Armed Children: Burials of Boys with Ceremonial Weapons in the Black Sea Region and on the Rhine (Late 4th — First Half of the 6th Centuries) and the First Battle of Prince Svyatoslav Cover Image
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Вооруженные дети: погребения мальчиков с парадным вооружением в Причерноморье и на Рейне (конец IV — первая половина VI в.) и первый бой князя Святослава
Armed Children: Burials of Boys with Ceremonial Weapons in the Black Sea Region and on the Rhine (Late 4th — First Half of the 6th Centuries) and the First Battle of Prince Svyatoslav

Author(s): Michel Kazanski, Anna V. Mastykova
Subject(s): History, Archaeology, Ancient World, 6th to 12th Centuries
Published by: Издательский дом Stratum, Университет «Высшая антропологическая школа»
Keywords: Great Migration Period; Early Middle Ages; burials of children; weapons; social status;

Summary/Abstract: Burials of children with weapons in the pre-state and early state societies of the era of the Great Migration Period — the beginning of the Middle Ages are rare. Still rarer are children’s burials, where archaeologists come across the burials of boys with prestigious weapons. These graves reflect the burial customs of the nobility. For the end of the 4 th — the first half of the 6 th centuries, two burials are distinguished — Tsibilium 1, burial 61 in Abkhazia and burial 809 in St. Severin’s Cathedral in Cologne. They are distinguished by a particularly rich and complete set of weapons. Undoubtedly, they belong to individuals who occupied the highest position in these societies. There are cases when armed children appeared on the battlefield, where they did not participate in the battle, but had to perform some ritual actions or symbolically replace their dead fathers (946, Prince Svyatoslav).

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 5
  • Page Range: 37-47
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: Russian