On Christianzation and Grave-Finds

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University of Kiel Abstract There are hardly any written sources on Christianization in southwestern RGermay during early Medieval times. From its beginning in the nineteenth century, archaeological research was concerned, with the question of whether the interpretation of material culture is helpful in the study of Christianization. This article first deals With the history of research. It focuses on the question, of how the main archaeological sources of Merovingian times the Reihengrberfelderwere interpreted in terms of Christianization. Obviously several aspects were and still are the main fus of research: special objects with Christian symbols (brooches, bet buckles or the so-caled Goldblattkreuze) are often vaguely interpreted as syrnbols of early Christianity or in some cases as a sign for the buried person being Christian. This results in the process of Christianization being dated to the seventh century. These explanations are influenced by a direct social-historical interpretation of the Reihengraberfelder. They are strongly influenced by the results of historical research. A basic discussion about the character and the significance of objects from gravs in the context of debates about Christianization has not yet taken place. Thus, in the second part of the article, questions derived from contextual archaeology are raised which may enrich the discussion about the interpretation of Christianization on the basis of graves: what importance mayobjects with Christian symbols0 hav, if considered in the context of their ritual deposition and their associated finds?-Do the Medieval graves provide information about the world of the living at all? Or how Is ideology manifested within them? Is it at all, therefore, possible to describe them as testimonies of a process of Christianization? The use of carefully chosen sociological, ethnogaphical or historical analogies is crucial for the future development of the discussion. Furthermore, it is important to view the topic from the perspective of two analogies: analogies of the archaeological context as well as of processes of Christianization.

Christianization different levels of interpretation grave context grave finds social context CiteULike Complore Connotea Delicious Digg Reddit Technorati Twitter What's this?

« Previous | Next Article »Table of Contents This Article doi: 10.1177/146195719900200105 European Journal of Archaeology April 1999 vol. 2 no. 1 77-106 » AbstractFree Full Text (PDF)Free to you References Services Email this article to a colleague Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Similar articles in this journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Load patientINFORMation Citing Articles Load citing article information Citing articles via Scopus Citing articles via Web of Science Citing articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Schke, A. Search for related content Related Content Load related web page information Share CiteULike Complore Connotea Delicious Digg Reddit Technorati Twitter What's this?

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