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Units of Account in Gold and Silver in Seventh-Century England: Scillingas, Sceattas and Pæningas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

John Hines
John Hines*
Affiliation:
John Hines, School of History and Archaeology, Cardiff University, Humanities Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU. UK. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The seventh-century vernacular laws from the kingdoms of Kent and Wessex specify fines or compensation payments using units of account that have given us familiar terms in the numismatics of this period: scillingas (shillings), sceattas and pæningas (pennies). In light of the use of cognate words in Gothic and Old High German, and the comparative values given in the Old English law-codes themselves and in the fifth-century Theodosian Code, it is suggested that these represent a regular and durable bimetallic system correlating values in gold and silver. This proposition is examined further against the evidence of weighing-sets from sixth- and early seventh-century Anglo-Saxon graves, and it is argued that the results give greater and more precise meaning to the use of gold and silver in Early Anglo-Saxon artefacts, such as the great gold buckle from Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk.

Résumé

Au septième siècle, les lois locales des royaumes de Kent et de Wessex précisaient des amendes ou des dédommagements en unités de compte qui nous ont donnés des termes familiers de la numismatique de cette période: scillingas (shillings), sceattas et pæningas (pennies). Au regard de l’emploi de termes apparentés en gothique et en vieux haut allemand, et des valeurs comparatives données dans les codes juridiques eux-mêmes en vieil anglais, et dans le Code Théodosien du cinquième siècle, on suggère que ces unités représentent un système bimétallique régulier et durable pour coordonner des valeurs en or et en argent. Cette proposition est examinée de plus près par rapport aux indices de séries de poids provenant de tombes anglo-saxonnes du sixième siècle et du début du septième siècle, et on soutient que les résultats donnent un sens plus important et plus précis à l’utilisation de l’or et de l’argent dans les objets fabriqués du début de l’époque anglo-saxonne, tels que la grande boucle en or du monticule 1 de Sutton Hoo, Suffolk.

Zusammenfassung

Die aus dem siebten Jahrhundert stammende Volksrechte aus den Königreichen Kent und Wessex geben an, daß Geldstrafen und Entschädigungsgelder Betragseinheiten benutzen, die uns vertraute Benennungen aus der Numismatik dieser Periode abgeleitet haben: scillingas (Schillinge), sceattas und pæningas (Pfennige). Angesichts des Gebrauchs von verwandten Wörtern im Gothischen und Althochdeutschen, und den vergleichenden Beträgen, die in den altenglischen Gesetzbüchern und in den Theodosischen Gesetzbüchern aus dem fünften Jahrhundert angegeben sind, wird gefolgert, daß diese Einheiten ein geregeltes und beständiges bimetallisches System darstellen, das auf Gold- und Silberwerten basiert. Diese Behauptung wird weiter im Zusammenhang mit Waagen und Gewichten untersucht, die in angelsächsischen Gräbern aus dem sechsen und frühen siebten Jahrhundert gefunden wurden. Es wird argumentiert, daß diese Schlußfolgerungen sibernen und goldenen Gegenständen aus frühen angelsächsischen Funden eine präziseren Sinn geben, wie zum Beispiel der großen goldenen Spange aus Grabhügel 1 im Fundort Sutton Hoo, Grafschaft Suffolk.

Type
Articles
Information
The Antiquaries Journal , Volume 90 , September 2010 , pp. 153 - 173
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 2010

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