Echoes of Old LancashireAxon, William E. A. (William Edward Armytage)
History
Echoes of Old Lancashire
Axon, William E. A. (William Edward Armytage)
Lancashire (England) -- History
The most
northerly discoveries of Kufic coins have been by the river Angermann,
which empties itself in the Gulf of Bothnia. The islands of Gothland,
Oland, and Bornholm appear to have been the centre of this commercial
activity. Lithuania, Denmark, and Poland, especially the latter, have
also yielded to the antiquarian investigator many evidences of
intercourse with the Arabs. On the coasts of Pomerania and along the
course of the Oder Kufic coins have been found, the southern limit
being apparently in Silesia.
Worsaae in speaking of some silver ornaments with a triangular pattern
of three or four points, also found at Cuerdale, says “that the
discovery of so many coins of this class in Russia, from the Caspian
and the Black Sea up to the shores of the Baltic, sufficiently proves
that from the eighth until the eleventh century there existed a very
lively intercourse by trade between the East and the northern parts of
Europe.”[4]
The Vikings, who are usually regarded as simply pirates, had their
share in this commerce. From the East came rich fabrics, ornaments and
vases, and their bearers carried back in return ermines, furs, slaves,
and, above all, amber, which whilst valued as an ornament was also
credited with wonderful powers of preserving the health of the wearer.
This commerce did not have so much social or political result as might
have been expected from four centuries of activity. The grave events
alike in Asia and Europe which followed the fall of the Samanides
interrupted its peaceful course, and before it could fall again into
the old tracks there came the tempestuous interlude of the first
Crusade.
From this it will be seen that the occurrence of Kufic coins in the
north of England is one of the evidences of the activity of the Danes,
and of their commercial intercourse with the nations of the East.
Footnote 3:
For further details on the commerce of the Arabs, and especially as
to the extended currency of Kufic coins, J. J. A. Worsaae’s “Danes in
England,” 1852; Ernest Babelon’s “Du Commerce des Arabes,” 1882; Le
Bon’s “La Civilisation des Arabes,” 1884; may be consulted.
Footnote 4:
“Remarks on the Antiquities found at Cuerdale,” p. 2.
Newspapers in 1738-39.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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