medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
This article in Friday's _Independent_ has a clearer indication of the archaeologists' rationale for thinking this site at Trumpington to be monastic:
http://tinyurl.com/6lmjorr
See especially:
"The archaeological investigation - carried out by Cambridge University
Archaeological Unit – has also revealed that they were interred adjacent
to a high status settlement consisting of a 12 metre long timber hall
and at least half a dozen other buildings with substantial
semi-subterranean storage cellars.
"Among the finds unearthed were fragments of posh French-originating
shiny black ceramic wine jugs - in England a type of pottery previously
found mainly on monastic sites.
"The female graves, the high status
nature of the site and the Christian burial rite all combine to suggest
that the princess and her companions may well have been nuns – and
that the settlement may have been part of a nunnery. It’s known that the
various newly Christianized Anglo-Saxon monarchs of the time competed
with each other to establish monasteries and nunneries as a proof of
their Christian piety. Indeed it’s conceivable that the princess’s
parents enrolled their daughter in such a nunnery to further demonstrate
their commitment to their new faith (a common practice at the time)."
Best,
John Dillon
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|