Baptismal Crosses from Tsarevokokshaisk Necropoleis (the problem of systematization)

Abstract

The article is devoted to baptismal crosses, an understudied aspect of the funerary culture of the Later Middle Ages and the Modern Era. For the first time the work summarizes the material from the two Tsarevokokshaisk necropoleis (Bogoroditse-Sergievsky and Tikhvinsky) dated from the 17th to the first half of the 19th centuries, which were studied during the 2010 and 2012 conservation archaeological excavations in the territory of Yoshkar-Ola city. An integrated analysis of the baptismal crosses has made it possible to offer their detailed typological and chronological characteristics, trace the evolution of certain types of baptismal crosses, and identify their "male" and "female" varieties. The data on the role and place of baptismal crosses in the mortuary cult are analyzed.

Keywords

• the Middle Volga river region
• the Mari El Republic
• the Later Middle Ages
• the Modern Era
• Tsarevokokshaisk city
• necropolis
• baptismal cross
• typology