Royalty and Renewal in Viking Age Ireland

This chapter examines the relationship between coinage and kingship in early medieval Ireland. First, the Hiberno-Scandinavian coinage produced in Dublin is contextualized within a discussion of the use of silver in Ireland between the tenth and twelfth centuries. The chapter then discusses the coinage’s organization and administration. Study of coin weight and silver fineness, alongside evidence for currency renewal (the demonetization of official coins, and the issuing of a new type), reveals that the coinage constituted a well-regulated currency that was effectively monitored by successive kings of Dublin. Examination of the timings of currency renewals reveals that, rather than being overtly political, they were motivated by commercial viability, with the aim of facilitating trade around the Irish Sea.