Book Review: The Early Slavs: Culture and Society in Early Medieval Eastern Europe

I chose to read/review P.M. Barford's 2001 The Early Slavs:  Culture and Society in Early Medieval Eastern Europe for the hearth culture reading requirement.  As someone dedicated to a Slavic hearth (and with a minor in Slavic Languages and Literature) it seemed a natural choice, as its focus is pan-Slavic and covers some of the earliest periods of known Slavic culture.

The scope of The Early Slavs covers the 5th through 11th centuries - specifically that time period when mention of the Slavs first appear in contemporary written accounts through the formation of Slavic states and nations.  The structure of the book consists of 13 chapters reviewing the material culture, daily practices and political activities of the South, West and East Slavs during the medieval period.

Many limitations exists for those studying the lives of early Slavs.  Because they were illiterate until well after their Christianization, the earliest references and descriptions of pagan Slavs come in the writings of contemporary politicians, ambassadors and missionaries.  Relatively few of these sources remain today and what there is leaves much to be desired.  Barford concisely reviews these sources both in the introduction and first chapters of The Early Slavs, while also noting their limitations.  He wisely cautions the use of these materials for making overarching conclusions about pre-Christian Slavs, reminding the reader that they most likely represent the interests and motives of the writer and their intended (and often elite) audience.

Barford's discussion of ethnogenesis and ethnicity is clear and concise.  He makes use of helpful analogies while avoiding semantic pitfalls and confusions that might deter the average reader.  In this way Barford's writing on the topic is much more accessible than Florin Curta's parallel coverage in The Making of the Slavs:  History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region c. 500-700.  Before delving into the archaeology of the Slavs Barford cautions, "We cannot talk of Slav ethnicity, just because we are dealing with Slav-speakers:  there have to be other elements linking the group together before we can refer to it as a ethnic group," (p. 30).

The middle section of the book covering the archaeology and material culture of the early Slavs is vast and is clearly Barford's forte.  Through these chapters he summarizes the cultural assemblages of each region over time, noting logical links of succession and breaks in continuity and technique.  While the weight of this entire work rests on archaeological findings and interpretation, Barford points out the limitations of archaeology and the importance of resisting assigning specific ethnicities to Bronze Age materials.  These chapters can be a bit overwhelming for the lay reader, as the author often uses technical language to describe materials (particularly pottery) that may be unfamiliar.  However, he does occasionally develop historical "scenes" to put all the pieces together into a cohesive whole.

The chapters that would most likely be of use to ADF members are those entitled "Daily Life" and "Pagan Ideologies."  Both of these chapters provide a brief overview but unfortunately lack the depth and exposition of the previous chapters (despite the availability of published, academic-quality material).  "Daily Life" provides a nice snapshot of a Slavic household in the early medieval period but is light on some important cultural practices, such as the evidence for fiber work, animal husbandry and cooking. Additionally, in future editions the section on the physical appearance of early Slavs could benefit from a refocus on the copious amount of research conducted in the past decade on the genetic composition of early Slavs and any isotopic analyses of human remains from the same time period.   "Pagan Ideologies" is at best a skimming of traditional views on the religion of the early Slavs.  It is disappointing that Barford does not make use of some of the cross-cultural comparisons in the academic literature for illumination.  Additionally, this chapter is considerably light on references which is concerning with some of the broad-sweeping conclusions Barford puts forth (i.e. Svarog was not just the god of celestial fire but also "probably the domestic hearth," p. 195).  In future editions, both of these chapters could greatly benefit from academic collaboration.

The last few chapters of The Early Slavs focus on the rise of state-nations and the emergence of Slavs onto the political map of late medieval Europe.  The pedantic nature of the text makes reading difficult and confusing at times, especially if the reader is not already familiar with the names and players of those in power during the time period. 

 Despite any shortcomings, The Early Slavs is a rare gem - a compendium written for the Western reader in a field where most research is published in scholarly, non-English journals. It serves as a thorough survey of early Slavs, from which the interested reader can take advantage of the citations and more recent academic publications to further their own personal research.

Book Review: Being a Pagan

I chose to read/review Being a Pagan:  Druids, Wiccans and Witches Today for my second Dedicant Path book review.  One of several options listed as fulfilling the Modern Paganism and Pagan Revival category, I looked forward to this work, compiled and completed by Ellen Evert Hopman and Lawrence Bond, as something new since I had read other works in this category many years ago. 

Being a Pagan is, fundamentally, a collection of Q&A sessions completed with individuals considered "movers and shakers" within the pan-pagan community.  Divided into seventeen different path-oriented chapters, the interviews each begin with a standard "Are you pagan?  When did you decide you were pagan?" opening and then delve into each individual's experiences and practices as a modern pagan.  This format allows each interviewee to speak freely on his/her own specialties or, as is sometimes apparent, his/her own soapboxes.  Overall, the interviews are easy to follow and most chapters include an introduction that summarizes the uniting theme of interviews contained within.  There does not seem to be any discernible chronology or reason for the order of the chapters so at times the reader is being referred to individuals and content found much later in the book. 

In my opinion, however, Being a Pagan does not leave the reader with a positive view of modern pagans.  As a result of the repetition of certain threads and themes, a mind-numbing reading of all 50 interviews paints a portrait of modern pagans as an elitist, self-legitimizing group of individuals who are constantly at odds. Indeed, several interviewees take shots at each other concerning fundamental issues, such as the roles of gender and sexuality, and whether pagan clergy should be paid for their services.

My biggest issue with the book is actually the apparent contradiction with the word "Today" in the title.  Being a Pagan was first published back in 1996 - many of the issues and players highlighted in this work are virtually nonexistent in today's pagan communities.  In fact, many of the organizations and resources highlighted near the end of the book no longer exist (and no website information is listed for those that do).  All but one of the interviews in the 2002 re-release were completed prior to 1995; this means that nearly 20 years of contemporary pagan voices and issues are not present in this work.  This critical oversight means that current topics such as leadership and gender, pagan involvement in interfaith communities and the role of the Internet in modern religion are completely absent.  By failing to regularly update the material and focus of the content, the compilers of Being a Pagan have insured that their work has become, at this point in time, one more of an historical review, rather than contemporary scholarship.

What could breath fresh life into this book?  I suggest keeping one-third of the most important essays (such as those with Starhawk, Isaac Bonewits, Ian Corrigan and Margot Adler) and adding in an additional fifteen or so new Q&A sessions with high profile modern pagans such as Teo Bishop, Terry Pratchett, Carl Weschcke and Michael J. Dangler.  These contemporary voices could speak about pagan issues of the last 15 years, and speculate on what the next 15 years might bring.

Book Review: Comparative Mythology by Jaan Puhvel

I chose to read/review Jaan Puhvel's Comparative Mythology for my first Dedicant Path book review
with plenty of warnings about the depth and "academic-nishness" of the material.  With a background in anthropology, I was prepared to tackle the materials, having a strong foundation in European mythology and first-hand experience reading Levi-Strauss and the like in grad school. That being said, this is definitely not a book for beginners.

There is little doubt that Comparative Mythology was written as a text, as its format and content is clearly designed to follow a course syllabus.  However, the scope and depth of the analysis, coupled with the repeated use of specialized and obscure terminology belies the fact that this would not be a textbook for a 100 level course. If reading this book, be prepared to take copious notes and have a dictionary (and possibly, a world history companion) at your side if you desire to retain and process the material.

And what material is there?  Gold.  For all his wordiness there is no doubt that what Puhvel has compiled in print is a thorough, near-exhaustive survey of Indo-European (IE) mythology.  Starting from an introduction outlining the distinction between mythos, mythology and history, Puhvel then proceeds to review the mythology of several ancient IE cultures working his way through Vedic India, ancient Iran, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and Celtic, Norse and Balto-Slavic mythologies.
With each chapter he briefly reviews geographical and historical highlights of the period, and epic sagas are also discussed for the Vedic, Iranian and Norse cultures.

Personally, I enjoyed this read despite the amount of discipline it took to accomplish the task.  I greatly appreciated his reviews of Vedic and Iranian myths and applauded his outright acknowledgement that, for years, Greek myth has been The Standard for comparative mythology regardless of its obvious fusion with nearby cultures.  I even thought his review of Slavic mythology (a subject I myself have researched extensively) provided a thoughtful and well-supported foundation even with the limitations of such scant documentation for that subject.

That said, there were times where, as the reader, I was ready to give Puhvel a stern talking to.  His chapters on both Vedic and Iranian epics were written in such a way that a student new to comparative mythology had no hope but to be completely lost and confused.  In both of those chapters (and others as well) his references to obscure tribes and historical events makes for a difficult read for even the most dedicated student of ancient world history.  With a topic that literally covers thousands of years and geographical miles, it would be nice if Puhvel provided brief historical timelines and/or maps in respective chapters.  Additionally, there are times where his handling of some subjects seems unusual; there is no discussion at all of Hestia/Vesta in the Greek and Roman materials, and his Iranian references hinge on discussions of Zoroastrian concepts, rather than pre-Avestan sources and reconstructions.  There are no explanations offered for either example.

Exhaustive?  Yes.  Herculean?  Yes.  Worth taking the time to read?  Probably.  For someone dedicated to understanding the undercurrent of similar themes and characters in IE mythology the reading of Jaan Puhvel's Comparative Mythology should be on their "Must Do" list.  For the more casual student of IE studies there are many other available titles that would better suite the lay reader.