Svantevit's Horn

An attested object

Unlike most Slavic cult objects, Svantevit's horn is described by a witness close to the events. Saxo Grammaticus, writing his Gesta Danorum around 1200, describes the temple at Arkona that King Valdemar I's Danish army destroyed in 1168: its huge four-headed wooden statue held in its right hand a horn worked in various metals, which the priest filled with wine every year. Beside the statue hung a bridle and saddle, and a great sword was kept there too.

Reading the harvest

At the yearly festival after harvest, Saxo writes, the priest examined the horn the day after the rites: if the wine had diminished, he foretold a poor harvest and advised the people to save their grain; if it had not, he foretold plenty. He then poured the old wine at the statue's feet, refilled the horn, and drank to the god, praying for the people's prosperity.

Reading Saxo

Saxo was a Christian writer celebrating the conquest, and his account is shaped by that purpose; but the detail of the horn, the statue, and the rite is specific, and it is among the best-attested descriptions of West Slavic temple religion.