The Book of Veles (Veles Book, Vles book, Vlesbook, Isenbeck's Planks, Велесова книга, Влес книга, Влескнига, Книга Велеса, Дощечки Изенбека, Дощьки Изенбека) is a text of ancient Slavic religion and history.
Somewhat similar to the Old Testament, it contains religious passages and account of history interspersed with religious morales. The earliest events in the book could be dated around 7th century BC and the latest happened in 9th century AD. It is written in a variant of Cyrillic alphabet in no less then three dialects. A lot of the book's text is readable even by Slavs of today.
Indo-European languages have a common word about writing (English "book", German"buch", Russian "bukva" - letter) that is connected to beech and so it is concluded that texts were sometimes written on beech planks; but this is the first and one of two such texts ever found.
Most Slavic Neopagans use this book as their sacred text.
History of finding
In 1919 lieutenant of Whites Fedor (Theodor) Arturovich Izenbek found a bunch of wooden planks written in strange script on looted mansion of Kurakins near Kharkov. After defeat, Isenbeck emigrated to Belgrade where in 1923 he (luckily!) unsuccesfuly tried to sell the planks to Belgrade library and museum. In 1925 he settled in Brussels where he was giving the planks to Yuriy P. Mirolyubov who was the first to seriously study them. Izenbek treated the planks very carefully, did not allow them to be taken out of his home, and refused a suggestion by a professor of University of Brussels to hand them over for studying; later this rouse suscpicions of forgery.
For fifteen years Mirolyubov restored, photographed, rewrote (as photographies turned out to be illegible), and finally translating the text. He managed to rewrite most of them.
In August of 1941 Germans occupied Brussels, Izenbek died and the planks were lost. Some think that the Germans took the planks to their archive (Anheerbe), after which in 1945 they were moved to England and remain in storages near Aldershot or Crookham to this day. Others say that the planks were burned in a fire.
Mirolyubov emigrated to the United States and handed his material to Russian museum in San Francisco. The materials were found in 1953 by professor A. A. Kurenkov (Kur) who then published them in magazine Zhar-Ptica from March 1957 to May 1959. Later the text was studied by S. Paramonov (Lesnoi).
Authenticity
Scientists have divided opinions about validity of the book. Of course without the planks present the definite answer might never be given. Most prominent attempt at validating the book concluded that it is fake because of inconsistent use of some letters and words; however, it fails to take into account that such errors could occur by rewritings of the text. Those who consider the book fake blame Isenbeck and Mirolyubov for forging it. Those who consider it true point out that a genius in the fields of history and linguistics would be needed for a forgery of such autheticity, which Mirolyubov wasn't, Izenbek even less, and that there was no personal gain for them in forging the book.
Excerpts
Plank 2/B
;We were forced to retreat to woods and live as hunters and fishermen. So we could
;get away from danger. We survived one darkness and started to build cities
;and houses everywhere. After the second darkness there was great frost and we moved
;to south for many places there were grassy ... and then Romei were taking our cattle
;at a good price and were true to their word. We went
;to southern ... greengrassland and had a lot of cattle ...
From Plank 7/A
;Enemies are not as numerous as we are, for we are Russians and they are not.
Plank 11/A
;We pray and bow to the first Triglav and to him we sing a great glory.
;We praise Svarog, grandfather of gods who is to whole gods' kin forefather
;and creator of everything living, eternal spring that flows in the summer
;and everywhere and in winter and never it freezes. And with that living wather he nourishes
;and life gives to us until we reach the blessed fields of paradise. And to god Perun, the thunderer, god of battle and fight we say:
;"You hold us in life by neverending turning of the circle and lead to path
;of Prav through battles to Great Trizn". And all who got killed in the battle -
;may they live forever in the Perun's regiment. To god Svetovid glory we
;are exalting for he is the god of Prav and Jav and to him we sing the song for he is the light
;with which we see the world. We are looking and in Jav we are, and he from Nav
;guards us and therefore praise we sing him. We sing and dance to him and call
;god of ours to Earth, Sun and stars constantly in light keeps.
;And glory all to Svetovid, god of ours that
;hearts ours opens for us to admit bad deeds ours
;and to good we turn. May he hug us like children for this has been said:
;what is created with half of the mind could not be seen,
;for it is a great secret how can Svarog be at the same time both Perun and Svetovid.
;Two beings in skies Belobog and Crnobog are
;And both of them Svarog holds and commands them.
;After them come Horos, Veles and Stribog and then Visenj, Lelj and Letic.
From Plank 26/B
;...As time passes, we come to the blue river as time ours
;is not endless. There we meet
;forefathers our and mothers that in Svarga herds are grazing and trusses
;fastening. Their life is just as ours, only there are no Huns nor
;Greeks...
Readings
See Russian entry for a list of further readings (in Russian).
External links