Myth and folktales

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dedicated to his companion Belestis, were found in Podljubelj in Karavanken. Belestis 
was worshipped as a health-bringing goddess of light responsible for the birth and 
the development of living beings, and as such was the patron of nature and fertility. 
One of the altars in Podljubelj features a tree, a panther, and an unidentified wild 
animal. Since shrines dedicated to Belestis were typically erected on mountain passes, 
worshippers who visited them were generally travellers. 
Recent etymological findings and toponyms suggest that Belenus and Belestis 
were also associated with water, and as such undoubtedly possessed healing powers 
(Šašel Kos 2001: 13). Since Belenus was primarily considered the god of light and the 
sun, he was frequently equated with the ancient Greek god Apollo. As such, Belestis 
might be closest to the Roman goddess Diana and to the Illyrian goddess Silvana, 
the companion to Silvan. 
As a Slavic deity, Belenus was reconstructed after the mythological tradition of 
the western Slavs who had settled along the Baltic Sea, in north-eastern Poland, and 
in northeastern Germany. Helmold’s Cronica Sclavorum from the second half of the 
12
th
 century mentions an evil god named Zcerneboch (Černobog); črn means black in 
Slavic languages. Many scholars therefore concluded that the Slavs also worshipped 
Belbog (bel- means white), god of light, although his name is not mentioned in the 
Chronicle of the Slavs. Moreover, his existence is confirmed by numerous toponyms, 
for example Belye Bogi near Moscow and the names for mountains Beli Bog and Černi 
Bog among the Lusatian Serbs. The first is perceived as a positive location, while the 
last denotes a negative one. Belbog is also known among the South Slavs, as Beli Bog 
among the Serbs and as Bel Bog among the Bulgarians. Since Belibog, or Belinez 
(Flinz), is also mentioned by Anton Tomaž Linhart in his History of Kranjska (1788), 
this deity was obviously also known to Slovenes. 
It seems that the Slavs who had settled the territory of present-day Slovenia had 
brought the cult of Belbog, or Belinus, with them. When they found the existing lore 
about Belenus in their new homeland, they recognized in him a god that was at least 
partly similar to their own god. Gradually merging into one, the two traditions have 
been preserved to this day. 
Trstenjak’s presentations of Belinus as a goblin and the master of ore and gold 
seem unlikely. He recorded that people in Prekmurje told stories of the beliči, who 
were purported to be fairy beings that accompanied water nymphs, or rusalkas/
undines.
Beliči and the Water nymphs
[…] At night, water nymphs ride white birds into the green mountains where 
the beliči are. They are their lovers who guard pure gold. The nymphs stay 
there throughout the night. In the morning, when Dagana drives golden lambs 

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to mountain pastures, the nymphs return on their white birds to their water 
kingdom (Trstenjak 1859: 6; Kelemina 1930:nno. 146/II).
Just as inconclusive is Trstenjak’s article that claims that the people of Medžimurje 
imagined Belič as a white, light demon for whom they set food in order to learn the 
whereabouts of hidden treasures of gold and ore. Calling him Laber, the inhabitants 
of Pohorje imagined Belič as a small guardian spirit of the household (Kelemina 
1930: no 117/III).
Slovenian oral tradition, particularly from Gorizia and Tolmin, has preserved 
the memory of St. Belinus (Belič) who is a mythical creature with healing powers. 
The locals believed that Belin was a powerful healer whose key, as reported by Simon 
Rutar, could cure blindness: 
st. Belinus Cures Blindness
Believing that Belinus is a great healer, the folks in Tolmin have started to 
add the adjective “saint” to his name. His key allegedly cures blindness (Rutar 
1882: 21; Kelemina 1930: no. 12).
It could be that Belinus’ healing “key” a magical plant is akin to the kounertnica 
herb from the lore on Kresnik or Zlatorog, which unlocks treasures hidden in moun-
tain rocks. Belinus and Kresnik definitely have much in common. It is interesting 
that Rutar does not interpret Belinus as a god of Celtic origin but as a Thraco-Illyrian 
deity. Contrary to this, Marjeta Šašelj Kos established that Belinus was an important 
deity in Iberia, Gaul, and in the eastern Alps (Šašel Kos 2001)
A folktale with the motif of a healing herb that belongs to the Beli možiček (White 
Little Man) and grows on Mt. Krn has been preserved to this day, and might be one of 
the very few remnants of the old belief in god Belinus. The tale, which was narrated 
in Livške Ravne, a village near Mt. Matajur in Slavia Veneta, has been preserved from 
oblivion by Pavel Medvešček.
The herb of the White Man
There behind Mt. Krn, on a pointed rock, grows the herb of the White Man 
that has been growing for ever. It only blooms every seventh year on the sev-
enth day of the seventh month. Once it stops flowering, it only produces one 
seed. The one who gets it and eats it does not have to fear either the plague or 
the cholera, or any other disease. If already sick, he will be well in a moment. 
But how to find this seed? Only old Voghrink knows how, and he already has 
one foot in the grave. What’s even worse is that so many have been waiting 
for this seed for years and years. 

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Who knows why old Voghrink decided to help the beautiful young Jula, who 
suffers from consumption and grows lighter and smaller day-by-day. When 
the seventh month came, Voghrink prepared for his journey up the mountain 
as is necessary. He didn’t forget a rope and a pulley, either. So on that day, 
before sunrise, he left his home. Since he was far too old for such a difficult 
journey he was well aware that he would have to walk for quite a few days. As 
he reached the flower, he suddenly became exhausted. When he recovered after 
a while, a White Man stood before him on high legs, with a tiny child’s head 
and a flowing white beard. The man said outright that the flower belonged 
to him, and that he knew why Voghrink had come up the mountain. But 
since he saw that Voghrink could not get the seed by himself, he would bring 
it for him. To repay this, Voghrink has to remain on the mountain as a white 
vapour. Without hesitation, Voghrink agreed to this. He only asked the man 
to let him descend the mountain to bring the seed to Jula.
Once Jula’s cheeks turned red again she went to see Voghrink to thank him for 
everything, but she only found an empty house. Since then, nobody has ever 
seen old Voghrink again. Nor have they ever beheld the white man’s flower 
(Medvešček 1990: 71).
This story was recounted in 1953 by Antonija Faletič. She described the White 
Man as a man with long legs, a small child’s head, and a long white beard. His magic 
herb seems similar to the magic flower of Zlatorog. The herb of Belinus grows behind 
Mt. Krn, on top of jagged rocks. It blooms every seventh year, on the seventh day of 
the seventh month. Once it stops flowering, it produces but one tiny seed that has 
magic powers. The White Man helps old Voghrink to obtain the seed, but in return 
he demands that Vogrink remain with him for ever. The White Man, who in this 
tale is even described in some detail, can heal with his herb not only blindness or 
bad eyesight but every disease. 
It seems that under the influence of Celtic cults of Aquileia, and also later Slavic 
influences, the lore about Belinus has been retained particularly in the wider area of 
Tolmin and in the vicinity of Kobarid. In Kobarid, the pagan worship of the sacred 
tree and the sacred spring were documented as early as 1331, when the church of 
Cividale organized a fight against heretics in the area of Slavia Veneta and Friuli, 
cutting down the sacred tree and filling the sacred spring with rocks (Juvančič 1984: 
49–55). 
Helmold’s mention of Zcerneboch (Černobog) initiated discussions at the begin-
ning of the 20
th
 century.
45
 According to modern research, especially that by Nikolai 
Mikhailov (1994), and with respect to numerous Slavic proverbs and toponyms 
45 
Nehring 1903; Štrekelj 1904; Brückner 1929–30.

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