The Relationship between Early Medieval Burial Grounds and Churchyards in the Process of the Christianization of Bohemia

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00064432%3A_____%2F24%3A10002188" target="_blank" >RIV/00064432:_____/24:10002188 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/M.BBL-EB.5.138107" target="_blank" >https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/M.BBL-EB.5.138107</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1484/M.BBL-EB.5.138107" target="_blank" >10.1484/M.BBL-EB.5.138107</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

The Relationship between Early Medieval Burial Grounds and Churchyards in the Process of the Christianization of Bohemia

Original language description

This article aims to analyse medieval field cemeteries and churchyards and their relationship to the beginning and spread of Christianity in Bohemia, studying in particular the continuity and discontinuity of burial grounds in long-term perspective from the tenth to the thirteen centuries. Archaeological excavations in western Bohemia and other areas show a frequent phenomenon: in the twelfth or thirteenth century, a church was built on the edge of a field cemetery, functioning since the eleventh century or even earlier. The area of the old burial ground is reduced, defined by a clear boundary, and transformed into a churchyard. Changes in the burial ritual, including the location and internal structure of burial sites, depend on the cultural and political development of different regions. Therefore, these changes cannot always be directly linked to Christianization. Furthermore, changes in burial practices are clearly part of a broader settlement transformation, the foundations of which go far beyond mere religious changes. At the same time, these complex transformations also demonstrate that the reception of the new faith and the de facto Christianization of the rural population was a longue-durée process, which did not necessarily imply a straightforward and rapid break with old customs. At the same time, along with the growing density of the church network, the transformation and relocation of settlements resulted in the gradual repositioning of cemeteries around churches - when and where they were available; naturally, a sparser church network slowed down this process. Further results about the Christianization of Bohemia not only depend on new archaeological discoveries but, above all, on establishing a new paradigm, raising new questions, and revising historical concepts that determined our understanding of the process of Christianization until now.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

C - Chapter in a specialist book

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60102 - Archaeology

Project

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Continuities

V - Vyzkumna aktivita podporovana z jinych verejnych zdroju

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Book/collection name

Power in Numbers: State Formation and Christianization on the Eastern Edge of Europe

ISBN

978-2-503-60861-7

Number of pages of the result

13

Pages from-to

59-71

Number of pages of the book

308

Publisher name

Brepols Publishers

Place of publication

Turnhout

UT code for WoS chapter

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