Sources and Reconstructions of Pre-Christian Baltic Religion

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Sources and Reconstructions of Pre-Christian Baltic Religion examines what surviving historical evidence can genuinely tell us about the religious traditions of medieval Baltic peoples, and where later interpretation and reconstruction begin.

Drawing on medieval chronicles and treaties, critical editions, archaeology, and modern scholarship, the study considers early divine names and the problem of reconstructing a Baltic pantheon, with particular attention to Perkūnas, Teliavelis, Curche, ritual specialists, divination, funerary practices, horse sacrifice, reports of human sacrifice, sacred landscapes, and the debated tradition of Romow and Criwe.

The evidence supports the existence of regionally varied polytheistic traditions, specialised ritual practices, sacred places, divination, and complex ideas surrounding death and sacrifice. At the same time, it does not justify treating pre-Christian Baltic religion as a single uniform system with a fixed pantheon, central priesthood, or common institutional structure.

The publication therefore distinguishes between what is directly documented, what can reasonably be inferred, and what remains hypothetical or belongs to later tradition.