Kriwe By Matthäus Prätorius

''Kriwe Kriwaito'' (, ) or simply ''Kriwe'' (, ) was the chief priest in the old Baltic religion. Known primarily from the dubious 16th-century writings of Simon Grunau, the concept of ''kriwe'' became popular during the times of romantic nationalism. However, lack of reliable written evidence has led some researchers to question whether such pagan priest actually existed. The title was adopted by Romuva, the neo-pagan movement in Lithuania, when Jonas Trinkūnas was officially installed as ''krivių krivaitis'' in October 2002.

Written sources

Peter of Dusburg wrote about ''kriwe'' in his chronicle ''Chronicon terrae Prussiae'' finished in 1326. According to him, ''kriwe'' lived in Romuva and was respected as a Catholic pope not only by the Old Prussians but also by other Baltic tribes. His envoys carried a certain rod (Latin: ''baculum'') or another symbol and commanded respect both from the nobles and the paupers. ''Kriwe'' could see dead people and describe them to the relatives. After a military victory, people would donate a third of their loot to ''kriwe'' who burned it. The same information was repeated by Dusburg's translator Nikolaus von Jeroschin who added that it was ''kriwe'' who maintained the sacred eternal flame and translated ''kriwe'' as "the highest judge".

Jan Długosz (1415–1480) wrote that people who disobeyed ''kriwe'' faced execution. He also added that Adalbert of Prague was murdered in 997 by the order of a ''kriwe''.

Simon Grunau (died ) provided most detailed description of the pagan priest and introduced the double title ''Kriwe Kriwaito'' or ''Criwo Cyrwaito''. He listed the names of all ''kriwe'', from the first Bruteno, one of the legendary kings of Prussia alongside his brother Widewuto, to Alleps. According to Grunau, ''kriwe'' was the center of both religious and political life of Prussians; for example, he could start or end wars. An elderly ''kriwe'' was supposed to sacrifice himself to the gods by self-immolation though that happened infrequently. A new ''kriwe'' would be selected by lower rank priests and prophets (also known as '').

Augustinus Rotundus (1520–1582) described the temple of Perkūnas in Šventaragis' Valley in Vilnius and that it was attended by ''kriwe''. Maciej Stryjkowski () wrote that Lizdeika who interpreted a dream of Grand Duke Gediminas about the Iron Wolf (the story was first written in the Lithuanian Chronicles) was a ''kriwe''. He also wrote the double name for ''kriwe'' as ''kyrie kyrieito'' to draw parallels with Greek ''kyrios'' (lord).

Matthäus Prätorius () described and drew examples of a crooked and twisted wooden stick called '. It was used by village elders to call neighbors to a gathering to discuss common matters. The tradition survived into the 19th century and a few examples of ''krywule'' were collected by ethnographers for various museums. Such gathering was mentioned by Kristijonas Donelaitis (1714–1780) in his epic poem '' The Seasons''.

Later authors, including Jonas Bretkūnas, Marcin Kromer, Alexander Guagnini, provided no new information about ''kriwe''.

Interpretations

Since the concept of a "pagan pope" became very popular during the times of romantic nationalism but very little is actually known, interpretations abound.

Etymology

The most commonly accepted etymology of ''kriwe'' is that the word is derived from "curved, crooked" (Lithuanian: ''kreivas'', Latvian: ''krievs'', Latin: ''curvus''). was the first to connect ''kriwe'' with ''krywule'', a crooked rod used in villages. Other authors that connected ''kriwe'' with the rod or with crookedness include , Ludwig Rhesa, Aleksander Brückner, Kazimieras Būga, Vladimir Toporov.

However, there were attempts at different interpretations. Johann Erich Thunmann was the first to analyze etymology of ''kriwe'' and claimed that it was derived from German ''Grewe'' meaning chief, supervisor. , , and Gotthard Friedrich Stender believed that ''kriwe'' was derived from ''krievi'', Latvian ethnonym for Russians. Kazimieras Jaunius argued that it was derived from ''kerėti'', Lithuanian word for enchant, prophesize. Rolandas Kregždys proposed that ''kriwe'' should be derived from ''Curche'', Prussian god mentioned in the 1249 Treaty of Christburg. argued that ''kriwe'' was not a title but a proper name of a man.

Similarly, the double name ''Kriwe Kriwaito'' received varied interpretations. It is commonly assumed that it should be read as ''kriwe of kriwes'' (e.g. King of Kings). Kazimieras Būga believed that the double name is an error by Grunau who missed a connector between ''crywe kyrwaide''. Vladimir Toporov suggested that ''kriwaito'' is a diminutive form of ''kriwe'' and reflect dual functions of ''kriwe'' as a religious and as a political leader.

Authenticity

S. C. Rowell suggested that Peter of Dusburg invented ''kriwe'' and Romuva to portray the Baltic religion as a "counter-church". Such an account could have served several purposes: to demonstrate that pagans are so well organized that they have their own pope and pose a serious threat, to shame Christians into respecting their own pope, or to make pagan society easier to understand to a Christian reader. Rowell points to a lack of corroborating evidence from other contemporary documents or archaeological research. Aleksander Brückner suggested that ''kriwe'' never existed and that the word denoted not a title for a priest but a rod that priests sent to people to gather them for an annual sacrifice. Some authors, including Marceli Kosman and , went further and doubted that the pagan society even had a class of religious officials.

''Kriwe'' as a more or less authentic pagan priest is accepted by Norbertas Vėlius and Gintaras Beresnevičius. Beresnevičius suggested that Grunau's description was drawn from Prussian tradition though likely heavily distorted. He drew parallels between Baltic ''kriwe'' and Celtic druids and suggested that the common elements could be a result of either migration or date to the common Indo-European roots.

Vladimir Toporov argued that the Crooked Castle () in Vilnius was really Kriwe's Castle.

References

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{{cite book , first=Gintaras , last=Beresnevičius , title=Trumpas lietuvių and prūsų religinis žodynas , language=lt , publisher=Aidai , year=2001 , isbn=9955-445-31-9 , pages=100–101

{{cite book , first=Endre , last=Bojtár , title=Foreword to the Past: A Cultural History of the Baltic People , publisher=CEU Press , year=1999 , isbn=963-9116-42-4 , pages=320, 337–338

{{cite encyclopedia , first=Venantas , last=Mačiekus , url=https://www.mle.lt/straipsniai/krivule-4 , title=krivūlė , language=lt , encyclopedia=Mažosios Lietuvos enciklopedija , publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras , access-date=16 January 2022

{{cite book , title=Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295-1345 , first=S. C. , last=Rowell , pages=125–128 , year=1994 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , series=Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series , isbn=978-0-521-45011-9

{{cite book , first1=Michael , last1=Strmiska , first2=Vilius Rudra , last2=Dundzila , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qx7Tvd99xVAC&pg=PA272 , title=Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives , chapter=Romuva: Lithuanian Paganism in Lithuania and America , editor-first= Michael , editor-last=Strmiska , publisher=ABC-CLIO , year=2005 , page=272 , isbn=978-1-85109-608-4

Baltic mythology
Religious leadership roles