ORIGINS AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE BLATNICA-MIKULČICE PARADIGM

• Authors: Robak Zbigniew
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The paper presents a compilation of the current knowledge on the so called ‘Blatnica deposit’ and its individual components, extended by a series of the author ś own studies dedicated particularly to the gilded set of bronze fittings. The article is divided into two main parts: the first one presents a more focused perspective on the issue and provides all the necessary pieces of information about each part of the deposit together with respective chronological and stylistic findings. The second part, on the other hand, introduces a broader perspective, embedding the history of the deposit and studies on it in the methodological context proposed by Thomas S. Kuhn. Based on the Kuhnian model of science and the concept of paradigm the aouthor has analysed and then decomposed the so called Blatnica-Mikulčice Horizon concept that proved to be based, at best, on some misunderstandings or, at worst, on a hoax. Detailed typological and stylistic analyses of these items became a starting point for re-evaluation of their chronology and led him to draw a conclusion that the youngest components of the deposit cannot be older than the second third of the 9th century. Both the archive query and the analysis of archaeological sources seem to disprove arguments used to support the hypothesis that the ‘Blatnica collection’ served as equipment of a nobleman grave. Most probably it was only a loose collection of relics co­ming from different and so far unknown sources, later transferred in bulk to the museum. Therefore it seems reasonable to conclude that the source value of the ‘Blatnica relics’ has long been overestimated and in any case should no longer serve as a chronological benchmark for other archaeological materials.

Keywords

EN

EARLY MIDDLE AGES; CAROLINGIAN ART; BLATNICA DEPOSIT; GREAT MORAVIA; CHRONOLOGY; PARADIGM

• Publisher: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Archaeological Institute
• Journal: Slovenská archeológia (Slovak Archaeology)
• Year: 2017
• Volume: 65
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 99 – 162

Contributors

author

Robak Zbigniew

• Archeologický ústav SAV, Akademická 2, 949 21 Nitra, Slovak Republic