Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.53745/ccp.49.96.7
Interlace Sculpture and Missionary Activity in Early Medieval Lower Pannonia
Nikolina Belošević
orcid.org/0000-0001-6869-3809
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Danko Dujmović
orcid.org/0000-0003-4688-8490
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Abstract
This paper examines interlace sculpture primarily from Lobor, while also considering pieces from Sisak and Slivnica, placing them in the context of the Christianization of the region south of the Drava River following the Frankish conquests. It highlights the role of Aquileia as a missionary center in this process. The study is based on the material remains of early medieval liturgical stone furnishings discovered at these sites. Analysis of the sculptures reveals stylistic and iconographic parallels with pre-Romanesque monuments from the northern Adriatic and the former Lombard Kingdom, indicating the presence of stonemasons connected to Aquileian missionary circles. Lobor is particularly notable, as archaeological research demonstrates a multi-phase continuity of sacred construction from early Christianity through the Middle Ages. The paper also compares the historical context with Carantania, where interlace sculpture is associated with local Slavic princes Christianized under Salzburg missionary activity. Based on these analogies, it is proposed that the churches in Sisak and Lobor were part of a comparable political-religious strategy by local Slavic elites under the influence of Aquileia during the first half of the 9th century.
Keywords
Lower Pannonia, Sisak; Lobor; Slivnica; Aquileia; early Middle Ages; interlace sculpture
Hrčak ID:
343758
URI
Publication date:
24.1.2026.
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