{"id":{"repo_id":"cambridge","oai_identifier":"oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/302350"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cambridge/oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/302350","repository":{"repo_id":"cambridge","name":"Cambridge University","base_url":"https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Burial Practices in Transition: A study of the cultural and religious cohesion of Early Medieval Europe","abstract":"In the seventh century AD, burial practice fundamentally changed across northern and western Europe, transitioning from burial with varying provision of grave goods, to a standardised, simple burial, with no accompanying objects. This was a process that happened around the same time across many areas of Europe, but previous studies into the transition have been constrained by modern national boundaries, resulting in quite different explanations being proposed for the same process in different countries. I have analysed data from a sample of 246 cemeteries from England, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. I used GIS and basic statistical analysis to map the changing use of grave goods over the sixth to eighth centuries, looking at numbers, and types of objects placed in the grave, as well as where objects were placed in relation to the body. By analysing these processes at a variety of scales, from continental, to individual sites, I assessed how local communities fitted into broader networks of social change. This analysis revealed that although the abandonment of grave goods was a drawn-out process, it began in almost every region around the middle of the sixth century. I argue that there was a link between this process and the contemporary development of Christian thought on death and the afterlife, influenced by events such as the Justinianic plague, which affected Europe from the mid-sixth century onwards. This in turn inspired a change in the perception of the corpse; from the continued embodiment of the person which was capable of maintaining possession over select objects, to more of an object itself, devoid of possessive agency. Finally, I use globalisation and diffusion theory to argue that this change was evidence of strong cultural and religious connections across early medieval Europe, which made the rapid transmission of cultural practices possible.","abstract_html":"In the seventh century AD, burial practice fundamentally changed across northern and western Europe, transitioning from burial with varying provision of grave goods, to a standardised, simple burial, with no accompanying objects. This was a process that happened around the same time across many areas of Europe, but previous studies into the transition have been constrained by modern national boundaries, resulting in quite different explanations being proposed for the same process in different countries. I have analysed data from a sample of 246 cemeteries from England, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. I used GIS and basic statistical analysis to map the changing use of grave goods over the sixth to eighth centuries, looking at numbers, and types of objects placed in the grave, as well as where objects were placed in relation to the body. By analysing these processes at a variety of scales, from continental, to individual sites, I assessed how local communities fitted into broader networks of social change. This analysis revealed that although the abandonment of grave goods was a drawn-out process, it began in almost every region around the middle of the sixth century. I argue that there was a link between this process and the contemporary development of Christian thought on death and the afterlife, influenced by events such as the Justinianic plague, which affected Europe from the mid-sixth century onwards. This in turn inspired a change in the perception of the corpse; from the continued embodiment of the person which was capable of maintaining possession over select objects, to more of an object itself, devoid of possessive agency. Finally, I use globalisation and diffusion theory to argue that this change was evidence of strong cultural and religious connections across early medieval Europe, which made the rapid transmission of cultural practices possible.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Brownlee, Emma Claire"],"institution":"University of Cambridge","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Hakenbeck, Susanne"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-05-16","date_published":"2020-05-16","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:17Z","subjects":["Funerary Archaeology","Early Medieval","Europe","Globalisation","Grave Goods"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/8d3a3259-1a82-48f3-baf6-0eea42e43202/download","https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:creator.authoridentifier","label":"Author Identifier","values":["000000017430526X","0000000324090146"],"render_values":[{"text":"0000-0001-7430-526X","href":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7430-526X","code":true},{"text":"0000-0003-2409-0146","href":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2409-0146","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.49423","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Hakenbeck, Susanne"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["Funded by the AHRC (grant no. 1808445), and by the Cambridge School of Humanities and Social Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Brownlee, Emma Claire"]},{"key":"dc:creator.authoridentifier","label":"Author Identifier","values":["000000017430526X","0000000324090146"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2020-05-16"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cambridge"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/302350"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Funerary Archaeology","Early Medieval","Europe","Globalisation","Grave Goods"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/8d3a3259-1a82-48f3-baf6-0eea42e43202/download","https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.17863/CAM.49423"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/6257845c-0967-486c-94e5-0bc8f28deca1/download"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In the seventh century AD, burial practice fundamentally changed across northern and western Europe, transitioning from burial with varying provision of grave goods, to a standardised, simple burial, with no accompanying objects. This was a process that happened around the same time across many areas of Europe, but previous studies into the transition have been constrained by modern national boundaries, resulting in quite different explanations being proposed for the same process in different countries. I have analysed data from a sample of 246 cemeteries from England, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. I used GIS and basic statistical analysis to map the changing use of grave goods over the sixth to eighth centuries, looking at numbers, and types of objects placed in the grave, as well as where objects were placed in relation to the body. By analysing these processes at a variety of scales, from continental, to individual sites, I assessed how local communities fitted into broader networks of social change. This analysis revealed that although the abandonment of grave goods was a drawn-out process, it began in almost every region around the middle of the sixth century. I argue that there was a link between this process and the contemporary development of Christian thought on death and the afterlife, influenced by events such as the Justinianic plague, which affected Europe from the mid-sixth century onwards. This in turn inspired a change in the perception of the corpse; from the continued embodiment of the person which was capable of maintaining possession over select objects, to more of an object itself, devoid of possessive agency. Finally, I use globalisation and diffusion theory to argue that this change was evidence of strong cultural and religious connections across early medieval Europe, which made the rapid transmission of cultural practices possible."]},{"key":"dc:format.checksum.md5","label":"Dc Format Checksum Md5","values":["1f7cd1c579d9f6204e0aeec33d039962","87eda9de84448d1f82354d60eee3eb5f"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Burial Practices in Transition: A study of the cultural and religious cohesion of Early Medieval Europe"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Hakenbeck, Susanne"],"dc:contributor.sponsor":["Funded by the AHRC (grant no. 1808445), and by the Cambridge School of Humanities and Social Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Brownlee, Emma Claire"],"dc:creator.authoridentifier":["000000017430526X","0000000324090146"],"dc:date.issued":["2020-05-16"],"dc:description.abstract":["In the seventh century AD, burial practice fundamentally changed across northern and western Europe, transitioning from burial with varying provision of grave goods, to a standardised, simple burial, with no accompanying objects. This was a process that happened around the same time across many areas of Europe, but previous studies into the transition have been constrained by modern national boundaries, resulting in quite different explanations being proposed for the same process in different countries. I have analysed data from a sample of 246 cemeteries from England, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. I used GIS and basic statistical analysis to map the changing use of grave goods over the sixth to eighth centuries, looking at numbers, and types of objects placed in the grave, as well as where objects were placed in relation to the body. By analysing these processes at a variety of scales, from continental, to individual sites, I assessed how local communities fitted into broader networks of social change. This analysis revealed that although the abandonment of grave goods was a drawn-out process, it began in almost every region around the middle of the sixth century. I argue that there was a link between this process and the contemporary development of Christian thought on death and the afterlife, influenced by events such as the Justinianic plague, which affected Europe from the mid-sixth century onwards. This in turn inspired a change in the perception of the corpse; from the continued embodiment of the person which was capable of maintaining possession over select objects, to more of an object itself, devoid of possessive agency. Finally, I use globalisation and diffusion theory to argue that this change was evidence of strong cultural and religious connections across early medieval Europe, which made the rapid transmission of cultural practices possible."],"dc:format.checksum.md5":["1f7cd1c579d9f6204e0aeec33d039962","87eda9de84448d1f82354d60eee3eb5f"],"dc:identifier.doi":["10.17863/CAM.49423"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/6257845c-0967-486c-94e5-0bc8f28deca1/download"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Cambridge"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/302350"],"dc:rights":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/8d3a3259-1a82-48f3-baf6-0eea42e43202/download","https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"],"dc:subject":["Funerary Archaeology","Early Medieval","Europe","Globalisation","Grave Goods"],"dc:title":["Burial Practices in Transition: A study of the cultural and religious cohesion of Early Medieval Europe"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["Doctoral"],"dc:type.qualificationname":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:17Z"}