EAA 2022: Abstract

In the Early Medieval period, silk is rare. Well known are the silk textiles from the elite graves at St. Denis near Paris. Less well known instead is a small number of silk finds from burials in Merovingian and Allemanic row cemeteries, most of them in southern Germany.
These silk textiles make up several functional and technical groups. In most cases, a smaller amount of silk threads was used in the production of tablet woven bands, as the core of gold threads or as embroidery material. When silk was used in the warp and weft, the weave was mostly a simple tabby. Silk textiles in complex samite weaving are attested in only two cases. Some silk textiles evidently belonged to garments, others made part of the grave furnishing. As far as the kind of silk was investigated, it was reported as cultivated silk.
The paper wants to introduce these silk finds and discuss their possible functions and proveniences.

Merovingian, Alemannic, row cemeteries, textiles, silk

Oral presentation

  Abstract (PDF)

Petra Linscheid¹