Description
Book SynopsisLittle is known about the Christianization of east-central and eastern Europe, due to the fragmentary nature of the historical record. Yet occasionally, unexpected archaeological discoveries can offer fresh angles and new insights. This volume presents such an example: the discovery of a Byzantine-like church in Alba Iulia, Transylvania, dating from the 10th century - a unique find in terms of both age and function. Next to its ruins, another church was built at the end of the 11th century, following a Roman Catholic architectural model, soon to become the seat of the Latin bishopric of Transylvania. Who built the older, Byzantine-style church, and what was the political, religious and cultural context of the church? How does this new discovery affect our perception of the ecclesiastical history of Transylvania? A new reading of the archaeological and historical record prompted by these questions is presented here, thereby opening up new challenges for further research. Contributors are: Daniela Marcu Istrate, Florin Curta, Horia I. Ciugudean, Aurel Dragotă, Monica-Elena Popescu, Călin Cosma, Tudor Sălăgean, Jan Nicolae, Dan Ioan Mureșan, Alexandru Madgearu, Gábor Thoroczkay, Éva Tóth-Révész, Boris Stojkovski, Șerban Turcuș, Adinel C. Dincă, Mihai Kovács, Nicolae Călin Chifăr, Marius Mihail Păsculescu, and Ana Dumitran.
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Abbreviations Notes on Contributors Introduction Gabriel Tiberiu Rustoiu Part 1: Archaeological Debates 1 From the Greek Bishop Hierotheos to the Latin Bishop Simon: The Churches in Alba Iulia and the Controversies Related to the Beginnings of the Diocese of Transylvania Daniela Marcu Istrate 2 Bulgaria beyond the Danube: Water under the Bridge, or Is There More in the Pipeline? Florin Curta 3 The Transylvanian Cradle: The Funeral Landscape of Alba Iulia in the Light of ‘Stația de Salvare’ Cemetery (9th–11th Centuries) Horia Ciugudean, Aurel Dragotă, and Monica-Elena Popescu Translated by Monica-Elena Popescu 4 Byzantine Bronze Reliquary Crosses with Embossed Figures Discovered in Romania Călin Cosma Part 2: Historical Debates 5 From Terra Ultrasilvana to Regnum Erdeelw: Notes on the Historical Evolution of Transylvania in the 10th Century Tudor Sălăgean 6 Hagiography and History in Early Medieval Transylvania: from the Byzantine Bishop Hierotheos (10th Century) to the German Historian Gottfried Schwarz (18th Century) Jan Nicolae 7 Patriarch Theophylact, the Horses, and the Hungarians: The Religious Origins of the Byzantine Mission to Tourkia Dan Ioan Mureșan 8 Ecclesiastical Consequences of the Restoration of Byzantine Power in the Danubian Region Alexandru Madgearu 9 Some Remarks on the Church History of the Carpathian Basin during the 10th and 11th Centuries Gábor Thoroczkay 10 Gyula’s Christianity and the Bishopric of the Eastern Mission Éva Tóth-Révész 11 The Byzantine Monasteries of Medieval Hungary Revisited Boris Stojkovski 12 The Hungarian Kingdom between the Imperial Ecclesiology of Otto III and the Pontifical Ecclesiology of Gregory VII Șerban Turcuș 13 Latin Bishoprics in the ‘Age of Iron’ and the Diocese of Transylvania Adinel C. Dincă and Mihai Kovács Part 3: Future Debates 14 The 10th- to 11th-Century Pillared-Church in Alba Iulia: Reconstruction Proposals Nicolae Călin Chifăr and Marius Mihail Păsculescu Conclusions Ana Dumitran Translated by Florin Curta Bibliography Index
