After last weekend’s discussion of the mountains in Slavic mythology, I decided for this Slavic Saturday I need to address two of the gods I get asked about the most – Chernobog (also called Czarnobóg, Czorneboh, Crnibog, Černobog, Zcerneboch) and Belobog (Białobóg, Bjelobog, Belboh). These two famous “gods” are often referred to when people talk about Slavic mythology, but neither were truly part of Slavic paganism.
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Now, I am fully aware some people will be upset with me already. Chernobog, particularly, is very popular in pop culture due to his appearances in books such as American Gods (and the tv show) by Neil Gaiman, Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, and Marvel Comics as well as video games such as Kingdom Hearts, Smite, and (my personal favorite) Crusader King II. I don’t criticize any of those works of fiction for their inclusion of Chernobog, nor does it make them any less enjoyable. I applaud their inclusion of Slavic mythology at all, and there is some loose evidence for Chernobog’s existence. Together, though, these works have helped cause a false belief that Chernobog was one of the most significant gods in Slavic mythology when it’s doubtful he was even known to the Slavs.
To take a step back, who are Chernobog and Belobog alleged to be?
The two were considered to be the supreme opposites: one good and one evil. In a simple sense, Chernobog was called the “black god” and Belobog the “white god,” and each rode a horse corresponding to their color. Belobog would fight Chernobog and stop his dark ways from destroying the world. Little more is known about them besides their brief mention by German scholar Helmold in his 12th-century book, Chronica Slavorum.
Helmold refers to Chernobog as “Diabol” (translation: devil) or “Zcerneboch” but never truly mentions Belobog’s name (just that there’s a good god to oppose the “black one”), which is merely assumed now. This written source, you would think, would lend some weight to the argument about at least Chernobog’s existence, but, though it cannot be ignored, context quickly shows Helmold’s claims don’t match up with Slavic mythology.
Firstly, on the large scope, the 12th-century when Helmold was writing was a couple hundred years post-Christianization of most Slavic tribes. I’m a Christian myself, but it’s undeniable the Christians in this time did everything possible to silence Slavic pagan beliefs, either by destroying them completely or reshaping them into a Christian worldview. The duality of Chernobog and Belobog falls directly under this.
In Slavic mythology, there is no real conception of “true good” and “true evil.” Some actions are obviously considered bad and others good, but there is no cosmic clash between the two, unlike the Christian God and Devil. Black as a color wasn’t thought of as evil either. These various hues of gray morality instead of black vs white in Slavic mythology were incompatible with Christian thought. So, after the 10th-century early-Christianization of Slavic tribes, many Slavic gods were reformed by Christians into either saints or demons – pure good or pure evil.
Perun and Weles/Veles are the great cosmic clash in Slavic myths, yet both were worshiped across nearly all of the Slavic tribes. One was not considered good and the other evil. They served separate roles and fought because of this. Even Marzanna/Morana – goddess of winter, disease, and death – though despised, was believed to be necessary to the cycle of life. She was worshiped sometimes out of fear and hope to survive her brutal winters.
The hierarchy of the gods in Slavic mythology is blurred as well, with different tribes believing different gods to be the highest, conflicting with the claim that Chernobog and Belobog were the supreme duality. Perun, Swarog/Svarog, Weles/Veles, and others were each thought to be supreme by certain tribes. Even more, some tribes had local gods we don’t even know the name of today due to the early Slavs’ lack of writing. From the various creation stories by Swarog or Rod to the cosmic battles, underworld, and changing of the seasons, the “supreme” black and white deities of Chernobog and Belobog do not fit into the tales of Slavic mythology. And likely, that’s because they were simply placed on top of it post-Slavic paganism.
In the end, despite all my arguments, there’s nothing wrong with Chernobog and Belobog’s inclusion in popular culture. The sharing of Slavic mythology, to me, is meant to be fun and exciting, and, together, these gods form a narrative that helps bring Slavic mythology into a western worldview. Though I would recommend not including them in fiction (as they are not in my series) due to their very shaky grounding, much of Slavic mythology is uncertain.
There are few written sources. I might get some of it wrong in my posts, and people have challenged some of what I’ve said. That’s okay (and encouraged. I learn a lot from those discussions). Much that we know was just passed down through folk tales in a thousand-year-long game of telephone. All we can do is try to look at the pieces we have and put together as much of the puzzle of Slavic mythology as we can.
That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday. Be sure to keep a lookout for more posts next week, and if you haven’t seen the full series of posts, be sure to check them out.
*As always just a quick disclaimer. Slavic mythology is broad and not written in many if any primary sources, so there’s a variety of interpretations. The interpretations I’m using here are from the sources I’ve found to be reliable and as well as some creative freedom for my book series.