HISB93H3 Lecture : HISB93H3 Professor Dowler Fall 2009 Lecture Note
SEPT 22
- common interest in trade and the common need in keeping the trade route safe kept the
Federation in tact
- the tribes also had a common language and they had many cultural features in common
o cultural unity
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o each Slavic tribes worshipped their own gods
east slavs had a few gods and some religion practices in common (ancestor
worship, worship of nature (animistic- woods, rivers have spirits), belief in
house sprites (elves)
God of Fertility was Rod, The Sky Gods Svarog, Dazhbog God of Sun,
God of Thuder Perun
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x Had no centralizing force that brought cohesion
Kievan princes were aware of religious separation
Before the rise of nationalism, the most potent unifying force was a
common religion
x The first kievan prince to grasp a common religion was prince
Vladimir (ruled in second half of 10th Centuries)
x His first attempt was to bring together the images of all important
slav gods (images of them)
x He soon began to look for alternatives for a common religion: he
knew about Islam (from Bulgars) but he rejected it because it
prohibited alcohol and because at the time, Baghdad, was in a
period of decline. He thought Islam was going to diminish. He also
knew about Judaism (from Khazaria, also a state of decline). He
rejected it because he thought Judaism would diminish plus it was
for dispersed people. He knew about the western Roman branch
Christianity (lots of tension between eastern and western churches
at this time) because german missionaries were sent to kiev to
convert. He decided not to convert to Roman Catholic because
they insisted that they speak latin rather than Slavic. He was
familiar with Byzantine Orthodox from the eastern church. The
slavs had trade relations with Byzantium plus even before
Vladimir, many kievan elites converted to this religion (princess
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when they went to constantnople, they were so overwhelmed by its
beauty, they knew not if they were in heaven or earth. (a response
to beauty²an aesthetic religion, being absorbed in the beauty of
the church). He also chose this religion because the orthodox
church had already converted the Bulgarians to Christianity. They
had an administration established for the slavs. Moreover, the
gospels, bible and the liturgy had been translated for the bulgars.
The allowed the Kievans to use Slavic language. The conversion
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Document Summary
Sept 22 common interest in trade and the common need in keeping the trade route safe kept the. Federation in tact the tribes also had a common language and they had many cultural features in common: cultural unity, //39,;0,8,70/7043, each slavic tribes worshipped their own gods. S east slavs had a few gods and some religion practices in common (ancestor worship, worship of nature (animistic- woods, rivers have spirits), belief in house sprites (elves) S god of fertility was rod, the sky gods svarog, dazhbog god of sun, N had no centralizing force that brought cohesion. S kievan princes were aware of religious separation. S before the rise of nationalism, the most potent unifying force was a common religion. N the first kievan prince to grasp a common religion was prince. Vladimir (ruled in second half of 10th centuries) N his first attempt was to bring together the images of all important slav gods (images of them)
