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The Udovice solidus pendants : late 5th century evidence of South Scandinavian mercenaries in the Balkans Fischer, Svante Fornvännen 2008(103):2, s. [81]-88 : ill.
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Citations
... 50 This was first observed by Oscar Montelius, which was one of the convincing clues that the three gold collars were of Scandinavian workmanship and not oriental as it was formerly believed (Montelius, 1881(Montelius, -1883Montelius, 1896Montelius, -1900Hildebrand, 1892, p.179-180. See also Gebühr, Axboe, Hauck, 1992, p.95 fig.2, and more recently Popović, 2008;Fischer, 2008, Pesch, 2015 7.3 cm wide, weighing 48.4 g. Found in 1781 in Ravlunda (Ravlunda parish, Skåne region, Sweden). ...
The three Swedish gold collars are unique goldsmith masterpieces of the Migration Age, owing to the great number of small beings that inhabit them: animals, humans and hybrids. While most of these figurines were individually carved into the gold and ornated with filigree or granulation, the small masks of the Ålleberg collar stand out as seemingly being replicates. Which method was used to replicate these originally 43 masks on the collar? A thorough study of these masks is presented as well as of the bracteates decorated with replicated or unique masks. Two different techniques are proposed for the manufacture of these small masks, both going back to Roman goldsmith techniques. One of these techniques was widely used in the antique and Germanic worlds and it has its roots in Greek methods of the Archaic period. The technique used to make the masks on the Ålleberg collar and on a few of the bracteates is of a much rarer type, which only has parallels in Roman goldsmith techniques of the 2nd – 4th A.D.
... By contrast, the solidi struck for Leo I from Helgö and Gotland are usually mutilated and worn, reflecting the fact that these solidi were brought from Italy only in the very late fifth century. In addition, it is clear that most issues from Öland are of the earlier RIC X 605 type, whereas the later RIC X 630 type is far more frequent on Gotland and Helgö (Fischer 2008b). It has already been noted above that the latter type does not occur in the Stiernstedt Ancient Coin Collection. ...
ABSTRACT
Svante Fischer 2020. Th e Late Roman and Early Byzantine Solidi of the
Stiernstedt Ancient Coin Collection.
Journal of Archaeology and Ancient History. 2020, No. 28 pp 1–26. http://urn.
kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-426054
Th is is a study of 33 Late Roman and Early Byzantine solidi from the period
394-565 that are kept in the Stiernstedt Ancient Coin Collection. Th e solidi
were acquired in the late nineteenth century by the co-founding president of
the Swedish Numismatic Society, August Wilhelm Stiernstedt. After his death,
the solidi along with 2,434 other coins were published as a coherent assembly,
the Stiernstedt Ancient Coin Collection (Heilborn 1882). Th e entire collection
was acquired at a sale from the Bukowski auction house in Stockholm
by the Swedish-Texan antebellum cattle baron and gilded age banker Swante
Magnus Swenson the same year. Together with many other coins and various
prehistoric objects acquired in Sweden, the Stiernstedt Ancient Coin Collection
was donated by Swenson in 1891 to the State of Texas under the name of
the Swenson Collection. Th e Stiernstedt Ancient Coin Collection is currently
kept at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of
Texas at Austin. Th e study concludes with a catalogue of the 33 solidi. In the
commentary, I have tried to identify and recontextualize the solidi by comparing
them to recorded hoards from Scandinavia and the European Continent as
well as unprovenanced solidi in Swedish and European collections.
KEYWORDS
Late Roman Empire; Scandinavian Migration Period; Roman Solidus;
Wilhelm August Stiernstedt; Coin collection; 19th century antiquarianism;
Scandinavian Archaeology; Late Roman and Early Byzantine Numismatics
... Post-World War II studies include Werner 1949Klindt-Jensen 1957;Fagerlie 1967;Herschend 1980;Westermark 1980;Kyhlberg 1986;Kromann 1990. In the 21st century, works include Horsnaes 2002;2012;Fischer 2008;Fischer et al. 2011 It is not known how the transfer of solidi from the imperial mint to the barbarian mercenaries was organized, nor is it clear how such arrangements were ever represented in the official propaganda and public records of the Late Roman state apparatus and Germanic successor kingdoms-was it all presented as dilectio, that is, a sort of voluntary bonus when the ruler was pleased with his army? Note there that the Roman ruler portrayed on the solidi could have been uninformed of the newly struck issues or even opposed to their distribution, as they could have been considered counterfeit or illegitimate. ...
This paper is a study of three solidus hoards located at strategic passages through the Italian Alps. It is argued that the hoards are connected to barbarian mercenaries in Roman service. The hoards are analysed and compared to historical sources and solidus hoards from Scandinavia. It is argued that it may be possible to distinguish between hoards that contain solidi used to pay for barbarian recruits and hoards that are proof of dilectio, bonus payments. In the latter case, it is argued that freshly minted solidi from northern Italy are more likely to represent dilectio than older and imported coins.*
... In contrast to the trade hypothesis, the wage labour hypothesis can be verified by the evidence of Scandinavians on the Continent having access to solidi while simultaneously displaying a typically Scandinavian manner of treating solidus coinage in a way peculiar to Scandinavians. The remarkable solidus pendants from Udovice, Serbia, certainly do fulfil these criteria by having a specimen of RIC X 2718 struck for Libius Severus (a type which is very frequent on Öland) attached to a gold filigree work of typical Scandinavian character (Popović 2008;Fischer 2008;Fischer et al. 2011). The coin type only occurs in Italy, Scandinavia and the Vedrin hoard in Belgium (Lallemand 1965). ...
The strongest archaeological evidence for the presence of Scandinavians inside the Western Empire in the 5th century is discussed. The purpose is to address a set of questions related to the return of military veterans from the Continent to the Scandinavian periphery during the 5th century. The key issue here is to discuss whether it is possible to prove the very existence of returning warriors in the Migration Period material culture in Scandinavia by means of die-identical coins found in Continental coin hoards. It is argued that numismatic evidence in the form of die-linked solidi allows us to track at least four different payments in which Scandinavians received gold coins from the main actors in the Late Roman military state apparatus, which were then brought back to Scandinavia. Two or three of these payments in the years AD 465–476 can be described as direct from Italy to South Scandinavia, while an earlier payment after AD 435 can be explicitly linked to the former limes area of Pannonia by means of die-links to solidus hoards found in Slovakia and Hungary, and may be classified as a payment through mid-level intermediaries.
... 6, 9, 10). Это золотое ожерелье с медальонами позднего V в. и скандинавскими золотыми пронизками (Fischer, 2008;Popović, 2008). С. Фишер и И. Попович относят ожерелье к позднему V в., видимо исходя из того, что оно включает медальоны с изображениями Валентиниана III, Гонория и Константина III, Ливия Севера. ...
... Une étude menée parallèlement à celle des chambres funéraires semble étayer cette hypothèse. Elle concerne des objets contemporains, découverts dans le même secteur géographique mais de provenance romaine : les trésors de solidi scandinaves (Hildebrand 1882 ;Arne 1919 ;Janse 1922 ;Werner 1949 ;Fagerlie 1967 ;Herschend 1980 ;Kyhlberg 1986 ;Metcalf 1995 ;Fischer 2005Fischer , 2008. Toutes les pièces de monnaie romaines connues en Scandinavie et dans les pays Baltes, émises entre les années 250 et 565 apr. ...
... Une étude menée parallèlement à celle des chambres funéraires semble étayer cette hypothèse. Elle concerne des objets contemporains, découverts dans le même secteur géographique mais de provenance romaine : les trésors de solidi scandinaves (Hildebrand 1882 ;Arne 1919 ;Janse 1922 ;Werner 1949 ;Fagerlie 1967 ;Herschend 1980 ;Kyhlberg 1986 ;Metcalf 1995 ;Fischer 2005Fischer , 2008. Toutes les pièces de monnaie romaines connues en Scandinavie et dans les pays Baltes, émises entre les années 250 et 565 apr. ...
There are some forty chamber graves from the 4th and 5th centuries AD found in Sweden. Five cases, including three recent finds in Uppland, offer more precise information in regard to the burial construction and the status of those buried. The chronology of the chamber grave phenomenon falls into two separate phases. By comparing this chronology with that of the influx of Roman solidi, the authors suggest a social interpretation of the phenomenon.
... The IRF-project has shown that it is rarely possible to distinguish between the continental Germanic Futhark and the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Runic inscriptions on sword pommels are so far not indicative of any particular Germanic ethnicity, with the possible exception of Fréthun, grave 65 (Fischer et al. 2008). The runes are clearly of mid-level rank in the pommel hierarchy and thus differ greatly in chronology ( Fig. 5 ...
... Then there is the larger German study by W. Menghin (1983) with some 151 swords from the entire Continent. Finally, Fischer et al. (2008) is a French update of Evison (1967), listing some 42 sword pommels, with a focus on the Bifrons-Gilton type and runic inscriptions. Its is abundantly clear that the sword pommels from the Staffordshire Hoard will cause all three works to undergo serious revision both in terms of typology and chronology. ...
... 7), также на Дунае, в 20 км от Белграда, между Сингидунумом и Виминациумом. Это золотое ожерелье с медальонами позднего V в. и скандинав-скими золотыми пронизками (Fischer 2008;Popović 2008). С. Фишер и И. Попович относят ожерелье к позднему V в., видимо, исходя из того, что оно включает медальоны с изображениями Валентиниана III, Гонория и Константина III, Ливия Севера. ...
... Ett annat resultat var att det kunde anses vara relativt säkert fastställt att myntet i Ottarshögen kommit dit via Helgö (Fischer 2008a). Ett tredje var att Udovice-hängena funna i Serbien (Fischer 2008b) kunde visas vara sydskandinaviska, sannolikt öländska. Ett fjärde resultat var att vi kunde säkert bevisa att sydskandinaviska förband tagit del i utbetalningar redan under första halvan av 400-talet (Fischer, López Sánchez och Victor 2011). ...
Projektet avser att skärskåda det sena Romarrikets fall i väst och det tidiga Byzantiums uppkomst i öst i relation till den barbariska periferin och klimatförändringar. Perioden har valts av flera skäl. För det första finns goda klimatdata tillgängliga från flera platser i Medelhavsområdet och norra Europa. För det andra är det historiska källmaterialet för stora städer i Medelhavsområdet tillfredsställande. För det tredje har kunskaperna om senromerska statsfinanser och avmonetarisering förbättrats de senaste åren. Ingen uttalat tvärvetenskaplig studie som tar hänsyn till klimatdata, historiskt källmaterial och ett så rikt arkeologiskt fyndmaterial av myntskatter har presenterats tidigare.
This book argues that tribal Scandinavia was set on the route to kingship by thearrival in the AD 180s–90s of warrior groups that were dismissed from the Romanarmy after defeating the Marcomanni by the Danube.Using a range of evidence, this book details how well‑equipped and battle‑seasoned warriors, familiar with Roman institutions and practices, seized landand established lordly centres. It shows how these new lords acquired wealth by stimulating the production of commodities for trade with peers and Continental associates, Romans included, to reward retainers and bestow on partners. In these transcultural circumstances, lords and their retainers nurtured artisanal production of exquisite quality and developed a heroic ethos and refined hall etiquette. The topic of warfare, created by the volatile politics of lordly cooperation and competition, is also explored. Venturing substantially beyond the usual scope of syntheses of this period, this book looks at how the break‑up of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of ‘Great tribes’ such as the Franks and Goths influenced lords and tribal leaders across Scandinavia to form kingdoms, emulating what they for centuries had considered the superior polity, the Roman Empire.This book’s fresh take on disputed research topics will inspire scholars, students, and interested readers to delve further into this pivotal period of European history.
(PDF) The Northern Routes to Kingship: A History of Scandinavia AD 180–550. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387035419_The_Northern_Routes_to_Kingship_A_History_of_Scandinavia_AD_180-550 [accessed Dec 31 2024].
