Research on the monetary usage in the Western early Middle Ages

1. 在过去的25年里，欧洲的学者们积累了大量关于中世纪早期货币史的知识，这主要得益于货币学的发展。书面记录中提到的金钱支付是分散的，而且往往仅限于支付金额的指示，因此很难在个人研究的基础上使用它们。欧洲学者开始积极评价银币单一金属制的历史意义。这一流程基于以下新近证实的事实。银的单一金属主义也出现在8世纪。(2)从很早的时候起，便士硬币在英国、弗里斯兰、意大利等地的影响也很强。(3)铸造和流通的便士数量巨大。(4)一分硬币也有收藏的功能。(5)铸币权持有者有效地利用了他们的货币特权。他们的货币政策使得含银量不同的便士能够同时流通。货币替代品的使用受到限制。尽管欧洲研究人员取得了丰富的成果，但人们在日常生活中使用金钱的细节仍未弄清楚。便士虽然是具有内在价值的银币，但很容易受到铸币权持有者的操纵。从这个意义上说，强调国家在货币事务中的权力的货币理论在中世纪早期的货币史上也是有效的。便士起着万能货币的作用。把经济人类学家所形成的货币概念直接应用于西方中世纪早期的货币史是危险的。传统的经济史和货币史概论低估了西方中世纪早期白银的单一金属主义。

1. During the last 25 years, European scholars have accumulated, mainly thanks to the development of numismatics, a wide range of knowledges on the monetary history of the early Middle Ages.2. The mentions of money payment in the written records are dispersed and often limited to an indication of the paid sum, so that it is very difficult to use them on the basis of an individual research.3. European scholars come to evaluate favorably the historical significance of the silver mono-metallism with penny coins. This stream bases itself on the following newly verified facts. (1)The silver mono-metallism comprised also the 8th century. (2)Since early dates, the influence of penny coins was strong also in England, Frisia, Italia etc. (3)The number of coined and circulated pence was enormous. (4)The penny coin functioned also as means of treasure. (5)Holders of the right of coinage used efficiently their monetary prerogative. (6)Their monetary policy made possible a simultaneous circulation of various pence with different silver contents. (7)The use of substitutes for money was limited.4. Details of money usage in the everyday life of the populace are not yet clarified even with the rich results obtained by European researchers.5. Although the pence are silver coins with an intrinsic value, they were easily subject to the maniputation by the holders of right of coinage. In this sense, the monetary theory underlining the state power in monetary matters is also valid in the monetary history of the early Middle Ages.6. The penny functioned as a all-purposed money. It is dangerous to apply the concepts of the money formulated by economic anthropologists directly to the monetary history of the Western early Middle Ages.7. Traditional general descriptions of economic history and money history underestimate the silver monometallism in the Western early Middle Ages.