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142 The Viking Age in Denmark

5C~^ł

silver

800

900

kxx) A.D.

Figurę 37 Fluctuations in che relative amounts of silver in Denmark as calculated on the basis of respectively the find-numbers (A) and the silver weights (B). For the ninth century the results are somewhat uncertain

show in the finds, which is in accordancc with the lack of eon-temporary west European coins in Denmark. On the other hand, the early ninth-century peak corresponds to a group of mainly Arabie, but also sonie Frankish, coins of that datę. The early tenth-century peak is parallel to a high number of Arabie coins, and a few west European coins, from those same years. The influx in 1000, however, consists mainly of English and German coins, the decline of the Arabie specimens being paralleled by the mid-tenth century depression (Fig. 43). The German coins start soon thereafter, while the English influx is a little later and mainly connected with the campaigns around 10(X). Furthermore, the English coins decline after the breakdown of the North Sea empire, while the German coins, probably obtained by rcgular trade, continue to flow into Denmark. The western imports altogether make up the peak in about 1000. As we shall sec belo w, a correspondence exists betwecn the degree of influx of silver from various areas; trade and exchange in one dircction stimulated the activities in another and led to a larger silver stock in Denmark. On the contrary, the crisis in the importation of silver in the sccond half of the ninth century, for instance, caused an increase in the raids and attacks on western Europę. But it is important to notę that the serious problems of the mid-tenth century did not result in a similar pattern; instead, the society was transformed into a State, which fifty years later was strong enough to control England for some length of time. The late ‘Viking Age’ in England differs in many respects from the early one of the ninth century.

In Denmark the ‘cash problems’ in about 950 were solved, for instance, by grants of land and by expansion of the local economy, which, unlike the international economy, may well have functioned wnth little silver at hand. The arrival of the German coins, however, and a strong increase in the minting of local coins, of a very Iow weight, in the second half of the tenth century, also stimulated the internal exchange. But the silver stock had not recovered at the beginning of the tenth century.

B. Distribution of wealth

The silver hoards are the best way of studying the distribution of wealth among the higher social echelons of Viking society. The K-value measured above the degree of conflict for various periods, but it is also applicable to thedifferent provinces. The N-^-K values thus give the size of the silver stock of the geographical areas. (To be accurate, we use in the following only the grammes of silver for the N-values in the N -i-K formula - K still calculated on the basis of number of finds, not the number of hoards; we also include the finds without coins.) One problem is that we must deal with large areas to obtain significant results ot the time series and long periods of time to produce reliable outcomes for the various provinces. Another difficulty, resulting trorn the smali number of finds, is that the very mid-Jylland Jelling province in the tenth century is almost completely devoid of hoards of silver.

For the period 900 to 1010 we notę that the silver is spread quite unevenly throughout Denmark (Appendix XIV). We have stan-dardised the amounts by dividing them by the size of the agricultural potential, taken, as measured in the so-called ‘barrels of hard corif and comparable units, to reflect the relative population sizes, demon-strable for later periods of pre-industrial Denmark.⁸ Bornholm, for instance, has an extrcmely high amount of silver compared with the