literature in different forms: Veijdenutus, Vydevutis, Vidowuto, Viduutus, Waidewut, Wejdewut, Wenedut, Widewuto, Widewutte, Widiwutus, Wydowudo, Wydowudus, Widowuto, Wydowuto, Widowutus, Witoud, Witoudo, Witouito, Witowudus, Witowuto, Wotowudo, Vaidevutis (modern Lithuanian emendation). As for his brother Bruteno, his name is also written in many ways: Brudeno, Bruteno, Brutenus, Brutheno, Brutteno.

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian scholar Siarhiej Sanko interprets their names as "Widow's Son" and "Brother".SAŃKO, Siarhiej, and Aliaksej Shota. "PODSTAWOWE SKŁADNIKI BIAŁORUSKIEJ NARRACJI SAKRALNEJ W PERSPEKTYWIE PORÓWNAWCZEJ." Politeja, no. 22 (2012): 179-811. Accessed March 3, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24920134.

Legends

According to the legend, Widewuto and Bruteno were kings of the

Cimbri The Cimbri (, ; ) were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic, Gaulish, Germanic, or even Cimmerian people. Several ancient sources indicate that they lived in Jutland, which in some classical texts was ...

, a tribe in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. Driven out by the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

from their homeland, the Cimbri arrived to Ulmiganea, an area inhabited by rather primitive people who had no agriculture or cities. Widewuto and Bruteno civilized the region and named it

after Bruteno (Pruteno).

Gintaras Beresnevičius Gintaras Beresnevičius (July 8, 1961 in Kaunas – August 6, 2006 in Vilnius) was a Lithuanian historian of religions specializing in Baltic mythology. He together with Norbertas Vėlius is considered to be the best specialist in Lithuanian my ...

noted that such arrival has a lot in common with the origin legend of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

. Widewuto ruled wisely and issued laws regulating family life (for example, men could have three wives; burning of gravely sick relatives was allowed; infidelity was punished by death), public life (for example, slavery was prohibited; distinguished warriors with a horse were raised to nobility), and punishments for criminal activity. Bruteno was the high priest ('' Kriwe-Kriwajto'') in charge of religious life. Widewuto had twelve sons, whose names were memorialized in the districts of Prussia. For example,

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

was named after eldest son Litvas, Sudovia after Sudo, etc. Aged 116, Widewuto burned himself together with Bruteno in a religious ceremony at the temple of Romuva. After their deaths the brothers were worshiped as god Wurskaito.

Flag

Widewuto had a white flag, measuring five by three

ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", an ...

s. The flag had portraits of three Prussian gods, which Grunau reproduced in his work. On the left, there was the god of the underworld,

Peckols Peckols and Patollo (known under a multitude of different names) were gods in the pagan Prussian mythology who were worshiped by the Old Prussians. Most researchers believe that, despite varying names, Peckols and Patollo were probably the same ...

– an old man with white beard and white scarf on his head. Middle-aged and fiery-haired

Perkūnas Perkūnas (, , Old Prussian: ''Perkūns'', ''Perkunos'', Sudovian language, Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian language, Latgalian: ''Pārkiuņs'') was the common Baltic languages, Baltic List of thunder gods, god of thunder, and the second m ...

, god of sky, storm, and thunder, was in the middle. The god of sea, earth, and crops,

Patrimpas Potrimpo (also ''Potrimpus'', ''Autrimpo'', ''Natrimpe'') was a god of seas, earth, grain, and crops in the pagan Baltic region, Baltic, and Prussian mythology. He was one of the three main gods worshiped by the Old Prussians. Most of what is know ...

, was portrayed as a young beardless man wearing a wreath of grain ears. The flag also displayed mysterious symbols. Several linguists have unsuccessfully attempted to decipher the writing hoping to discover an ancient Prussian writing system.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal, first=Gintaras , last=Beresnevičius , author-link=Gintaras Beresnevičius , url=http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=f0cfcad8-0754-4f36-9cc9-d09de68a6d1b , title=Prūsijos amfiktionijos steigtis prūsų legendose ir germaniškasis kontekstas , journal=Tautosakos darbai , issue= XXXI , year=2006 , pages=190–191 , issn=1392-2831, language=lt {{cite book , first=Endre , last=Bojtár , title=Foreword to the Past: A Cultural History of the Baltic People , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5aoId7nA4bsC&pg=PA210 , publisher=CEU Press , year=1999 , pages=210–211 , isbn=963-9116-42-4 {{cite encyclopedia, title=Old Prussians , encyclopedia=

Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

, volume=9 , first=James , last=Hastings , author-link=James Hastings , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HT0TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA488 , pages=487–488 , publisher=T. & T. Clark , year=1917 , isbn=9780567065131 , oclc=3065458 {{cite encyclopedia, title=Videvutis , encyclopedia=Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija , volume=4 , location=Vilnius , publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas , year=2009 , pages=714–716 , isbn=978-5-420-01470-7, language=lt {{cite encyclopedia, title=Ulmiganija , encyclopedia=Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija , volume=4 , location=Vilnius , publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas , year=2009 , page=594 , isbn=978-5-420-01470-7, language=lt {{cite book, title=Myth in Indo-European antiquity , first=Jaan , last=Puhvel , chapter=Indo-European Structure of Baltic Pantheon , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gsTW-RedBx8C&pg=PA79 , page=79 , publisher=University of California Press , year=1974 , isbn=0-520-02378-1

Names

Legends

Flag

References

Further reading