Medieval Mondays: The Byzantine Solidus

In these days of financial crisis, it's important to have your investments in hard currency like the pound or the dollar. This has always been the case.

The later Roman Empire saw serious economic upheavals and a debasement of the coinage. Emperors tried to pay their expenses by minting more coins with less valuable metal, but of course people noticed and this led to inflation.

The Emperor Justinian (ruled 306-337 AD) reversed this trend by creating the solidus, a pure gold coin set at 1/72 of a Roman pound (about 4.5 grams). This helped stabilize the economy, but didn't save the Western Roman Empire from being overrun by Germanic tribes in the following century.

In the east, Rome continued as the Byzantine Empire, and the solidus was the benchmark currency. The solidus was trusted everywhere, and has been found as far away as India and China. It remained unchanged until the 11th century, when Byzantium started having economic problems of its own and the coin was debased. Even so, the old solidi remained in circulation through most of the Middle Ages. We have lots of examples of this coin because, unlike many other coins, it was such a trusted currency nobody wanted to melt it down for its metal.

For more on medieval money, check out my post on small change in the Middle Ages.

Photo of a solidus from the reign of Julian (reigned 361-363 AD) courtesy Wikipedia.

Medieval Mondays: A Poisoner's Ring from Bulgaria

Archaeologists working in Bulgaria have found a 14th century ring that may have been used to slip poison into someone's drink, the Sofia Globe reports.

The ring, which was found at the fortress of Cape Kaliakra on the Black Sea, is small and would have probably been worn on the little finger. It has a box-like decoration that's hollow and has a small hole on the side that would be covered up by the ring finger. All the wearer would have to do is spread his fingers and the contents of the box would spill out, supposedly into someone's drink.

Similar rings have been found elsewhere in Europe, especially Italy and Spain.

It's of a style generally worn by men. The archaeologists theorize that it played a part in the political intrigues of the day, when aristocrats vied for control of Bulgaria and even played a role in Byzantine and Venetian politics.

Last year a vampire skeleton was found in Bulgaria. Sounds like it was quite the place in the good old days!

Medieval Mondays: Byzantine Silver in an Anglo-Saxon Burial

We've all heard of Sutton Hoo, that amazing treasure-filled ship burial of Anglo-Saxon royalty. One interesting aspect of the hoard buried with this man was there was a large amount of silver from the Byzantine Empire. This was the eastern part of the empire centered on Constantinople that survived nearly a thousand years after the last emperor in Rome was overthrown in 476 AD.

The most splendid example is the Anastasius Platter, a large decorated platter that bears the reign stamp of Anastasius I,  who ruled 491-518 AD. This was basically a control stamp guaranteeing the purity of the silver, something you still see on good silver today. Here are some shots of this work of art courtesy the British Museum.

By the time of the Sutton Hoo burial in the early 7th century, this platter was already more than a century old. so it certainly had time to make it all the way to England. The Byzantine Empire was famed for its power and artwork, and even as far away as England, people craved to have something from its workshops.

Central decoration

One of four control stamps of Emperor Anastasius I on the back

Rim decoration

Medieval Mondays: The Globus Cruciger, proof that people knew the world was round before Columbus

There's a popular belief that people didn't know the world was round back in the Renaissance and that it took a brave explorer named Christopher Columbus to prove them wrong. Supposedly everyone warned Columbus not to sail out into the Atlantic because he'd fall off the world's edge.

Of course my readers are smart enough to know this isn't true, but the story has widespread appeal. Anyone who has studied history knows that the Classical Greeks had already proven that the world is round and that knowledge wasn't lost among the educated.

Proof of this can be found on many medieval coins and statues. A traditional mark of Imperial or royal power was the Globus Cruciger, a globe with a cross on top of it to show that the Christian God ruled over the world and that the ruler was his representative on Earth. The globe, of course, symbolized the Earth.

Yep, a globe!

The earliest use of the Globus Cruciger for a ruler is found on the coins of the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, who ruled from 408 to 450 AD. You can see one above. The cross-and-globe was a popular symbol throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance and continues to be used in royal courts to this day. To the right you can see an illustration of Charles II of Hungary made in 1488, four years before Columbus made his first voyage.

So the idea that the world was round was plainly visible in the royal court and on many works of art and currency. Of course a lot of common, uneducated people back then probably did think the world was flat!

Photos from Wikimedia Commons.

Merry Christmas, Byzantine Style!

This is a Byzantine ivory from the 10th century. Mary rests beside the manger with the swaddled Christ Child. Three angels emerge from behind the mountain, one of whom announces the birth of Christ to the standing shepherd on the left. In the foreground, the infant receives his first bath while the seated Joseph watches. The motif of Christ receiving his first bath is characteristic of Byzantine images of the Nativity and rarely appears in western European art.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Medieval Mondays: Viking graffiti

The Vikings traveled far. From their homeland in Scandinavia they reached across the Atlantic to North America, penetrated deep into what is now called Russia, circled the west coast of Europe and sailed all around the Mediterranean. Their longship was feared and their knörr was welcomed. If you saw the first, you were about to get raided. If you saw the second, that meant traders were bringing you goods from distant lands.

The Vikings left traces of their passage. The photo above shows Runic graffiti in the Hagia Sofia, the main church of Constantinople (modern Istanbul). It was probably made by a Varangian, one of the Byzantine emperor's personal bodyguard. Byzantine politics was a deadly game and the emperor liked using foreign mercenaries who were loyal only to him, or at least his ready supply of gold. I can just picture poor Halvdan standing bored through a long Greek Orthodox service and inscribing his name on the railing.

Several other Runic inscriptions have been found in the Hagia Sofia. Like Halvdan's inscription, they're faint and hard to read. If you ever visit, take a good look at the walls and you might discover more!

Next we have this crude carving of what many believe is a Viking ship, found on the wall of a palace in Palermo, Sicily. It may not have been made by a Viking since Viking ships were a common sight in the Mediterranean. It's still a tantalizing image.

Of course, Viking graffiti is more common in places where the Vikings actually settled. In the Orkney Islands, a neolithic chamber tomb is covered in runic graffiti. We actually know who did some of these carvings and when, because the event is preserved in the Orkneyinga Saga as well as the runes themselves. A group of Scandinavian Crusaders, either leaving for or coming back from the Crusades, broke into the tomb to hide from a storm at Christmas time 1153.

The longest inscription chronicles the event: "Crusaders broke into Maeshowe. Lif the earl's cook carved these runes. To the north-west is a great treasure hidden. It was long ago that a great treasure was hidden here. Happy is he that might find that great treasure. Hakon alone bore treasure from this mound (signed) Simon Sirith"

What was this treasure? Nobody knows. Some Neolithic tombs contained gold ornaments, which would surely have warmed the Vikings' hearts on that cold Christmas.

Other inscriptions were a bit earthier: "Thorni fucked. Helgi carved." Interestingly, Helgi is a male name, and I believe Thorni is as well. Is this evidence of gay Vikings?

Here's another boast: "These runes were carved by the man most skilled in runes in the western ocean."

Most of the rest of the 30 inscriptions are more prosaic, simple names or the common formula of "so-and-so carved these runes." You can find the whole list of them here.

Photos courtesy Wikipedia.

Medieval Mondays: Byzantine Greece

Today on Medieval Mondays we have a special guest post from historical novelist and travel writer Sean McLachlan. Sean recently wrote a travel series about Greece and included lots of medieval sites. Here's here to share some photos and insights with us. Once you're done, check out his Civil War blog and Civil War novel. Take it away Sean!

Hi everyone! Last month I traveled through Greece researching a travel series about how that country's tourism industry, museums, and archaeological sites were holding up during the financial crisis. Being in love with all things medieval, I made a point of visiting various Byzantine sites. I've always been fascinated with the Byzantine Empire.

This is Acrocorinth, a massive castle overlooking the famous city of Corinth. There's been a castle here since Classical times, perhaps earlier, and the triple walls and massive keep were rebuilt and strengthened by the Crusaders, Byzantines, Ottomans, and Venetians.

If you're passing through Athens, make sure to stop by the Byzantine Museum and see their amazing collection of art and artifacts.

Here's one of 400 icons on display. There are even parts of entire churches built into the museum galleries!

Also on display is this nice suit of chain mail and helmet. They look like they were inspired by Persian armor. Since the Byzantines and Sassanids were in almost constant warfare, I suppose this isn't surprising. There wasn't much on Byzantine arms and armor actually, because the Athens War Museum just down the street covers that topic very well.

Here's a reproduction of a medieval flame thrower at the War Museum. One of the reasons the Byzantines were so powerful was their use of Greek fire. While the recipe has been lost, it appears to have been an early form of napalm that was squirted from jets.

My favorite site was Mistra, a Byzantine ghost town with several decorated churches from the 14th and 15th centuries that still retain their painted interiors.

I hope you liked this brief trip through Byzantine Greece. Check out the links for more information and pictures!

Medieval Mondays: the Hexamilion wall

The Hexamilion is the thin black line across the Isthmus

Medieval Mondays is actually on Tuesday this week because yesterday I participated in the Origins blogfest. Thanks to all those who stopped by!

Genre Author follower and occasional guest blogger Sean McLachlan has been traveling in Greece lately for his travel blog Gadling and writing a series of posts. Some of them are of interest to fans of the Middle Ages, such as the castle of Acrocorinth, the Athens War Museum, and the Byzantine ghost town of Mistra. His writing about medieval Greece gave me today's subject--the Hexamilion Wall.

As you can tell from the name, this was a six-mile long defensive wall. It stretched across the Isthmus of Corinth, the only land route into the Peloponnese, the southwestern part of Greece. This obviously strategic point had been fortified since ancient times, and a major wall was erected during the fifth century AD when Germanic tribes were terrorizing the Roman Empire. It was strenghtened in the seventh century and then gradually allowed to decline.

The Hexamilion became important again in the waning years of the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Turks were closing in and the Byzantines were anxious to protect the Peloponnese (hten called the Morea) because it was the only wealthy province left to them. In 1415, Emperor Manuel II Palaeologos had it repaired and improved into an impressive fortification with thick walls and numerous towers. This didn't stop the Turks, though, who smashed through it in 1423. It appears there was little fighting; the garrison was so outnumbered and demoralized that most of them ran. The Haxamilion was repaired, but breached again in 1431. Both attacks were raids and the Ottomans did not remain in the Morea.

Constantine Palaeologos, then Despot of Morea and destined to be the last Byzantine Emperor, repaired the wall, but to no avail. In 1446, the Turks came back, this time with a large amount of artillery. Constantine had garrisoned the wall with 20,000 men, but many were Albanian mercenaries who could not be relied upon. After two weeks of bombardment, the Turks stormed the walls and cut down the defenders. Constantine survived, but his wall and his army were destroyed. Sultan Murad signed a treaty with the Byzantines stipulating that the wall would not be repaired.

Not much left!

When Murad died and the warlike Mehmet took the Ottoman throne, the Byzantines repaired the wall anyway. Mehmet's armies easily passed through in 1452. A year later the Byzantine capital Constantinople fell and the Emperor Constantine was killed in action. The Morea held out until 1460, but now the Hexamilion was in ruins and failed to even slow the Turks down.

The Hexamilion was a great idea that didn't work. The Byzantines could never garrison it with sufficient numbers of quality troops to face down the large and disciplined Ottoman army. Little remains of it today. For more on the Hexamilion, check out this cool website about the excavations being carried out there by Ohio State University.


Both images courtesy Wikipedia.