Ikonografia monet Sobiesława Sławnikowica

• Authors: Stanisław Suchodolski

Title variants

EN

The iconography of coins of Sobieslav Slavnik's son

Abstracts

EN

Sobieslav, Slavnik's son, ruled in Bohemia's north-eastern part in the years 981-995. Libice was the capital of his state. Its relationship with the other Czech state of the time is not clear. It was ruled from its capital at Prague by the Prernyslid dynasty at that time represented by Boleslav II (972-999). The rivalry between the two duchies carne to an end in 995, when the Duke of Prague seized and destroyed Libice. Despite this, Sobieslav and his two brothers (Adalbert, Bishop of Prague [†997] and Gaudentius, later the Archbishop of Gniezno in Poland) survived the pogrom. There are three main types of coins of Sobieslav. All of them were issued before 995, presumably in the years 985-995. Type I presents the Manus Dei upon the obverse, different birds being shown on the reverse. The le variant- an image of a hand holding a sword (Cach 159) - has been analysed at length (Fig. 1). It is a compilation of two types of the coins of the Prernyslid Boleslav II -the image of a hand and the image of a sword. What came into being as a result is a combination in which the hand has stretched out fingers while the transversely situated sword is held merely by the thumb. Such an arrangement is not coincidental whatsoever: it has its analogies both upon coins and miniatures (Fig. 2-6). The author of the scene wanted to convince the receivers of the coins that the Dextera Dei bestows upon the emitter a sword, i.e. the Word of God alongside a blessing. The bird presented on the other side was formerly interpreted as a pelican or eagle getting ready for the flight. The author suggests that the prototype of the scene showed the eagle at grips with a snake (Fig. 7). However, the author of the type did not understand the idea, thus in place of the snake he just presented a horizontal line. The designs of Type II-a bust and the Dextera Dei (Cach 146; Fig. 15)-had been inspired by the coins of Ethelred II, yet- by proxy of those by Boleslav Il (Cach 122; Fig. 16). In Type III a crowned en face head is combined with the design of a Saxon type church (Cach 162; Fig. 17). Since the head is accompanied by the duke's name (ZOBEZLAV), so far it has been taken for granted that this is his symbol. The author suggests that at that time there didn't have to be a compliance between the two basic elements of the die: the type and the surrounding inscription. This is why he maintains that the head represents either emperor Otto III (just like upon Deventer coins, Dbg 560; Fig. 18), Christ the King, or St Venceslav. The latter seems to be the most probable one. The cult of the said saint among Slavnik's descendants, known from written sources, proves that. The authors concludes that patterns for the images upon Sobieslav's coins had been taken both from coins by Boleslav II (Anglo-Saxon type) and the Empire - from Lower Lorraine (Deventer) and Saxony (denarii by Otto and Adelaide, Fig. 23). There was also a non-monetary source that provided the bird motifs (eagle?, peacock, pigeon?). It was applied both upon the coins by Boleslav Il (Fig. I 0-12) and those by Sobieslav (Fig. I, 8, 9). One might suppose that the impulse for their use may have come from the Bishop of Prague, Adalbert or somebody from his milieu. On the other hand, however, we do not agree with Gustav Skalsky in seeing here any Polish influences on the iconography of these coins, thus providing a basis for his inference that Sobieslav's state would rather have inclined towards that of Boleslav the Brave. Apart from imitating foreign patterns, the deliberate modification thereof is also to be observed upon Sobieslav's coins. This is how the extremely unusual image of the Hand of God (the blessing being accompanied by the gift of the sword of the Word of God) came into being. By means of combination of the two types of Boleslav Il, a representation with a new content was obtained. The crowned en face head, presumably an image of St Venceslav, might be regarded as an adaptation of the Imperial pattern (or perhaps the so called Boleslav I l's byzantinizing type, Fig. 20). The great importance of Sobieslavs coins for studying the history of his state has been confirmed by research. However, the results differ from those so far accepted by Czech scientists. First of all suggestions of political manifestation carried out by Sobieslav by means of coins must be given up. He was supposed to have provoked Boleslav I I by the mere fact of his coinage having been started, which allegedly infringed upon his coinage regale. The crown on Sobieslav's head, shaking the sword and boasting with the eagle was supposedly another provocation. Much more probable is that the images upon the coins were religious symbols. Yet, if they were to allude to the contemporary situation, it seems more plausible to see them hinting at the protection of supernatural forces. This was very important in the face of the growing threat on the part of a stronger neighbour.

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Wiadomości Numizmatyczne
• Year: 2006
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 2(182)
• Pages: 127-146

Dates

published

2006

Contributors

author

Stanisław Suchodolski

• Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii PAN, Warszawa

Identifiers

Biblioteka Nauki

16491972