The Origins of the Old Rus' Weights and Monetary Systems

Two Studies in Western Eurasian Metrology and Numismatics in the Seventh to Eleventh Centuries

Omeljan Pritsak

    Preface and Acknowledgments

    PART I: MONETARY SYSTEMS IN EARLY MEDIEVAL WESTERN EURASIA

    Introduction

    Post-Roman Monetary Systems in Western Europe (Francia, England, Seventh to Ninth Centuries)

    Charlemagne's Currency Reform

    The Monetary System in Anglo-Saxon England

    The Silver ora and the healfmarc of the Vikings

    The German mark

    The Byzantine Monetary System

    The Muslim Monetary System

    Gold to Silver Ratios and Profits

    Did the Khazars Possess a Monetary Economy?

    Controversies

    The Khazarian tin and altin

    The Mystery of the "Twig-like" Signs

    The bismar/bezmen

    The Khazar Monetary System Reconstructed

    The Monetary System of Volga Bulgaria

    The Emergence of the Volga Bulgarian Monetary System

    Adaptations to the Muslim Metrology

    The Origin of the Old Rus' Grivna Serebra

    The grivna and the grivenka

    The osminik

    The grivna and the kuna

    The Shilling in Old Rus'

    The Development of the Old Rus' Weights and Monetary Systems

    Old Rus' Weights and Monetary Systems in the 10th Century

    The Monetary System of Volodimer the Great

    The Southern Rus' (Kyivan) Monetary System

    The Northern Rus' (Novgorodian) Monetary System

    Eleventh-Century Developments

    The Old Rus' System of Weights

    Conclusion

    Appendix: Varango-Chazarica

    Whole Words (gud, kutR, kiltR, ubi)

    Isolated Runes (k, s)

    A New Interpretation

    PART II: ESSAYS ON THE OLD RUS' COINS

    Introduction

    The Iconography of Old Rus' Coins

    The Obverse Sides of the Types "Vladimir I-IV" and Svjatopolk "Jaroslav's Silver"

    Patron Saints (George, Demetrius, Peter, Michael)

    "Tridents" and "Bidents"

    Epigraphy of Old Rus' Coins

    Introductory Remarks

    Personal Names (Princely and Baptismal)

    The πETPO∑ Inscriptions

    The πET∆P Inscriptions

    The Formula na stole

    The Formula "And This is His [i.e., the Ruler's] Gold/Silver"

    The Formula "Silver of [the Patron] Saint [N.]"

    Sacred Legends (The Name of Jesus Christ, Votive Invocations)

    The Formula Amen

    Old Rus' Numismatic Abbreviations

    A New Classification of Old Rus' Coins

    Historical Commentary to the Datings

    A New Classification

    Appendix: The Pseudo-Hoard of Mit'kovka

    Illustrative Tables

    Works Cited

    Index

    List of Tables and Illustrations

    Table 1-1. Structure of the mitqals

    Table 1-2. Gold to Silver Ratios

    Table 1-3. Gains in Interzonal Exchanges

    Figure 2-1. Weight of the 89 Khazar Dirhams

    Figure 3-1. Weight of the Volga Bulgar Coins of the Tenth Century

    Table 5-1. Fineness of Volodimer's Silver Coins

    Figure 5-1. Old Rus' Silver Coins from the Kyiv Hoard

    Figure 5-2. Old Rus' Silver Coins from the Hoard of Nizyn

    Figure 5-3. Weight of the Silver Coins of the "Vladimir III" Type

    Map. Eastern Europe to 1220

    Figure 7-1. "Vladimir I" Gold Inscriptions

    Figure 7-2. "Vladimir I" Silver Inscriptions

    Figure 7.3. "Vladimir II" Inscriptions

    Figure 7-4. "Vladimir III" Inscriptions

    Figure 7-5. "Vladimir IV" Inscriptions

    Figure 7-6. "Svjatopolk" Inscriptions

    Table 8.1. Categorization of Old Rus' Coins

    Table 8-2. Comparative Analysis of the Distinctive Byzantine Features in Old Rus' Coinage

    Illustrative Tables

    Table I-1. The "Tridents" of the "Vladimir" Coins

    Table I-2. The "Tridents" on "Jaroslav's Silver" Coins

    Table I-3. The "Bidents"

    Table I-4. Sitting on the Throne

    Table I-5. Royal Dress

    Table I-6. The Pantocrator's Nimbus

    Table I-7. Crown Surmounted by a Cross of Five Pellets with Pendilia

    Table I-8. Symbols of the Ruler's Power

    Table I-9. The Plain Cross Scepter

    Table I-10. Comparison of the Structure of Sassanian Coins with "Jaroslav's Silver"

    Table I-11. Typology of Old Rus' Coins

    Table J. Images from the Codex Gertrudianus of Cividale

Omeljan Pritsak is Mykhailo Hryshevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History, Emeritus, at Harvard University.