Economy and Authority: A study of the coinage of Hiberno-Scandinavian Dublin and Ireland Volume 1: Text Andrew R. Woods Peterhouse This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Division of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge 2013 1 This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except where specifically indicated in the text. The following does not exceed the word limit (80,000 words) set out by the Division of Archaeology and Anthropology degree committee. 2 Abstract Economy and Authority: A study of the coinage of Hiberno-Scandinavian Dublin and Ireland Andrew R. Woods The aim of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between political authority and economic change in the tenth to twelfth centuries AD. This is often interpreted as a period of dramatic economic and political upheaval; enormous growth in commerce, the emergence of an urban network and increasingly centralised polities are all indicative of this process. Ireland has rarely been considered in discussion of this sort but analysis of Ireland’s political economy has much to contribute to the debate. This will be tackled through a consideration of the coinage struck in Ireland between c.995 and 1170 with focus upon the two themes of production and usage. In analysing this material the scale and scope of a monetary economy, the importance of commerce and the controlling aspects of royal authority will each be addressed. The approach deployed is also overtly comparative with material from other contemporary areas, particularly England and Norway, used to provide context. Ultimately, in seeking to analyse these questions within this comparative context, the issue of where economic agency behind changes in the European economy will be considered. Chapters 1 and 2 situate the research within the wider scholarly debate and precise historical context respectively. Chapters 3 to 6 are a consideration of the manner in which the Hiberno-Scandinavian coinage was produced and administered. This reassesses questions of the scale of production, administration and the role of royal authority in the production of the coinage based upon a comprehensive re-categorisation and re-dating of the material. Chapters 7 and 8 concern the use of coins in the urban environment of Dublin and across the entirety of Ireland, with coinage analysed within its archaeological contexts. Ultimately, this thesis suggests that monetary economy and levels of commerce were substantial, variable and yet relatively geographically constrained. When considered in relationship to contemporary political contexts, the importance of royal authority in directing the economy is determined to be minimal with agency behind economic change seen to rest with an urban, mercantile community. 3 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 List of figures ........................................................................................................................................................ 6 List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................................... 9 List of appendices ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1 – Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 13 1.1 Objectives .................................................................................................................................................. 13 1.2 Economy .................................................................................................................................................... 14 1.3 Authority .................................................................................................................................................... 20 1.4 Authority over economy? .......................................................................................................................... 24 1.5 Questions and organisation ........................................................................................................................ 26 Chapter 2 – Early medieval Dublin: a political and economic framework ................................................... 30 2.1 Political framework .................................................................................................................................... 30 2.2 The economy of Dublin ............................................................................................................................. 53 2.3 Authority and administration ..................................................................................................................... 69 2.4 Characterising Dublin’s economy .............................................................................................................. 72 Chapter 3 – Classifying the Hiberno-Scandinavian coinage ........................................................................... 74 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 74 3.2 Methodology: grouping and dating ............................................................................................................ 77 3.3 Typology .................................................................................................................................................... 88 3.4 Summary .................................................................................................................................................. 114 Chapter 4 – The scale of Hiberno-Scandinavian coinage .............................................................................. 118 4.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 118 4.2 Estimating ‘normal output’ ...................................................................................................................... 121 4.3 Renewal and production .......................................................................................................................... 137 4.4 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................................. 150 Chapter 5 – The relationship of silver and coinage ....................................................................................... 154 4 5.1 The Hiberno-Scandinavian alloy ............................................................................................................. 154 5.2 The Hiberno-Scandinavian weight standard ............................................................................................ 166 5.3 Interpreting debasement ........................................................................................................................... 177 5.4 Valuing coinage ....................................................................................................................................... 180 Chapter 6 – Administering the Hiberno-Scandinavian coinage ................................................................... 190 6.1 Iconography ............................................................................................................................................. 190 6.2 Renovatio Monetae .................................................................................................................................. 218 6.3 Producing the coinage of Dublin ............................................................................................................. 233 Chapter 7 – Coinage in Dublin ........................................................................................................................ 236 7.1 Identifying the Hiberno-Scandinavian mint in Dublin ............................................................................. 236 7.2 Using coinage in Dublin .......................................................................................................................... 241 7.3 Chronological developments in coin usage .............................................................................................. 258 7.4 Considering coinage................................................................................................................................. 265 7.5 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................................. 278 Chapter 8 – Using coinage in early medieval Ireland .................................................................................... 281 8.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 281 8.2 Coins and silver in the documentary evidence ......................................................................................... 283 8.3 Interpreting finds .....................................................................................................................................