Survive the Jive Podcast Europe's Last Pagans
Mar 20, 2026
Professor Francis Young, historian of Baltic paganism with a Cambridge PhD, explores late medieval and early modern sources on Lithuanian and Latvian rites. He discusses Perkunas and Žemyna, sacred trees, snakes and household spirits. Conversations cover archaeology, seasonal festivals, animal offerings and modern Romuva revival. Familiar myths and landscape rituals are brought vividly to life.
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Late Survival Demands Religious Histories
- Pre-Christian religions in northern and eastern Europe survived into the 20th century and deserve historiographical treatment as religions, not mere folklore.
- Francis Young cites a Sami siedi in a Swedish museum actively worshipped in the 1920s as evidence of late survivals.
Perkunas Pole Appeared On English Coast
- A 2023 carved pole resembling a Volin idol with the name Perkunas was erected on the Kent coastal path and left in place.
- Francis Young suspects a Lithuanian or Slavic practitioner created the work and called it a wonderful artwork.
Contemporary Sources Trump Later Folklore
- Relying on contemporary humanist and missionary accounts yields firmer evidence than 19th–20th century folkloric reconstruction.
- Young uses 15th–16th century eyewitnesses like Piccolomini and Jan Wasitsky to refine Baltic religion reconstructions.
