Runic solidus from Schweindorf

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Runic solidus from Schweindorf

The runic solidus of Schweindorf , also gold solidus of Schweindorf , was found by chance in 1948 in a field in Schweindorf . Based on stylistic features, it is dated to the late 6th or early 7th century AD. Today it belongs to the holdings of the East Frisian State Museum in Emden .

construction

The Schweindorfer solidus was never in circulation as a means of payment, but with its diameter of approx. 2 cm served as a piece of jewelry. This can also be proven by the fact that the solidus was not minted like conventional coins, but rather cast. It goes back to a late Roman template. The model was a solidus of Emperor Theodosius II (401–450). The Schweindorf specimen shows a standing figure with a staff on one side and a stylized bust on the other. This is nothing unusual for the time it was created. After the end of the Western Roman Empire, the rulers of the Germanic successor empires initially continued to shape Solidi; Since the minting of gold was considered an imperial privilege, they placed the image of the Eastern Roman emperor on the reverse of the coin until well into the 6th century. The solidus of Schweindorf also bears the runic inscription weladu , which is depicted with the characters of the older Futhark . Wēla (n) du is a form of the name of Wieland the blacksmith , a figure from the Germanic heroic legend .

meaning

East Frisia is considered to be very poor in fundamentals during the migration period . The rune solidus is one of the few proofs of continuous settlement in the region. The runic inscription on the piece of jewelery, which was probably cast in the Frisian region, is one of the oldest indigenous linguistic monuments on the southern North Sea coast.

Finds of this kind are generally very rare. There are only four similar specimens, such as a coin that was discovered in 1845 near Harlingen in the Dutch province of Friesland , a coin of unknown origin that is shown in the British Museum in London and two other coins that were found in Wieuwerd (municipality of Littenseradiel ) in the Province of Friesland and Uppsala (Sweden).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Klaus Düwel: Runenkunde. Metzler Collection, Volume 72. 4th edition. Verlag JB Metzler, Stuttgart 2008, p. 227
  2. ↑ Solidus images at https://landesmuseum.eezeebee.com/places/details/24
  3. ↑ Different reading welad by Tineke Looijenga: The golden rune solidi from Harlingen and Schweindorf . In: Jan F. Kegler, Ostfriesische Landschaft (Ed.): Land der Entdeckungen - land van ontdekkingen 2013. The archeology of the Frisian coastal area , Soltau-Kurier Norden, Norden 2013, ISBN 3-940601-16-0 . P. 431.
  4. ^ Rolf Bärenfänger : Roman Empire and Migration Period . In: Rolf Bärenfänger: Guide to archaeological monuments in Germany. Vol. 35 Ostfriesland , Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8062-1415-8 . Pp. 72-89
  5. ↑ Peter Berghaus and Karl Schneider: Anglo-Frisian rune solidi in the light of the new discovery from Schweindorf (East Frisia). In: Working Group for Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Issue 134 , Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden 1967, p. 38.