MAJA PETRINEC

Muzej hrvatskih arheolokih spomenika Split, Croatia l

By Their Fruit You Will Recognize Them:

The Beginnings Of Christianity Among The

Croats In The Light OfArchaeological Evidence

the tum ofthe S!h and the 9!h century, the

Croatian territory enters into the Frankish
phere of interest. I t is the age that is
marked as the beginning of the spread of Chris
tianity among the Slavic population through mis
sionaries from Aquilea. In terms of archaeology,
this process is well documented by several indi
vidual artifacts such as: the thurible from the sur-

!t

rounding ofVrlika near Sinj (fig. 1) that is compa

rable with the cup of the Bavarian Duke TasilIo
from the Benedictine Abbey in Kremsmtinster;
the strap end discovered at Gornji Vrbljani in
present-day Bosnia (fig. 2), carrying an inscrip
tion of votive meaning and the name of the
Frankish craftsman (Tetgis); and the reliquary of
St. Anselm from the treasury of the parish church

Fig. l - The thurible, Vrli

ka, upanija Splitsko-dal
matinska, Croatia

st~p

Fig. 2 Vrbljani,
- The Bosnia end,
Gornji
and
Herzegowina

maja.pctril1(,c ~1 mhas-split.hr

I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

194

Maj a Petrinec

Fig. 3 - The rel iquary of St. Anselm, Nin, upan ija Zadarska, Croat ia

in Nin (Fig. 3). Evidence on miss ionary wo rk is

also doubtlessly provided by titulars of individual
pre-Rom anesque churches from th e 9 rh centu ry
(S t. Anse lm in Nin , St. M artha in Bij a i ) and the
priests' nam es that are inscribed into the church
furni shing (deacon Ghumperrus, abbot Theode
bertu s) ( H RVAT I I K AROLI NZI 2000).
Individu al find s that have been di scove red
w ithin row cem eteries dated from the end of the
Fig. 4 - Three -branched
t-shaped ant lerJecipient,
grave 161 , Nin-Zdrijac, u
panija Zadarska , Croatia

and th e first half of th e ()fh centu ry testify the

beginning o f th e spread of C hri sti anity am o ng
the common population .

srh

Three-Branched T-Shaped Antler

Recipient
So far, the th ree-branch ed T-sh aped antle r re
cipie nts have bee n discove red in seve ral cases

' -l

II

By Their Fruit You Will Recognize Them: The Beginnings.. .

195

Fig. 5 - Three-b ra nched

t-shaped antl er recip ient ,
evrs k e , u pa nija Sibe n
sko-kni nska, Croatia

w ithin ea rl y m edi aeva l graves as fo ll ows : in

graves 16 1 (fi g 4. ) and 180 (fi g. 6) at drij ac in
Nin and grave 128 at Go rica in Stra n e (CET I N I
1998, s. 97). Particularly interesting is the speci
m en th at was w ro ngly ass igned in earlier litera
ture to the site Ivoevci near Knin, but most like
ly o rigi nates fro m an earl y medi aeva l grave fro m
close-by ev rs ke (fi g. 5) .
Fig. 6 - Three-branched
t-s haped antle rJecipient,
grave 180, Nin-Zdrijac, u
pa nija Zada rska , Croatia

T -shaped recipients are most numerous wi th

in the fram ework of th e Avaro-Slavi c and Slavic
cem eteries in the region of the Carpathian Basin ,
w here, up to the prese nt, approximately twe n ty
such obj ects have been di scovered . The o ld est
o nes are considered to be uno rnam ented speci
m ens fro m ce meteri es d ated to the 7 th and 8 th
centu ry (Dunapentele, Abony, Kiskbre, AJattya n,

196
Ullo II, Gater,j<inoshida, Mistelbach) (KAvANo
VA 1995, s. 190). They are followed by one recip
ient from grave 116 in Devinska Nova Ves that is
decorated with a carved reticular ornament,
which can be dated to the late 8th century on the
basis of accompanying finds (KAVANOVA 1995,
. 190). In addition to the aforementioned ones,
are the predominantley ornamented recipients
from the Transdanubian cemeteries of Sopron
k6hida (TOROK 1973, s. 47-49), ZalaszabarDe
sz6sz iget (MULLER 1992, s. 288, T. 74), Eszter
ga lyhorvati-Als6barandpusztaand others, dated
to the 9th century, and a specimen from the same
time ornamented with a notched zigzag line dis
covered in grave 18 at the Pitten cemetery in
Lower Austria (FRlESINGER 1975-1977, T. 14, G .
XVIII). T -shaped recipients also appear in the re
gion of Moravia. All these specimens discovered
so far originate from the settlement strata at the
sites of Mikulice , Bfeclav-Pohansko and Stare
Zamky (KAVANOVA 1995, S. 190-191). They are
dated to the end of the pre-Great Moravian pe
riod and lasted until the late Great Moravian pe
riod , aPfroximately from the second quarter
of the 9 t century to the first half of the 10th cen
tury. Chronologically dating to the same or
somewhat earlier times are related finds from the
Czech region (Libice, Levy Hradec), and later,
dated to the 11 th century, the individual T-shaped
specimens found in settlements of the early Sla
vic period in the region of Germany (e.g. Lod
digsee) (HERMANN 1985, s. 281).
Various proposals have been suggested re
garding the function of the three-branched re
cipients. However, the prevailing opinion is that
they are objects of a ceremoniaI character, be
longing to funeral requisites of distinguished
men. These men have had significant roles in
both secular and religious rituals. Although not
precisely confirmed, it is assumed that the recip
ients contained salt, which had a specific fun
ction in these activities, like in the example of the
widespread custom of offering bread and salt
during the ceremony of welcome, which has
been retained in some regions until the present.
Besides salt, possibly spices or medical herbs
have been kept in these recipi ents. Individual
finds suggest that three-branched recipients had
stoppers. The remains of a wooden stopper have
been discovered next to a recipi ent at the Ger
man site of Loddigsee. On e specimen has also
been discovered at Pitten in Austria that con
tained a tin stopper with a handIe and iron chain,

Maja Petrinec
and was reinforced with bronze rivets in the cen
tre. Due to the fact that the majority of the finds
was positioned at the waist level of the deceased
and due to small holes on all three branches, it is
assumed that they were hung on a belt.
Particularly interesting are the decorated spec
imens from grave 161 at drijac and a similar
recipient from evrske. These two are closely re
lated to a recipient from grave 48 in Sopronkohi
da. They are all omamented with depictions of the
tree of life, next to which are two animals. They
only differ in the designed ornamentation and in
dividual details. The ornamentation on the re
cipient from drijac is carved, while the other two
are formed from chiseled triangles.
The aforementioned depictions are various
Iy interpreted and therefore opinions differ con
cerning the origins of these objects. Beloevi
and Torok assume that they display religious
scenes connected to a shamanistic cult of the
dead. According to such an interpretation, sad
dIed and bridled horses are depicted next to the
tree oflife as they represent animals that carry the
dead, wearing head masks of horned livestock
(bulls). Beloevi concludes that the antler re
cipients are Avarian cultural goods that Croats
obtained as spoils during the wars betwee n the
Franks and Avars in the late 8 th century (BELO
EVI 1980, s. 125-128). Certain Croatian authors
consider these objects to be Croatian cultural
goods and seek an explanation for the symbolism
of the depictions within the Iranian cultural cir
cle (SMILJANI, SAMBUNJAK 1982, s. 67-76). The
most convincing interpretations are those that
point out the similarity to the Christian world,
i.e. they assume that the significance of the sym
bols on these objects already exhibited Christian
religious properties (PEJAKOVI, GATTIN 1988,
s. 207-208; DRAGI EVI 1993, s. 63-74; VOJVODA
1992, s. 141-144). It is primarily important to
stress the depiction of the cross, which indis
putably must be viewed as a Christian symbol.
The entire ornamentation on the specimen from
drijac could be explained as the tree oflife in
Heavenly Jerusalem, from which grows a fruit
symbolized by the cross, i.e. Christ's monogram,
with animals recognized as deer and antelapes.
In the depiction on the recipient from evrske,
the tree of life is emphasized by four-peta I
rosettes, which also ends in a cross with wide
arms. The animals by the tree are oxen, which in
Christianity symbolize suffering for the benefit
of others. Besides the aforementioned, the source

By Their Fruit You Will Recognize Them: The Beginnings ...

of the "tree of life"- concept does not necessari
ly need to be sought in Asian cultures due to the
fact that Christians interpreted this idea with the
same symbol.
The front side of the recipient from grave 180
discovered at drijac displays a hunter spearing
a tleeing deer, while the back shows a checker
board motif with hatched fields. Unlike the pre
viously described specimens that exhibit a high
level of workmanship and aesthetic value, this
specimen contains decorations that are carved in
a c1umsy and unskillful manner.
Although the specimen with the depiction of
a hunting scene from grave 180 at drijac lacks
genuine analogies, it can be referred to the antler
recipient from the cemetery in Zalaszabar-Dezs6
sziget which presents two animals that are, addi
tionally to the geometrical ornamentation of
hatched bands, carved in an equa lly unskillful
manner. It is of further interest that two crosses
were subsequently carved on the same specimen,
a Maltese and a Latin cross with dots at the ends
of the arms. It may be assumed that these objects,
which were used earlier within the framework of
a pagan cult, we re chosen precisely for this rea
son at the time when Christianity had begun to
spread. Regarding the depictions itself, it must
be concluded that Christianity used symbols that
already had been formed in order to add ress the
pagans. The cross has been added to those sym
bols in order to differentiate them from the pa
gan ones and to give them a new meaning at the
same time.

Cross-Shaped Applique
The cross-shaped applique that has been discov
ered on the chest of a deceased woman in grave
324 at drijac in Nin (fig. 7) is made ofbronze
in the casting technique and gilded. It has equal
ly long arms, which contain two oval attachments
with eyelets at their bottom ends. These have
been mostly used for pins in order to attach them
to the attire. The appliqu's arms have been dec
orated in relief printing with stylized human fig
ures that have accentuated hair, eyes and noses,
with their arms lifted, i.e. they are displayed in
the adorant position. The centre of the cross, re
spectively in the root of the arms, shows four hu
man masks in the relief-printing technique.
A certain affinity of the cross from drijac
to the bronze cross-shaped fibulae, which are
rounded and carved with concentric circles and

197

Fig. 7 - Cross-shaped applique, grave 324,

Nin-Zdrijac, upanija Zadarska, Croatia

decorated arms' endings, has been several times

pointed out in archaeological literature (STEIN
1967, s. 97). Such kinds of fibulae are quiet often
discovered in noble men graves from the ea rl y
Carolingian age in northwestern Europe. Such
specimens have also been found outside the afore
mentioned area in grave 1079 at the site Birka in
Sweden, in grave 75 at the Slavic cemetery in
Auhof-Perg in Upper Austria and one example
of a grave find that originates from Ahmin in
Upper Egypt (TovaRNIK 1986, s. 444-445).
They date back to the end of the 8th or beginning
of the 9 th century. Grave 154 next to the Pader
born cathed ral , where such a fibulae has been
discovered, can reliably be dated in between 777
and 799 AD based on the relation to architecture.
The cemetery in Drantum in Lower Saxony
however is dated in between 777 and 786 AD ,
so that the occurrence of the cross-shaped fibula
at this location is connected to the Saxon wars of
Charlemagne, i.e. the missionary work, that has
followed their ends (TOVaRNIK 1986, s. 444-445).
The presence of a cross-shaped fibula, as a Chris
tian symbol, on the Slavic cemetery in Auhof is
explained in a similar way. Since there are strong
Iy expressed paga n burial customs, animal bones
and wooden water buckets have been discovered
in grave 75 ne>..1: to a fibula. The grave has been
dated to the first quarter of the 9th century.
The most significant parallels to the speci
men from drijac can however be found in the
Moravian area . Notabl)l, they are recognizable in

198
one little cross that has been discovered in the
cultural strata next to the so-called fifth church
in Mikulice and in a similar, not entirely pre
served, small cross, that is threaded onto a neck
lace , which has been found in the child 's grave
71 ne>..1: to the rotunda St. Peter in Bude in the
Czech Republic (OLLE 1980, s. 269, figo 3,2,
s. 359, T. II). There, it has been in secondary us
age. Due to the fact that both crosses are also
decorated with human masks, they are associat
ed with the Blatnica style. Human masks appear
on the cross-guard of the Carolingian sword,
strap fittings and harness fittings from the
eponymic site Blatnica in Slovakia (BENDA 1963,
s. 201, figo 1, s. 213, figo 16). With regard to the
cross from drijac, the cross-shaped strap fitting
is particularly interesting. Its arms are decorated
with mirrored placed human figures and with
four relief-produced masks in the protruding
central part. They are arranged between the plas
tic-shaped St. Andrew's cross.
Reliefillustrations of human masks and ado
rants are found at certain locations in southwest
ern Slovakia in the late horizon of the cast bronze.
Some cemeteries of this horizon disclose finds
that can be, in the broader sense, connected to the
Blatnica style. A peculiar decorated headgear of a
horse, discovered in grave 10 at the site ZitavsIci
Ton , particularly stands out (BUDINSKY-KRIKA
1956, s. 57-58, figo 17). It consists of one larger
fitting that is made of six bronze gilded human
masks, which are interconnected by the St. An
drew's cross and attached to the frontal strap, and
three smaller fittings that consist of three inter
connected identical masks from the headgear's
side strap. Bronze, sometimes gilded wether
belIs, decorated with human masks (itavska
Ton, Komarno, Nove Zamky), have been no
ticed in the same cultural and chronological hori
zon. In the Moravian region, this type of decora
tion appears also on some other craftwork objects
from the late 9th century, such as the bronze gild
ed spur, which is decorated with human masks
and discovered in the luxuriant grave 44 next
to the so-called second church in Mikulice
(POULiK 1975, T. 34).
In the light of the given facts, it can be as
sumed that the cross from drijac has its origin
in the cross-shaped fibulae of the early Carolin
gian age. Its presence on cemeteries, which most
ly belong to the horizon of paga n burial customs,
as well as in some other cases when talking about
the respective fibulae, can be linked to the be-

Maja Petrinec
ginning of Christianization. Such conclusion
complies with historical information; and the
presence of the first missionaries in our region at
the end of the 8 th century is verified by several
aforementioned significant sacra l artifacts from
the early Carolingian cultural circle such as
thurible from the source of the Cetina river. The
cross from drijac however is linked, by the re
lief illustrations of adorants and human masks,
to certain finds that belong to the Blatnica style,
which is characteristic for the area of the
Carpathian Basin at the end of the wars between
the Franks and Avars and right at the beginning
of the 9 th century.

Bronze Pendant With Depiction Of

The Holy Trinity
The bronze pendant originates from grave 216 at
drijac in Nin (fig. 8). It is cast-made, has an
oval shape and a small c1asp at the top with a ring
through it. The brim is ribbed and has a relief
depiction on both sides that displays three per
sons holding each others hands. There are no
known analogies to this pendant. It is assumed,
that it illustrates three equally important persons

Fig. 8 - The pendent with gepiction of the Hol

ly Trinity, grave 216, Nin-Zdrijac, upanija ~a
darska, Croatia

By Their Fruit You Will Recognize Them: The Beginnings ...

representing the Holy Trinity, which is parti
cularly respected in the iconography of the West
ern Church in the early Carolingian age (MILO
EVI 2000, s. 134). The most distinguished
scientists from the Benedictine order, such as AI
cuin and GottschaIk, wrote namely their works
by advocating the doctrines on the Holy Trinity,
which has been religiously dominating in the
early 9 th century, and so overwhelming that the
Christian faith even called itself fides Sanctae
Trinitatis (DELONGA 2000, s. 241-244). If we
accept such an interpretation of the depiction on
the Zdrijac pendant (which is strongly convinc
ing with regard to numerous epigraphic confir
mations on the worship of the Holy Trinity in
the inscriptions on churches' furnishings in the
area of the Croatian principality), then its pres
ence in the grave with mostly pagan burial char
acteristics testifies the beginning of the spreading
of Christianity.

Crosses On Slabs Of Grave Architec

ture
Finally, I would like to stress the peculiar ap
pearance, which so far has been noticed, within
early mediaeval cemeteries, only at several sites
in the narrower surrounding of the small town
Sinj in the hinterland of the Dalmatian coast.
Hence, this should be considered a local pecu
liarity. The reference is here to crosses that are
carved at the head and bottom slabs of the gra
ves (PETRINEC 2002, s. 222-223). The repre
sented crosses here are the Greek cross, St-An
drew's cross and the Maltese cross, which occur
in different versions (fig. 9-12). In several cases,
the Greek cross has equilatera l triangles en
graved at the tips or its arms ending in splitting
branches.
In contrast to the earlier mentioned cases re
garding finds of recipients, lockets and crosses
that appear already in the pagan context, graves
with carved crosses can be chronologically de
termined to the mid and the second half of the
9th century. Exactly the period, when the Ch ris
tianity process has already started to affect the
broad layers of the Croatian society and when the
abandonment of pagan burialofferings in burial
customs became common.

Fig. 9-12 - Crosses on slabs of grave architec

ture, Glavice, upanija Splitsko-dalmatinska,
Croatia

199

200

Maja Petrinec

References
J.

BELOEVI

Materijalna kultura Hrvata od 7. do 9. stoljea, Zagreb.

1980
BENDA K.

KarolinsIci sloka blatnickeho nalezu , Slovenski A rc/teol6gia , Xl-l, Bratislava, p. 199-222.

1963

BUDINSKy-KRI KA

V.

Pohrebisko z neskorej doby avarske v itavskej Toni na Slovensku, Slovenska A rcheol6gia , N-l,
Bratislava, p. 5-131.

1956

CETINI .
1998
Strane-Gorica, starohrvatsko groblj e, Rijeka.
DELONGA

V.
Pismenost karolinkog doba i njeni hrvatski odjeci - latinska epigrafika batina u hrvatskim kra
jevima, [in:] Hrvati i karolinzi (Rasprave i lIrela), Split, p. 216-249.

2000

DRAGI EVI

1993

J.

EISNER

1952

Devfnska Nova Ves, slovanske pohfebite, Bratislava.

FRIESINGER

HERMANN

J.

1985
HRVATI

Die Slawen in Deutschland, Berlin.

I KAROLINZI

2000

Hrvati i Karolinzi (Katalog), Split.

B.

KAVANovA

Knochen- und Geweihindustrie in Mikulice, [in:] StudiaI z um Burgwall von Mikul&e, vo!. l ,
Brno.

1995
MILOEVI

A.
Karolinki utjecaji u kneevini Hrvatskoj, [in:] Hrvati i karolir/zi (Rasprave i vrela), Split, p. 106-139.

2000

R.

MULLER

1992

PEJAKOVI

1988
PETRINE C

2002

POULIK

H.

Studien zur Archaologie der Slawen in Nieder6sterreich II, Mitteihlllgen der prallistorischen Kom
mission der Osterreichisdlell Akademie der Wissenschaften, XVII-XVIII vo!., Wien.

1975-1977

Graberfeld und Siedlungreste aus der Karolingerzeit von Zalaszabar-Deszosziget, Die Karoli n
gerzeit im unteren Zalatal, An/aeus Comllluni<:ationes ex Instituta Archaeologico Academiae ScimtanJI11
Hrmgaricae 21, Budapest, p. 271-560.
M.,

GATTIN

N.

Starohrvatska sakralna arhitektura, Zagreb.

M.

Dosadanji rezultati istraivanja ranosrednjovjekovnog groblja u Glavicama kraj Sinja kao pri
log razrjeavanju problema kronologije starohrvatskih grobalja, Opuscula Archaeologica, vol. 26,
Zagreb, p. 257-273.

J.

1975
SMILJANI

1982
STEIN

M .

Simbolika ukrasnih motiva na roinama iz grobova nekropole N in-drijac, Adrias 4-5, Split,
p.63-74

Mikulice,

sfdlo a pevnost knfat ve lkomoravsk.-ych, Praha.

F., SAMBUNJAK S.
O besmrtnosti i svjetlosti kazuju kosti, Dometi, vo!. 12, Rijeka, p. 67-76.

F .

1967

Adelsgraber des achten Jahrhunderts in Deutschland.

By Their Fruit You Will Recognize Them: The Beginnings...

OLLE

M.
1980

TOROK

Objev mikulicko-blatnickeho kfiku na

3, Praha, p. 265-273.

Budi

201

ajeho ryznam, Archeologickt! rozhledy, vol. XXXII,

Gy.
Sopronk6hida IX. szazadi temet6je, Fontes Archaeologici Hungariae, Budapest.

1973
TOVORNIK

V.

1986
VOJVODA

1992

Die friihmittelalterlichen Graberfelder von Gusen und Auhofbei Perg in Oberosterreich, Teil 2:
Auhofbei Perg, Archaeologia Ausfriaea, vol. 70, Wien, p. 413-483.
P.
Prilog itanju starohrvatskih simbola, [in :] Arheoloka istraivanja u Kl1;1lU i Kllinskoj krajini, IzdaIlja
Hrvatskog arheolokog dmfva 15 (1990), Zagreb, p. 141-144.