As I finish up my first draft of book 1 in my Slavic fantasy series, my Slavic Saturday posts continue with an animal that plays a crucial role in both Slavic mythology and history: the horse.
(June 2021 Updated) Note: If you enjoy Slavic mythology, check out A Dagger in the Winds, the first book in my Slavic fantasy series called The Frostmarked Chronicles. You can also join my monthly newsletter for updates and free novellas (such as the prequel, The Rider in the Night) set in the world of the series.
The three animals that appear the most in Slavic myths are the bear, the wolf, and the horse. In that trio, it would at first seem the horse is the odd one out. Both wolves and bears were seen as powerful forces of nature, though, and to the Slavs, the horse was no different.
As we talked about in my post about the Wenedowie/Veneti early Slavic tribe, agriculture was the center of their economy and way of life. And the key to their advanced agriculture was their early invention of the plow, which would often be pulled by horses. They helped farmers constantly. Without them, farming would have been a far more difficult ordeal (though it still was with their help). Horses held the power to carry and pull what humans could not, and that meant the early Slavs also saw each side of the horse—both the tender and the wild.
The multitude of sides to the horse are reflected in the many gods represented by it. Jaryło (Jarilo/Yarilo), a god of agriculture and spring, was often pictured riding a white horse with the coming of spring. One of his sisters, Dziewanna (Devana), was the goddess of the wilds and hunt, and her symbol was the mare. Dadźbóg (Dažbog), god of the sun, was said to be riding a chariot through the sky with three horses: gold, silver, and diamond. But not all the perceptions were positive. Czarnobóg (Chernobog), a dark god, rode a black horse when he faced his rival, Białobóg (Belobog), who rode a white horse.
This horse’s importance doesn’t stop with deities, though. In rituals conducted by wróżbici diviners, the behavior of horses would be used to determine whether the tribe should march to war or not. During weddings, horses were also considered to symbolize the young groom, and during many festivals, people dressed up as horses or rode them to symbolize great creatures or battles.
Interestingly, despite all of this, horses were rarely used in battle by the early Slavs. Though the Polish “Winged Hussars” would eventually become known as perhaps the most ferocious cavalry in history, the inventions of the stirrup and saddle had yet to reach far beyond the Roman borders in the late 4th century. Guiding a horse into battle could be difficult without those tools, and because of this, only the richest and most powerful warriors ever rode them into battle. Overall, even they preferred the traditional Slavic guerilla warfare tactics. Many of those who made war with the early Slavs, such as the Huns, Alans, and Sarmatians, showed them the power of cavalry, though, and it would’ve been impossible for them to deny the impact that horse archers or a cavalry charge could have during a battle. Yet another reason why they stuck to the woods, where horses couldn’t maneuver as well.
In my story, Wacław (the main character), has a horse of his own named Tanek, Polish for immortal. It’s my hope that through the relationship between the two of them, you’ll be able to see how crucial horses were to their society.
That’s all for this week’s Slavic Saturday post. 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.