From Paganism to Christianity. Rite and funeral ritual along the middle valley of the Târnava Mare river (9th-14th centuries) (original) (raw)

2021, Review of Ecumenical Studies (RES)

The present paper aims at describing the process through which the religious rite and ritual have changed within settlements located along the middle valley of the Târnava Mare river, evolving from pagan manifestations to the emergence of the Catholic ecclesiastic institutions. The archaeological Mediaș group reflects the presence of the cremation rite in this particular region, which was a common ground up until the mid-9th century. For the following period, of the 9th-11th centuries, there is a hiatus in archaeological findings relevant to the funeral rite; there aren’t any burial grounds / cemeteries that have been identified, only one settlement in Albești (Mureș county). The Târnava Mare basin was shortly encompassed within the Hungarian Kingdom. Thus, starting with the 12th century a series of indagines were built and defended by the Szeklers’ communities. The cemetery on the so called Dealul Viilor in Sighișoara is attributed to the Szeklers. A new burial ritual was observed, namely an antropomorphic one, after German population settled down along the Târnava Mare valley and after the arrival of Dominican monks in Sighișoara, where they have erected a Dominican convent. From an institutional point of view, these settlements were placed under the jurisdiction of the Transylvanian bishopric and of the chapters / diaconates of Mediaș, Laslea/Criș, Târnava Mare, Târnava Mică, Saschiz, Tileagd.