AES_108 Medieval numismatics

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2022

The course is not taught in Spring 2022

Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Roman Zaoral (lecturer), doc. Mgr. Petr Hrubý, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Petr Hrubý, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Šibíčková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
Předmět je určen zájemcům o problematiku. Předchozí absolvování AEB_A06b Introduction to medieval and modern archaeology je výhodou, ale nikoliv podmínkou.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 15 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course composed of lectures and seminars will make students familiar with fundamental questions and methods of medieval numismatics and gives a general overview of monetary development from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the end of the 15th century. Special attention will be paid to interpretation of coin finds and their confrontation with other material and written sources. Coins will be presented both in a wider context of the history of everyday life and economy (silver mining, production of mints, trade and credit, prices and wages) and in a symbolic and ritual context.
Most of the taught classes will be composed of three parts: student presentations, discussion about methodology, and overview of monetary development within a partial period of time. Each student prepares a research project by his/her own choice, about which he/she will report continuously over the whole semester and at the end introduces the work in the form of an oral presentation and written essay. Methodological topics will address the connections between archaeology and numismatics, description and analysis of individual types of coins and dies, analysis of coin finds, numismatic standards and issues associated with numismatic metrology.
Learning outcomes
After completion of the course, student will be able to:
- formulate the knowledge acquired by studying the recommended literature on selected topic and set the results of this study into wider contex
- compare scientific opinions on the selected problem
- introduce the selected topic to colleagues in the form of a pictorial presentation
- lead a well-founded discussion about a special problem
- elaborate a written essay about the selected topic including bibliographic references, reflecting the personal opinion and knowledge of the student.
Syllabus
  • 1. Overview of research: specialised literature and catalogues. The function of money in the Middle Ages; basic payment systems; coins and currency units.
  • 2. Organisation of coinage: minting and mining rights, mints, monetary reforms and regulations.
  • Production and circulation of coins.
  • 3. Coin finds as a source of historical evidence and the methods of their examination. Numismatic standards.
  • 4. Archaeology and numismatics.
  • Early medieval coinage development; pre-monetary means of payment.
  • 5. Denier currency in the 10th - 12th centuries.
  • Interpretation of coin finds; confrontation with other types of sources. Renovatio monetae as an expression of undeveloped monetisation.
  • 6. Denier currency in the 13th century: bracteates and pfennigs.
  • Interpretation of coin finds; confrontation with written sources.
  • 7. Groschen currency in the 14th - 15th centuries.
  • Interpretation of coin finds; confrontation with written sources. Depreciation of coins as an expression of advanced monetisation. Counterfeits.
  • 8. Bimetallism. Minting of gold coins. Exchange rates.
  • 9. Prices and wages.
  • Trade; credit and usury; the origins of banking.
  • 10. Church and money: Roman Curia, monasteries, pilgrims. Thomas Aquinas, Peter of Zittau and Nicole Oresme about money. Coins in medieval ritual context.
  • 11. Renaissance medals.
  • Practical determination of coins.
  • 12. Presentation of research projects.
  • 13. Final essay.
Literature
  • VOREL, Petr. Od pražského groše ke koruně české : průvodce dějinami peněz v českých zemích. Vyd. 1. Praha: Rybka publishers, 2000, 551 s. ISBN 8086182363. info
  • SEJBAL, Jiří. Základy peněžního vývoje. 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 1997, 420 s. ISBN 8021017341. info
  • SPUFFORD, Peter. Money and its use in medieval Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988, xiv, 467. ISBN 0521303842. info
Teaching methods
lectures and seminar
Assessment methods
Requirements for the colloquium:
- written essay on the given topic in the extent of 10,000 characters with a list of bibliographic references
- active attendance and presentation of the selected topic
- engagement in teaching: 100%
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Information on completion of the course: Informace ke způsobu ukončení viz sylabus.
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is taught: every week.
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2022/AES_108