The Visigothic society and its Cemeteries

Abstract

The archeological evidence left by the Visigothic cemeteries can prove to be a significant piece of information for abetter analysis of the society that lived in Early Medieval Hispania. The main purpose of this essay is precisely to understand what kind of conclusions, if any, can be extracted from them.

A first idea stating that the places of the dead reflect the society of the living is not a new one but a second, sustaining that the habitats of the living and the places of the dead were always in a close relation might be less obvious even if fairly consensual. Springing from a very practical need of dealing with the dead bodies, human societies had and have to find answers and procedures which will, inevitably, reflect their anxieties, beliefs and hopes.

Early Medieval Hispania could not be any different. However, it is unclear if we can understand those cultural attitudes from the little evidence at our disposition for this was a period of great instability and striking contradictions, where different peoples and cultures were in a complex process of mutual contact and influence.

One knows from the start that, due to this great complexity and to the scarcity of sources available, it will not be possible to reach solid conclusions about the mentalities of the time. This essay, however, will attempt to understand if, from the archeological evidence left by the cemeteries, ideas can be developed about Identity and Power in the Visigothic society.