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Basic currency of the medieval Welsh kingdoms
The
ceiniog
(
Latin
:
denarius
; English:
penny
; plural:
ceiniogau
) was the basic currency of the medieval
Welsh kingdoms
such as
Gwynedd
and
Deheubarth
.
Hywel Dda
was the only ruler recorded as minting his own proper coins; however, the ceiniog was not a coin but a value of silver. The "legal penny" (
Latin
:
denarius legalis
;
Welsh
:
ceiniog cyfreith
) was the weight of 32 wheat grains in silver; the "curt penny" (
Welsh
:
ceiniog cwta
), the weight of 24 wheat grains. The latter was based on the old
Roman pound
; the former,
Charlemagne's
and
Offa's
.
[1]
The Welsh half-penny was the
dymey
of 12 wheat grains (roughly ⅓ the "legal penny")
[2]
and the farthing (quarter-penny) was the
firdlyc
of 6.
[3]
Since the value in ceiniogau of most common goods and animals were regulated by the
Laws of Hywel Dda
, the system also simplified
barter
in Wales.
References
[
edit
]
