Rituals of Power
From Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages
Published on 4. April 2003
Book
Leather / fine binding
X, 503 pages
978-90-04-10902-5 (ISBN)
Description
13 papers by 16 leading archaeologists and historians of late antiquity and the early middle ages break new ground in their discussion, analysis and criticism of present interpretations of early medieval rituals and their material correlates. Some deal with rituals relating to death, life cycles and the circulation in other contexts of objects otherwise used in the burial ritual. Others are concerned with the symbolism and ideology of royal power, the formation of a political ideology east of the Rhine from the mid-5th century onwards, and penance rituals in relation to Carolingian episcopal discourse on ecclesiastical power and morale. All deal with the creation of new identities, cultures, norms and values, and their expression in new rituals and ideas from the period of the Great Migrations through the Later Roman Empire down to the society of Beowulf and the later Carolingians.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
All those interested in the history of late Antiquity and the early middle ages, the archaeology of the late Roman empire and the early medieval West.
Product notice
Cloth
With dust jacket
Illustrations
21 Ill., 5 Tab.
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
1030 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-04-10902-5 (9789004109025)
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Frans Theuws is a specialist in Frankish archaeology teaching in the Department of European Archaeology of the C.M. Kan-Instituut of the University of Amsterdam and leader of the inter-university South-Netherlands research project on long term developments in the cultural landscape from the late Neolithic into the Late Middle Ages.
Janet L. Nelson is Professor of History at King's College, London and publishes on Frankish and Anglo-Saxon political and social history.
Janet L. Nelson is Professor of History at King's College, London and publishes on Frankish and Anglo-Saxon political and social history.
Content
Introduction: Rituals in Transformating Societies - Frans Theuws
Migration Period Europe: the Formation of a Political Ideology - Lotte Hedeager
Theoretical Strength and Practical Weakness of the Visigothic Monarchy of Toledo - Pablo Diaz and R. Valverde
Kingship Rituals and Ideology in Lombard Italy - Stefano Gasparri
Imperial Funerals and Burials in Late Antiquity: Continuity and Transformation of a Ritual - Javier Arce
Carolingian Royal Funerals - Janet L. Nelson
Transformations of Penance - Mayke de Jong
The Dead and their Gifts: the Will of Eberhard, Count of Friuli, and his Wife Gisela, Daughter of Louis the Pious (863-4) - Christina La Rocca and Luigi Provero
Frankish giving of Arms and Rituals of Power: Continuity and Change in the Carolingian Period - Regine Le Jan
Beyond Power: Ceremonial Exchanges in Beowulf - Jos Bazelmans
The Circulation of Weapons in Anglo-Saxon Society - Heinrich Haerke
A Kind of Mirror for Men: Sword Depositions in Late Antique Northern Gaul - Frans Theuws and Monica Alkemade
Rituals of Power: by Way of Conclusion - Janet L. Nelson
Migration Period Europe: the Formation of a Political Ideology - Lotte Hedeager
Theoretical Strength and Practical Weakness of the Visigothic Monarchy of Toledo - Pablo Diaz and R. Valverde
Kingship Rituals and Ideology in Lombard Italy - Stefano Gasparri
Imperial Funerals and Burials in Late Antiquity: Continuity and Transformation of a Ritual - Javier Arce
Carolingian Royal Funerals - Janet L. Nelson
Transformations of Penance - Mayke de Jong
The Dead and their Gifts: the Will of Eberhard, Count of Friuli, and his Wife Gisela, Daughter of Louis the Pious (863-4) - Christina La Rocca and Luigi Provero
Frankish giving of Arms and Rituals of Power: Continuity and Change in the Carolingian Period - Regine Le Jan
Beyond Power: Ceremonial Exchanges in Beowulf - Jos Bazelmans
The Circulation of Weapons in Anglo-Saxon Society - Heinrich Haerke
A Kind of Mirror for Men: Sword Depositions in Late Antique Northern Gaul - Frans Theuws and Monica Alkemade
Rituals of Power: by Way of Conclusion - Janet L. Nelson