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would have been very much in evidence, many of the knights no doubt having helped themselves very liberally to the booty. This event took place at the very dawn of the widespread adoption of arms by the knightly class, and thus it may have been an obvious symbol for many returned crusaders to use in
217:
were the metals of choice for money. Gold coins were almost continually produced by the
Byzantines and medieval Arabs. These circulated in Western European trade in smallish numbers, originating from the coinage mints of the Eastern Mediterranean. In Western Europe, the gold coins of
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Although the medieval "bezant" usually referred to a gold coin, some medieval Latin texts have been noted to expand its usage to cover silver coins. These silver bezants were often called "white bezants". Occasionally in Latin they were also called
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bezants". Like the gold bezants, the silver bezants by definition were issuances by the
Byzantine government or by an Arabic government, and not by a Latin government, and the usage of the term was confined to the Latin West.
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originated during the crusading era, when
Western European knights first came into contact with Byzantine gold coins, and were perhaps struck with their fine quality and purity. During the
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was used by the late medieval Greeks, while the name bezant was used by the late medieval Latin merchants for the same coin. The
Italians also used the name
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for coins of North Africa (including Tunis and
Tripoli), Cyprus, Armenia and Tabriz (in today's northwestern Iran), whereas it used the term
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in reference to coins is common in sources from the 10th through 13th centuries. Thereafter, it was mainly employed as a
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525:. Sir John Russell was a favoured courtier of King Henry III, granted by the King the barony of Newmarch c. 1216.
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Medievally from the 12th century onward (if not earlier), the
Western European term bezant also meant the
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were highly prized. These gold coins were commonly called bezants. The first "bezants" were the
Byzantine
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used the term bezant in the account of his travels to East Asia when describing the currencies of the
167:
35:
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were termed "Saracen bezants", since they were modelled on the gold dinar. A completely different
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coins minted by
Islamic governments. The Islamic coins were originally modelled on the Byzantine
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Gold coins were rarely minted in early medieval
Western Europe, up until the later 13th century;
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during the early years after the onset of Islam. The term bezant was used in the late medieval
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466:. Third edition (1903), revised and updated by Henri Cordier. Plain Label Books. p. 1226-27. (
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Peter Edbury, "Ernoul, Eracles and the
Beginnings of Frankish Rule in Cyprus, 1191–1232",
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by Western forces. During this sacking of the richest city of Europe, the gold
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486:, by Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, dated 1343, full text online in Italian at
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The original "bezants" were the gold coins produced by the government of the
54:). Gold coins were first copied dinars and bore Kufic script, but after 1250
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115:
537:
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The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
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around the year 1300. An Italian merchant's handbook dated about 1340,
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produced by Islamic governments. In turn, the gold coins minted in the
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gold bezant (1140–1180); gold bezant with Christian symbol (1250s) (
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27:
Generic medieval Western European name for eastern gold coins
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The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition
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their new arms. When arms are strewn with bezants, the term
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in Constantinople in the late 11th century. The name
431:Medieval Cyprus: A Place of Cultural Encounter
246:for the same coin (an abridgement of the name
118:of the east, all derived ultimately from the
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226:coins; later, the name was applied to the
162:. Later, the term was used to cover the
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201:and in literary and heraldic contexts.
127:. The word itself comes from the Greek
328:, in reference to the coin. Like many
58:were added following Papal complaints.
324:of a gold colour is referred to as a
265:to refer to the Egyptian gold dinar.
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444:The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
397:, a 13th-century English courtier.
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73:(1270–1300), and Tripoli silver
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190:and called the "white bezant".
154:and from the 11th century the
1:
568:Coins of the Byzantine Empire
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156:
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442:Philip Grierson, "Bezant",
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484:La Pratica della Mercatura
295:for the Byzantine bizant.
411:William Pitt the Younger
178:coin based on Byzantine
433:(Waxmann, 2015), p. 44.
276:Pratica della mercatura
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42:in European style with
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131:, the ancient name of
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34:Crusader coins of the
545:at Wikimedia Commons
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168:Kingdom of Jerusalem
114:to describe several
36:Kingdom of Jerusalem
517:Arms of Russell of
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378:displaying fifteen
312:Bezants in heraldry
263:Republic of Venice
220:Byzantine currency
186:was minted in the
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541:Media related to
376:Duchy of Cornwall
188:Kingdom of Cyprus
172:County of Tripoli
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16:(Redirected from
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199:money of account
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271:Yuan Empire
164:gold dinars
89:, the term
87:Middle Ages
46:(1162–75);
563:Gold coins
552:Categories
418:References
345:was sacked
305:miliarense
267:Marco Polo
255:gold dinar
248:hyperpyron
236:hyperpyron
158:hyperpyron
116:gold coins
95:Old French
362:is used.
281:Pegolotti
228:hyperpyra
193:The term
129:Byzantion
409:Arms of
393:Arms of
355:bezantée
318:heraldry
176:electrum
543:Bezants
446:(1991).
380:bezants
360:bezanty
322:roundel
289:perpero
259:solidus
240:perpero
182:trachea
150:nomisma
123:solidus
101:, from
85:In the
523:Dyrham
521:&
501:Bezant
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349:bezant
334:bezant
332:, the
326:bezant
293:pipero
285:bisant
244:pipero
232:solidi
224:solidi
215:bronze
211:silver
195:bezant
120:Roman
99:besant
91:bezant
71:Arabic
40:Denier
558:Coins
103:Latin
48:Kufic
468:ISBN
320:, a
213:and
170:and
75:gros
358:or
316:In
279:by
250:).
242:or
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