Conclusions

The hoards of north-west England reveal the silver riches of the Vikings active in the region during the tenth century, but they are more than showcases for Viking plunder and tribute. Not only do they reveal the external contacts and wealth sources of the Scandinavians, they also elucidate the ways in which the Vikings conceptualised and valued silver, in both the economic and symbolic spheres. As I hope to have demonstrated in this chapter, the origins of the hoarded silver are diverse, reflecting the background of Vikings in the Scandinavian homelands, as well as their activities in Russia, on the Continent, in England (including in the Danelaw) and in the Irish Sea region. Overall, however, the hoards show strongest connections with Ireland and the northern Danelaw, highlighting the prevailing influence of these two areas over north-west England.

The uses of silver in the region were similarly diverse, the hoards demonstrating the role of silver both as a means of payment within a metal-weight system, and as a means of display in social settings. There is little evidence for changes in the use of silver over time. Although we might expect the ‘display’ economy to give way to the ‘bullion’ economy, it seems instead that the uses of silver remained mixed for much of the tenth century, a pattern which serves as a reminder that silver economies developed in different ways in different parts of the Viking World. The reasons why so many hoards were deposited in this area of England are opaque, but a case was made for most hoards being deposited for economic reasons, at a time of general political instability. What is made clear from a comparison with the region’s single finds is that the hoards are anomalous in their local context. Rather than representing silver that was in active use locally, the hoards appear to represent wealth in transit between York/the northern Danelaw and Dublin/ the Irish Sea region. In this sense, the hoards demonstrate the movement of wealth between east and west, and highlight the role of north-west England as an intermediary link between the two areas.