Porevit, Porovit or Borovit (, , , , , ) is a Slavonic god with unknown functions mentioned in only two sources: ''

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and ...

'' and in ''

Knýtlinga saga ''Knýtlinga saga'' (''The Saga of Cnut's Descendants'') is an Icelandic kings' saga written in the 1250s, which deals with the kings who ruled Denmark since the early 10th century.Ármann Jakobsson, "Royal biography", p. 397-8 There are good rea ...

''. The only historical information about this god is a description of a statue depicting him that had five faces and no weapons.

Sources

The first source to mention Porevit is the ''

'' by

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denma ...

. Saxo describes when, after Arkona was captured by the Danish king Valdemar I, its inhabitants made an agreement with him, which encourages the inhabitants of

Charenza Charenza, also Karentia or Karenz, later also Gharense, was a medieval '' Slavic burgwall'' on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. It was the administrative centre of the Rani tribe and of the Principality of Rugia. Today, the remnants are c ...

to make a similar agreement and surrender the city without a fight. Saxo describes that in this gord (stronghold) there were three temples dedicated to Rugiaevit, Porevit and

Porenut Porenut (, ) is a god with unknown functions mentioned in only two sources: ''Gesta Danorum'' and in ''Knýtlinga saga''. The only historical information about this god is the description of a statue depicting him with four faces on his head and a ...

. After the destruction of the temple and the idol of Rugiaevit by the Danes, Saxo writes: The same information is then given by the ''

'', which lists Porevit in the distorted form ''Puruvit''.

Etymologies and interpretations

From ''*pora'' "strength"

The first part is usually connected with the word ''pora'' in its original,

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the Attested language, unattested, linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately ...

(''*pora'') meaning "push, thrust", "force, effort, full strength", "period of effort, hard work". In the context of this etymology, the name is read as ''Porevit'' or ''Porovit''. Supporters of the reading ''Porovit'' cite, for example, the Russian word порови́тый, ''porovityy''. According to Jacek Banaszkiewicz, a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

professor of medieval history, the three

deities are not a "random" group of deities, but a group of deities that patronize areas fundamental to the existence of society. He considers Rugiaevit as the chief god, who patronizes war and the community, and Porevit and Porenut as

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 ...

, who complement the chief deity with their universal characteristics. Banaszkiewicz points out that a common feature of divine twins is the repetition of the first part of the name or the second part of the name; according to him, Porevit and Porenut share the first part (''pora''). He also points out that twins often have contradictory features; Porevit is considered a "positive" twin whose name should be understood as "Lord of strength, Lord who can cope with everything", while Porenut is considered a "negative" twin and translates his name as "Lord in need of support", reading the suffix ''-nut'' as ''-nud'' and connecting it with the

Old Polish The Old Polish language ( pl, język staropolski, staropolszczyzna) was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language. The sources for the study of the Old ...

''nuda'' and the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

''Nut'' meaning "need, compulsion". Banaszkiewicz also points to the fact that they both have five faces, two less than Rugiaevit, with Porenut having only four faces on his head, and the fifth one he holds with his hands on his chest, which according to him may indicate that his character's importance is diminished in relation to Porevit. It may also be important that the right hand supports the fifth face, while the left hand holds it by the forehead. Andrzej Szyjewski is also in favor of combining the first part of both Porevit and Porenut with the word ''pora''. According to

Roman Jakobson Roman Osipovich Jakobson (russian: Рома́н О́сипович Якобсо́н; October 11, 1896Kucera, Henry. 1983. "Roman Jakobson." ''Language: Journal of the Linguistic Society of America'' 59(4): 871–883. – July 18,Perun.

From ''*borъ'' "forest"

Less common readings of the name include ''Borovit'' "Lord of the forest". There is an assumption that both Saxo and the author of the ''Knýtlinga saga'' used one common, unpreserved source when describing the deities of Charenza. The Porevit/Porovit reading is supported by the fact that in Saxo's Latin, and Old Icelandic, the Slavic initial ⟨p⟩ was always rendered as ''p'', but it is possible that this theonym was deformed before it found its way into the ''Gesta Danorum'' and ''Saga''. The notation with ''p'' appears in only one manuscript (the Danish copy) of the ''Gesta Danorum'', which became the basis for the Paris edition of 1514, which became the basis for all later editions. However, Thomas Kantzow in 1538 gives the ''Borveit'' notation. Kantzon probably relied on an unpreserved manuscript kept in

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to t ...

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

, where it originated. Additionally, David Chytraeus, who was a professor at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in contine ...

, gives the notation ''Barovit'' in his ''Chronicon Saxoniae'' which may indicate that there was a copy (or copies) that used a different notation system than the Danish manuscripts. It should also be noted, knowledge of the Paris edition is only demonstrated by Peter Albina of the late 16th century, who is the first to quote the ''Poreuit'' notation from that edition. All of this may indicate that records before the 16th century were based on different, non-existent manuscripts. In German notations of Slavic names, ''b'' is often replaced by ''p'' and ⟨o⟩ written with ''u'', cf. German ''Pürschutz'', ''Burtschütz'' ← Old Sorbian ''*Borušici'', German ''Portitz'', ''Borticz'' ← Old Polabian ''*Borêtici''. Additionally, Slavic ''bor'' "(conifer) forest" in German records is rendered as ''-bure-'', ''-buru-'', ''-buri-'', cf. ''Zutibure'', ''Mesaburii'', ''Medeburu'' from the 10th/11st century, as well as ''Priburiwitz'' "Priborevic" (1215), ''Pritbur'' "Predbor" (1284). In the Polabian theonymy, Pan-Slavic names of gods, e.g. because of

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannic ...

, were replaced by alternative names, common words, or given names, cf. god

Yarovit Yarovit, Iarovit (or Yerovit, Ierovit) is a Polabian god of war, worshipped in Vologošč (Circipanians) and Hobolin ( Hobolians; modern Havelberg). Sources give only a brief description of his cult, his main temple was located in Vologošč, ...

and Serbian јаро̀вит, ''yarovit''. The notation ''Borveit''/''Barovit'' can be read as ''Borovit'', which would be indicated by words such as Czech ''borovitý'',

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

боро̀вит/''boròvit'', Slovene ''borovit'', as well as first and last names, e.g.

''Borowity'', Old Polabian ''*Borovit'',

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

Боровит, ''Borovit''. However, unlike other Polabian theonyms, ''Borovit'' would not consist of the suffix ''*-ovitъ'', but of the adjective ''*borovъjь'' "of or pertaining to a conifer forest" and the suffix ''*-itъ''. ''Borovy'' is also a synonym for ''

Leshy The Leshy (also Leshi; rus, леший, p=ˈlʲeʂɨj; literally, " efrom the forest", pl, borowy, leśnik, leśniczy, lasowik, leszy) is a tutelary deity of the forests in pagan Slavic mythology. As the spirit rules over the forest and huntin ...

'' – the spirit of the forest in East Slavic folklore.

Turupit

''Knýtlinga saga'', which uses the same source as Saxo, also mentions a deity named ''Turupit'' (in variants ''Turupit'', ''Turtupit'', ''Turtuput'', ''Turupið''). This is generally thought to be a corruption of the ''

'' (Perunits) form: the Old Icelandic notation ''Ruivit'' would correspond to the notation ''Rugiaevitus'' of Saxo, Old Icelandic ''Puruvit'' would correspond to the notation ''Porevit'' of Saxo, and ''Turupit'' would correspond to the notation ''Porenutius'' of Saxo. Attempts have also been made to read this theonym literally, e.g. as ''T(o)ropiec'' from ''*trepati'' "to flutter", or to regard it as a loan from Celtic ''

Taranis In Celtic mythology, Taranis (Proto-Celtic: *''Toranos'', earlier ''*Tonaros''; Latin: Taranus, earlier Tanarus) is the god of thunder, who was worshipped primarily in Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and Ireland, but also in the Rhineland and Danube re ...

'' "Celtic god of the storm" (allegedly to the Proto-Slavic ''*Taranъ'' "god of the storm"). However, according to Michał Łuczyński, ''Turupit'' could confirm the reading ''Borovit''. Latin ''d'' and ''b'', and ''b'' and ''t'' were sometimes interchanged, e.g., ''Liduit'' → ''Liubi'' "Liduit", ''Syeba'' → ''Sieta'' " Živa"; a copyist, therefore, as a result of a mistake, could render the Slavic ⟨b⟩ as ''d'' (''t''). The suffix ''*-vit'' in Icelandic was also written as ''-pit''.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Slavic gods