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Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: The Southern English Kingdoms, 757–865
This groundbreaking study of coinage in early medieval England is the first to take account of the very significant 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 significant resource accessible across society and, through analysis of its production, 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 offers an engaging, wide-ranging account of Anglo-Saxon coinage as a unique and revealing gauge for the interaction of society, economy and government.
370 pages, Paperback
First published October 6, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 25, 2020
Rory Naismith, Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England – the southern Kingdoms 757-865, 2013, 295 pages,
This is a very well researched book that is packed full of information. The only drawback is that unless you are already fairly well versed on the topics of coins, dies, mints and the like, you will probably find it hard to follow every nuance of what is contained within. It also makes for a less than exciting read. So basically this is a very useful book, but not one that I found particularly enjoyable to read.
The chapters include:
Introduction
Money in its political context
Iconography and Inscriptions
Authority and Minting: The King
Authority and Minting: mints die cutters and moneyers
Weight and Fineness
Production
Circulation
The nature of coin use
Conclusions
Naismith certainly knows his subject. It's hard to imagine that there is a better book on the topic than this. What he really brings to the fore is the largely symbolic importance of coinage to the kings of this period. They only had a limited control over the flow of bullion and indeed over some aspects of the minting itself. Having their name on the coin was the important part as it imparted status and legitimacy. There were some very small issues for minor kings that were deemed important enough for them to have bothered having struck, probably because it gave prestige. Also the exact likeness on the coin was not as important as the name in emphasising the regality of the person. On the coins of Coenwulf and Cuthred the identical bust was used, as it was with Coenwulf and Ceolwulf I and Æthelwulf and Æthelberht.
The profits of coinage for the king appear to have been small in the scheme of things, although still useful. The iconography of coins was important, but not always obvious to everyone. It's probably a bit like the symbolism in some parts of high end weddings – it carries meaning, but not many people are that fussed about the specifics of it all, just taking it at face value.
Interestingly Northumbria was essentially a different monetary zone to southern England. There were also fluctuating levels of silver content that would eventually result in reformations of the coinage. Although Anglo-Saxon England was never fully monetised, there were substantial amounts of coins in circulation. However, the number of finds of Anglo-Saxon coins pales into insignificance to the amount of coins that were circulating in Roman Britain, of which over 100,000 base metal coins have been found.
One quibble is that sources are quoted in the original language in the main body of the text with translations as a footnote and I'd rather it be the other way around.
Whilst not the most enjoyable read, this book is indispensable for anyone studying coins and their relationship to power in the 8th-9th centuries.
This is a very well researched book that is packed full of information. The only drawback is that unless you are already fairly well versed on the topics of coins, dies, mints and the like, you will probably find it hard to follow every nuance of what is contained within. It also makes for a less than exciting read. So basically this is a very useful book, but not one that I found particularly enjoyable to read.
The chapters include:
Introduction
Money in its political context
Iconography and Inscriptions
Authority and Minting: The King
Authority and Minting: mints die cutters and moneyers
Weight and Fineness
Production
Circulation
The nature of coin use
Conclusions
Naismith certainly knows his subject. It's hard to imagine that there is a better book on the topic than this. What he really brings to the fore is the largely symbolic importance of coinage to the kings of this period. They only had a limited control over the flow of bullion and indeed over some aspects of the minting itself. Having their name on the coin was the important part as it imparted status and legitimacy. There were some very small issues for minor kings that were deemed important enough for them to have bothered having struck, probably because it gave prestige. Also the exact likeness on the coin was not as important as the name in emphasising the regality of the person. On the coins of Coenwulf and Cuthred the identical bust was used, as it was with Coenwulf and Ceolwulf I and Æthelwulf and Æthelberht.
The profits of coinage for the king appear to have been small in the scheme of things, although still useful. The iconography of coins was important, but not always obvious to everyone. It's probably a bit like the symbolism in some parts of high end weddings – it carries meaning, but not many people are that fussed about the specifics of it all, just taking it at face value.
Interestingly Northumbria was essentially a different monetary zone to southern England. There were also fluctuating levels of silver content that would eventually result in reformations of the coinage. Although Anglo-Saxon England was never fully monetised, there were substantial amounts of coins in circulation. However, the number of finds of Anglo-Saxon coins pales into insignificance to the amount of coins that were circulating in Roman Britain, of which over 100,000 base metal coins have been found.
One quibble is that sources are quoted in the original language in the main body of the text with translations as a footnote and I'd rather it be the other way around.
Whilst not the most enjoyable read, this book is indispensable for anyone studying coins and their relationship to power in the 8th-9th centuries.
March 17, 2014
Naismith's study traces in detail the history of minted money in the southern English kingdoms from the implementation of the silver broad penny in the 8th century to the disruptive incursion of the "great heathen army" in the 9th, demonstrating both continuities and significant differences with its predecessors as well as its Northumbrian and continental contemporaries. In doing so, it puts the monetary systems of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in their historical, ideological, and economic context, in order to better illuminate the coinage - its production, administration, and use - as such.
This focus on the coinage itself as the object of study highlights differences in its material form, circulation, and volume of production over time, between kingdoms, and even between individual mints under the same king. The moneyers, professionals responsible for converting precious metal into minted coins, are shown to have exercised a surprising degree of autonomy in their aesthetic choices, but also played a key role in maintaining the essential qualities of the coinage upon which its value depended. They were, however, ultimately subordinate to their monarch, who at least notionally determined where and by whom the money was produced, as well as its metal content. Conversely, the intervention of kings in the fiscal details of their monetary systems appears relatively limited, their primary concern being the political legitimacy endowed by a well-regulated coinage.
Naismith's book is a thorough, data-driven examination of how money moved in southern England for roughly a century following the reign of Offa of Mercia, and should be of use to any scholar of Anglo-Saxon society.
This focus on the coinage itself as the object of study highlights differences in its material form, circulation, and volume of production over time, between kingdoms, and even between individual mints under the same king. The moneyers, professionals responsible for converting precious metal into minted coins, are shown to have exercised a surprising degree of autonomy in their aesthetic choices, but also played a key role in maintaining the essential qualities of the coinage upon which its value depended. They were, however, ultimately subordinate to their monarch, who at least notionally determined where and by whom the money was produced, as well as its metal content. Conversely, the intervention of kings in the fiscal details of their monetary systems appears relatively limited, their primary concern being the political legitimacy endowed by a well-regulated coinage.
Naismith's book is a thorough, data-driven examination of how money moved in southern England for roughly a century following the reign of Offa of Mercia, and should be of use to any scholar of Anglo-Saxon society.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews