History of Vamipres...

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NCBandit
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18:05:58 Jan 02 2007
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Based on historical fact what is the earliest known account of vampires? This is a little fact finding mission to see who can come up with something a little more concrete than simple lore. If you find something in writing please include the reference on which you are basing your facts.

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UpirLikhyj

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18:34:18 Jan 02 2007
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As apparent by the lack of responses to this perhaps most important of all questions re: who and what vampires were and are, few here... if any... know what the first account of the Slavic (Eastern European) entity called the "Vampire" is.

The truth is as shocking as it is so glaringly incongrous to all we today believe re: who and what a "vampire" is.

As you have apparently grasped, if truth is to be separated from fiction and folklore re: who and what the Slavic "Vampir" truly might have been, we must seek out the actual Slavic origins of this belief. If this is done, it will soon be discovered that the first specific usage of the term "Upir'" (Vampir) in written form occurred in 1047 CE (800 years before Stoker!) and had nothing whatsoever to do with any blood-drinking, fang-wielding, crucifix-fearing, "undead" servant of Satan. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The first-ever "vampire" speciifcally mentioned in recorded history was -- as he so declared himself to be -- a bonafide Russian Orthodox Christian Priest personally working for Vladimir II of Russia in translating religious texts from Cyrillic into Old Church Slavonic.

In 1047 CE, after transcribing this book of scripture for Vladimir II, this Novgorodian priest wrote in his own hand as follows (available in the original Russian here):

"Glory unto Thee Lord, Heavenly Tsar, that you enabled me to write this book from the Cyrillic for Prince Vladimir, of the Novgorod principality, son of Yaroslav the Great. I began to write in the year 6555 (1047 CE), on the 14th of May, and finished the same year, November 19th, I, Father Upir' Likhyj. With this I pray that all will read this prophecy. For great are the marvels written down for us by the prophets in these books. Be healthy, o prince, live forever, but of the one writing this do not forget."

That's right... Father Upir' Likhyj.

In other words: FATHER VAMPIRE...

Of course, being that he was both a living mortal man AND an orthodox Christian priest, it becomes immediately apparent that the term "upir'" could not have meant then what it later came to mean several centuries thereafter following the campaign of slander and vilification that ensued.

And that is the first written appearance of the term "upir" from whence is derived "vapir", then later "vampir", and finally... "vampire."

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KCRC
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18:44:34 Jan 02 2007
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Very interesting UpirLikhyj. I agree that there must have been some other meaning to the term.

However, I am not sure that that would be the first instance of the doccumentation of "vampires", if you take into account the characharistics that make one a vampire rather than the naming of these individuals "vampires".

I do not have access to the doccumentation here, but when I get home I will try to look some things up and post again. I am quite sure that the Egyptians and the Chinese have recorded instances of vampyrism far ealier than the time of the Middle Ages.

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UpirLikhyj

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19:40:53 Jan 02 2007
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Good point, KCRC ... what of the claimed accounts of "vampirism" among ancient cultures in other times and locations?

Well, before any such can be considered, one must first define what vampirism is! And therein lies the conundrum.

Today we view vampirism as defined by fiction, not as defined in the actual, non-fiction Slavic accounts. Thus, in making this monumental error in logic, we foolishly attempt to seek the truth re: the actual vampire while using only fiction as the guide!

So if you wish to conduct such a search, please consider throwing out the fictions of Stoker and Hollywood, and let's start with the historical FACTS:

FACT: The first usage of the term Upir' was in 1047 CE referring to a very mortal, very Christian, very scholarly, Russian Orthodox priest: the very antithesis of everything written re: what a "vampire" is supposed to be!

FACT: The actual, original Slavic accounts re: the vampire make no mention of blood-drinking, energy-feeding, crucifix-fearing, and/or immortal beings!

FACT: The term Upir' specifically refers to "feasting"... but not on blood! Instead, the term has specific reference to the Slavic "wedding feasts" whose were derived from the early Christian Gnostic "Agape" feast so vehemently condemned for its sensuality and its connection with the "Fallen Angels" (see Book of Jude in the Bible). This sexual "feasting" was later condemned and made heretical by later Church Fathers for the orgies, etc., reported therein. This fact was further reported by many Roman historians of the time.

Hence, the term Upir' was a euphemism identifying its namesake as a "sexual feaster," a very sensual participant in the sexual communions and feastings of the original "Agape" of Christian Gnosticism, whose origins (as per the Book of Jude) came directly from those descendants of the "Fallen Angels" who had infiltrated the Christian communities and had initiated therein their own sacred sexual rites.

And therein lies the truth re: who and what the Slavic Upir' truly was. And yes... you can find this ancient race in ancient Sumer and Egypt, but only if you look for the singular sensual trait they alone possessed.

Thus, if you truly wish to begin a search for the actual defining characteristics of the Slavic Upir', begin first with what the word originally meant: "sexual feaster" (not blood sucker).

Good luck in your search!

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CuRsEdToDaRkNeSs
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19:50:05 Jan 02 2007
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UpirLikhyj seeing as you and I have spoken in the past I have a question for you that I have thought on and cant recall if I have the correct answer...

Are vampires not mentioned in the bible somewhere.... I know that sounds insane but I do believe that they were but perhaps differently named? I figure you would have the answer to this question or would be able to research it out a bit further then I am able to at the moment. :)

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UpirLikhyj

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20:12:39 Jan 02 2007
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Wonderful question... and you are quite correct! Vampires would appear to be obliquely mentioned, yes! In fact, their mention makes the case even more strongly that they refer to an entity of insatiable sexual capacity.

The scripture to which I think you refer is Proverbs 30:15-16:

15 The horseleach (by some translated as "vampire" and/or "Azazel" [one of the chief "Fallen Angels"]) hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:

16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

Note that this entire scripture refers to things that are insatiable, of which the "barren womb" is one. The "barren womb" refers to a sexually available and active woman (i.e., not already made sexually unavailable by being pregnant, as per Jewish custom) ... who is "never satisfied".

While some see the word "the grave" and think this refers to the vampire as being "undead," this avoids entirely the context and point of this proverb, which has nothing to do with the grave and everything to do with teaching as evil that which is "never satisfied" and that constantly cries "give give," as do the daughters of the euphemistically called "horse leach" (i.e., "Azazel" or "Vampire").

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jacktheriper
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18:40:16 Jan 04 2007
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if you want an exact anser say such as Slavic (Eastern European) or as egipt or as china or mien!

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artemka
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19:38:58 Jan 04 2007
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I think, but I am prepared to stand corrected:

That the word vampire was first used in 1725, by the austrian governemnt report following the incident where villagers of Kisilovo in the Vojvodina region of Serbia reported that Peter Plogojowitz had returned from the grave.

the earliest blood drinking beings might be the Brahmaparusha of India - they were shadows of the souls of people who had died 'before their time', their head was surrounded by intestinbe and they were always shown in paintings as drinking from a blood filled skull. The The Nepalese "Lord of Death" was shown drinking in just this way in wall painitings dated back to around 3000BC

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UpirLikhyj

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21:48:39 Jan 04 2007
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The term "vampir/vampyr" is a later derivation of "vapir," which is a later derivation of the Russian "upir'," the earliest form of this word. Thus, while the actual word "vampir/vampire" might find its first appearance in print in the 18th Century, as you found, yet this word is merely a linguistic derivation of the far-earlier term "upir'" originating 700 years earlier:

"The English word vampire was borrowed (perhaps via French vampire) from German Vampir, in turn borrowed in early 18th century[1] from Serbian вампир/vampir,[1][2][3][4] or, according to some sources, from Hungarian vámpír.[5][6] The Serbian and Hungarian forms have parallels in virtually all Slavic languages. The Bosnian Lampir which was the name of the oldest recorded vampire Meho Lampir.[citation needed]: Bulgarian вампир (vampir), вапир (vapir) or въпир (vəpir), Czech and Slovak upír, Polish wąpierz and (perhaps East Slavic-influenced) upiór, Russian упырь (upyr' ), Belarussian упiр (upyr), Ukrainian упирь (upir' ), from Old Russian упирь (upir' ). The etymology is uncertain.[7] Among the proposed proto-Slavic forms are *ǫpyrь and *ǫpirь.[8] The Slavic word might, like its possible Russian cognate netopyr' ("bat"), come from the Proto-Indo-European root for "to fly".[8] Another theory has it that the Slavic word comes from a Turkic word denoting an evil supernatural entity (cf. Kazan Tatar ubyr "witch").[9][6] But this theory is controversial.[8] The word Upir as a term for vampire is found for the first time in written form in 1047 in a letter to a Novgorodian prince referring to him as 'Upir Lichyj' (Wicked Vampire)."

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire

(The reference to "Upir' Likhyj" [the correct spelling] as a Novgorodian prince is incorrect. He was a priest. And the term "likhyj" did not mean "wicked" in the 11th Century.)

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UpirLikhyj

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22:04:01 Jan 04 2007
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Oh... and a further clarification on the wikipedia explanation re: "Upir' Likhyj": while correct that the reference did address the Great Prince Vladimir II, it was not a letter to the prince, but instead was written in the actual Book of the Prophets by the Priest, "Upir' Likhyj" who had translated the tome for the Prince. Hence the confusion re: "Father Upir' Likhyj" having been the Prince, himself... which he most certainly was not. Father Upir' Likhyj was not a "Novgorodian prince," a glaring error replicated throughout the Internet. The 1047 CE statement clearly has the author thereof calling himself "Father Upir' Likhyj", addressing himself to the Great Prince Vladimir II.

"Father Upir' Likhyj" had been commissioned by the Great Prince Vladimir II to translate at least the Book of the (Minor) Prophets. We do not know what else this enigmatic priest did as this is the only documentation on this "priest" that has survived to the Present.

And finally... I am delighted to see more entries and inquiries here re: this single most important aspect of vampirism: the actual history (i.e., truth[s]) behind the modern term "vampire" and the entity it identifies.

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artemka
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21:14:16 Jan 05 2007
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I've read and reread that wiki article and I've probably missed the point I am seeking:

The wiki article starts talking about the modern word vampire starting out somewhere from the German vampir etc and I have no problem understanding that

- but it then takes a leap and links the Bulgarian vampir with Upir - but it doesn't make it clear how the link is made.

You have identified a slight problem with a similar leap at the very end of the article with Upir Lichyj.

I have a problem with the mention of the Ukrainian упирь (upir) - which is more accurate in describing a ghoul - The Ukrainian word вампір (vampir) is used to describe a more 'vampire-like' creature to this day. I accept that languages will have changed since the ukrainian language separated from russian in the 11th century, but why would it have separated the original word to mean something different

If, for example, you take the russian vampir whose myth says they were dead heretics, witches and suicides. They caused drought. If you banged a stake through them would kill them, doing it more than once would bring them back tc

Then you take the Upir describing 'a very mortal, very Christian, very scholarly, Russian Orthodox priest'

I am sure that there is something in there that I have missed that explains this, but I can't see how that link was made between the Upir and the Vampir (other than they both end in -ir)

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UpirLikhyj

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23:13:50 Jan 05 2007
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Perhaps I'm just not understanding your question.

You state that the Ukrainian form, almost identical with the Russian, means "ghoul," and yet there I can find nothing that supports this claim. Perhaps in more modern dictionaries the term might mean something like this, yet when the term was first coined, this was most certainly not the case... as obvious given that the first usage of the term ever found in writing had specific reference to a Christian priest.

As for the other terms you mention, all of these are easily explained in terms of the various languages and the course of time, itself: Upir, Vapir, Vampir, Vampire.

And if this is found difficult, then you'll have real difficulty unraveling the myriad other historical examples of how terms were re-translated and re-defined across different times and languages. After all, how did the land of "Khem" (its original name, meaning "black land" referring to the richness of its soil) ever become "Egypt" in English? Of course, if you study its etymology, you quickly discover that originally the Gypsies were thought to have come from this same land, hence its being renamed: Egypt.

There are thousands upon thousands of equally convoluted ways in which ancient terms had their meanings and their word forms changed over and over again before we came along. And so also with "Upir'." Hence, the term as it was originally coined had absolutely nothing to do with its current definition and spelling under its English form: vampire. And just as drastically as its spelling has changed... so also has its definition changed from its actual and original definition.

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UpirLikhyj

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00:43:46 Jan 06 2007
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Wow... did I make a mistake! I had it backwards: Gypsies were named for Egypt and not the other way around. Oh well... my memory ain't always perfect!

Actually, gypsies call themselves "Roma." But the point is still the same: between languages and time periods, all kinds of strange things can happen to terminologies and their definitions.

Thus that between languages, cultures, and hundreds of years the original term "upir'" should change in both spelling and meaning to the English "vampire" is hardly surprising.

As I previously defined, the term "upir'" originally meant "sexual feaster" referencing in part the heretical Gnostic Christian "love feast"called the "Agape," in which sexual orgies took place (see II Peter, ch. 2, and the book of Jude in the Bible). This sensual form of "Agape" found prominence in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey)... from whence also is found one of the most ancient myths of "vampires."

In fact, almost every land on the western side of the Black Sea is found innundated (no pun) with legends of the Slavic vampire. If you'd like a clue as to why this is... do some online searches into the origns of the Black Sea. You'll be astounded at what you find.

Trust me. ;)

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Luckyone
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04:31:38 Jan 06 2007
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Ok I hope I'm not misunderstanding the question and making myself sound like a ass lol.

From my own research on the subject the first Vampiress was the Goddess Lilith and she shared her blood ritual secrets with others. Of course there is a lot more to the story but if you do a search on Lilith you will find many interesting sites. Now some argue it was Clain when he was cursed to walk the earth immortal by God but from my research the Goddess Lilith had something to do with helping him with that. In the original bible Lilith herself was cursed by God also btw.

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UpirLikhyj

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13:41:12 Jan 06 2007
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Though many view Lilith as the first "vampire," yet her legends do not describe a vampire at all. Instead, she is more paralleled with the succubus. She supposedly steals men's semen via sex while they sleep rather than sucks their blood.

Of course, I've always wondered how this story was ever developed given that if men were sleeping whiile she was supposedly having sex with them... who was awake to see her and tell the tale?

Anyway... the point is that Lilith, if she ever did exist, was not a vampire by any modern-day (i.e., blood-sucking) definition.

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artemka
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14:21:23 Jan 06 2007
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Thank you for your reply.

I'm Ukranian so I didn't have a reference to quote to you for упир meaning ghoul, but I did a quick google search and found one for you here.

I still can't understand why the Ukranian word вампір (vampire) would develop and the original meaning of упир (ghoul) would change to mean something so different

I see what you're getting at with the development of words but they only have the same ending when you convert the original letters into a 'european typeface' The russian / ukranian originals end with different letters упырь / упир

The actual use of the various terms 'vampire', even in history, is used to describe something very different to the priest who was described as Upir

I am still having a problem making the leap from upir to vampire, but with the lack of anyone else seeing what I am getting at on this thread, I guess I've either got it wrong or I'm not making myself understood

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• • • • THIS THREAD IS CLOSED • • • •• Closed by NCBandit on Jan 07 2007 •
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