BETWEEN MISCHIEF AND RELIGIOUS ACTION: MOTIVES FOR CREATING GRAFFITI ON CHRISTIAN TEMPLES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF EPIGRAPHIC SOURCES OF ST. PANTELEIMON’S CHURCH IN SHEVCHENKOVE VILLAGE AND OTHER EUROPEAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN SANCTUARIES)
https://doi.org/10.15330/hal_swc.9.58-98
Keywords:
St. Panteleimon Church, St. Stanislaus Church, graffiti, inscriptions, epigraphyAbstract
The creation of graffiti on churches was a widespread phenomenon in the Middle Ages and early modern times. The walls of ancient sanctuaries often feature inscriptions and images of various content. Today, such activities are clearly perceived as vandalism, but the motives for such actions in the past are not so obvious. In fact, graffiti could serve various functions beyond the mere desire to damage a monument to attract attention. People put different ideas into these inscriptions and drawings. The purpose of article is to classify and understand the main motives for creating graffiti on sacred buildings. The epigraphic heritage of St. Panteleimon’s Church in the Shevchenkove village, one of the sacred objects under the protection of the National Reserve «Davniy Halych»,
was chosen as the source base for this research. To compare and clarify the functions of the existing graffiti on the church, information from wall inscriptions of other European sanctuaries was used. The available evidence indicates that inscriptions played a diverse role. They embodied a religious act, recorded a certain historical event or administrative verdict, emphasised a person’s status, conveyed certain information, served as masonry signs, magical symbols, and even curses. Graffiti was directly related to everyday life, ideas and personal experiences of people. They are signs of the times and a reflection of the consciousness of past generations. An additional goal of this article is to draw attention to the importance of studying graffiti and its role as a source, as these inscriptions and images can provide unique information not recorded in other historical materials.
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