Overview

This study of the Visigothic kingdom's monetary system in southern Gaul and Hispania from the fifth century through the Muslim invasion of Spain fills a major gap in the scholarship of late antiquity. Examining all aspects of the making of currency, it sets minting in relation to questions of state, monarchical power, administration and apparatus, motives for money production, and economy. In the context of the later Roman Empire and its successor states in the West, the minting and currency of the Visigoths reveal shared patterns as well as originality. The analysis brings both economic life and the needs of the state into sharper focus, with significant implications for the study of an essential element in daily life and government. This study combines an appreciation for the surprising level of sophistication in the Visigothic minting system with an accessible approach to a subject which can seem complex and abstruse.

Full Product Details

Author:   Andrew Kurt
Publisher:   Amsterdam University Press
Imprint:   Amsterdam University Press
Edition:   0
Volume:   8
ISBN:  

9789462981645

ISBN 10:   9462981647
Pages:   422
Publication Date:   06 April 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Adult education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Further / Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements List of Figures Introduction I - Pre-Regal Visigothic Coinage The Fifth-century Kingdom in Gaul The Kingdom in Spain, 507-c. 573 II - The King's Coinage: The Beginning and Development of the Regal Coinage (c. 573-c. 720) Transition to a Regal Coinage Regal Coin Types A Trimetallic System? III - The Activities of the Mints From c. 573 to c. 720 The Operation of the Mints The Record of Mint Output The Organization of the Mints Metrological and Metallurgical Standards IV - Why Were Gold Coins Struck in the Visigothic Kingdom? The Late Roman Context Other Reasons for Minting The Addition of Bronze to the Corpus Visigothic Minting in the Context of Contemporary Monetary Systems V - Royal Control of Visigothic Minting The Evidence The Significance of Centralized Monetary Authority VI - Coinage in Spain in the Aftermath of the Islamic Conquest VII - Visigothic Currency in the Early Medieval Economy The Other Side of the Coin Use and Circulation of Currency in the Kingdom Bronze Currency in Spain and its Mediterranean Context Conclusion Appendix I Appendix II Bibliography Index

Reviews

Kurt has made an outstanding effort of assembling this large and challenging body of work and placing it in the context of economic and political questions of wider interest. [...] The Visigothic kingdom has been relatively neglected by anyone other than its specialists-due partly to its abrupt historical end and partly to the deficiencies of the sources-but Kurt's book turns this situation around completely. Although many of his conclusions will be debated, by bringing together a major body of neglected evidence for the actual functioning of a post-Roman successor state, he has put the Visigoths in a central position for any progress in understanding the development of early medieval states from the legacy of late antiquity. - David Yoon, American Numismatic Society, Speculum 96/4 (October 2021) The monograph is an exemplary work of inter-disciplinary scholarship that draws from the work of previous numismatists and those who are currently active. It is a fine blend of history and archaeology. [...] Institutions are encouraged to make room for this book in their collections to give access to all those interested, academic and novice alike. [...] Andrew Kurt is to be lauded for such a superb work of scholarship that will for sure have an important place in Visigothic numismatics from this point forward. - Alberto Ferreiro, Francia Recensio, Mittelalter - Moyen Age (500-1500), 2021, 1 Estamos ante una obra que cubre gran parte de las lagunas persistentes hasta el momento en el campo de la numismatica visigoda y que, sin duda, se convertira en una referencia obligada. - Cruces Blazquez Cerrato, Zephyrus: Journal of Prehistory and Archeology 2020, 86 Kurt's book is both an important and significant contribution to scholarship on Visigothic fiscal, numismatic and governance issues. [...] Kurt succeeds in mediating the complexities of the historiographical issues and renders these into a tight and well-structured argument based on impressive technical and historical foundations. - Christopher Heath, Al-Mas.q, Vol. 34, Iss. 1

The monograph is an exemplary work of inter-disciplinary scholarship that draws from the work of previous numismatists and those who are currently active. It is a fine blend of history and archaeology. [...] Institutions are encouraged to make room for this book in their collections to give access to all those interested, academic and novice alike. [...] Andrew Kurt is to be lauded for such a superb work of scholarship that will for sure have an important place in Visigothic numismatics from this point forward. - Alberto Ferreiro, Francia Recensio, Mittelalter - Moyen Age (500-1500), 2021, 1 Estamos ante una obra que cubre gran parte de las lagunas persistentes hasta el momento en el campo de la numismatica visigoda y que, sin duda, se convertira en una referencia obligada. - Cruces Blazquez Cerrato, Zephyrus: Journal of Prehistory and Archeology 2020, 86

Author Information

Andrew Kurt (Ph.D., University of Toronto) is Associate Professor of History at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia.

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