The Dog in Pagan Beliefs of Early Medieval North-Western Slavs

Abstract

Archaeological discoveries of dog teeth and their contexts imply that dogs may have played an important role in the worldviews of North-Western Slavs. Dog remains are found at sites strictly associated with cult practices but also at settlements, and they can be interpreted in various ways. So far discussions of dog remains have been limited in scope and very sporadically scholars have attempted to study them in a broader perspective. The aim of this paper is to look at the finds of dog remains in the area populated by North-Western Slavs in a more holistic way than ever attempted before and with a particular focus on the symbolic meanings that these animals could have had in the past. What was the role of dogs in religious practices? What function did they have in mythology? How were they perceived in pagan beliefs? The present paper will seek to find answers to these questions.