To Be or Not to Be... a Christian: Some New Perspectives on Understanding the Christianisation of Estonia
To Be or Not to Be... a Christian: Some New Perspectives on Understanding the Christianisation of Estonia

Summary/Abstract: The Christianisation of Estonia has been a subject of extensive research already for a couple of centuries. Archaeologists generally agree that some elements of Christian religion were present in Estonia already prior to official Christianisation at the beginning of the 13th century. Still, speculations about what those elements were and what they meant have been avoided. We suggest that the materiality of Christianity is wider than traditional cross pendants, and other objects carrying Christian symbols should be considered as well. As a conclusion, we outline some Christian elements that were probably used by local people before the official baptism; to describe these people, a new concept – prehistoric Christians – has been taken into use.

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