Question by nobopoto: Does anyone know about the early medieval period dating back to 400 A.D. when Attila the Hun invaded France?
I need to know what type of money people used back then, like if it was called pennies, silver coins, shillings etc. I need to know how much each was worth. Any websites concerning medieval 400 A.D-500 A.D. would be much appreciated. I am looking deep into medieval history, and have stumbled across a problem with finding out the coinage. I am writing a medieval novel, so a lot of research is involved. Any help will be greatly appreciated!
*Attila invaded Europe, wasn't it through the edge of bulgaria aswell?
Thank you so much for your comment 'blah'!
So was copper the least expensive then? Gold the most of value, and silver next?
Best answer:
Answer by blah
people still used roman currency, aureus (gold), the denarius (silver), the sestertius (bronze), the dupondius (bronze), and the as (copper).
also atilla the hun invaded italy not france
What do you think? Answer below!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Although the Huns controlled vast areas of land they never truly established a ruling body, therefore the money that was utilized came from all over what is now most of Europe, Russia, The Slavic countries, parts of Turkey, and most of the Middle East. Bullion of gold, silver and copper were also used. However the vast majority of The Hun economy was done on the barter system rather than a monetary one.
As far as I know the Huns never invaded France (or “Gaul” as it was known back then) … they invaded Rome (Italy) in 476 A.D. Gaul was, however, at the time a province of the Roman Empire, so they would have used Roman currency.
I believe it is the roman currency because when my ancient german ancestor Attila attacked France they took over the whole western empire from 400-500 A.D.(ACE) Very interesting character who came from the middle of Europe or near the Slavic region of modern day Russia. He gather many compatriots and they went killing, raping, piliging, etc… throughout Western Roman empire. After that they just lived of what the romans had but after they took over a lot of history, books, learning was lost for 500 years. (Dark ages)
I gave u plenty of sites of history dating from the beginning of the Roman Empire all the way to Modern Europe. Hope this helps with your novel. I will give some advise in reading J.R.R. Tolkien, he was a big scholar on this type of history. He might give some ideas to your book if u need help with it.
Whether the Huns INVADEDGaul/France or not, they were defeated there, at the battle of Chalons, in A. D. 451. And although the German soldiers in WWI were called Huns by their opponents, the original Huns weren’t Germans but were more closely related to the Mongols. After Attila’s death in 453, the Hun empire disintegrated (although the country of Hungary is named for them). The barbarians who were already spreading over much of the Roman Empire, however, WERE Germans–Goths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, along with lesser known nations or tribes. But the Huns weren’t among them.