192 ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXX
daVid ŠiMeček
Uni e si y o Cha les is loca ed in Li huania.
Resea ch a eas: his o ical linguis ics; Scandina ian, Ge man,
and Bal ic languages; The my hology o he whi es and
Ma a e a běťáko á, Václa blažek
Scandina ians. This is encycLoPedie baL skÉ
My hology
P ague: Lib i, 2012, 288 p. This is a lis o publica ions published by he Eu opean Pa liamen .
This Regula ion shall en e in o o ce on he wen ie h day ollowing ha o i s publica ion in he O icial Jou nal o he Eu opean Union.
In P ague, in 2012, he Czech-language Encyclopedia o Bal ic My hology was published in
he o m o a dic iona y p esen ing he mos impo an Li huanian, La ian and
P ussian dei ies, my hological en i ies, o he my hologis s and my hology- ela ed
phenomena. The au ho s […] he b oad-minded Indo-Eu opeanis Václa Blažek and he
whi e Ma a E a Běťáko á […] a e ep esen ed by he Masa yk Uni e si y School in
B no. In he Czech Republic, his is he i s book-leng h s udy o Bal ic my hology, al hough he Czechs ha e been s udying his a ea o esea ch since he 19 h cen u y.
The beginning o he 19 h cen u y.
The my hology o he whi es is in e es ed in he eme gence o whi eness in he Czech
Republic. i s s udy in a compa a i e con ex , especially aking in o accoun he
closes Sla ic adi ion, was pa icula ly encou aged by he na ional e i al o he
Czechs in he hi een h o nine een h cen u ies. In e es ing insigh s we e obse ed
al eady a he end o he XVIII cen u y. I is a well-exposed and e iewed dic iona y,
which, o example, indica es he hough s o he s ill-cu en J. Dob o sky, which
combine he Bal ic de il wi h he old Czech. The Veles (p. 195). The his o y o he
sys ema ic s udy o my hology is closely linked o he ounde o Bal ic philology, he
p o esso o Sla ic philology in W oclaw and P ague, F ancis Ladisla Chelako sky
(1799-1852). He did no publish a sepa a e wo k on Bal ic my hology, bu he no es
commen ing on his ansla ed Li huanian song ex s and uni e si y lec u es clea ly
show how ele an Li huanian my hology was o him. A en ion o his p oblem is also
paid o he handw i en dic iona y o Czech-speaking languages, which con ains many
names, names o my hological en i ies, occasional commen s, desc ip ions o cus oms
and i uals. In an unusually la ge edi ion (800 copies) published in 1827 by Chelako sky in
he Li huanian Na ional Pjsna, p epa ed on he basis o he 1825 collec ion o Lud iks Rėzas, he b oad Czech socie y was in oduced o some o he a ac i e Li huanian my hologies.
The speake Augus Schleiche (1821-1868) ex ended he Chelako adi ion in
P ague o a quali a i ely di e en le el. In his Li huanian ch es oma ic in 1857 he
Ma a e a běťáko á, Václa blažek
Encyklopedie bal ské my ologie
The i s o 193 e iews published Li huanian my hological ales, be o e which he
published signi ican p epa a o y wo ks, in which he desc ibed and discussed, among
o he hings, he eali ies o Li huanian my hology in he ligh o compa a i e
linguis ics. The nex gene a ion o esea che s, Leopold Gei le (1847-1885), while
a eling in Li huania (1873), collec ed song olklo e ( he a e o he insc ip ions is s ill
unclea ). When he e u ned o he Czech Republic, he p omised o publish a e iew o
Li huanian my hology in he Czech pe iodicals, bu o unknown easons, he did no ul ill
his in en ion. The su i ing manusc ip ex in English o Bal ic My hology is he legacy
o ano he Sla ic and my hologis , Jano Hanušo Machalo (1855-1939). This wo k, which
deals wi h he mos impo an gods o Bal ic my hology, my hological en i ies, and
ela ed hemes, is men ioned in he o ewo d o he book unde e iew (p. The summa y
s udy o olume 4 o he 1916 encyclopedia The My hology o All Races (which, appa en ly,
was no published because o he e en s o Wo ld Wa I) is cha ac e ized by se ious
sho comings, which a e appa en e en gi en he le el o philology a he end o he 19 h
cen u y. The e o e, he Commission conside s ha he aid is compa ible wi h he
in e nal ma ke wi hin he meaning o A icle 107 (3) (c) TFEU. Machal's s udy is mos
app ecia ed om he pe spec i e o Czech Bal ic his o y, a he han as a
no ewo hy s udy o Bal ic my hology. Thus, an encyclopedic wo k o his magni ude
has appea ed in he Czech Republic only now, less han wo cen u ies a e he
eme gence o Czech Bal ic li e a u e. Fo his eason alone, he publica ion o his book
is an impo an e en : o he i s ime, he publica ion in oduces Czech socie y in
de ail o he s ill poo ly known ield o a chaic Bela usian cul u e. The book is he la es
edi ion in he Lib i se ies o books dedica ed o he my hology o di e en peoples. i
di e s om o he books in he se ies in ha i is no only a compila ion o o he
wo ks, bu an o iginal con ibu ion o he s udy o Bal ic my hology […] especially
because o de ailed and app op ia e e ymological insigh s. he book is aimed a bo h
scien is s - linguis s, his o ians, e hnologis s, my hologis s - and he gene al public. The
book begins wi h a speech ha b ie ly discusses he his o y o he Whi e peoples. Below
he main pa o he dic iona y a e he appendices: lis s o P ussian gods and he
legend o he ounding o Vilnius. a he end o he book […] p ima y sou ces, he
scien i ic li e a u e used and a lis o Czech ex s ela ed o Bal ic cul u e. he ex is
supplemen ed by non-colou ed pho og aphs illus a ing he subjec s unde discussion.
The wo d is cons uc ed in alphabe ical o de , and since Li huanian, La ian and
P ussian ma e ial is included in pa allel, he speci ic concep s a e i s indica ed o
which g oup o whi es he exp ession in ques ion belongs. I he dei y is cha ac e is ic
o all whi e g oups, i s name is gi en in a econs uc ed o m, o example, *Dei a, and in
he same a icle o he dic iona y a e gi en he da a o all h ee ela ed peoples
ela ed o he e m in ques ion. Names w i en o dis o ed in o he languages a e also
p esen ed in a econs uc ed o m, wi h he ma ked o ms w i en in he sou ces, e.g.
*Pa ulas (Pa ollus, Pa ollo). This way o p esen ing wo ds, o cou se, is some imes no
The ac a linguis ica li uanici lxxii is a collec ion o in e p e a ions o he wo d. Fo
daVid ŠiMeček
example, he god men ioned in he Ipa ija me opolis, which is usually La ianized as
Nunadie is and is conside ed he name o he god o hea en, is gi en in he wo d in he
o m o *Numa-dei as, desc ibed as a "god o he house" and is associa ed wi h he
house god Numėju w i en by Lasicki. when only he name emains (and he e a e many
such cases), i is only on he basis o e ymology ha i is possible o lea n some hing
abou he o igin and meaning o he dei y o my hical being. In his espec , language
analysis becomes one o he main ools o esea ch, and i cons i u es he mos
aluable pa o his book. The e ymologies o some wo ds a e gi en o he i s ime,
such as Pe kūno, whose name is in e p e ed as a compound wo d wi h he su ixes
*pe - ‘pe i and *kun- (plg. lo. cuneus ‘pleiš as). some linguis ic analyses occupy a la ge
pa o he indi idual dic iona y a icles, lea ing no oom o o he aspec s o he
phenomena o be discussed. Fo example, he a icle on he god Push (k)aichi consis s
almos en i ely o an e ymological analysis, al hough he sou ces con ain in e es ing
ac s abou his wo ship and he i uals associa ed wi h i . In an a icle de o ed o
Aus a ( econs uc ed o m o he eas e n whi es o Aus ia), which au ho s iden i y
wi h Aus a, he ela i es o he whi es and o he Indo-Eu opean languages a e gi en
da a ( o example, e en om wo S. G eek dialec s, he La in classic and he ole o
he ea ly s age o he language), bu he ole o Aus a in he olklo e is, o cou se,
silen .
limi ed o he desc ip ion o he o ms men ioned in his o ical sou ces, because he
econs uc ion has al eady been ma ked, he book is no a e elling o he iews and
opinions o ea lie my hologis s. In he encyclopedia, he achie emen s o my hology as
a b anch o science, he da a o a ious s udies a e c i ically e alua ed and
signi ican ly supplemen ed by he s udy o au hen ic p ima y sou ces. The lis s o
sou ces and li e a u e a e qui e imp essi e. I is good ha he sou ces hemsel es a e
o en ci ed in he ex : ch onicles, his o ical documen s, olklo e, e c. A ansla ion o
he ci ed sou ce in o Czech is p o ided, and in he no es […] ex in he o iginal language.
This gi es an oppo uni y o ge close o he aw ma e ial unde discussion.
Un o una ely, he sys em o bibliog aphic e e ences is so complex ha i some imes
seems as i he au ho s did no expec anyone o use i . e e ences o he publica ions
om which he quo a ions om hese sou ces a e aken a e usually no ound in he
ansla ion o he quo ed ex o in he o iginal ex . On he con a y, hey a e
p esen ed a he end o he a icles, along wi h all he o he ele an bibliog aphy.
nowhe e indica ed which bibliog aphical e e ence abb e ia ion belongs o he ci ed
ex . This makes i much mo e di icul o deal wi h he longe en ies, which ci e many
sou ces and all e e ences a e a he end o he a icle. When he eade , ega dless
o he e e ences, i.e. he sou ces, elies on and is guided by he quo a ions gi en in he
book, i is, o cou se, impo an o ha e an objec i e ansc ip ion o he o iginal. This
equi emen is no e y simila o he ex s in he chu ch Sla ic language, which a e
some imes p esen ed in La in le e s. Some imes he e a e inaccu acies in he ansla ions. a mo e signi ican de ec is obse ed in olklo is ic e minology. The Czech concep o pohádka, i.e. " o say" whe e i is ac ually spoken, is qui e common in he book.
Ma a e a běťáko á, Václa blažek
Encyklopedie bal ské my ologie
195 e iews o my hical ales (such as in an a icle abou Ai a ) and o he na a i e
gen es. A casual eade o a book may no no ice his con usion, bu scien i ic discou se
demands g ea e a en ion o he accu acy o e minology. Despi e i s sho comings,
he Encyclopedia o Bal ic My hology is a signi ican s udy based on he me hod o
compa a i e esea ch, which, in pa icula (bu no only) because o i s linguis ic
insigh s, a ac s he a en ion o Bal ic, Sla ic and o he esea che s ab oad in he
Czech Republic.
Deli e ed on 15 May 2014
daVid ŠiMeček
The Facul y o Ge man S udies, Jan Palach,
P ague, Czech Republic
[Email p o ec ed]