[gothic-l] Re: Cagots (how pure were the Goths?)

[faltin2001]

--- In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, OSCAR HERRERA <duke.co at s...> wrote:
> the goths were probably more gothic speaking .its also attested
that other groups around them spoke goth as well.the huns, the goths
one time nemesis spoke gothic as is attilas name ,which means little
father.in spain its not known if the natives there spoke gothic or
simply stayed with spanish,but during the 7 th century the gothic
kings were already distributing gothic coins and or moneys to
probably ensure the gothic language.



Hi Oscar,

I am afraid that cannot be correct. Coins were minted under
Visigothic 'jurisdiction' already from the early 5th century onwards.
The first solidi were imitating Honorius' coins of the mint of
Ravenna. This coinage increased during the middle of the 5th century
with imitations of Valentinan III solidi. The Gaulic/Visigothic mints
added a little laurel wreath above the emperor's head. Towards the
end of the 5th century Visigothic coins deteriorated rapidly. Their
size and gold content was so poor that circulation was banned in the
Burgundian kingdom and the coins were rejected by the Byzantines.

A refrom was introduced under the overlordship of Theoderic the Great
who set the Visigothic coins back on an acceptable standard. Coins
were still minted in the name of the Emperor until the end of the 6th
century. Yet, the design was highly abstract and a large cross was
added to the busts. The solidus disappeared in the middle of the 6thh
century and the standard denomination was the tremissis. During this
period Visigothic kingship was very weak and only with the
reassertion of royal power under Leovigild was the king able to mint
in his own name. However, a thorough and sound refrom was only
introduced by Reccared, which resulted in a stable currency, the
design and purity of which remained almost unchanged throughout the
7th century.

The inscription on these and all other Visigothic coins is always
Latin, usually reading   something like PIVS // GVNDEMARVS RX //
TOLETO. Sometimes Pius is substituted with Iustus and once with
Victor. These coins have absolutely nothing to do with the Gothic
lanugage which was all but extinct in Spain in the 7th century.
Curiously, the Suevic coinage even bears the little understood
inscription 'Latina Munita', possibly meaning Latin/Roman mint.

Cheers

Dirk
(who is a keen collector of Visigothic coins)





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