Publication details
Means of Christian Conversion in Late Antiquity. Objects, Bodies, and Rituals
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| Year of publication | 2021 |
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| Description | This volume presents the proceedings of the conference Materiality and Conversion: The role of Material and Visual Cultures in the Christianization of the Latin West organized by the Centre for Early Medieval Studies in 2020. Its contributions thus focus on the Christianization of the Roman Empire between the fourth and sixth centuries. The studies approach the religious change through “material turn” in Humanities, building on the material and sensorial dimension of Christian conversion and especially the baptismal rite as one of the key components of this process. The material and visual cultures are regarded as vectors and witnesses of conversion to Christianity, and human body is viewed as one of the agents in ritual actions. The volume covers a wide range of topics from pre-baptismal purification, through the moment of immersion in the baptismal font and post-baptismal alteration of perception, to continuous changes in funeral forms in a society which gradually accepts Christianity. As such, the papers attempt to shed more light on the role of matter in the complex and rapid conversion to Christianity in Late Antique West. |