The description of the Oder (Odra) estuary in Adam of Bremen's Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum. The oldest accounts of the river until the end of the twelfth century

Abstract

One of the most frequently quoted fragments of Adam of Bremen’s Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae is a fairly rich and colourful description of the city of Jumne (today’s Wolin) and the Odra estuary area around the Szczecin Lagoon, separated from the Baltic Sea by two islands: Uznam and Wolin. The acceptance of his account by the intellectual elites of the Middle Ages is clearly demonstrated by Helmold from Bozow, writing in the twelfth century, who in his work reproduced his predecessor’s writing almost word for word. Referring to individual elements of the image thus outlined by medieval chroniclers, it is worth considering some aspects of Adam’s description, including his metaphor of the trident of Neptune as a literary depiction of three extensions of the Odra River in the form of straits connecting the Szczecin Lagoon with the sea: Pianoujscie (ger. Peenemünde), Swina, and Dziwna. However, this chapter will mainly focus on presenting the oldest references (tenth–twelfth centuries) regarding the Odra River and the historical and archaeological context of Adam’s account in this list.