Кораллы в христианской культуре Восточной Европы и Средиземноморья [Korally v xristianskoj kul’ture Vostochnoj Evropy i Sredizemnomor’ja]
Abstract
The article deals with a unique coral pendant
in silver setting found in Novgorod and dating
from the turn of the XII–XIII centuries.
It is analyzed on the basis of archaeological
and written sources. The other archaeologically
known corals from Eastern Europe,
though rare, are considered too. During the
Middle Ages corals were in use as amulets
and Christian devotional objects. This fact
was clearly reflected in European art since
the first half of the XIV century. The find
from Novgorod fills the chronological gap in
the tradition known since the Late Antiquity.
Furthermore, it suggests that the citizens of
medieval Novgorod, thanks to their European
contacts, could have been aware of the apotropaic
meaning of corals. The coral pendant
could find its way to Novgorod as a result of
trade operations and pilgrimage to the western
part of the Mediterranean, including Italy,
France, and Spain
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