Description
Book SynopsisHistorians, numismatists and philologists consider fundamental aspects of 9c political and economic history.The ninth century was a period of upheaval in England, as the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex vied for supremacy, and East Anglia and Kent sought to regain their independence, with the arrival of the Vikings introducing a further element of unrest. This interdisciplinary collection of papers by historians, numismatists and philologists considers fundamental aspects of the period's political and economic history. Alliances and treaties are a central theme, political and monetary. A radical reassesment of events in London in the later ninth century is presented, prompted by a detailed examination of the numismatic evidence marshalled here along with the written sources; it is argued that the Vikings were not in control of the city prior to Alfred's "reoccupation" in AD 886. The volume includes an illustrated corpus of the coinage of Berhtwulf and another for the middle years of Alfred's reign; moneyers are identified as witnesses to charters, and the forms of their names are analysed according to the Old English dialects they represent. A listing of some 500 single coin-finds forms the basis for a discussion of the nature and extent ofmonetary use in ninth-century England. The late MARK BLACKBURN was Keeper of Coins and Medals at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; DAVID DUMVILLE is Emeritus Professor at the University of Aberdeen. Contributors: SIMON KEYNES, THOMAS CHARLES-EDWARDS, JAMES BOOTH, MARK BLACKBURN, LORD STEWARTBY, PAUL BIBIRE, D.M. METCALF, MICHAEL BONSER
Table of ContentsKing Alfred and the mercians - Simon D Keynes Alliances, godfathers, treaties and boundaries - T M Charles-Edwards Monetary alliance or technical co-operation? The coinage of Berhtwulf of Mercia (840-852) - James Booth The London mint in the reign of Alfred - Mark A.S. Blackburn A corpus of the Cross-and-Lozenge and related coinages of Alfred, Ceolwulf II and archbishop Aethelred - Mark A.S. Blackburn Moneyers in the written records - Stewartby Moneyers' names on ninth-century Southumbrian coins: philological approaches to some historical questions - Paul Bibire The monetary economy of ninth-century England south of the Humber: a topographical analysis - Michael David Metcalf `Single finds of the ninth-century from southern England: a listing'. - Michael Bonser
