THE ORIGIN OF THE SLAVS. 419 



A Chech chronicler, Cosmas, of Prague, of the twelfth century, in 

 relating that Brzetislas endeavored in 1092 to suppress the customs 

 connected with the pagan cult, says: 



He abolished the sepulchres made in the woods and fields and the feasts cele- 

 brated after the pagan rite in the open places and crossroads for the repose of 

 the souls, and likewise the profane plays in which they indulged over the bodies 

 of the dead, disturbing their manes and celebrating the mysteries. * * * 



There was thus a systematic campaign against the ancient rite of 

 cremation, for it was the expression of the opposite creed, the occa- 

 sion and center of the pagan ceremonies. 



AAliat Cosmas says of the Chechs of the eleventh and twelfth cen- 

 turies, Otto of Bamberg, Avho became acquainted Avith the Poles, 

 records of the Baltic Slavs of the middle of the twelfth centur3^ 

 He forbids the " burying of Christians among the pagans in the 

 woods and fields." The result of such a prohibition was the aboli- 

 tion of cremation when once Christianity became the master of the 

 country. 



It is needful, however, to notice that on the Vistida, as well as in 

 Bohemia and Lusatia, elements of German origin influenced the 

 Slavic peoples even before the official introduction of Christianity. 

 The burying immigrants affected not only the customs and manners 

 of the natives, but brought about important modifications in the 

 conditions of their existence. AVhen the hrst immigrants from Pan- 

 nonia came to the territory betAveen the Oder and Vistula, this entire 

 region was still covered Avith dense, impenetrable forests. The clear- 

 ings began Avith the arrival of these cremationists, aa'Iio for each of 

 their dead needed a supply of Avood. They also burned the forests 

 to provide spaces for cultivation, though this AAas not Avidely prac- 

 ticed, for the population grcAv but sloAvly in the centuries before the 

 present era, and forest resources in game readily supplied the neces- 

 sary food. With the invasions of the Germans. hoAA-ever, about the 

 beginning of the present era, the natives found a refuge in the still 

 intact forests, being pushed toAA^ard the south and east. ]\Ioreover, 

 these iuA'asions resulted in a light increase rather than a decrease of 

 the population. The indigenes became more numerous, better 

 equipped, more attached to the soil, and better able to hold and cul- 

 tivate it. Large tracts of forest Avere then cleared by fire, and the 

 population grcAV apace. 



PEKSISTENCE OF CUSTOMS, USAGES, AND DRESS OF HALLSTADTIANS ON THE UPPEU 

 VISTULA AND IN .MORAVIA. 



Although the rite of cremation may not haA-e persisted eA^ervAA'here 

 down to the introduction of Christianity, yet the customs symbolized 

 by this rite AAere not altered in the same degree as the changes in the 

 conditions of existence. Here, as elseAAdiere, purely pagan practices 



