Book of Veles
Encyclopedia
The Book of Veles
(also: Veles Book, Vles book, Vlesbook, Isenbeck's Planks, Велесова книга, Велесова књига, Велес книга, Книга Велеса, Дощечки Изенбека, Дощьки Изенбека) is a literary forgery
claimed to be a text of ancient Slavic religion and history
written on wooden planks.
It contains religious
passages and accounts of history interspersed with religious morals. The earliest events in the book could be dated around 7th century BC and the latest happened in 9th century AD.
The book was allegedly discovered in 1919 and lost in 1941. It is widely held by scholars to be a forgery
made in the 1940s–1950s or, which is less likely, in the early 19th century. The main decisive evidence is the language of the text which is a mixture of different modern Slavic languages with erroneous and invented forms and no regular grammar. Moreover, different modern editions of the book have different versions of its text. Regardless, some Slavic Neopagans
use it as their sacred text.
, Andrey Zaliznyak
, Leo Klein and all Russian academic historians and linguists) consider it a forgery. According to these scholars the thorough analysis of the book shows that it was written sometime in the 20th century. The history of the book can be reliably traced only as far as mid-1950s, when the transcribed book and the photograph of one of the planks first appeared in a San Francisco-based, Russian emigré newspaper. Several scholars believe that the entire book is a product of collaboration of the editors of this newspaper and Yuriy Mirolyubov, who later claimed to have found the book. Others believe that either the entire book or the only plank available, were forged in the early 19th century by the Russian collector and forger Alexander Sulakadzev.
The book is written in a language using for the most part Slavic roots and different affixes found also in old East Slavic language
. Consequently, a large part of the book's text, once transcribed into a modern alphabet, is readable (albeit with some difficulty) by modern speakers of Slavic languages
. However, professional linguists and historians, particularly the specialists in ancient Slavic, question many features of its language — vocabulary (modern or medieval Slavic words occasionally and unwittingly used in place of their ancient equivalents), spelling, phonetics (distinct reflections of the nasal vowels, both following Polish and Serbian patterns in different places, the haphazard handling of reduced vowels, etc., etc.), grammar (grammatical forms incompatible with early Slavic languages, combinations of affixes that contradict each other in meaning), etc. These features seem to indicate that the text was artificially "aged" by someone with superficial knowledge of ancient Slavic, and cannot be adequately translated because of lack of any consistent grammar system. In the words of the philologist O.V. Tvorogov:
The opponents of this position claim, however, that the problems with language could be attributed to local dialect variations (if the book was written or compiled from accounts of multiple people, as it is claimed by its supporters). The alphabet of the book is also a controversial issue, since the book was written using an alphabet similar to Cyrillic, and the letters are attached to a horizontal line like in Devanagari
. The very existence of written language among Slavs
prior to the introduction of Cyrillic during 10th century is still disputed.
In addition, the supposed deity Belobog
(white god) is not attested in any reliable source, while Crnobog (black god) appears to be a Christian mis-interpretation - possibly deliberately inflated and confounded with the Devil
; it is only attested by a single source discussing an account of West Slavic
(not Russian Slavic) paganism, based on secondhand knowledge and dating to the Christianization of the Slavs. The existence of these supposed deities which are invoked by name in the inscription was uncritically believed in modern times, until the late 20th century. Nowadays however, at least Belobog is generally considered a modern hoax itself, while Crnobog - if not a byname of another deity - is rarely if ever accepted by scholars as anything than a local West Slavic deity, and the idea of light/dark dualism is usually regarded as a Christian concept unknown in pagan Slavic culture (see also Perun
/Perkele
and Dabog/Dažbog
).
ten.
of the White Russian Army, Fedor Arturovich Izenbek found a bunch of wooden planks written in strange script in a looted mansion of Kurakin
s near Kharkiv
(Ukraine
). After the defeat of the Army, Isenbeck emigrated to Belgrade
where in 1923 he unsuccessfully tried to sell the planks to the Belgrade
library and museum. In 1925 he settled in Brussels
where he gave the planks to Yuriy P. Mirolyubov, who was the first to study them seriously. Izenbek treated the planks very carefully, did not allow them to be taken out of his house and refused a suggestion by a professor of University of Brussels to hand them over for studying. Later this refusal to permit others to study these texts would lead people to suspect them as forgeries
.
For fifteen years Mirolyubov restored, photographed
, transcribed (as photographs proved to be unreadable) and finally translated the text. He managed to transcribe most of the planks.
In August 1941 Germans
occupied Brussels, Izenbek died and the planks were lost. Some think that the Germans took the planks to their (Ahnenerbe
) archive, and then were moved to England
at the end of World War II
to be stored near Aldershot
or Crookham to this day. Much of the Ahnenerbe archive seems to have been captured by Soviet forces, in which case the planks would likely have ended up in secret KGB
archives instead. Others believe that the planks were burned in a fire.
Mirolyubov emigrated to the United States
and passed the materials in 1953 to professor A. A. Kurenkov (Kur) who then published them in the magazine Zhar-Ptica from March 1957 until May 1959. Later the text was studied by S. Paramonov (Lesnoi).
"), pra-Slavic tribes lived in the "land of seven rivers beyond the sea" (possibly corresponding to Semirechye, southeastern Kazakhstan
). The book describes migration of Slavs through Syria
and eventually into Carpathian mountains
, during the course of which they were briefly enslaved by the king "Nabsur" (Nabonassar
?). They settle in Carpathian mountains in 5th century BC ("fifteen hundred years before Dir
"). Several centuries appear to pass without much commotion. 4th century is described in some detail: during this time Slavs fought a number of wars with Goths
, Huns
, Greeks, and Romans. Many references to Ermanaric
and his relatives are present (placing this section of Book of Veles in the same historical context as the story of Jonakr's sons
, referenced in numerous European legends and sagas). Slavs eventually emerged victorious. The period of 5th to 9th centuries is described briefly; Khazars
and Bulgars
are mentioned.
The book ends with Slavic lands descending into disarray and falling under Norman
rule.
get away from danger. We survived one darkness and started to build cities
and houses everywhere. After the second darkness there was great frost and we moved
to south for many places there were grassy ... and then Romei
were taking our cattle
at a good price and were true to their word. We went
to southern ... greengrassland and had a lot of cattle ...
and they are not.
and to him we sing a great glory.
We praise Svarog
, grandfather of gods who is to whole gods' kin forefather
and creator of everything living, eternal spring that flows in the summer
and everywhere and in winter and never it freezes. And with that living water he nourishes
and life gives to us until we reach the blessed fields of paradise
. And to god Perun
, the thunderer, god of battle and fight we say:
"You hold us in life by neverending turning of the circle and lead to path
of Prav
through battles to Great Trizna
". And all who got killed in the battle -
may they live forever in the Perun's regiment
. To god Svetovid
glory we
are exalting for he is the god of Prav and Jav
and to him we sing the song for he is the light
with which we see the world. We are looking and in Jav we are, and he from Nav
guards us and therefore praise we sing him. We sing and dance to him and call
god of ours to Earth
, Sun
and star
s constantly in light keeps.
And glory all to Svetovid, god of ours that
hearts ours opens for us to admit bad deeds ours
and to good we turn. May he hug us like children for this has been said:
what is created with half of the mind could not be seen,
for it is a great secret how can Svarog be at the same time both Perun and Svetovid.
Two beings in skies Belobog
and Crnobog are
And both of them Svarog holds and commands them.
After them come Hors
, Veles
and Stribog
and then Visenj, Lelj and Letic.
is not endless. There we meet
forefathers our and mothers that in Svarga
herds are grazing and trusses
fastening. Their life is just as ours, only there are no Huns
nor
Greeks
...
влескнигусіуптщемокіуншемоукіекоестепрібезищасіла
воноіврмѣноібяменжякоібяблгадблѣіжерщенбящотцврсі
Probable spacing (Mirolyubov):
влескнигу сіу птщемо кіу ншемо у кіе ко есте прібезища сіла.
во ноі врмѣноі бя менж якоі бя блга дблѣ іже рщен бящ отц врсі. [vlesknigu etu ptshchemo kiu nshemo u kie ko este pribezishcha sila. vo noi vrmenei bya menzh yakoi bya blga dble izhe rshchen byashch otc vrsi.]
Modern Russian interpretation:
Велесову книгу эту посвящаем богу нашему, который есть наше прибежище и сила (lit. в боге котором есть прибежище и сила).
В оные времена был муж, который был благ и доблестен, и назван [он] был отцом тиверцев.
[Velesovu knigu etu posvyashchaem bogu nashemu, v boge kotorom est' pribezhishche i sila. V onye vremena byl muzh, kotoryj byl blag i doblesten, i nazvan byl otcom tivercev.]
Translation into English:
This book of Veles we dedicate to our god, in whom is [our] refuge and [our] strength. In those years there was a man, who was good and valiant, and [he] was called the father of Tiverians
.
Veles (god)
Veles also known as Volos is a major Slavic supernatural force of earth, waters and the underworld, associated with dragons, cattle, magic, musicians, wealth and trickery...
(also: Veles Book, Vles book, Vlesbook, Isenbeck's Planks, Велесова книга, Велесова књига, Велес книга, Книга Велеса, Дощечки Изенбека, Дощьки Изенбека) is a literary forgery
Literary forgery
Literary forgery refers to writing, such as a manuscript or a literary work either deliberately misattributed to a historical or invented author, or a purported memoir presented as genuine.- History :The common, or popularly known, instance of literary forgery may involve for example the work of a...
claimed to be a text of ancient Slavic religion and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
written on wooden planks.
It contains religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
passages and accounts of history interspersed with religious morals. The earliest events in the book could be dated around 7th century BC and the latest happened in 9th century AD.
The book was allegedly discovered in 1919 and lost in 1941. It is widely held by scholars to be a forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
made in the 1940s–1950s or, which is less likely, in the early 19th century. The main decisive evidence is the language of the text which is a mixture of different modern Slavic languages with erroneous and invented forms and no regular grammar. Moreover, different modern editions of the book have different versions of its text. Regardless, some Slavic Neopagans
Slavic Neopaganism
Slavic Neopaganism is a modern fakeloric, polytheistic, reconstructionistic, and Neopagan religion; its adherents call themselves Rodnovers , and consider themselves to be the legitimate continuation of pre-Christian Slavic religion.- Rebirth of Slavic spirituality :The pre-Christian religions...
use it as their sacred text.
Authenticity
Most of the scholars that specialize in the field of mythological studies and Slavic linguistics (such as Boris RybakovBoris Rybakov
Boris Alexandrovich Rybakov was a Soviet and Russian historian who personified the anti-Normanist vision of Russian history....
, Andrey Zaliznyak
Andrey Zaliznyak
Andrey Anatolyevich Zaliznyak, is a Russian linguist who specializes in the research of linguistic monuments of Old Novgorod....
, Leo Klein and all Russian academic historians and linguists) consider it a forgery. According to these scholars the thorough analysis of the book shows that it was written sometime in the 20th century. The history of the book can be reliably traced only as far as mid-1950s, when the transcribed book and the photograph of one of the planks first appeared in a San Francisco-based, Russian emigré newspaper. Several scholars believe that the entire book is a product of collaboration of the editors of this newspaper and Yuriy Mirolyubov, who later claimed to have found the book. Others believe that either the entire book or the only plank available, were forged in the early 19th century by the Russian collector and forger Alexander Sulakadzev.
The book is written in a language using for the most part Slavic roots and different affixes found also in old East Slavic language
Old East Slavic language
Old East Slavic or Old Ruthenian was a language used in 10th-15th centuries by East Slavs in the Kievan Rus' and states which evolved after the collapse of the Kievan Rus...
. Consequently, a large part of the book's text, once transcribed into a modern alphabet, is readable (albeit with some difficulty) by modern speakers of Slavic languages
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
. However, professional linguists and historians, particularly the specialists in ancient Slavic, question many features of its language — vocabulary (modern or medieval Slavic words occasionally and unwittingly used in place of their ancient equivalents), spelling, phonetics (distinct reflections of the nasal vowels, both following Polish and Serbian patterns in different places, the haphazard handling of reduced vowels, etc., etc.), grammar (grammatical forms incompatible with early Slavic languages, combinations of affixes that contradict each other in meaning), etc. These features seem to indicate that the text was artificially "aged" by someone with superficial knowledge of ancient Slavic, and cannot be adequately translated because of lack of any consistent grammar system. In the words of the philologist O.V. Tvorogov:
The opponents of this position claim, however, that the problems with language could be attributed to local dialect variations (if the book was written or compiled from accounts of multiple people, as it is claimed by its supporters). The alphabet of the book is also a controversial issue, since the book was written using an alphabet similar to Cyrillic, and the letters are attached to a horizontal line like in Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
. The very existence of written language among Slavs
Pre-Cyrillic Slavic writing
There is some evidence that the early Slavs may have used a writing system or a form of proto-writing prior to the introduction of Christianity and of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets in the mid 9th century...
prior to the introduction of Cyrillic during 10th century is still disputed.
In addition, the supposed deity Belobog
Belobog
Belobog, Belbog, Bialbog, Byelobog, Bielobog, Belun, Bylun, is a reconstructed Slavic deity of light and Sun, the counterpart of dark and cursed Czernobog . It is uncertain whether such a deity was ever worshipped by polytheist Slavs, as there are no reliable historic records which mention this...
(white god) is not attested in any reliable source, while Crnobog (black god) appears to be a Christian mis-interpretation - possibly deliberately inflated and confounded with the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
; it is only attested by a single source discussing an account of West Slavic
West Slavic
West Slavic can refer to:* West Slavic languages* West Slavic peoples...
(not Russian Slavic) paganism, based on secondhand knowledge and dating to the Christianization of the Slavs. The existence of these supposed deities which are invoked by name in the inscription was uncritically believed in modern times, until the late 20th century. Nowadays however, at least Belobog is generally considered a modern hoax itself, while Crnobog - if not a byname of another deity - is rarely if ever accepted by scholars as anything than a local West Slavic deity, and the idea of light/dark dualism is usually regarded as a Christian concept unknown in pagan Slavic culture (see also Perun
Perun
In Slavic mythology, Perun is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of thunder and lightning. His other attributes were the fire, mountains, the oak, iris, eagle, firmament , horses and carts, weapons and war...
/Perkele
Perkele
Perkele is the god associated with thunder in Finnish mythology, like Thor of Norse mythology. In modern Finnish perkele is a common swearword.-Origins:The name is of Indo-European origin...
and Dabog/Dažbog
Dazbog
Dažbog , alternatively Dazhbog, Dazbog, Dazhdbog, or Dadzbóg, was one of the major gods of Slavic mythology, most likely a solar deity and possibly a cultural hero...
).
Planks
The planks were alleged to 38 cm wide, 22 cm tall and about 0.5 cm thick. The edges and surfaces of the planks are uneven and near the top there are two holes for joining the planks. The text is carved into the planks and later covered with some coloring. Text alignment lines (roughly straight and parallel) are drawn across the planks and the tops of letters are aligned with these lines. The text is written below the lines, rather than above. The size and shape of the letters are different, suggesting that more than one person wrote the text. Some planks were partially or mostly rotROT
The aviation term ROT stands for rate one turn, also known as a standard rate turn. All aircraft must be able to perform a standard rate turn....
ten.
History of the book's discovery according to Mirolyubov
In 1919, a LieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
of the White Russian Army, Fedor Arturovich Izenbek found a bunch of wooden planks written in strange script in a looted mansion of Kurakin
Kurakin
Kurakin was a Gediminid Russian princely family and may refer to:*Alexander Kurakin , a Russian diplomat and senator*Alexander Borisovich Kurakin , a Russian statesman and diplomat...
s near Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
(Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
). After the defeat of the Army, Isenbeck emigrated to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
where in 1923 he unsuccessfully tried to sell the planks to the Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
library and museum. In 1925 he settled in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
where he gave the planks to Yuriy P. Mirolyubov, who was the first to study them seriously. Izenbek treated the planks very carefully, did not allow them to be taken out of his house and refused a suggestion by a professor of University of Brussels to hand them over for studying. Later this refusal to permit others to study these texts would lead people to suspect them as forgeries
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
.
For fifteen years Mirolyubov restored, photographed
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, transcribed (as photographs proved to be unreadable) and finally translated the text. He managed to transcribe most of the planks.
In August 1941 Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupied Brussels, Izenbek died and the planks were lost. Some think that the Germans took the planks to their (Ahnenerbe
Ahnenerbe
The Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History." Founded on July 1, 1935, by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré, the Ahnenerbe's goal was to research the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan...
) archive, and then were moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to be stored near Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
or Crookham to this day. Much of the Ahnenerbe archive seems to have been captured by Soviet forces, in which case the planks would likely have ended up in secret KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
archives instead. Others believe that the planks were burned in a fire.
Mirolyubov emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and passed the materials in 1953 to professor A. A. Kurenkov (Kur) who then published them in the magazine Zhar-Ptica from March 1957 until May 1959. Later the text was studied by S. Paramonov (Lesnoi).
Contents
According to Book of Veles, in 10th century BC ("thirteen hundred years before ErmanaricErmanaric
Ermanaric was a Greuthungian Gothic King who before the Hunnic invasion evidently ruled an enormous area north of the Black Sea. Contemporary historian Ammianus Marcellinus recounts him as a "most warlike man" who "ruled over extensively wide and fertile regions"...
"), pra-Slavic tribes lived in the "land of seven rivers beyond the sea" (possibly corresponding to Semirechye, southeastern Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
). The book describes migration of Slavs through Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and eventually into Carpathian mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
, during the course of which they were briefly enslaved by the king "Nabsur" (Nabonassar
Nabonassar
Nabonassar founded a kingdom in Babylon in 747 BC. This is now considered as the start of the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty. At the time the Assyrian Empire was in disarray through civil war and the ascendancy of other kingdoms such as Urartu...
?). They settle in Carpathian mountains in 5th century BC ("fifteen hundred years before Dir
Askold and Dir
Askold and Dir are semi-legendary rulers of Kiev who, according to the Primary Chronicle, were two of Rurik's voivodes in 870s...
"). Several centuries appear to pass without much commotion. 4th century is described in some detail: during this time Slavs fought a number of wars with Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
, Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
, Greeks, and Romans. Many references to Ermanaric
Ermanaric
Ermanaric was a Greuthungian Gothic King who before the Hunnic invasion evidently ruled an enormous area north of the Black Sea. Contemporary historian Ammianus Marcellinus recounts him as a "most warlike man" who "ruled over extensively wide and fertile regions"...
and his relatives are present (placing this section of Book of Veles in the same historical context as the story of Jonakr's sons
Jonakr's sons
Hamdir, Sörli and Erp were three brothers in Norse mythology, who have a historic basis in the history of the Goths.-Legend:...
, referenced in numerous European legends and sagas). Slavs eventually emerged victorious. The period of 5th to 9th centuries is described briefly; Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
and Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
are mentioned.
The book ends with Slavic lands descending into disarray and falling under Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
rule.
Plank 2/B
We were forced to retreat to woods and live as hunters and fishermen. So we couldget away from danger. We survived one darkness and started to build cities
and houses everywhere. After the second darkness there was great frost and we moved
to south for many places there were grassy ... and then Romei
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
were taking our cattle
at a good price and were true to their word. We went
to southern ... greengrassland and had a lot of cattle ...
From Plank 7/A
Enemies are not as numerous as we are, for we are Rus'Rus' (people)
The Rus' were a group of Varangians . According to the Primary Chronicle of Rus, compiled in about 1113 AD, the Rus had relocated from the Baltic region , first to Northeastern Europe, creating an early polity which finally came under the leadership of Rurik...
and they are not.
Plank 11/A
We pray and bow to the first TriglavTriglav (mythology)
Triglav also sometimes called troglav is a deity in Slavic mythology.It is generally believed that Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia and Troglav, highest peak of Dinara in Bosnia and...
and to him we sing a great glory.
We praise Svarog
Svarog
Svarog is a Slavic deity known primarily from the Hypatian Codex, a Slavic translation of the Chronicle of John Malalas. Svarog is there identified with Hephaestus, the god of the blacksmith in ancient Greek religion, and as the father of Dažbog, a Slavic solar deity...
, grandfather of gods who is to whole gods' kin forefather
and creator of everything living, eternal spring that flows in the summer
and everywhere and in winter and never it freezes. And with that living water he nourishes
and life gives to us until we reach the blessed fields of paradise
Paradise
Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
. And to god Perun
Perun
In Slavic mythology, Perun is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of thunder and lightning. His other attributes were the fire, mountains, the oak, iris, eagle, firmament , horses and carts, weapons and war...
, the thunderer, god of battle and fight we say:
"You hold us in life by neverending turning of the circle and lead to path
of Prav
Jav, Prav and Nav
Yav , Prav and Nav are three worlds described in the Book of Veles. References to them became popular among Ukrainians and Russian neopagans. All three combine into Triglav that governs the Universe....
through battles to Great Trizna
Trizna
Trizna was a funeral feast which, as a part of Slavic religion, was made for distinguished members of society before their cremation. In villages in Bosnia, name trzan or trzna is used for a place in the middle of a village used for gatherings, which is considered to be derived from trizna....
". And all who got killed in the battle -
may they live forever in the Perun's regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
. To god Svetovid
Svetovid
Sventevith, Sventovid , Svyatovit , Svyatovid , Svyentovit , Svetovid , Suvid Sventevith, Sventovid (Russian and Bulgarian, and alternative name in Serbo-Croatian), Svyatovit (Ukrainian), Svyatovid (alternative name in Ukrainian), Svyentovit (alternative name in Ukrainian), Svetovid (Serbian,...
glory we
are exalting for he is the god of Prav and Jav
Jav, Prav and Nav
Yav , Prav and Nav are three worlds described in the Book of Veles. References to them became popular among Ukrainians and Russian neopagans. All three combine into Triglav that governs the Universe....
and to him we sing the song for he is the light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
with which we see the world. We are looking and in Jav we are, and he from Nav
Jav, Prav and Nav
Yav , Prav and Nav are three worlds described in the Book of Veles. References to them became popular among Ukrainians and Russian neopagans. All three combine into Triglav that governs the Universe....
guards us and therefore praise we sing him. We sing and dance to him and call
god of ours to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
and star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s constantly in light keeps.
And glory all to Svetovid, god of ours that
hearts ours opens for us to admit bad deeds ours
and to good we turn. May he hug us like children for this has been said:
what is created with half of the mind could not be seen,
for it is a great secret how can Svarog be at the same time both Perun and Svetovid.
Two beings in skies Belobog
Belobog
Belobog, Belbog, Bialbog, Byelobog, Bielobog, Belun, Bylun, is a reconstructed Slavic deity of light and Sun, the counterpart of dark and cursed Czernobog . It is uncertain whether such a deity was ever worshipped by polytheist Slavs, as there are no reliable historic records which mention this...
and Crnobog are
And both of them Svarog holds and commands them.
After them come Hors
Hors
In Slavic mythology, Hors is the Slavic sun god.The name Hors comes from the Iranian languages — see , Middle Persian: xvaršêt, «shining sun»....
, Veles
Veles (god)
Veles also known as Volos is a major Slavic supernatural force of earth, waters and the underworld, associated with dragons, cattle, magic, musicians, wealth and trickery...
and Stribog
Stribog
Stribog in the Slavic pantheon, is the god and spirit of the winds, sky and air; he is said to be the ancestor of the winds of the eight directions. The etymology of the name is disputed, see ....
and then Visenj, Lelj and Letic.
From Plank 26/B
...As time passes, we come to the blue river as time oursis not endless. There we meet
forefathers our and mothers that in Svarga
Svarga
In Hinduism, Svarga is a set of heavenly worlds located on and above Mt. Meru. It is a heaven where the righteous live in a paradise before their next reincarnation...
herds are grazing and trusses
fastening. Their life is just as ours, only there are no Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
nor
Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
...
From Plank 16 (sample text)
First two lines, literal text:влескнигусіуптщемокіуншемоукіекоестепрібезищасіла
воноіврмѣноібяменжякоібяблгадблѣіжерщенбящотцврсі
Probable spacing (Mirolyubov):
влескнигу сіу птщемо кіу ншемо у кіе ко есте прібезища сіла.
во ноі врмѣноі бя менж якоі бя блга дблѣ іже рщен бящ отц врсі. [vlesknigu etu ptshchemo kiu nshemo u kie ko este pribezishcha sila. vo noi vrmenei bya menzh yakoi bya blga dble izhe rshchen byashch otc vrsi.]
Modern Russian interpretation:
Велесову книгу эту посвящаем богу нашему, который есть наше прибежище и сила (lit. в боге котором есть прибежище и сила).
В оные времена был муж, который был благ и доблестен, и назван [он] был отцом тиверцев.
[Velesovu knigu etu posvyashchaem bogu nashemu, v boge kotorom est' pribezhishche i sila. V onye vremena byl muzh, kotoryj byl blag i doblesten, i nazvan byl otcom tivercev.]
Translation into English:
This book of Veles we dedicate to our god, in whom is [our] refuge and [our] strength. In those years there was a man, who was good and valiant, and [he] was called the father of Tiverians
Tivertsi
Tivertsi, a.k.a. Tivertsy, Tiverians is a tribe of early East Slavs which lived in the lands near the Dniester, and probably the lower Danube, that is in modern-day western Ukraine and Moldova and possibly in eastern Romania and southern Odessa oblast of Ukraine...
.
Further reading
- The Book of Vles or Vles knyha, trans. by Victor Kachur. Columbus, Ohio, 1973. English translation.
- Kaganskaya, Maya. "The Book of Vles: Saga of a Forgery," Jews and Jewish Topics in Soviet and East-European Publications, # 4 (1986–1987) 3-27.
- See the article in the Russian Wikipedia for an extended list of further readings in Russian.
External links
- A. Asov: The book of Veles
- Translation to Russian by A. Asov in the book of S. Lesnoy
- Translation to Russian by N. V. Slatin
- Forum of Vleskniga (Vlesbook), N. V. Slatin
- Translation to Ukrainian by B. I. Yacenko
- the misty past. Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv in the oldest Slavic chronicles by Oleh Yastrebov, THE DAY WEEKLY DIGEST #34, Tuesday, 4 November 2008