Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England

This groundbreaking study of coinage in early medieval England is the first to take account of the very significant additions to the corpus of southern English coins discovered in recent years and to situate this evidence within the wider historical context of Anglo-Saxon England and its continental neighbours. Its nine chapters integrate historical and numismatic research to explore who made early medieval coinage, who used it and why. The currency emerges as a significant resource accessible across society and, through analysis of its production, circulation and use, the author shows that control over coinage could be a major asset. This control was guided as much by ideology as by economics and embraced several levels of power, from kings down to individual craftsmen. Thematic in approach, this innovative book offers an engaging, wide-ranging account of Anglo-Saxon coinage as a unique and revealing gauge for the interaction of society, economy and government.

• Integrates historical and numismatic research, introducing historians to the potential of numismatic methodology, and vice versa
• Draws extensively on sources and historiography from England's continental neighbours, directly comparing England with the rest of early medieval Europe
• Contributes to important debate on the nature of the early medieval economy, discussing economic and political spheres side by side and offering a nuanced view of power in relation to economic resources