YeOldeCollector Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 King Burgred, a name which is not often the first in mind when thinking about English history. Burgred was the king of the powerful kingdom of Mercia, made famous by the greatest of the old monarchs; Offa. Offa was, after all, the monarch who introduced the penny into circulation which rivalled the Frankish developments of similar recoinage. Mercia was located in the present day Midlands, i.e. Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire etc. As with many names in use today, Mercia is a Latinised form of Old English with the original name being Mierce which means 'People of the Marches/Boundaries'. Burgred ascended the throne in 852 to become the last king of Mercia due to the Viking Danes. Very soon after becoming king he allied with Ethelwulf of Wessex, (Wessex = West Saxons, just as Essex means East Saxons, Sussex means South Saxons etc.), in order to control Wales. Their joint campaign worked out well and the alliance was sealed when Burgred married Ethelwulf's daughter. Aethelred was king of Wessex from 865-71 and, with his brother Alfred the Great, joined forces with Burgred to try and expel the Vikings who occupied Nottingham in 868. Although the military might of Mercia was truly formidable and they had combined with the forces of the more powerful Wessex, their siege of Nottingham was not successful. The Mercians had no choice but to make peace which made the Vikings withdraw to York. The Vikings then proceeded to march through Mercian territory in 874 which caused Burgred to finally admit defeat and flee to Rome. The 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', created under the authority of Alfred the Great of Wessex in circa 890 and updated until King Stephen, states "This year went the [Viking] army from Lindsey to Repton, and there took up their winter-quarters, drove the king, Burhred [burgred], over sea, when he had reigned about two and twenty winters, and subdued all that land. He then went to Rome, and there remained to the end of his life." The penny above is a superb example of Burgred's 'Lunette' type. The obverse features a diademed bust looking right with the legend; BURGRED REX, starting at 7 O'clock. The reverse has the unbroken lunettes with the moneyer's named in three lines. The first line reads MON, the second reads EDEVLF and the third reads ETA. This therefore shows that the MONETA was EDEVLF, i.e. Ethelwulf. It really is better than the photo suggests and, in hand, I would grade this EF. For a coin that is about 1150 years old I think that is quite an achievement for such a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 As previously mentioned, Alfred the Great and Burgred were allied against the Viking occupation of Nottingham. The fact that they were both monarchs of very powerful, wealthy kingdoms and that they were allies means it is no surprise to see similarities between their coinages. The penny above is of Alfred the Great and was minted c.871-875, the final years of Burgred's reign. The portrait and the lunette design is so very similar to that of Burgred. Even Alfred the Great's brother, who was King Aethelred, has a similar design. The trend of lunettes first occurs with Burgred, perhaps echoing that West-Saxon and Mercian ideology was intertwined. Alfred the Great ruled from 871 until 899, successor to his brother Aethelred. Alfred, or Aelfred, is the only English monarch to be given the epithet 'the Great' which is quite an achievement by any standards. Alfred had two other brothers who ruled before his third brother Aethelred but not much is known about the short reigns of his elder brothers Ethelbald and Ethelbert. King Aethelred died in April 871, causing power of this impressive kingdom to fall into the hands of the youngest of four brothers, Alfred. No doubt would the power have been handed down to one of Aethelred's two sons had Wessex not been defending itself against the Danes and so needed a worthy king. The penny was struck at either Canterbury or London. The obverse reads +AELBRED REX starting with a cross at 10 O'clock. The reverse reads MON HEREMOD ETA, i.e. Moneta Heremod, which puts the moneyer as Heremod. The Alfred the Great penny is very rare indeed with few examples ever coming up for sale so I am very fortunate to have acquired it, especially in such good condition as it just has a slight crease which really is not as bad as the photo suggests. The obverse is absolutely stunning. So, two pennies of allied kingdoms bearing the same design and perhaps only varying in age by about 10 years. Both in remarkable condition, the Burgred especially, and the Alfred being very rare indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drusus Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 for the coin type....those are outstanding examples. Count me green with envy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Aethelred was king of Wessex from 865-71 and, with his brother Alfred the Great, joined forces with Burgred to try and expel the Vikings who occupied Nottingham in 868. Where's Nottingham? The Mercians had no choice but to make peace which made the Vikings withdraw to York And York? The 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', created under the authority of Alfred the Great of Wessex in circa 890 and updated until King Stephen, Fascinating! How long did the Chronicle persist? The obverse features a diademed bust looking right with the legend; BURGRED REX, starting at 7 O'clock. What is a 'diademed'? The reverse has the unbroken lunettes lunette = half moon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Where's Nottingham? And York? Here's a modern day map showing the two cities. Fascinating! How long did the Chronicle persist? Well, is thought to have been started in 889 and the last update was thought to have been made in 1154. So we're looking at a 265 year timeline of English history. Nearly 100,000 words! What is a 'diademed'? A diademe is a crown worn to show royalty. It's etymology is Middle English, Old French, Latin and Ancient Greek all of which mean 'to bind'. So 'diademed' means that the bust was crowned in a particular fashion as if 'bound' to his head rather than perched upon. lunette = half moon? Literal French is 'little moon', so yes, a half moon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Orc Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Absolutly wonderful coins Clive but when I read the title of the thread, I thought it read King Burger LOL Great write up about a very interesting period in English history though, and as someone who use to live in Nottingham I allways found the origins of the name to be hillariouse It apparently comes from the unfortunately named Saxon chieftan Snot, who gathered settlers there sometime afterAD600. 'Snotingaham' (home of Snot's people) The Vikings turned it into a Danish borough in the 9th centuary and its history has grown ever since LOL specialy the Robin Hood bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hussulo Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Lovely examples and very interesting write up. Thanks Clive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy-bones Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I can't say enough about that alfred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Wonderful coins. I love them from this period and yours are spectacular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Very enjoyable read and beautiful coins, thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28Plain Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Great post and coin pics. I enjoy numismatics because when I study coins, the search for info leads into the study of several disciplines, history, politics, economics and mettalurgy for example. Thanks for the great post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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