An early medieval dual-currency economy: bullion and coin in the Danelaw

Abstract

Abstract

Land, People and Power in Early Medieval Wales: The cantref of Cemais in comparative perspective

“…Similar units of account are noted in early medieval Spain and Ireland (where slaves also commonly appear as a standard of value), late 8th-century Frankish sources identify bread, grain, cattle and honey as units of value, while early 14th-century Norway has standard valuations expressed in butter, hides and iron (Charles-Edwards 1993, 478-85;W. Davies 2002, 160;2010, 124;Kelly 2000, 587-599;Kershaw 2017;Kershaw and Williams 2018;Kilger 2008, 270;Lunden 1999, 254;Skre 2017). The actual payment could be made in a variety of ways, many of which would leave little archaeological trace and therefore, it is suggested, attract little research attention (Gullbeck 2011, 102).…”

The Danelaw Reconsidered: Colonization and Conflict in Viking-Age England

“…As recent scholarship shows, this is a term that remains very much in use today (see e.g. Baker and Brookes 2013;Blinkhorn 2013;Jesch 2015;Kershaw 2017). Continued references to the 'Danelaw' , however, are curious and as I shall argue here problematic, especially in light of various archaeological discoveries that have been made in recent decades.…”

“…While the seminal works produced at this time set the tone of scholarship that continues to be accepted today, scholars have since explored and built upon the questions raised during earlier studies. Some have focused on the nature of the groups conducting the settlements, while others have sought to better understand how the Scandinavian settlements shaped the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural landscapes (Blackburn 2011;McLeod 2014;Harrison 2015;Haldenby and Richards 2016;Kershaw and Røyrvik 2016;Raffield 2016;Kershaw 2017). A number of attempts have also been made to critically re-examine and deconstruct the concept of the 'Danelaw' itself.…”

“…Archaeological studies of major urban settlements and their hinterlands have now provided good evidence to show how craft production and trade facilitated the emergence and development of local, regional, and more cosmopolitan cultural identities in the years following the Scandinavian settlements. In East Anglia, a number of disc brooches of Anglo-Saxon manufacture but incorporating Scandinavian artistic styles have been analysed by Jane Kershaw (2013). The spatial clustering of these brooches indicates that they were produced by urban craftworkers located primarily at Norwich, and that urban populations were the main consumers of this material.…”

Legal culture in the Danelaw: a study of III Æthelred

“…Kershaw has used recent archaeological finds to outline a Danelaw dual-currency system where both coinage and Scandinavian-style bullion were used in parallel until the mid-tenth century. 158 The quantities involved suggest extensive trading and a heightened presence of cash in daily life. 159 Remarkable amounts of precious gold rings and ingots represent a need for a high-value currency, indicating 'very substantial sums of wealth passing hands in Scandinavian contexts'.…”