Nestor’s Chronicle — on sauna whisk-ers

In an earlier post (on War and Peace and the sauna), I mentioned Nestor’s Chronicle, written by a Russian monk describing the years 850 to 1100 or so.

Nestor recounts the process of whisking during the sauna. While it was a part of ordinary life, he doesn’t sound convinced: “In the country of Slavs I saw wooden spas, very much warmed up, where people took their clothes off, poured leaven on themselves, took some brooms or some sticks, and were whipping themselves” (from the K.J. Erben translation, 1867).

A different translation says “naked people lashed themselves with twigs from a tree, only to douse themselves with cold water at the end. Voluntarily they torment themselves, acquiring pain instead of cleanliness.”

This does not encourage me. I vacillate.

Nikki