Christian archaeology

The Christian Archaeology is the science that examines the cultural legacies of the Christians of the first six centuries as historical sources. Originated in Rome in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance in the face of preserved early Christian churches and over again outcropping excavation finds it widens gradually their field of work on the whole in antiquity Christianized world. In the course of historicism and the Christian Archaeology accepts the historical- critical method and draws to explain their objects artifacts increasingly also from secular and non-Christian contexts approach. This leads to overlap with the emerging disciplines of Prehistory and Early History, Early Medieval and Byzantine archeology and art history, which in turn use Christian monuments for their own operating simultaneously. Since stepping out of the Theology in Philosophical Faculties from the 1970s, this results naturally demarcation difficulties resulting in the annexation of the departments at different institutions ( for example, Bonn: Art History, Münster: Classical Archaeology, Munich: Byzantine ) and its fluctuating terms express.

Historical Development

As the beginning of this effort, you can search the legendary Helena, the mother of Constantine I, after the cross of Christ in view of Jerusalem. As a discipline, the Christian Archaeology, than at the beginning of the Renaissance also developed the early Christian churches in Rome are interested in the course of search for testimonies of antiquity (Giovanni Dondi [ 1318-1389 ], Iter Romanum; Poggio Bracciolini [ 1389-1459 ], De fortunae varietate urbis Romae; Maffeo Vegio [ 1407-1458 ], De rebus antiquis memorabilibus S. Petri Romae ), in addition to pagan and Christian inscriptions are collected (Jan Gruyter [ Janus Gruterus, 1560-1627 ]; Raffaele Fabretti [ 1620-1700 ] ), the catacombs were rediscovered and men like Antonio Bosio (1575-1629), Giovanni Ciampini (1633-1698), Filippo Buonarruoti (1661-1733), Marco Antonio Boldetti (1663-1749) and others, the material first from Rome, but then from other centers (eg Ravenna: Antonio Zardini [ 1725-1785 ], De antiquis sacris ravennae aedificiis ) make available in richly illustrated anthologies. In addition, explore local historian also in the smaller centers in Italy, France, Spain and Germany, the Christian monuments of their hometowns.

With the Histoire de l'art par les monuments, depuis sa decadence au IVe siècle jusqu'à son renouvellement au XVIe ( printed Paris / Strasbourg / London 1823) the Frenchman Jean Baptiste Louis Georges Seroux d' Agincourt ( 1730-1814 ) is also an art-historical monuments overall presentation of the portfolio tried.

The improved travel opportunities bring since the beginning of the 19th century as well as in Classical Archaeology extension to the study of the art landscapes and ruins and the Middle East, since the second half of the century also North Africa. Giuseppe Marchi (1795-1860) and Giovanni Battista de Rossi (1822-1894) continue the study of Roman monuments, 1871-1881 published Raffaele Garrucci (1812-1885) his six-volume Storia dell'arte cristiana nei primi della chiesa otto secoli, Joseph Wilpert (1857-1944) uses the modern printing processes for its elaborate corpora of the Roman catacomb paintings, sarcophagi and church mosaics and wall paintings.

In the scientific training of theologians Christian archeology as predominantly an appendage of the Church's history remains in the 19th century, together with most of the Christian art history. The blossoming of historical disciplines in the wake of historicism also benefits of Christian Archaeology. In Rome, Anton de Waal (1837-1917) at the Campo Santo Teutonico young theologians creates the possibilities for a special study of Christian Archaeology; 1901 founds the church historian Franz Xaver Kraus ( 1840-1901 ) bequeathed from its own assets in the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Freiburg Institute and a professor of Christian Archaeology in the Faculty of Protestant Theology of the University of Berlin in 1913 is an associate professor of Christian archeology and ecclesiastical art built. With Ludwig von Sybel (1846-1929) turns the traditional art history of early Christian art ( Christian antiquity. Introduction to the early Christian art [ Marburg 1906/1909 ] ). 1925 in Rome, the Pontifical Istituto di Archeological Cristiana founded as a training center with faculty rank.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the proliferation of knowledge and the refinement of the methods by Franz Joseph Dölger ( 1879-1940 ) Theodor Klauser ( 1894-1984 ), Johannes Kollwitz ( 1903-1968 ), Dimitrios I. Pallas provides, ( 1907-1995 ), Friedrich Wilhelm Deichmann (1909-1993) and many others for a spin-off of the tray which is also reflected in the fact that chairs of Christian Archaeology also be set up in philosophical faculties. Today, it represents a separate subject in close proximity to the Church History, Classical Archaeology and Art History

International Congress of Christian Archaeology to be held since 1894, in recent times as far as possible in a 5 -year cycle.

Institutes in Germany

• Bonn: Institute for Christian Archaeology at the Institute of Art History and Archaeology at the University of Bonn
• Erlangen: Institute for Christian Archaeology and Art History in the Department of Theology, University of Erlangen
• Freiburg im Breisgau: Department of Christian Archaeology and Byzantine History of Art at the Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Freiburg
• Göttingen: Department of Christian Archaeology and Byzantine Art History at the University of Göttingen
• Heidelberg: Christian Archaeology at the Department of Byzantine Archaeology and Art History at the University of Heidelberg
• Mainz: Institute of Art History with workspace Christian Archaeology and Byzantine History of Art at the University of Mainz
• Marburg: Subject Christian Archaeology and Byzantine Art History in the Department 05 - Protestant Theology
• Münster: Institute of Classical Archaeology and Christian Archeology, University of Münster

Aid

Encyclopedias

• Dictionnaire d' archéologie chrétienne et de liturgy, Paris, Letouzey et Ané 1907-1951
• Reallexikon for Antiquity and Christianity, Stuttgart, Hiersemann, since 1950
• Dictionary of Christian iconography, Freiburg, Herder, 1968-1976
• Dizionario patristico e di antichità cristiane, Casale Monferrato, Casa Editrice Marietti 1983-1988; English and French
• Reallexikon to Byzantine art, Klaus Wessel and Marcell Restle ( Eds.) Stuttgart since 1966
• People Dictionary of Christian Archaeology. Researchers and personalities from the 16th to the 21st Century, ed. Stefan Heid and Martin Dennert, 2 volumes, 1422 pages, Regensburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-7954-2620-0.
• Reiner Sörries: Late Antique and Early Christian Art. An introduction to the study of Christian archeology ( UTB Art History, Volume 3521 ), Böhlau Verlag, Cologne, 2013, 978-3-8252-3521-5, detailed review in: H -Soz -u-Kult by Florian Sunday

Magazines

• Roman quarterly magazine for Christian Archaeology and church history (since 1887)
• Rendiconti della Pontificia Accademia di Archeological Museum (since 1921)
• Rivista di Archeological Cristiana (since 1924)
• Dumbarton Oaks Papers (since 1941)
• Yearbook for Antiquity and Christianity ( since 1958, to appear at irregular intervals Ergänzungsbände )
• Releases for Christian Archaeology (since 1995, ISSN 1025-6555 )
• Releases for Late Antique Archaeology and Byzantine History of Art ( since 1998)

Bibliographies

• L' Année philologique ( IV Sources non littéraires. A. Archaeology, e) culturelles Aires, Le monde tardo -antique and B. epigraphy. f) chrétienne epigraphy )
• Archaeological Bibliography
• Byzantine magazine (III Department: Bibliographic notes and messages )