Early Medieval Monetary History Studies in Memory of Mark Blackburn

Mark Blackburn was one of the leading scholars of the numismatics and monetary history of the British Isles and Scandinavia during the early medieval period. He published more than 200 books and articles on the subject, and was instrumental in building bridges between numismatics and associated disciplines, in fostering international communication and cooperation, and in establishing initiatives to record new coin finds. This memorial volume of essays commemorates Mark Blackburn’s considerable achievement and impact on the field, builds on his research and evaluates a vibrant period in the study of early medieval monetary history. Containing a broad range of high-quality research from both established figures and younger scholars, the essays in this volume maintain a tight focus on Europe in the early Middle Ages (6th-12th centuries), reflecting Mark’s primary research interests. In geographical terms the scope of the volume stretches from Spain to the Baltic, with a concentration of papers on the British Isles. As well as a fitting tribute to remarkable scholar, the essays in this collection constitute a major body of research which will be of long-term value to anyone with an interest in the history of early medieval Europe.

Contents: Foreword; Introduction: Mark Blackburn and early medieval monetary history, Rory Naismith, Martin Allen and Elina Screen. Part I Progress in Early Medieval Monetary History: Coins and currency in Viking England, AD 865-954, Gareth Williams; Prelude to reform: 10th-century English coinage in perspective, Rory Naismith; Coinage and currency under William I and William II, Martin Allen. Part II Interdisciplinary Perspectives: XPICTIANA RELIGIO and the tomb of Christ, Martin Biddle; The portrait coinage of Charlemagne, Simon Coupland; M for Mark: the iconography of Series M, variants and the Agnus Dei, Anna Gannon; The stylistic structure of Edward the Confessor’s coinage, Tuukka Talvio; Bovo soldare: a sacred cow of Spanish economic history re-evaluated, Jonathan Jarrett. Part III Use and Circulation of Currency: Byzantine coins in early Medieval Britain: a Byzantinist’s assessment, Cécile Morrisson; Thrymsas and sceattas and the balance of payments, D.M. Metcalf; The use of coin in the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century, Simon Coupland; Monetary activity in Viking-Age Ireland: the evidence of the single-finds, Andrew R. Woods; Vestfold: a monetary perspective on the Viking Age, Svein H. Gullbekk; Currency conversion: coins, Christianity and Norwegian society in the late 10th and 11th centuries, Elina Screen; Islamic and Christian gold coins from Spanish mints found in England, mid-11th to mid-13th centuries, Marion M. Archibald. Part IV Coins and Coin Hoards in Context: A 7th-century Anglo-Saxon solidus pendant of the Cross-on-Steps type found in Kent, Stewart Lyon, with an appendix by Michael Cowell; A small hoard of Burgred pennies from Banbury Castle, Oxfordshire, David Symons; The 1699 Port Glasgow hoard, Hugh Pagan; The Viking invasions 885-889 and the activity of the mint of Rouen, Jens Christian Moesgaard with the collaboration of Michel Dhénin; The Swordless St Peter coinage of York, c.905-c.919, Megan Gooch; The 2003 Glenfaba hoard (c.1030)

Dr Rory Naismith is Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Clare College. He is also General Editor and Secretary of the British Academy’s Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles project. His publications include Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: the Southern English Kingdoms, 757-865 (2011) and The Coinage of Southern England, 796-865 (London, 2011). Dr Martin Allen is Senior Assistant Keeper in the Department of Coins and Medals at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and an Affiliated Lecturer in the History Faculty of the University of Cambridge. He is the Editor of the British Numismatic Journal, and his publications include Mints and Money in Medieval England (2012). Dr Elina Screen is a Departmental Lecturer in Early Medieval History at the Faculty of History, University of Oxford, and College Lecturer in Medieval History at Trinity College, Oxford. She is also General Editor of the Medieval European Coinage Project (a British Academy Research Project). Her publications include Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles 65. Norwegian Collections: Part I. Anglo-Saxon Coins to 1016 (2013).