Criwe

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Criwe or Kriwe (Latin Crywo , Cyrwaitos , Lithuanian Krivis ) was the name for the highest priest of the Prussians , whose sphere of influence is said to have extended to the territory of the Lithuanian, Latvian and other Baltic tribes of his time. Possibly it was actually the name for a secular and religious leader among Baltic tribes.

Written sources

The first reports on Prussian Kriwe appear in 1326 from Peter von Dusburg . He writes that he worked in a place Romowe and was venerated by the Prussians like a pope. He was responsible for the eternal fire.

In the 16th century, Simon Grunau reported about Criwe . If the Kriwe got sick, he was burned alive and the Waideler then chose the new Kriwe.

Simon Grunau and also Matthäus Prätorius (1689) name the names of 48 Kriwes each from the years 502 to 1265.

Surname

The historian Johannes Voigt (1786–1863) pointed out that the village mayor in Lithuania sent a crook called kriwule around to invite people to the village assembly. Voigt said that this staff was named after the Criwe. However, the connections are controversially discussed in modern research.

In Lithuanian the word krivis means "crooked". This etymology goes well with the Lithuanian crook of the Schulzen, but is problematic for the designation of a priest. However, a shift in meaning from "stooped, hunched person" to "old man" and further to "wise man" is conceivable.

Interpretations

The oldest news on this subject, the notes of Peter von Dusburg, originated around 100 years after the Prussians were subjugated by the Teutonic Order . They are therefore not always authentic in their historical and ethnographic components. This also applies to later authors. Therefore, all of their statements are to be viewed with reservation.

According to Jaan Puhvel , the Criwe is a priest who can be compared to the Celtic Druid and the Indian Brahmin .

Wilhelm Gaerte even said that "Criwe" originally referred to a person in the legal system and that Peter von Dusburg turned it into a priest.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johannes Voigt: History of Prussia ; Koenigsberg 1827; p. 602
  2. ↑ Wilhelm Mannhardt: Letto-Prussian mythology ; Latvian Literary Society, Riga 1936. Reprint Harro v. Hirschheydt, Hanover-Döhren 1971. p. 95
  3. ↑ Jaan PPuhvel: Indoeuropean structure of the Baltic Pantheon ; in: GJ Larson (ed.): Myth in the Indo-European Antiquity ; Berkeley 1974.
  4. ↑ William Gaertw: Sacred forms of rule in the pagan Prussians, Lithuanians and Latvians ; Leiden 1959.

literature

  • Wilhelm Mannhardt: Letto-Prussian doctrine of gods ; Latvian Literary Society, Riga 1936. Reprint Harro v. Hirschheydt, Hannover-Döhren 1971.
  • Michael Brauer: The discovery of 'paganism' in Prussia ; Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2011. ISBN 978-3-05-005078-2