A Pulitzer-nominated author and one of the great public intellectuals of Slavic culture bring to life the unfamiliar myths and legends of the Slavic world.
In the first collection of Slavic myths for an international readership, Noah Charney and Svetlana Slapšak expertly weave together the ancient stories with nuanced analysis to illuminate their place at the heart of Slavic tradition. While Slavic cultures are far-ranging, comprised of East Slavs (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus), West Slavs (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland), and South Slavs (the countries of former Yugoslavia plus Bulgaria), they are connected by tales of adventure and magic with roots in a common lore. In the world of Slavic mythology we find petulant deities, demons and fairies, witches, and a supreme god who can hurl thunderbolts. Gods gather under the World Tree, reminiscent of Norse mythology's Yggdrasill. The vampire—usually the only Serbo-Croatian word in any foreign-language dictionary—and the werewolf both emerge from Slavic belief.
In their careful analysis and sensitive reconstructions of the myths, Charney and Slapšak unearth the Slavic beliefs before their distortion first by Christian chroniclers and then by nineteenth-century scholars seeking origin stories for their newborn nation states. They reveal links not only to the neighboring pantheons of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Scandinavia, but also the belief systems of indigenous peoples of Australia, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Specially commissioned illustrations inspired by traditional Eastern and European folk art bring the stories and their cultural landscape to life.

Charney , Noah; Slapšak, Svetlana

NOAH SLAPSAK, SVETLANA CHARNEY

Noah Charney; Svetlana Slapšak

Hansjorg Mayer

United Kingdom and Ireland, United Kingdom

US, 2023

Slavic cultures are far-ranging, comprising of East Slavs (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus), West Slavs (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland) and South Slavs (the countries of former Yugoslavia plus Bulgaria), yet they are connected by tales of adventure and magic with deep roots in a common lore. In this first collection of Slavic myths for an international readership, Noah Charney and Svetlana Slapak expertly weave together a retelling of the ancient stories with nuanced analysis that illuminates their place at the heart of Slavic tradition.
Though less familiar to us than the legends of ancient Egypt, Greece and Scandinavia, in the world of Slavic mythology we find much that we can recognize: petulant deities, demons and faeries; witches, the sinister vestica, whose magic may harm or heal; a supreme god who can summon storms and hurl thunderbolts. Gods gather under the World Tree, reminiscent of Norse mythologys Yggdrasill; or, after the coming of Christianity, congregate among the clouds. The vampire usually the only Serbo-Croatian word in any foreign-language dictionary and the werewolf emerge from the shallow graves of Slavic belief.
In their careful analysis and sensitive reconstructions of the origin stories, Charney and Slapsak unearth the Slavic beliefs before their distortion first by Christian chroniclers and then by 19th-century scholars seeking origin stories for their new-born nation states. They reveal links not only to the neighbouring pantheons of Greece, Rome, Egypt and Scandinavia but also the belief systems of indigenous peoples of Australia, the Americas, Africa and Asia. In so doing, they draw out the universalities that cut across cultures in the stories we tell ourselves.

A Pulitzer-nominated author and one of the great public intellectuals of Slavic culture bring to life the unfamiliar myths and legends of the Slavic world. In the first collection of Slavic myths for an international readership, Noah Charney and Svetlana Slapak expertly weave together the ancient stories with nuanced analysis to illuminate their place at the heart of Slavic tradition. While Slavic cultures are far-ranging, comprised of East Slavs (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus), West Slavs (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland), and South Slavs (the countries of former Yugoslavia plus Bulgaria), they are connected by tales of adventure and magic with roots in a common lore. In the world of Slavic mythology we find petulant deities, demons and fairies, witches, and a supreme god who can hurl thunderbolts. Gods gather under the World Tree, reminiscent of Norse mythologys Yggdrasill. The vampireusually the only Serbo-Croatian word in any foreign-language dictionaryand the werewolf both emerge from Slavic belief. In their careful analysis and sensitive reconstructions of the myths, Charney and Slapak unearth the Slavic beliefs before their distortion first by Christian chroniclers and then by nineteenth-century scholars seeking origin stories for their newborn nation states. They reveal links not only to the neighboring pantheons of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Scandinavia, but also the belief systems of indigenous peoples of Australia, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Specially commissioned illustrations inspired by traditional Eastern and European folk art bring the stories and their cultural landscape to life. 38 black-and-white illustrations

2023-10-22