27.10.-28.10.: International Conference "Cross discourses and cross practices of the 7th / 8th centuries in a European perspective"

International Conference: Cross discourses and cross practices of the 7th / 8th centuries in a European perspective

Golden foil crosses were part of elite burial furnishings north and south of the Alps from the late 6th to the early 8th century. Made ad hoc for burial, they are regarded as evidence of early Christianity. The fact that they also reveal pagan traditions in a „syncretic“ manner, for which ornamentation and burial context with extensive grave goods are cited, is currently rejected in favour of an intended social representation.

New research on Cappadocian funerary chapels by R. Warland has recently revealed the presumed underlying early Byzantine design concepts. Now, comparisons of Central European foil crosses and Asia Minor representations now make it clear that the form and use of the concentric small crosses can be understood in their cosmological and salvation-historical significance as parousia signs of God’s return on the Last Day according to Mt 24,30–31.

The interdisciplinary conference of archaeologists from various disciplines and art historians wants to extend this comparison and undertake it within a European framework. Representations and objects comparable to the foil crosses can be found throughout Europe not only on architecture or in tombs, but also on reliquaries and clothing accessories. The discourses underlying the representations are examined together with the practices of using the crosses. The aim of the conference is to analyse this broad spectrum comparatively for the first time and thus to overcome previous professional and national divisions.

Conference flyer