Rusalies: The Testimony of Byzantine Tradition
Abstract
The festival of rusalies is one of the paganism relics in the medieval Byzantium. It was the subject of numerous special studies, where Byzantine traditions unfortunately recede to the background. The modern scientific summaries disregard the information on rusalies, actualizing the further study of paganism reception in the medieval Byzantium. There is an indirect connection between the rusaly and Brumaly, rituals of masquers and Slavonian Christmas carols, as well as between times of their celebration. The Byzantine tradition of rusalies deserves systematic representation from the point of view of modern historical science along with preceeding religious cults. The medieval church canons blame and forbid any pagan relics, including rusalies. They appear as the alive custom, which was observed by inhabitants of provincial settlements. Being the form of people’s religiosity, rusalies have their significance as the aspect of spiritual culture in the development of medieval Byzantine society.
