Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00662-1 - Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: The Southern English Kingdoms 757–865 Rory Naismith Frontmatter More information Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought MONEY AND POWER IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND This groundbreaking study of coinage in early medieval England is the fi rst to take account of the very signifi cant additions to the corpus of southern English coins discovered in recent years, and to situate this evidence within the wider historical context of Anglo-Saxon England and its continental neighbours. Its nine chapters integrate historical and numismatic research to explore who made early medieval coinage, who used it and why. The currency emerges as a sig- nifi cant resource accessible across society, and, through analysis of its produc- tion, circulation and use, the author shows that control over coinage could be a major asset. This control was guided as much by ideology as by economics and embraced several levels of power, from kings down to individual craftsmen. Thematic in approach, this innovative book off ers an engaging, wide-ranging account of Anglo-Saxon coinage as a unique and revealing gauge for the inter- action of society, economy and government. Rory Naismith is a Junior Research Fellow at Clare College, Cambridge, working in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge, and the Department of Coins and Medals at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00662-1 - Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: The Southern English Kingdoms 757–865 Rory Naismith Frontmatter More information Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought Fourth Series General Editor : Rosamond Mckitterick Professor of Medieval History, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Sidney Sussex College Advisory Editors : Christine Carpenter Professor of Medieval English History, University of Cambridge Jonathan SHEPARD The series Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought was inaugurated by G.G. Coulton in 1921; Professor Rosamond McKitterick now acts as General Editor of the Fourth Series, with Professor Christine Carpenter and Dr Jonathan Shepard as Advisory Editors. The series brings together outstanding work by medieval scholars over a wide range of human endeavour extending from polit- ical economy to the history of ideas. A list of titles in the series can be found at: www.cambridge.org/medievallifeandthought © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00662-1 - Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: The Southern English Kingdoms 757–865 Rory Naismith Frontmatter More information MONEY AND POWER IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND The Southern English Kingdoms 757–865 RORY NAISMITH Clare College, Cambridge © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00662-1 - Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: The Southern English Kingdoms 757–865 Rory Naismith Frontmatter More information cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Mexico City Cambridge University Press Th e Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 8ru, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107006621 © Rory Naismith 2012 Th is publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2012 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Naismith, Rory. Money and power in Anglo-Saxon England : the southern English kingdoms, 757–865 / Rory Naismith. p. cm. – (Cambridge studies in medieval life and thought : fourth series ; 80) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-107-00662-1 (hardback) 1. Coins, Anglo-Saxon–England, Southern. 2. Coinage–England, Southern– History–To 1500. 3. Great Britain–History–Anglo-Saxon period, 449–1066. 4. Anglo-Saxons–Kings and rulers. 5. Coins, Anglo-Saxon. 6. Mints–England–History–To 1500. 7. Numismatics–England. I. Title. cj2490.n35 2011 737.4942–dc23 2011026076 isbn 978-1-107-00662-1 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Information regarding prices, travel timetables, and other factual information given in this work is correct at the time of fi rst printing but Cambridge University Press does not guarantee the accuracy of such information thereafter. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00662-1 - Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: The Southern English Kingdoms 757–865 Rory Naismith Frontmatter More information CONTENTS List of fi gures page viii List of maps xii List of tables xiii Acknowledgements xiv List of abbreviations xvi 1 Introduction 1 Coinage in southern England and its neighbours 757–865 4 The historical setting: Mercia, Wessex and the vikings 9 2 Money in its political context 13 Kings, states and power in England and its neighbours 16 Royal resources 23 Land and warriors 29 Towns and trade 32 Conclusion 36 Coinage as a royal resource: the Roman legacy 37 Emperors, kings and minting 39 Minting profi ts 41 3 Looking at coinage: iconography and inscriptions 47 Coins, kings and propaganda 47 ‘Portraits’ 53 Off a, novus Constantinus ? 54 After Off a 64 Archiepiscopal portraits 67 Crosses and other religious iconography 69 Inscriptions 72 Numismatic titulature 79 Conclusion 84 v © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00662-1 - Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: The Southern English Kingdoms 757–865 Rory Naismith Frontmatter More information Contents 4 Authority and minting I: the king 87 Royal coinage in England before c . 740 90 The establishment of royal coinages in northwest Europe c . 740– c . 770 96 The development of royal coinage: the Mercian regime 757– c . 825 100 The development of royal coinage: the West Saxon regime c . 825–65 106 Case studies in royal coinage I: gold coinage 112 Case studies in royal coinage II: the interstices of royal coinage 117 5 Authority and minting II: mints, die-cutters and moneyers 128 Mint-towns 128 Moneyers and die-cutters 132 The moneyers of Anglo-Saxon England 142 Origins and parallels 142 Connections and positions 146 Case studies in the role of moneyers I: favoured moneyers 150 Case studies in the role of moneyers II: the Anonymous coinage 153 Kings, mints and moneyers 154 6 Value judgements: weight and fineness 156 Metal standards 157 Silver sources 157 Fineness 161 Weight standards 168 Off a’s weight standards 171 Off a, Charlemagne and the coin reforms of 792–4 175 Metrology after 792/3 178 7 Production of coinage 181 Coinage and recoinage 181 The scale of minting 184 The productivity of moneyers 192 Contexts and comparisons 194 Conclusion 196 8 The circulation of coinage 199 English money, foreign money 203 Global trends within southern England: ‘monetary recession, without geographical retreat’ 209 vi © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00662-1 - Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: The Southern English Kingdoms 757–865 Rory Naismith Frontmatter More information Contents A tale of two mints: Canterbury and Ipswich compared 211 London 214 Rochester and Southampton: the minor mints 216 Coin-circulation and kings, moneyers and clergy 218 The rate of loss: monetization and production compared 224 The forces behind circulation 229 The monetary economy of southern England 229 Changes in the monetary economy 231 Contexts of circulation: pottery and metalwork 239 Contexts of circulation: Francia, Northumbria and Italy 244 Conclusion 251 9 The nature of coin-use in the early Middle Ages 252 Background: Mauss, Pirenne, Grierson and after 252 Coins and commerce? 259 Gifts and coins 260 Case study: payments in Anglo-Saxon charters 267 Coinage and exchange in context 273 Coinage, markets and peasants 276 The problem of small change 284 Conclusion: coinage in the economy 291 10 Conclusion 293 Bibliography 296 Index 340 vii © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-00662-1 - Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: The Southern English Kingdoms 757–865 Rory Naismith Frontmatter More information FIGURES Permission to reproduce the images in this volume was kindly given by the Trustees of the British Museum, the Trustees of the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Classical Numismatic Group (Lancaster, PA, and London), Dr Stewart Lyon and by another private collector, who wishes to remain anonymous. Figures are reproduced at × 2 life size. 2.1 Tremissis of Grimoald III, with Charlemagne ( MEC , no. 1098 (Fitzwilliam Museum)) page 14 3.1 Examples of Off a’s and Constantine’s busts with diadem and bareheaded (Chick 8a (British Museum); Chick 31c (British Museum); and Fitzwilliam Museum) 56 3.2 Curly-haired busts of Off a and Lucius Verus (Chick 32a (Fitzwilliam Museum);