or perhaps an eagle which was a symbol associated with St. John the Evangelist. It is symbols such as this bird of prey that leaves us with a sense of ambiguity in regards to what denomination this coin had the purpose of representing. Could this have represented a raven as a part of the religion that was brought over by the Vikings? Or perhaps it was intended as a Christian symbol and was to serve as a representation for how the Viking rulers were beginning to fashion themselves as Christian kings. the imagery on this coin was supposed to be dual-purpose, serving as an acceptable symbol for both the Christians and pagans living under the rule of Anlaf (though Karkov would possibly argue that this may be a little too simplistic a thought). What is also interesting about this penny besides the bird image is the inscription around the coin. It reads ANLAF CVNVNC or in the Old Norse tongue, possibly an indicator that this coin was designed King Olaf independently from the clergy unlike some of the other coinage found from this period, especially given the fact that nearly all of the other coins issued bore Latin inscriptions. We’ll find in our discussion of the church’s response to the Danelaw and how it was effected by this new kingdom that this crossing between English and Norse symbolism is not limited to just coinage. Fig. iv: A silver minted for Anlaf Guthfrithsson in York, England between 939-941 C.E. (After British Museum.) As for the coins made a few decades earlier during the time of King Alfred and the early stages of the Danelaw, there are four primary groups of mints known to us that happen to be imitations of the coins that were minted under Alfred’s rule. They are known as the Ohsnaforda
or perhaps an eagle which was a symbol associated with St. John the Evangelist. It is symbols such as this bird of prey that leaves us with a sense of ambiguity in regards to what denomination this coin had the purpose of representing. Could this have represented a raven as a part of the religion that was brought over by the Vikings? Or perhaps it was intended as a Christian symbol and was to serve as a representation for how the Viking rulers were beginning to fashion themselves as Christian kings. the imagery on this coin was supposed to be dual-purpose, serving as an acceptable symbol for both the Christians and pagans living under the rule of Anlaf (though Karkov would possibly argue that this may be a little too simplistic a thought). What is also interesting about this penny besides the bird image is the inscription around the coin. It reads ANLAF CVNVNC or King Olaf in the Old Norse tongue, possibly an indicator that this coin was designed independently from the clergy unlike some of the other coinage found from this period, especially given the fact that nearly all of the other coins issued bore Latin inscriptions. We’ll find in our discussion of the church’s response to the Danelaw and how it was effected by this new kingdom that this crossing between English and Norse symbolism is not limited to just coinage. Fig. iv: A silver minted for Anlaf Guthfrithsson in York, England between 939-941 C.E. (After British Museum.) As for the coins made a few decades earlier during the time of King Alfred and the early stages of the Danelaw, there are four primary groups of mints known to us that happen to be imitations of the coins that were minted under Alfred’s rule. They are known as the Ohsnaforda