Originally published on August 7, 2023 (Episode 328)
Introduction
In the early 11th century, an English monk imagined two men haggling over the price of a book. After settling on a figure, they faced another problem: how to pay. The buyer listed thirteen possibilities—gold, silver, beans, clothing, even goats—but the seller insisted on coin, since “he who has coins or silver can get everything he wants.”
This anecdote captures the paradox at the heart of the early Middle Ages. Coins were scarce in Western Europe between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the economic revival of the twelfth century, yet despite that (or because of it) they carried a weight that far exceeded their quantity. As Rory Naismith argues, money was not simply a medium of exchange—it was a marker of status, power, and place within society. The very act of minting coins, and deciding how they would circulate, was part of how medieval people constructed meaning and authority.
In his new book Making Money in the Early Middle Ages (Cambridge University Press, 2023), Naismith explores how money served as both an economic tool and a cultural symbol. Our conversation ranges from Anglo-Saxon England to the Carolingian world, considering what coins can tell us about the networks, institutions, and ideas that shaped early medieval Europe.
About the Guest
Rory Naismith is Professor of Early Medieval English History at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College. His previous works include Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: The Southern English Kingdoms, 757–865.
For Further Investigation
Rory Naismith, Making Money in the Early Middle Ages (Cambridge University Press, 2023)
Peter Spufford, Money and Its Use in Medieval Europe
Jim Bolton, Money in the Medieval English Economy
Chris Wickham, The Inheritance of Rome
“The Medieval Coin Guide” of the Portable Antiquities Scheme at the British Museum
Related conversations
Rowan Dorin on mass expulsions, and a little about medieval moneylending and exchange
💬 Listen & Discuss
Why were coins scarce for so many centuries after Rome—and why did they still matter so much? And in what ways did coinage reflect political and social structures? Share this episode with your financial advisor, or any other money person in your life.
