[MR] Death of John Scotus

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, Especially Fellow Scots,

On this date in 1066, John Scotus, Bishop of Mecklenburg, was sacrificed by
rebelling pagan Slavs to their god of hospitality, a deity named Radegast.
There are several things we can learn from the bishop's rather obscure and
curious death:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Scotus_(bishop_of_Mecklenburg) .

As his name implies, John Scotus was a Scot. He may, or may not have been
one of the Bishops of Glasgow during his church career. So what? It might
seem a bit odd that a churchman from middle ages Scotland, which many think
of as a backwater country of little importance, should become a bishop in a
German/Slavic state. John Scotus' office tells us two things: as the title
implies, the Catholic Church really was "universal" (which is what
"catholic" means). Both for their own merits, and sometimes for political
reasons, bishops could be moved around as needed. It really didn't matter
where a churchman was born, and they all spoke Latin anyway. Second, at
least as far as the church was concerned, Scotland wasn't a backwater at
all. Still, no Scot ever became Pope.

And paganism in Europe in 1066? Absolutely. In eastern Europe pagan beliefs
remained strong among the Slavs. A number of crusades were launched to
conquer and convert pagan Slavs (sometimes called "Wends"). After getting
chased out of the Holy Land, the Teutonic Knights needed somebody to
conquer, and pagans on their doorstep were a perfect target. It must have
been slow going, as Slavic nobles were still accepting Christianity as late
as 1386.

What about Radegast? Radegast was sometimes considered a god of hospitality
(He liked being invited to banquets), but the deity had a rather broad
portfolio that included war, fire and the evening sky. Here is a bit more
about Him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radegast_(god) . Cool name. How
could Tolkien resist?

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆