Jesch J., Zilmer K.
Epigraphic Literacy and Christian Identity
Modes of Written Discourse in the Newly Christian European North
Brepols publishers, Turnhout 2012
Scheda a cura di: Jesch J., Zilmer K.
This collection of nine essays deals with the
role of epigraphic literacy within the newly introduced Christian culture and
the developing tradition of literacy in Northern Europe. The volume examines
the role of epigraphic literacy within the newly introduced Christian culture
and the developing tradition of literacy in Northern Europe during the Viking
Age and the High Middle Ages. The epigraphic material under scrutiny here
originates from Scandinavia and North-West Russia – two regions that were
converted to Christianity around the turn of the first millennium. Besides
traditional categories of epigraphic sources, such as monumental inscriptions
on durable materials, the volume is concerned with more casual inscriptions on
less permanent materials. The first part of the book discusses a form of
monumental epigraphic literacy manifested on Scandinavian rune stones, with a
particular focus on their Christian connections. The second part examines
exchanges between Christian culture and ephemeral products of epigraphic
literacy, as expressed through Scandinavian rune sticks, East Slavonic
birchbark documents and church graffiti. The essays look beyond the traditional
sphere of parchment literacy and the Christian discourse of manuscript sources
in order to explore the role of epigraphic literacy in the written vernacular
cultures of Scandinavia and North-West Russia.
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