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Père de la Croix and the Challenges of Christian Archaeology in Late 19th Century France – A CES Lunchtime Symposium with Bonnie Effros

November 17, 2016 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Dr. Bonnie Effros is a Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Humanities in the Public Sphere at the University of Florida.

Despite growing anti-clerical sentiment in the late nineteenth century, a few intrepid clerical scholars and their allies both inside and outside of France sought to draw attention to material evidence for the early flourishing of Christianity in ancient Gaul. Pointing to recently documented inscriptional and monumental remains, these historians, epigraphers, and archaeologists highlighted the exemplary faith and achievements of the small but thriving communities of Gallo-Roman Christians that existed across France.

Although their discoveries were overshadowed in antiquarian societies by the more dominant Romanist-Germanist debates over the significance of the migration period, French scholars’ discussions of the Christian origins of France thrived due to a small but powerful, international support network of scholars that stretched from Rome to North Africa.

Together these clerical and lay scholars lay the foundation for art historical and inscriptional remains of the late antique period. Using the excavations of the Jesuit archaeologist Père Camille de la Croix at the baptistère Saint-Jean and the Hypogée des Dunes as a case study, I will point to the rise of an international network of Catholic researchers attuned to scholarship on early Christian Gaul and address the implications of de la Croix’s contested research for Christian archaeology at the turn of the century.

Lunch will be provided.

Details

Date:
November 17, 2016
Time:
11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Website:
Link (Opens in New Tab)

Organizer

Venue

CES Conference Room, Turlington Hall 3312