XIV a. pabaigos-XV a. amuletai iš apkaustyto lokio nago Lietuvos Didžiojoje Kunigaikštystėje ir kaimyniniuose kraštuose

LTStraipsnyje nagrinėjami vėlyvųjų viduramžių kapinynuose rasti amuletai iš apkaustyto lokio nago. Jie klasifikuoti į tris tipus. Amuletų iš apkaustyto lokio nago chronologijai nustatyti sudaiyti koreliaciniai klasteriai. Jų duomenys parodo, kad visų tipų amuletų iš apkaustytų lokio nagų chronologija gali būti apibrėžta XIV a. pabaiga-XVa. Jie tiesiogiai susiję su krikščioniškojo pomirtinio gyvenimo vaizdiniais - Paskutiniuoju teismu ir tikėjimu mirusiųjų prisikėlimu. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Amuletai iš apkaustyto lokio nago; Krikščioniškieji simboliai ir ženklai; Prisikėlimas; Paskutinysis teismas; Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); Bear claw amulets with metal caps; Christian symbols; Resurrection of the faithful; Last judgement.

EN114 bear claw amulets with metal caps have been found at 47 sites in the territory of the GDL. 87 amulets were found in 75 burials and another 27 were discovered by chance in cemeteries and at other archaeological objects. Such amulets are found twice as often in the diocese of Medininkai than in the diocese of Vilnius. 13 amulets from 11 burials in 4 cemeteries have been found in the territory controlled by the Teutonic Order. Drawings of 10 amulets have been Published in literature. About 50 amulets from 24 localities are known in Livonia (only in the territory of Present-day Latvia). Drawings or photos of just 10 amulets from 8 localities have been published in Latvian literature. The terminal phalanx and bear claw were mostly used for amulets in the GDL and Livonia. Only bones without the claws, which have decomposed in the soil, have survived in almost all of the amulets that have been found. Phalanges of various sizes were used for the amulets. The shortest phalanges are 1.4-2 cm, the average 2.2-3.5 cm, and the longest 4-4.5 cm. This diversity of phalanx sizes shows that not just adult bears but also baby bears were hunted. Only a few wild animal fang amulets are known from the GDL and Livonia. The bear claw amulets are divided into 3 types on die basis of the morphologic components of their metal caps. The caps of the type I amulets consist of a frame and a bail made of wide, cast sheet strips with the ends of the bail curled below the rivet. The ends of some amulet bails were curled inwards, others outwards, and various pendants were hung on some of the curls. We have classified 6 type I variants on the basis of these elements.The caps of the type III amulets consist of only a frame made of a wide, cast sheet strip, which riveted to the bear phalanx. Thus these amulets lack both a bail and the curls with the attached pendants. The chronology of all the types of bear claw amulets that have been found in the GDL is confined to the late 14th-15th centuries and it is possible to confine the chronology of the variant 2, type I amulets found in the territory of the Teutonic Order to the second half of the 14th-first half of the 15th century. Bear claw amulets have been found in 65 female, 5 male, and 5 child burials. The age of over half of all the females was diagnosed. Two thirds of the females buried with these amulets were older or elderly and only one third were young or middle aged. Of the 75 GDL burials, in which individuals were buried with amulets, the location of these finds was not precisely recorded in only 11 burials. In the other 64 burials, the amulets were found at various places in the grave. In most (43) burials, they were found on the left side of the waist - pelvic area - below the left elbow, below the left forearm, below the phalanges of the left hand, or near, below, or on the left pelvic bone. Of these 43 burials, in 9 burials the amulets were placed in a small leather or cloth pouch with other grave goods (coins, erotais, rings, knives, etc.). Amulets were found on the right side of the waist - pelvic area in just 6 burials.Thus the typical amulet location in the burial was in the waist area, in which the left side predominated. The author of the broader digest of the Lithuanian Chronicle from the first half of sixteenth century, in attempting to show the customs of the pre-Christian Lithuanian nobility, combined incompatible images of the afterlife, e.g. pagan cremation with the one God of Christianity, the Final Judgment, and the resurrection of the faithful. It is impossible to either confirm or deny that in their cremation rites, the pre-Christian Lithuanian nobility did or did not use wild animal claws, no traces of which have so far been found in any cremation. After analysing the symbolic significance of the bear claw amulets, their pendants, and the location of the grave goods in the burials, we can draw the conclusion that these finds are directly connected with the images of the Christian afterlife, i.e. the last judgement and the resurrection of the faithful. Thus the author of the broader digest of the Lithuanian Metrica created the images of the afterlife of the pre-Christian Lithuanian nobility using his knowledge of the Christian context familiar to him. [From the publication]