According to the descriptions of medieval chroniclers, the statue representing this god had four heads, a horn and a sword, and to the deity himself were dedicated a white horse, a saddle, a bit, a flag, and eagles.

In Latin records, this theonym is notated as Suantouitus, Suantouith, Suantuitho, Szuentevit, Suantevit, Zuantevith, and others,[1] and in Old Icelandic as Svanraviz[2] and Svanteviz.

[4] In English publications god's name is being transcribed as Svantovit (from reconstructed Old Polabian *Svątevit), Sventovit or Svetovit (from hypothetical Common Slavic *Svętovitъ).

The prevailing[4] view in the literature is that *svętъ in Proto-Slavic language meant "strong, mighty", and only under the influence of Christianity did it acquire the religious meaning of "holy, sacred".

[8] Against the influence of Christianity on the meaning of the word is contradicted primarily by its etymology:[9] the closest cognates are Lithuanian šventas and Old Prussian swints "holy, sacred",[10][8][9] which, like PS *svętъ, are derived from the Proto-Balto-Slavic *śwentas.

[9] Rick Derksen reconstructs PS meaning of *svętъ as "holy, sacred",[8] Wiesław Boryś as "being the object of religious reverence, worship".

[13] In academic literature, the theonym is traditionally[14] divided morphologically as Sveto-vit – in the second part there is supposed to be a suffix -vit (hypothetical PS *-vitъ) meaning "lord, ruler, hero".

He eventually suggested a possible connection with the hypothetical Old Polish word świętowity "holy, sacred", but this interpretation was rejected by Stanisław Urbańczyk.

[26] It has also been proposed that the meaning of the first part of the theonym should be translated, for example, as "world", or "light" (PS *světъ), but this interpretation has been rejected by linguists.

[30][31] Excerpt from Saxo's description: In the city center there was a flat space, where a temple made of wood could be found, which was very elegantly crafted, worthy of veneration not only because of the magnificence of its decorations, but also because of the divinity of the image placed inside.

In the temple, an enormous statue, which exceeded any type of human body in size, left one stunned, with its four heads and equal number of necks, of which two seemed to look at the chest and another two at the back.

There was a sculpted tunic that fell to its feet, which, made of different types of wood, connected to the knees with a junction that was so invisible that the point of union could only be discovered after a very careful examination.

The admiration for these things was further increased by a sword of an astonishing size, whose scabbard and hilt, in addition to excellent embossed decorations, were also covered in splendid silver.

This same god had three hundred horses and the same number of men who served as warriors on them, and all of their earnings, obtained through arms or robbery, were given to the custody of the priest, who, using the profits from these things, would create different types of emblems and various adornmentsfor the temple, and store them in tightly closed chests, in which, in addition to abundant money, a large amount of purple cloth had accumulated, eaten by time.

The most important argument supporting this was that, when the horse remained in the stable the entire night, very often he would appear in the morning covered with sweat and mud, as if, returning from exercising, he had traveled long distances.

[f] Supporters of this theory cite Helmold, who cites the so-called "Corvey legend" in two versions (in the first version, he calls it an "old relation", in the second, he calls it a "vague account") according to which the tribe of the Rani living on the island of Rügen was Christianized in the ninth century, and then abandoned Christianity and idolized Saint Vitus:[33] For an old relation of our ancestors tells that in times of Ludovicus II[g] a group of monks famous for their holiness left Corvey.

There is no other barbarism under heaven more horrifying to Christians and priests; they only rejoiced in the name o Saint Vitus, to whom they even dedicated a temple and a statue with a very significant cult and they attribute especially to him the primacy of the gods.

The first reliable, albeit indirect, information about the Rügen tribute was given by the Annales Corbeienses, which describe the expedition of Duke Lotar III in 1114 against the Lutici union.

The defeated Circipanians tribe admitted that they had once paid tribute in the form of fox skins or coins to St. Vitus in Corvey (where his relics had been located since 836[43]).

[45] According to Roman Zaroff, however, this information is also a forgery;[39] according to Janisław Osięgłowski, the legend originated around 1110-1114 and was started by monks from Corvey who knew the Slavic language and participated in Lotar's war expedition.

This holiday, which was originally associated with St. Vitus, was forgotten over time and began to regain its popularity in 1818 after the publication of Vuk Karadžić's Srpski rječnik, where Vidovdan is mentioned as the day of the Battle of Kosovo.

Since the mid-19th century, with the rise of Serbian romanticism, this holiday among all Serbs began to symbolize the nation's heroism in the fight against the Ottoman Empire.

However, the theory of the knowledge of the god Svetovit in the South Slavs cannot be accepted – it is widely believed in the scholarly community that the god Svetovit was known only to the Polabian Slavs and did not have a pan-Slavic range, and the Serbo-Croatian toponymy and proper names refer to St. Vitus (Serbian: Свети Вид, romanized: Sveti Vid).

According to the chronicler, the flag gave the people who possessed it the ability to plunder cities, destroy temples or houses without suffering consequences, and to execute judgments.

[59] The cult of Svetovit officially ended in June[31] 1168 after the capture of Arkona by the Danes led by King Valdemar I and Bishop Absalon.

During recent archaeological investigations (20th and 21st centuries), merchant and military objects were found, confirming the high status of the castle, as well as the remains of human sacrifices.

In the church in Altenkirchen (10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Arkona), in the 13th-century wall of the sacristy, there is a granite slab measuring 1.19 × 1.68 m depicting a man with a moustache, wearing a cap and a long robe, holding a large horn.

Chytraeus, following a local legend, believed the slab to be a representation of Svetovit – a belief that persisted in Rügen folk tradition until the 19th century.

[28] However, this is considered unlikely nowadays: the lack of Christian symbolism, the depreciative position (lying down, head down), and the horn and mustache, which were attributes of the god, indicate that this slab depicts Svetovit.

[28][83] In the context of Svetovit there is also a similar sized granite slab built into the outer wall of St Mary's Church in Bergen auf Rügen [Wikidata].