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Conspicuously absent from 6th to early 7th c. fortified sites in the Balkans are stirrups and other elements of equipment signalling the presence of cavalry troops. Hoards of iron implements containing stirrups have been wrongly dated to Late Antiquity; they are in fact of a much later date (9th-- 11th c. A.D.). Those hoards which can be dated to the 6th c. with some degree of certainty lack agricultural tools associated with large-scale cultivation of fields. As most such hoards found in Early Byzantine hill-forts typically include tools for the garden-type cultivation of small plots of land, they show that no agricultural occupations could be practised inside or outside 6th c. forts, which could satisfy the needs of the existing population. Those were, therefore, forts, not fortified villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibulae with bent stem are among the commonest dress accessories found on sixth-century sites in the Balkans-hilltop forts or cemeteries. Syna Uenze, the first archaeologist who dealt systematically with this category of artifacts, has advanced the idea that those dress accessories derived from fourth-century specimens most typical for the Sântana de Mureş-Chernyakhov culture. According to her, the fibulae with bent stem were a symptom of the barbarization of the Balkan provinces of the Empire. In this article, we propose a new classification of sixth-century fibulae with bent stem, which are distinguished from their fourth-century counterparts by the U-shaped stem. We have thus identified 12 classes of fibulae with bent stem, only two of which (3 and 6) appear in the entire Balkan region. Classes 1 and 8 are restricted to the northern Balkans, while the only classes that appear in Macedonia and the surrounding regions are 2, 9, and 11. The careful examination of the archaeological context in which some of those fibulae have been found contradicts Syna Uenze's idea of an evolutionary development from the fourth- to the sixth-century fibula with bent stem. No fibula is known to have been found in an archaeological assemblage securely dated to the fifth century. This can only mean that the fibula with bent stem in the shape of the letter U is an essentially sixth-century fashion phenomenon. In fact, the majority of the specimens found in datable contexts appear to be from the second half of that century. Fibulae with bent stem have been found both singly and in pairs in houses, towers, cisterns, and churches built inside early Byzantine forts. However, as demonstrated by specimens found in Histria and Nea Anchialos, such fibulae were not restricted to the military population, but were also known in cities. Burial assemblages with fibulae with bent stem indicate that those were female dress accessories. Where the skeletal material has been properly sexed, it reveals that women buried with such fibulae had died in their prime age. Only occasionally were those fibulae deposited in graves of children, presumably of little girls. Fibulae with bent stem were most likely produced in the Balkans, and all fibulae found outside the Balkans have analogies in the region. A very interesting cluster of finds on the territory or in the hinterland of the modern city of Dnipropetrovs'ke, on the Lower Dnieper, raises new questions concerning the relations between the Balkan provinces of the Empire, the Crimea, and the steppe lands during the sixth and early seventh century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the legend of Charlemagne gained widespread popularity, as the figure of the emperor became a model for rulers and crusaders. However, at the same time, there was no equivalent cult of the emperor in East Central Europe, despite intensive intellectual exchange with those parts of the continent in which Charlemagne served as the highest political ideal. The examination of two early texts--the chronicles of Gallus Anonymus and Cosmas of Prague--reveals that although not completely absent from the chroniclers' repertoire of historical parallels and examples, Charlemagne was either mentioned simply as a chronological marker or (especially in the Chronicle of Cosmas of Prague) given attributes that do not appear in any other contemporary works and which suggest a local reinterpretation of his role in history and of his personality. Additionally, this is confirmed by an examination of a slightly later text--the Gesta Hungarorum, the earliest surviving work of medieval historiography in Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been recently claimed that the first reference to Sklavinia as a territory inhabited primarily by Slavs is to be found in Theophanes Confessor. A particular passage in Theophylact Simocatta in which the word appears has been supposedly mistranslated. In reality, the passage in question contains a reference to Sklavinia at least 150 years older than the Chronographia of Theophanes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archaeologia Baltica is the property of Archaeologia Baltica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archeologické Rozhledy is the property of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Archaeology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the concept of Merovingians and Carolingians' gift and gift-giving activity. According to the author, gifts and gift-giving practices have been scrutinized by medievalists during late 1950 century. A French sociologist Marcel Mauss made a difference in the perception of the historians and inspired professor Philip Grierson to treat the activity as a special form of transaction.

Long considered an “index fossil” for the migration of the Slavs to Greece, “Slavic” bow fibulae have never been understood in relation to female dress. The “exotic” character of their decoration has encouraged speculations concerning the ethnic attribution of these artifacts, but no serious attempt has been made to analyze the archaeological contexts in which they were found. It is argued here that bow fibulae were more than just dress accessories, and that they may have been used for negotiating social power. The political and military situation of the early seventh century A.D. in the Balkans, marked by the collapse of the early Byzantine power in the region, may explain the need for new emblemic styles to represent group identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the influence of color perception and color terms on the twelfth-century French literature. Symbolism of colors in the twelfth-century literature; Association between color perception and light perception; Impact of color images on the literature of the twelfth century.