Money and power in Anglo-Saxon England
Subtitle: the southern English kingdoms, 757-865
By: Rory Naismith
Series: Cambridge studies in medieval life and thought : fourth series -- 80
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 351
ISBN-13: 9781107006621
Subjects: Kings and rulers; HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain; Numismatics; Coins, Anglo-Saxon; Anglo-Saxons; Coinage; Mints; History
Description: "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"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction; 2. Money in its political context; 3. Looking at coinage: iconography and inscriptions; 4. Authority and minting I: the King; 5. Authority and minting II: mints, die-cutters and moneyers; 6. Value judgements: weight and fineness; 7. Production of coinage; 8. The circulation of coinage; 9. The nature of coin-use in the early Middle Ages; 10. Conclusion.