(Redirected from Bezants)'Bezants' is a
medieval name for
gold coins. Gold coins were not minted in early medieval Western
Europe with
silver and
bronze being the
currency of choice, but they did circulate there in small numbers, originating from the
Mediterranean region, in particular
Islamic and
Byzantine gold coins were highly prized. These gold coins were commonly called 'bezants', taken from the word Byzantium, the Latinized form of the original Greek name (Βυζάντιον or "Byzántion") of the capital,
Constantinople, where the gold coins typically came from and were associated with since the time of
Constantine I.
Gold coinage was re-introduced to Europe in
1252 when the city of
Florence began minting gold coins known as the
florin.
Gold coins in
10th and
11th century England were valued at two shillings sterling. The gold:silver ratio was 1:9.
Typically gold coins were used when payments had some special ritual significance, or to show a sign of respect.
In
heraldry, bezants are gold discs (
roundels). Their name as a charge probably comes from the name of the coins.
See also
★
Roundel