This volume consists of over twenty new essays written by friends, colleagues and pupils of Dr Mark Blackburn, Keeper of Coins and Medals at the Fitzwilliam Museum and Reader in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge, who died on 1 September 2011. As well as a fitting tribute to a remarkable scholar, the collection constitutes a major body of research which will be of long-term value to scholars with an interest in the history of early medieval Europe.

This book is concerned with money as an indicator of economic activity. It makes a comprehensive examination of the use of money from Afghanistan to Bihar, and from Kashmir to Malwa, during the period AD 750-1250. Its major premise is that the patterns of production, exchange, and dispersion of money over time can be used to define the economic systems of early medieval North India. This book explains and interprets the economic history of the period, using current models of feudalization, decentralization, trade, and commerce. The author rejects the common perception that money during this period was scarce, primitive, and debased, by analysing the evidence of surviving coin hoards. His findings suggest a considerably greater reliance on money, closer co-ordination of its use, and its wider circulation in larger quantities, than is consistent with many current models of the early medieval Indian economy.

Reading Medieval Sources is an exciting new series which leads scholars and students into some of the most challenging and rewarding sources from the European Middle Ages, and introduces the most important approaches to understanding them. Written by an international team of twelve leading scholars, this volume Money and Coinage in the Middle Ages presents a set of fresh and insightful perspectives that demonstrate the rich potential of this source material to all scholars of medieval history and culture. It includes coverage of major developments in monetary history, set into their economic and political context, as well as innovative and interdisciplinary perspectives that address money and coinage in relation to archaeology, anthropology and medieval literature. Contributors are Nanouschka Myrberg Burström, Elizabeth Edwards, Gaspar Feliu, Anna Gannon, Richard Kelleher, Bill Maurer, Nick Mayhew, Rory Naismith, Philipp Robinson Rössner, Alessia Rovelli, Lucia Travaini, and Andrew Woods.

Mark Blackburn was one of the leading scholars of the numismatics and monetary history of the British Isles and Scandinavia during the early medieval period. He published more than 200 books and articles on the subject, and was instrumental in building bridges between numismatics and associated disciplines, in fostering international communication and cooperation, and in establishing initiatives to record new coin finds. This memorial volume of essays commemorates Mark Blackburn’s considerable achievement and impact on the field, builds on his research and evaluates a vibrant period in the study of early medieval monetary history. Containing a broad range of high-quality research from both established figures and younger scholars, the essays in this volume maintain a tight focus on Europe in the early Middle Ages (6th-12th centuries), reflecting Mark’s primary research interests. In geographical terms the scope of the volume stretches from Spain to the Baltic, with a concentration of papers on the British Isles. As well as a fitting tribute to remarkable scholar, the essays in this collection constitute a major body of research which will be of long-term value to anyone with an interest in the history of early medieval Europe.

This is a full-scale study that explores every aspect of money in Europe and the Middle Ages.

Economic History Of Early Medieval Northern India Is An Attempt To Present The Picture Of Agrarian Formation And Economic Changing Which Early Medieval India Had Experienced. This Book Is A Comprehensive And Systematic Study Of The Economic Institutions Such As Agriculture, Types Of Crops, Nature Of Peasantry, Land Grants, Internal And Domestic Trade, Urban Concept, Forced Labour And Paucity Of Coins Etc.The Book Does Not Claim To Present A General Economic History Of Early Medieval India In The Traditional Manner. The Distinctive Characteristic Of This Book Lies In The Fact That It Present The Thesis Of Economic Development And Changes Which Took Place During The Period Of Study. An Attempt Has Been Made To Make An Evolution Of The One Of The Most Critical Periods Of Indian History With Main Focus On Agrarian Structure And Economic Institutions. The Study Has Been Based Both On The Literary And Epigraphical Sources. The Book, Therefore, Present A Deteriorating Grim Scenario About The Agricultural And Economic Condition Of The Historical Period Spanning From 8Th Century To 10Th Century A.D. It Also Traces The Causal Complexities Which Forced The Peasant To Accept Their Fate Passively And Without A Murmur.