Conveners
S64. MIDDLE AGES 2. MONETISATION IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE. FORMS, PROCESSES AND TENDENCIES FROM THE 8TH TO THE 13TH CENTURY
- Rory Naismith (University of Cambridge)
S64. MIDDLE AGES 2. MONETISATION IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE. FORMS, PROCESSES AND TENDENCIES FROM THE 8TH TO THE 13TH CENTURY
- Svein Gullbekk (Museum of Cultural History / University of Oslo)
Description
Org. Johannes Hartner, Rory Naismith; chair: Svein Gullbekk and Rory Naismith
In recent years there has been an increased scientific interest in research on monetisation processes and the related beginning of coinage economies in various European regions during the Middle Ages. These more recent research approaches are by no means limited to the subjects of numismatics and monetary history but draw important impulses from the economic, social and cultural-historical areas as well as from archaeology and financial history.
Meanwhile the term "Monetisation" appears to be almost too abstract to describe the actual monetary processes, structures and dimensions that underlie these complex developments - only ostensibly monetary, but also social and economic. There is a lack of theoretical concepts and general definitions that can only be achieved through interdisciplinary and comparative approaches and discourses.
For this reason, we would like to submit two sessions with four speakers each, to promote the postulated "monetisation" in large parts of Europe (Scandinavia, Poland, France, Austria / southern Germany) from the 8th to the 13th century, to grasp the content and to define various forms of expression of these processes. Individual detailed studies will be presented and controversially discussed within this platform. The resulting comparison is expected to lead to theoretical and generally valid conclusions about medieval monetisation processes (factors, conditions and definitions).
This session is closely related to the one submitted by Professor S.H. Gullbekk (Oslo) and Professor J.A. Risvaag (Trondheim), which also lists eight papers on the topic of medieval monetarisation, with a focus on the Scandinavian region. These two sessions have been coordinated with each other.
The key to understanding the level of monetary use is to reconstruct the quality of the division of labour and the accumulation of competence. The question of the degree of monetarisation of local markets appears to be of central importance. What significance did the markets play? Who generated the demand for goods and services that went beyond the usual compulsory fiscal levies and labour...
The paper presents two stages of monetization in 13th-century Bohemia: coin renewal (renovatio monetae) connected with short-lived coins (deniers, pfennigs, bracteates) and debasement reflected the circulation of long-lived coins (groschen). With references to the coin hoards of Levínská Olešnice (Eastern Bohemia) and Fuchsenhof (Upper Austria), which dated back to the 1280s, the author argues...
Particularly in recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the research on monetisation in the European Middle Ages which generated some relevant publications. A significant input came mainly from the fields of economic and social history.
In my talk I propose to outline the history of research into the monetisation in the Middle Ages, discussing the impact of different past...
Different indicators have been used to investigate the level of monetisation in early medieval Scandinavia, such as patterns of coin loss or volumes of coin production. In this paper, it is argued that coin jewellery can also provide interesting insights into the subject. What happened to the ancient practice of wearing coins as pendants or brooches when coins began to be produced in...
In the 11th and 12th century complex transformation processes took place in Eastern Austria, resulting in the consolidation of the manorial and the economic structures. There was a growth of urban markets and regional trading areas, and an increase in the construction of fortifications. In the context of the expansion of the country, these developments contributed to a comprehensive formation...
Social and economic change left its mark on medieval art. This is true also of the progressing monetisation of European society between the 8th and 13th centuries. This talk will focus on possible correlations between regional tendencies and perception of monetisation processes, and the representation of coins or money in visual art. What influence of the regional status of coined money is...
More than 50,000 Islamic dirhams have been recovered on the post-1945 territory of Poland. While most had been minted by the Abbasid Caliphs and the Iranian Samanid dynasty, the Buyid coinage constitutes merely a fraction of this pool (approx. 300 coins). This however, does not reflect the significance of the Buyid dynasty within the political and economic landscape of the Islamic world in the...
Instead of focusing on the limitations of the relatively scarce and high-value early medieval currency, this talk asks instead why such coins might have been made. In early medieval England the manufacture of coin was probably driven by a wide range of functional demands, but a narrower segment of society, with the needs of the elite wasparamount. This dichotomy can be traced from the seventh...
