Why Nordic music is not so alien to us? Or: 'Vikings play obers!' ;-)

One inspiration that plays a significant role in Żywiołak’s work is “Nordic music” which is gaining popularity around the world… But what is it? It is a Scandinavian type of world music based on their local folk music. But why exactly does Nordic music inspire us?

Let’s get to the point…

The first association is that “Nord” means “north”, which implies simply that Nordic music is related to the culture of northern peoples.

A strange accident caused us to be located not so far away from those peoples. In archaeology and history there are facts to which nobody pays attention (or does not wish to), and they contribute greatly to understanding the similarities and common ground between our cultures (which seems important in this case).

Żywiołak’s music is not just another example of the Polish fashion for imitating other cultures. All our musical themes come from Slavonic folk music in the broadest sense, or from us personally. That Slavonic energy lies somewhere deep inside us. Otherwise, such a profound musical contact (often involving elements of trance music) would probably be impossible between us.

In order to understand the connection between what remains in our subconscious and what emerges in our music, it is good to learn several little-known but relevant historical facts.

Taking into account archaeology and history, one may assume that the tribes living to the north and south of the Jutland Peninsula have been related to Slavonic culture for a long time. One connection between Slavonic tribes and the people of the north has been the cultural inheritance of Germanic tribes from which Scandinavians are descended. And the notion of ‘neighbours’ in relation to Slavonic and Germanic tribes speaks for itself.

In order to understand the fact that Nordic components are not totally alien to our music, we must take a closer look at history concerning the peoples who travelled through or settled in Poland.

But let’s start from the beginning…

More or less up until the 1st century BC, there was Lusatian culture in Poland, which had been spreading over a large part of Europe since the 13th century BC. Significant regional differences show that this culture was created by people who followed similar habits but also differed from one other. It seems that they belonged to the great Indo-European family. Later, [the current area of] Poland was taken over by two closely-interlinked cultures – Pomeranian culture and the Cloche Grave culture.

After the 4th century BC, the area of Silesia was settled by Celts who came from the south and, during the mid-1st century BC, created the most powerful and creative civilisation in central and western Europe. They settled in several villages near the Kujawy region, but their culture penetrated much further. Celtic monuments can still be found in the area between the Vistula and Oder rivers.

Unfortunately, and surprisingly, the Celts failed to create a unified state and disappeared from [the contemporary area of] Poland. The long-term influence of Celtic culture meant that in the 3rd century BC, the aforementioned cultures adopted some Celtic elements. Residents of that area of Poland began producing iron using techniques learned from the Celts.

As a result of these changes, two new archaeological cultures emerged – at the turn of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, south-central Poland was conquered by the Przeworsk culture, and the Pomeranian region by the Oksywie culture. It is not easy to define who created those cultures. In the 1st century AD, the Oksywie culture was replaced by the Wielbark culture (derived from Wielbark, now a district of Malbork) which had been developing in the Gdansk region, Masuria, eastern Podlasie and the Lublin region. It was founded by Scandinavian tribes of Goths and Gepids which had settled on Polish soil on their journeys from cold Scandinavia down to the plains of the Black Sea region. From there, as Ostrogoths and Visigoths, they set out to conquer the Roman Empire at the end of the 2nd century AD.

They created their own states in southern Europe: the Ostrogoths in Italy and the Visigoths in Spain. Archaeological research shows that after leaving for the south, both groups kept regular contact with their home-countries in the area of contemporary Poland and in Scandinavia.

It is still a serious problem and challenge for many scientists to identify the Przeworsk culture (named after a burial ground in Przeworsk) that was developing near the Oder, Vistula and Boog rivers.

That culture is believed to be proof of the existence of Slavonic Veneti, which were identified in this part of the world by Tacitus and Pliny the Elder. There are many theories about the Slavonic or Germanic origin of the Veneti tribes, but nowadays it is more commonly believed that they were not Slavonic. Monuments from the developed Przeworsk culture suggest that it was created by Germanic tribes living in the eastern part of the German homeland, bordered by the river Vistula.

Those tribes had been creating a federation that was known under one name – the Vandals.

Contrary to their bad reputation achieved by raiding Rome in the year 445 AD (and really due to the insinuations of historians who introduced the concept of ‘vandalism’ in the 18th century), that tribe was praised for being hard-working (with certain cruelty), but also for its courage and valour. These latter features became the main cause of their ‘fame’. Their conquest of the Roman Empire ended in Tunisia, where they founded a state that developed for 100 years, and was destroyed by Belissarius in the year 534 AD. There is a hypothesis that a group of fugitives returned to their homeland in the Oder and Vistula rivers area and tried to rebuild their state. Another hypothesis suggests that groups of Vandals remained in their homeland and were taken over in the 6th century by Slavonic tribes coming from the east. It is a fact that the Slavs from the east did meet other tribes in the area of Poland, as confirmed by the existence of two types of buildings, one of which was less developed.

It is supposed that the relations between settling Slavonic tribes and those already there were good.

When the first historical king of Poland, Mieszko I, died in 992 AD, the chronicles of the German Church noted “obiit Misica dex Vandalorum” (“Mieszko, prince of the Vandals, has died”).

Kazimierz the Great, who built a Gothic cathedral to replace the ruined Roman basilica in Poznan, also constructed a royal tomb for his predecessor – Boleslaw the Brave. The cover of the tomb bore a poem praising the valour of the dead king, and stating that he was “rex Gothorum and Polonorum” (“king of the Goths and the Poles”). That monument has not lasted until the present day, but we know this from an 18th century drawing, a copy of the tomb’s invocation, and the figures of two apostles which were placed on a new grave for the king of Poland in the 19th century.

Jan Dlugosz, the 15th century chronicler, called the river Vistula “a river of Vandals” just like in the ancient chronicles. His 16th century successor, Sebastian Munster, placed a land called Vandalia on the map of Europe. It was located in the Pomerania region, between Szczecin and Gdansk.

Recent archaeological research in Poland suggests that many Germanic tribes lived here, particularly in the 9th and 10th centuries. They played a significant political and economic role. Other representatives of Germanic tribes were the infamous Vikings, who threatened Europe under a variety of names. Contrary to popular belief, those Norman tribes were not only cruel warriors, but also good traders, brave explorers (they discovered Greenland and America), as well as hard-working settlers and skilled politicians. They founded cities in southern England, Normandy, and southern Italy. Russian scientists agree that the Vikings contributed to the creation of the first eastern Slavonic states with capital cities in Kiev and Novgorod. The area called White Rus could also have been named after the fair hair of its inhabitants.

The cause for the migration of those tribes is very interesting. One hypothesis formulated in the 19th century claims that Danes had many wives and, being unable to support all their children, as well as wishing to avoid quarrels over inheritance, they would send young people abroad in order to seek resources to live on.

As archaeology improves in Poland, scientists are finding new, more significant evidence of Scandinavian settlement and activity in [the current area of] Poland. The largest collection of 10/11th century Scandinavian weaponry was found in Lednica Lake. Nearby, in Lubowo, a cemetery of skeletons was discovered, in which almost only Scandinavian warriors were buried.

A note from the Arabic traveller Ibrahim ibn Yaqub reads that King Mieszko “has three thousand armed warriors, one hundred of which mean more than ten hundred other warriors, and he gives them clothes, horses, weapons and everything they need”.

The habit of creating armed divisions of Viking warriors was known widely in Europe and beyond. Did Mieszko use the services of Vikings? Why not? Poland, which was spread between the Vistula and Oder rivers in 960-970 AD, could have played some role in the political stabilisation of Scandinavian kingdoms, and vice versa.

One unquestionable fact of those times was the marriage between Swedish king Eric I and Mieszko’s daughter, probably called Swietoslawa. She gave birth to Olof Skotkonung. After Eric’s death, Swietoslawa married Sven Forkbeard, who had returned from exile, probably in order to confirm an agreement between her son, who took over Denmark, and Sven. Olof married Estrid, the daughter of one of the princes.

The activities of Baltic Slavs among the Vikings is reflected in coins from that period. The majority of them, dating from the 10/11th centuries, were spread due to intensive trading by Slavonic Vikings in England. There are many cases which confirm that Slavs travelled to Scandinavia. In the battle of Lyrskog Heath, the Norwegian King Magnus, who temporarily ruled in Denmark, defeated Slavonic warriors who were returning from a raid in Jutland. At the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, the Scandinavian Viking movement gradually began to die out, but was still strong in Norway under the rule of king Harald Hardrada. Only Adam of Bremen mentions some poorly-documented battles between Hardrada and Slavonic tribes.

They were of minor significance and were part of the war against the Danes, who were cooperating with the Obotrites.

The retreat of Hardrada ended the long era of battles between Slavonic and Scandinavian Vikings. However, Baltic Vikings continued the tradition. After 1043, the leadership of the Slavonic Vikings was taken over by residents of Pomerania (particularly residents of Wolin Island). In 1113, a war broke out between the Danes and the Obotrites. After the Danes were defeated, Slavonic attacks on Denmark intensified.

In 1134, the capital city of Roskilde (on Zeland Island) was plundered. The next year, the Slavonic fleet, led by Prince Racibor, plundered the Norwegian sea port of Konungahele. At the same time, the fame of pirates at the mouth of the Oder had spread in Scandinavian countries, which started up the legend of the Vikings of Wolin Island. [Polish folk-tales describe Wolin as an old Slavonic settlement inhabited by traders of various origins who maintained peaceful relations with the Danish Vikings. The tales also tell of the cult of Triglav there. Finally, the Vikings broke the peace agreements and raided a settlement called Wineta. During its heroic defence, a great whirlwind flooded the town. Several centuries after the flooding of Wineta, rivers and winds led to the creation of fertile land in the place of the old settlement, where a new Slavonic town of Wolin was founded.] We can therefore see that piracy was not the domain of the Scandinavian peoples.

Military raids were allegedly organised by the richest residents of Wolin and Szczecin.

In 1136, the Danes organised a revenge raid on Rugen, the last bastion of the pre-Christian Slavs. They conquered Arkona, whose residents signed a peace treaty and promised to be baptised. However, as soon as the Danes left, the residents of the town got rid of the bishop. The writers Helmold and Saxo Grammaticus described the vile, wild behaviour of Slavonic pirates.

Thanks to Saxo Grammaticus, we have the only description of a pagan temple. Perhaps it is not directly related to the subject, but I believe that it is worth mentioning here. The temple was located in a roofed, wooden building with just one entrance. The outer walls were covered with sculptures of various items. Inside, the shrine was defined by red carpets hung from four pillars, which did not touch the walls but reached the roof, thus creating a second wall. Among the carpets was a statue which looked as follows: “There was a huge statue inside the temple, much taller than any human being. It was astonishing, with four necks and four heads, two of which looked straight ahead and the other two to the back. Moreover, the eyes of the heads were looking right and left. Their beards and hair were cut in such a way that one could believe that the artwork resembled the haircutting style of the residents of Rugen. In its right hand, the statue held a horn made of various metals, which was filled with wine by a priest so he could predict the fate of crops in forthcoming year. The left hand rested on the hip and looked like a bow. The statue’s robe was long enough to reach the legs, which were made of various types of wood and joined in such a way that only closer inspection revealed joints. The legs touched the ground, but their base was hidden in the ground. Nearby were placed a bit and saddle as well as other items from the statue. Among these was a huge sword, its blade and hilt covered with silver.”

In the second half of the 11th and the first half of the 12th century, Slavonic people repeated the actions of the 9th and 10th century Scandinavians. The word “Viking” became synonymous not only with pirates from Scandinavia, but with armed marine raids in general. The residents of the Estonian shores were also pirates. The contemporary emblem of one of Estonian island includes a long-boat, and Latvian legends and jewellery abound with Viking themes.

More important proof of the Vikings’ presence in [the area of current] Poland is a trading post at the mouth of the river Vistula, which served as a road into the land. A port with Viking shipwrecks has been discovered in Puck Bay. Recently, the settlement of Janowo Pomorskie at Druzno Lake has been defined as being the legendary and long-sought-after town of Truso which was a Viking trading post.

Several controversial burial grounds were found in northern and eastern parts of the Masovia region. They date from the latter half of the 11th century and the 12th century, and were sited far from churches, contrary to the custom of the time. Those graves were also rich in burial gifts, which had been banned by the Church authorities.

Interpretation of these phenomena may also point to the presence of Viking warriors serving as mercenaries in the army of Russian Prince Jaroslav, who came to help his brother-in-law, Prince Kazimierz, in 1047. As recognition for their accomplishments, Kazimierz granted land to Scandinavians and settled them in the north-eastern part of his country, obliging them to protect the borders. Before they became assimilated with the local people, the Masovian Vikings continued their own traditions.

There is also a theory stating that the warlike nature of the poorer gentry in the Masovia region is the result of their Viking origins. But that’s only a theory.

Among many Scandinavian-like graves discovered in Poland, there is one which is particularly interesting. It is a grave found in Kaldus, near Chelmno. It is filled with riches, contains the skeletons of a man and a woman, and it dates from the 11th century.

Almost all early-Medieval evidence of contacts between Baltic, Slavonic and Scandinavian tribes, or relating to the presence of Scandinavians in Poland, was discovered in a very narrow zone bordering between Prussian and Slavonic settlements, namely close to the Elblag and Dzierzgon rivers, as well as around Druzno Lake. Some finds related to the influence of Gothland, southern Sweden or Denmark date from the 6th century.

Some locations in that area have Prussian names related to settlements which were located between the Vistula, Osa, Biebrza and Niemen rivers and the Baltic Sea. Those names are: Pomezania, Pogezania, Warmia, Natangia, Sambia, Nardowia, Skalowia, Galindia and Bartia. Peter of Dusburg mentioned these during the times of the Teutonic Knights.

How does all this relate to music? Very closely…

The similarities are too striking and must be noticed. “Polska” is the name of a traditional song and dance in Sweden, and it resembles the Polish “oberek” dance. Also, the dances called “polkas” are very similar in Poland and Sweden, and when listening to Norwegian and Estonian songs, one can also find similar themes.

One theory has it that those songs, which are very popular in Swedish music, come from the time of the “Swedish Deluge” of Poland, and are related to Polish violin music of the time. Another theory links similarities between Polish and Swedish music with glaciers on the Baltic Sea. One could probably make up more such theories, but does it really matter?

The cultural relations between people who have been living next to one other for such a long time are unquestionable. Where we search for the cradle of our Slavonic inspiration is up to us.

Golden ornament found in Lednica