Original Contexts: Grave Goods, Evolution of Style, and Forgeries

As the Visigoths migrated and eventually settled in the Iberian Peninsula, they engaged actively with the dominant Roman culture. The Visigothic kingdom was largely cut off from ports and workshops in the western Mediterranean and, due to necessity, absorbed and adopted aspects of Roman material culture, even making use of Roman villa estates. However, the Visigoths did not aim to completely depart from their own cultural practices. The process of attempting to assert cultural legitimacy and geographical belonging within a Roman-populated area, while retaining aspects of their own culture, affected the Visigoths’ understanding of their identities and shifted how they outwardly portrayed that identity. Even with their attempted assimilation to aspects of Roman identity, the Visigoths were at times considered “the Other” by the remaining Roman citizens. Their practice of Arian Christianity set them apart from Hispano-Roman Catholics, until the rule of Reccared (r. 559-601). From the late-fifth century to the early-eighth century, the push and pull between assimilation and differentiation affected the appearance of Visigothic personal ornament.

This map was acquired from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migration_Period#/media/File:Invasions_of_the_Roman_Empire_1.png 

INVESTIGATE THESE ORIGINAL CONTEXTS BELOW

EXPLORE FURTHER