What Do We Know about *Čьrnobogъ and *Bělъ Bogъ?

What is it about?

As attested, the Slavic pantheon is rather well-populated. However, many of its numerous members are known only by their names mentioned in passing in one or two medieval documents. Among those barely attested Slavic deities, there are a few whose very existence may be doubted. This does not deter some scholars from articulating rather elaborate theories about Slavic mythology and cosmology. The article discusses two obscure Slavic deities, "Black God" and "White God," and, in particular, reexamines the extant primary sources on them. It is argued that "Black God" worship was limited to the Slavic North-West, and "White God" never existed.

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Why is it important?

The entire "Slavic dualism" argument rides on the supposed existence of a pair of Slavic gods: "Black God" and "White God". Based on this pair, many hypotheses and speculations have been put forth about the supposed dualistic structure of the Slavic Cosmos and mythology. The article shows that "White God" may never have existed. If that is true, any speculation on "Slavic dualism" is unwarranted.