|
Medieval Coins
The fascinating series of Medieval coinage represents a roughly thousand-year period in which the Celtic tribes of Europe learned the art of civilization after the demise of its great Greco-Roman teachers and replaced their own tribal polytheism with the monotheism of the Church of Rome. It takes in large mythic and historic forms such as knights, chivalry, King Arthur and the Grail quest, the romantic Troubador period of France, Plague, Martin Luthur, Jeanne d'Arc, witch persecution and the near loss of the Classical body of knowledge.
|
|
|
|
Medieval coins are often much thinner than ancients and are fraught with images and honorifics of Christ. Medieval obverses often feature a monarch bust with a legend around. A Christian cross is often interlaced with legends on the reverse. Medieval coins were often victims of "clipping," the trimming of edges to harvest silver. This practice obliterated many legends.
The artistic level of medieval coins helps one understand the term Dark Ages. Greek numismatic art was fabulous, Roman was good and medieval is often almost childlike, perhaps a reflection of medieval Christianity's rejection of the worldly.
|
|
Overview
