CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020
| Author | Vargha, Mária |
|---|---|
| Title | The Archaeology of Christianisation of the Rural Countryside of Medieval Hungary |
| Summary | In this dissertation, I study the development of the process of Christianisation and the development of the network of local churches in rural Medieval Hungary, based on archaeological remains. Despite that, the eleventh and twelfth centuries in Hungary were of major importance regarding the foundation of the state, and with it, the formation of (secular and ecclesiastic) power structures, sources about this period are rather scarce, primarily written evidence. Opposite to that, archaeology can provide a large amount of data. In the framework of the present study, I have compiled a database of rural local churches, field cemeteries, and ecclesiastical and secular power centres (bishoprics, monasteries and castles), altogether nine hundred and sixty-three sites dated to the eleventh and twelfth centuries, implemented them in a geographical information system, and analysed their relation to each other, resulting in a sequence of twenty-four maps. An analysis with such an extensive database, especially from the point of view of the early development of the rural church network is something that has not been conducted yet. Since the problem of Christianisation is an interdisciplinary issue, which has been discussed much by historians, it was inevitable to discuss its problems and compare the results of my analysis of the existing historical theories. With that, a unique narrative of the process became available, based on a phenomenon, the development of the rural local church network, which almost does not appear in historical sources, and on a source material that otherwise was not in the focus of research. In Chapter II, I have demonstrated during the discussion of these problems, the – otherwise scarce - historical sources had a too excessive impact on the interpretation of the archaeological material, especially when considering that the majority of that, including the rural churches and cemeteries, appear the least in such context. This historical argumentation manifested mostly in the ambiguous dating, and controversial interpretation of field and transitional cemeteries, and the emergence of the local, rural church network, including, of course, the contentious issue of pagan-Christian transition, and the (semi-) nomadic lifestyle. Considering the disputes around the historical sources, I concluded that the investigation of the question should be in a broader spectrum, using Big Archaeological Data in order to escape the projection of historical ideas on the analysis of the archaeological material and contextualise it within the framework of the contemporary ecclesiastical and secular power centres. In Chapter III, following the problem-oriented historiography, wrapped around the sources and methods that are used in the present work, it is essential to discuss the disputes in the light of the methodology and interdisciplinary approach of the present thesis, as Christianisation was in high focus of the researchers of multiple disciplines, and therefore its results are somewhat scattered and often controversial. In Chapter IV, based on the analysis of the archaeological material, I have demonstrated that in the context of the eleventh century the spatial distribution of secular and ecclesiastical power centres – castles, monasteries and bishoprics display a complemental system. Castles were creating a peripheral, defensive line, supplemented by monasteries in the middle range, and the positioning of the bishoprics closest to the inner areas. Enhancing this with the investigation of the rural churches to the places of central power, it became visible that opposed to the general expectation, early churches ‘avoid’ the immediate surroundings of the castles, and seldom occur together with monasteries or bishoprics. Presupposing that such centres served as centres of Christianisation, this is a rather remarkable result. The results of my analysis have exposed an even distribution of churches, with a little more density in the areas lacking ecclesiastical and secular power centres, and a smaller density of field cemeteries around those. With this, my investigation has confirmed that the ecclesiastical institutions belonging to them most probably had pastoral functions over the neighbourhood. Secondly, I have demonstrated that the even distribution of rural churches, including areas lacking central power centres speak of a well-designed act of building up political power, and together with it the state religion on the lowest level. Examining the relations of early churches and field cemeteries, with special regard to transitional cemetery types, also applying Thiessen polygon catchment areas I have found out, that the distribution of the field cemeteries often can be found along the edges of the catchment areas of the churches. Concerning transitional cemeteries, I have demonstrated that it is no different in chronological or spatial distribution of transitional Type 1, and Type 2 cemeteries. Therefore, it seems like that regardless of the regulations of church law on the positioning of churches and ‘pagan’ burials, and also the endless debates that research was conducted on the ‘Gell&#x e9;rtegyhá za-type’ cemeteries, the exact positioning of the field cemetery and the church is irrelevant, although the direct building on a field cemetery proved to be more common. It also has to be noted, that the frequency of occurrence was equal in the eleventh and twelfth centuries as well, which first and foremost points out that it was probably regarded as common practice; and secondly, it might be connected to wooden churches, and their archaeologically mostly undetectable character. This provides further considerations on the quantitative difference between the eleventh and twelfth-century rural church network as well. Furthermore, I have pointed out the serious problem of the frequent tendency of research to judge the character of the cemetery based solely on some grave finds, and classify them as field cemetery or maybe even ‘pagan’, even if the finds cannot be associated with pagan beliefs. However, the clustering of transitional cemetery types cannot be associated with any specific, ‘pagan’ areas of the Kingdom. I have also demonstrated that contrary to earlier theories, transitional cemeteries cannot be connected to the underdeveloped ecclesiastical system. With the similar analysis of the twelfth century I demonstrated, that the general distribution of the rural churches did not change significantly; some expansion can be observed on the northeast, and a little more extensive one in Transylvania. However, the largest difference is the density of the churches, which can partially be connected to the taphonomically more favourable conditions – more lasting building materials. Perhaps the opposite can be suggested in intensively researched areas with a relatively low count of churches, such as Tolna county, where a more dominant presence of wooden churches can be presupposed. With the overall evaluation of the spatial analysis of the twelfth-century material, I have concluded that the density of the churches, especially the even character of the church network (disregarding the area of southeastern Transdanubia, and the extra density of the more researched areas) demonstrates a stable local church network in the twelfth century. Those areas where the density is connected to more intensive research shows the gravity of taphonomic loss in case of well research areas that still appear to have a rather loose ecclesiastical network (such as Fejér, which belonging to the Medium Regni was supposedly had a denser church network), or Tolna and Somogy, where the sporadic appearance of churches raises the possibility a perhaps more general, and more prolonged presence of wooden architecture. In Chapter V I have examined the impact of the royal curia network on local churches, examining what historical sources tell about the process. I have demonstrated that the process of Christianisation is clear that it should not be understood as conversion, definitely not In the level of the individual, especially at the beginning of the process. The mass conversion of the population, and the establishment of the church network, including the local churches of the rural population, centrally initiated by the secular power, is the actual an act of Christianisation; a centrally administered, top-down directed political act, that, at least in the beginning, had very little to do with the faith of the individual. Conclusions. Based on the comparison of the archaeological data in the present work, the following conclusions should be drawn on the process of Christianisation of the rural population, thus, the development of the rural local church network. Firstly, the dynamics between the central, secular and ecclesiastical power and the local church network confirms the idea of the centrally administered Christianisation. The even pattern of the appearance of local churches and their absence near the ecclesiastical and secular power centres show a pattern that is not consistent with local, down-to-top development. The even appearance of churches in all habited areas of the kingdom, however, could not have been established without the support of the central administration. The bishoprics, monasteries and secular power centres could have administered this, and where their appearance is scarce, such as in the area of the Great Hungarian Plain, the local church development was most probably aided by the network of royal churches in the framework of the royal curia system. Considering what a hostile environment it would have been for isolated, small rural churches and their priests, it is clear that without the involvement of the central administration, the spatially faraway secular and ecclesiastical power centres could not have been established an even church network among the rural population. Furthermore, without the involvement of the local churches, bishoprics would not have been efficient enough in the actual conversion process of the population, which was crucial in stabilising the political state – as it is clearly visible by the pagan uprisings in the middle of the eleventh century. The discrepancy that Koszta was proposing between the two halves of the country cannot be observed on the level of the local church network, nor can any difference noted on the area of the mentioned ‘giant’ counties. Moreover, bringing in the twelfth-century churches, it is visible that the church network in the area of Újvár, Csongrád and Bihar did not change significantly in its extent, only in density. In case of Újvár, the scarce appearance of churches is apparent even in the material of the twelfth century. Therefore, based on the archaeological material, the development of the local church network in the rural areas seems to be a rather unified process in all habited areas in the kingdom, which, considering that the regulations of such churches and people was attempted from the very beginning, it is perhaps not as surprising. Principally, since the Christianisation itself – the mass conversion of people and the development of the higher level of the ecclesiastical system - would have been inefficient in the long run without the work of the local churches, the actual conversion of the people and thus their adaptation to the new ruling system. Nonetheless, I do not suggest that it was a rapid process. The relations of field cemeteries The density of local churches from that period nearby ecclesiastical and secular power centres also suggest that their involvement in the Christianisation and conversion has ended, and were continued only by the local churches, the forming parish network. |
| Supervisor | Laszlovszky, József |
| Department | Medieval Studies PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/vargha_maria.pdf |
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