Original scientific paper
Reflections on the carolingian Coin from Donji Lepuri
Tomislav Šeparović
; Muzej hrvatskih arheoloških spomenika HR, 21 000 Split
Abstract
The subject of this work is a silver Carolingian coin
discovered next to St. Martin’s Church in Donji Lepuri.
It is a denarius of type Christiana religio, which
was issued in many versions during the 9th and early
10th century. While determining its age, the first problem
was to answer the question during whose reign
the coin was issued. The key to this should be within
the legend of the obverse. However, the obverse causes
confusion since it displays the name of one of the
three Louis who ruled from 814 to the beginning of
the 10th century. All three monarchs issued denarii of
type Christiana religio that are stylistically very similar,
so that the precise age determination of the Lepuri
exemplar is even more difficult. When comparing it
with versions of these coins of the mentioned emperors
in relevant literature, one notices the similarity to
the exemplars of Louis the Pious and those of the early
series of Louis II. However, early exemplars of Louis II
and rare coins of Louis III have a much larger module
and wider outside edge; they also have a slightly dishshaped
form that is not the case with the coin from
Donji Lepuri. It is therefore very likely that the Lepuri
exemplar was after all minted on behalf of Louis the
Pious between 822 and 840. It is the ruling period of
Louis the Pious that, in monetary terms, is characterized
by uniformity and strict control over the emission
of coins. These coins are of high quality with a large
percentage of silver and distributed throughout the
Frankish state.
The question of coinage of the Carolingian denarius
of type Christiana religio, to which the Lepuri coin
also belongs, was subject to discussion for a long time
as there were problems with the lack of a mint mark.
The comparison between the denarius of type Christiana
religio with stylistic features of early and late
Carolingian coins and the mint mark aimed to at least
nearly determine the place of its minting. This comparison
of stylistic coin features allowed the conclusion
that the Lepuri coin could have been emitted in Venice,
despite the fact that these kinds of coins are not
mentioned in the most significant literature on Venetian
coins. We can’t be absolutely sure about it, but factis that Venice, although under Byzantine rule, minted
large amounts of denarii on behalf of Carolingian monarchs.
They were used for trade with the hinterland,
from where they travelled further west and circulated
along with other Frankish coins.
Another important question to be answered is why
there were only few discoveries of Carolingian coins
within the territory of early mediaeval Croatia when
one considers that it was under Frankish control since
812. The reason for this lies to some extent in the commercial
crisis that came from the Frankish region and
spread to the Mediterranean, and was caused by Arab
conquests and piracy. The Adriatic region however was
dominated by the influential power of Byzantium and
its gold currency against which the Carolingian silver
denarii could not compete, particularly in conditions
of a poorly developed goods-money economy as the
case was in Croatia. During this relatively long period
of time, the economy in the Croatian territory was,
apart from the mentioned political circumstances, largely
influenced by its natural characteristics. Although
the geological karst landscape imposed cattle-breeding
as the main economic branch, people there tried
to exploit the meagre land as much as possible. It is
therefore not surprising that the most densely populated
areas were located along fertile fields such as the
field of Kosovo, Cetina or Ravni Kotari. Money was
not the primary means of payment, but the exchange
of goods. The Croatian ruling class used coins- which
were rare and difficult to get- as treasures or as raw
material for jewellery, but also within the scope of the
old pagan custom of placing coins in graves until the
mid-9th century.
Finds of Carolingian coins in the early mediaeval
Croatian Principality, although modest, certainly
represent a valuable testimony of contacts between
Croats and Franks in the 9th century. These are rare
examples that occurred in Croatia completely by accident
and should certainly not be considered as a result
of monetary policy or regular circulation. They could
have arrived in this area through Frankish missionaries
whose presence is confirmed also by other archaeological finds. The military could have also acted
as a mediator, but also Venice, which became, using
the favourable political circumstances after the Treaty
of Aix-la-Chapelle, more and more present along the
eastern Adriatic coast.
The inflow of Carolingian denarii of Louis the Pious
to the area of the early mediaeval sacred complex in
Lepuri could have happened already before the mid-
9th century, since it was the time of strong Frankish
influence and intensive relations between Croats and
the Frankish court. However, as proven by discoveries
of hoards, the Carolingian denarii could have been circulating even for several decades. The settlement in
Lepuri started to develop rapidly in the second half of
the 9th century, which is reflected in the intensive construction
activities. This prosperous period is testified
by many fragments of church furnishing among which
are also several that mention state and church dignitaries.
With regard to the fact that the Lepuri denarius is
damaged possibly due to its long circulation, we might
also consider the possibility that the coin arrived in
the area during the mentioned constructions, respectively
during the reign of Prince Branimir of Croatia.
Keywords
Donji Lepuri; Carolingian coin; early mediaeval Croatia; Louis the Pious; Venice; Arabs; Franks; Byzantium
Hrčak ID:
92563
URI
Publication date:
17.12.2012.
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