Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middl... http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=kt967nd088&chunk.id=0&doc.... Preferred Citation: Effros, Bonnie. Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middle Ages. Berkeley: University of California Press, c2003 2003. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt967nd088/ Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middle Ages BONNIE EFFROS University of California Press BERKELEY LOS ANGELES LONDON 2003 ― ― [Dedication] To my parents, Gail Hochman Effros and Richard Matthew Effros Preferred Citation: Effros, Bonnie. Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middle Ages. Berkeley: University of California Press, c2003 2003. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt967nd088/ ― ― [Dedication] To my parents, Gail Hochman Effros and Richard Matthew Effros ― ― [Epigraph] It is as though worldly stability had become transparent in the permanence of art so that a premonition of immortality, not the immortality of the soul or of life but of something immortal achieved by mortal hands, has become tangibly present, to shine and to be seen, to sound and to be heard, to speak and to be read. HANNAH ARENDT, The Human Condition 1 of 193 7/22/2006 1:55 AM Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middl... http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=kt967nd088&chunk.id=0&doc.... ― ― Contents List of Illustrations xi Acknowledgments xiii List of Abbreviations xvii INTRODUCTION 1 ANTIQUARIES, HISTORIANS, AND ARCHAEOLOGISTS: CREATING A CULTURAL CONTEXT FOR 1. 12 EARLY MEDIEVAL GRAVES 2. MODERN ASSESSMENTS OF MEROVINGIAN BURIAL 71 3. GRAVE GOODS AND THE RITUAL EXPRESSION OF IDENTITY 119 4. THE VISUAL LANDSCAPE: CEMETERIAL TOPOGRAPHY AND COMMUNITY HIERARCHY 175 EPILOGUE 219 Select Bibliography 223 Index 263 ― xi ― Map and Illustrations MAP 1. Select Merovingian-period cemeteries in Gaul and on its frontiers 4 ILLUSTRATIONS Chart disproving the alleged transition from golden bees found in Childeric’s grave to the 1. 33 Bourbon fleur-de-lys 2. Nineteenth-century model of the development of religious architecture in France 52 Typological chart of earrings and rings for the purpose of establishing their relative 3. 58 chronology 4. Early archaeologist Émile Socley with finds at Noiron-sous-Gevrey (Côte-d’Or) 62 5. Glass serving vessels excavated at Herpes (Charente) Beads, ring, brooch, earrings, pin, and hanging tools attributed by C. Boulanger to the 6. 68 seventh or eighth century An assemblage of goods in their original position in a Gallo-Roman warrior’s grave at 7. 69 Monceau-le-Neuf 8. Boulanger’s idealization of male and female Frankish burials in the fifth and sixth centuries 100 Boulanger’s interpretation of the evolution of Frankish interment customs for men and 9. 101 women in the seventh and eighth centuries 10. Face of the Wittislingen brooch, seventh century 113 ― xii ― Underside of the Wittislingen brooch, with an inscription dedicated to Uffila, presumably the 11. 114 woman with whom it was buried Face of filigree bossed disk brooch discovered at the cemetery of Hermes (Oise), seventh 12. 134 century Backside of disk brooch shown in figure 12, with label showing cemeterial provenance and 13. 135 year of discovery 14. Row grave cemetery of Köln-Müngersdorf 136 2 of 193 7/22/2006 1:55 AM Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middl... http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=kt967nd088&chunk.id=0&doc.... 15. Row grave cemetery of Frénouville (Calvados) 142 Two belt buckles and counter-plaques from the Merovingian period cemetery of 16. 151 Marchélepot (Somme), dated to the seventh or eighth century by Boulanger Merovingian bronze belt plaque-buckle, from the cemetery of Tabariane (Ariège), seventh 17. 152 century Four chatelaines of unknown provenance depicting a horse and rider, and belt buckle found 18. 154 at Hermes (Oise), with the inscription “Va(le) at qui fecit” or “Vivat qui fecit” 19. Restored grave goods from grave 319 at Lavoye (Meuse), attributed to a Frankish chieftain 156 Artifacts from a Merovingian grave discovered at Saint-Denis, possibly belonging to an elite 20. 159 male 21. Row grave cemetery of Audun-le-Tiche (Moselle) 202 22. Necropolis of Basel-Bernerring 208 ― xiii ― Acknowledgments This monograph represents a much-revised version of the archaeological portion of a project on mortuary practice in Merovingian Gaul that I might never have begun had I realized the extent of its challenges. In the years since I undertook this assessment, my research has concentrated increasingly on historiography, causing this work to become a discussion of the ways in which changing scholarly interpretations over the past three centuries have shaped our vision of the early medieval past. While highlighting some aspects of the mortuary rites that appear more securely understood, I have also pointed to the manner in which the evidence has been misused and appropriated to support causes entirely unrelated to the populations being excavated. Many of these interpretations have overshadowed the context from which the grave remains were unearthed in the first place. Rather than providing a comprehensive account of the archaeological evidence, a task that would require multiple volumes to reveal the complexity of this, above all, local and personal rite, I wanted to compose a work focusing on the ways in which personal bias and national agendas have shaped readings of the mortuary evidence. My own outlook being no exception, I nonetheless hope that this piece will further debates on the importance of multi-disciplinarity in the interpretation of early medieval sources, such as the spirited conversations already begun in the context of undertakings such as the European Science Foundation’s “Transformation of the Roman World” project (1993–97). In order to accomplish this goal, it will be necessary to overcome the national and disciplinary boundaries that currently divide the field. The successful completion of this project rests in large part on the generosity of a great number of institutions and individuals. During my graduate ― xiv ― studies at UCLA, a Deutsche Akademisches Austauschdienst Stipendium (1991–92), a History Departmental Fellowship (1992–93), and an Edward A. Dickson Fellowship (1993–94) allowed me to research and write my dissertation at the Monumenta Germaniae historica, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Bibliothèque nationale, and UC Berkeley. An Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta (July 1994–December 1995) enabled me to continue work on the project with a reduced teaching load. I revised significant portions of the manuscript during a semester’s residency at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France (Fall 1997), and with a Berkshire Summer Fellowship at the Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College (Summer 1998). I completed the project with a Sylvan C. Coleman and Pamela Coleman Memorial Fund Fellowship during my year at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2001–02), supported also by Title F leave at SUNY Binghamton. Interaction with and feedback from colleagues at these wonderful institutions were a source of inspiration for much of the rethinking of this project. A Bernadotte E. Schmitt grant from the American Historical Association (1995) provided funding for many of the photographs reproduced in this volume; Chantal Dulos, Melanie Holcomb, Patrick Périn, and Françoise Vallet helped greatly in tracking down photographs related to early archaeological excavations. Franz Siegmeth and Falko Daim likewise made possible the production of a site map for the volume. Financial support from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (1996–2001) has also been pivotal to the realization of this project. Five Summer Research Fellowships, in addition to multiple 3 of 193 7/22/2006 1:55 AM Merovingian Mortuary Archaeology and the Making of the Early Middl... http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=kt967nd088&chunk.id=0&doc.... Faculty Development Fund and Graduate School Seed grants, enabled me to purchase software as well as pursue research and travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts; Paris; Munich; and Brussels at crucial stages of the project. In particular, I am grateful to Steve Hansen, Ellen Nore, Wayne Santoni, and David Steinberg for their assistance in my continued search for the funding that has made completion of this monograph possible sooner instead of later. I also wish to thank Jean-Pierre Mileur, Don Quataert, and Dick Trexler for smoothing my transition to SUNY Binghamton during the final stages of book production. Wulf Kansteiner and Sonja Wolf were incredibly generous in opening their home to me weekly in preparation for my move and making me feel like a part of their family. My debts to colleagues, friends, and family are many, and I cannot begin ― xv ― to thank everyone by name in this short space. To start, I wish to acknowledge Richard and Mary Rouse, without whose warm encouragement and sponsorship this project would have never been pursued. The guidance and inspiration of Patrick Geary and Alain Dierkens from the early days of thesis writing were invaluable to directing my approach to the material covered. Guy Halsall and Frans Theuws both gave very generously of their time to comment on the monograph as it emerged, providing me with thoughtful critiques, friendly advice, and hospitality even when they disagreed with my interpretation of the data. Their influence may be seen in the pages that follow. Peter Brown, Cindy Fulton, Marian Rogers, and Kate Toll gave much needed guidance and editorial direction along the path to completion. Nina Caputo and Isabel Moreira read and helped me improve various chapters and were incredibly devoted confidantes and supporters. David Conradsen provided insight into the world of collecting, museums, and connoisseurship. Max Diesenberger, Dave Harden, Matthias Hardt, Heinrich Härke, Christian Lohmer, Frederick Paxton, Cécile Treffort, and Bailey Young likewise raised important questions and indicated missing bibliography along the way.