Les fibules germaniques danubiennes dans le contexte slave (VIe siècle)

Abstract

The fingered brooches (fibulae), of Germanic tradition, belong to the Slavic material civilization of the 6th–7th centuries. They are well known from the sites of three cultures that most specialists consider to be Slavic, namely the one of Prague (ascribed to the Sclavenes of written sources, that is to the Slavs proper), the one of Penkovka (belonging to the Antes), and the one of Koločin, whose representatives remained without a name. But most of the finds under discussion actually represent “international” types, such as the “little” brooches designated as “Slavic” or “Danubian”; or the ones of local origin, such as those designated as “Antean” or “Dnestrian.” We propound a survey of the oldest fingered brooches discovered on Slavic sites. Their origin is Danubian Germanic, most probably Gepidic. They were unearthed in the territory occupied by the Slavs in the 6th century. Such finds could contribute to a better understanding of the formation of the Slavic woman’s costume at the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Keywords: fingered brooches, Sclavenes, Slavs, Antes, Danubian Germanic, woman’s costume.