Odpowiedź na recenzję Kamila Kajkowskiego: „Jak historia badań nad religią Słowian może stać się historią rozczarowań – o poszukiwaniu rzeczywistości mitycznej i… etyce badacza. Uwagi na temat książki Pawła Szczepanika Rzeczywistość mityczna Słowian północno-zachodnich i jej materialne wyobrażenia, Toruń, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika 2020, „Slavia Antiqua”, t. 61, s. 183-211”. Albo o tym, jak napisać nieetyczną recenzję

Horses in the Early Medieval (10th–13th c.) Religious Rituals of Slavs in Polish Areas—An Archaeozoological, Archaeological and Historical Overview

“…Thanks to comparative studies and general humanistic reflections, as well as the analysis of written sources and ethnohistorical information on traditional communities, such as the early medieval Slavs, it is possible to assume that in social life the sacred sphere and the technical-utility sphere is combined, creating something that in the literature on the subject as “magical syncretism” [ 51 , 52 , 53 ], [ 19 ] (pp. 24–37).…”

“…The importance and rank of this species in the mythical reality and the symbolism of the early medieval Western Slavs can also be seen in some decorative motifs created by contemporary artists/craftsmen on elements of equestrian equipment and manufactured figurines [ 14 , 19 , 20 , 110 , 111 , 112 ]. An example is an iconographic representation placed on the bronze ferrule of the Oldenburg knife scabbard, dated to the 10th/11th century.…”

“…Two of them reflect the natural vertical pose for horses, but the next one has a twisted neck so that its head is unnaturally directed back, and at the same time towards the supreme divine figure, shown in an imperious pose and located at the top of the axis ( Figure 7 a). The same shape was given to the necks of horses placed on zoomorphic spurs of the Lutomiersk type ( Figure 7 b), the best-preserved specimens of which were discovered at the necropolis in Ciepłe [ 19 , 111 ].…”

“…The formal and contextual differentiation of the collection in question seems to be significant enough that at least some of them can be considered votive figures. Perhaps, under certain circumstances, they replaced the sacrifice of a live horse [ 19 ] (pp. 202–204), [ 110 ].…”

“…In her book, she took into account various categories of information, including more recent discoveries of skulls and skeletons excavated from the bottom of Lake Zarańskie in the village of Żółte, surrounding a small island that was a place of special religious importance for local Slavs [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. These new discoveries were also used in the subsequent works of the young generation of researchers interested in the religion and rituals of the Slavs [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. In terms of sources, these publications were based on the same sources available in the aforementioned publications.…”