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The tremissis or tremis ( Greek: τριμίσιον, ''trimision'') was a small solid gold coin of
The tremissis or tremis ( Greek: τριμίσιον, ''trimision'') was a small solid gold coin of Late Antiquity
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...
. Its name, meaning "a third of a unit", formed by analogy with semissis
The semis, literally meaning half, was a small Roman bronze coin that was valued at half an as. During the Roman Republic, the semis was distinguished by an 'S' (indicating semis) or 6 dots (indicating a theoretical weight of 6 uncia). Some o ...
(half of a unit), indicated its value relative to the solidus. It was introduced into Roman currency
Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction to the Republic, during the third century BC, well into Imperial times, Roman currency saw many changes in form, denomi ...
in the 380s by the Emperor Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
and initially weighed 8 siliquae (equivalent to 1.52 grams). Philip Grierson, "Tremissis", in Alexander Kazhdan, ed., ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' (Oxford University Press, 1991 nline 2005, vol. 3, p. 2113.
Roman tremisses continued to be commonly minted into the reign of Leo III Leo III, Leon III, or Levon III may refer to:
; People
* Leo III the Isaurian (685-741), Byzantine emperor 717-741
* Pope Leo III (d. 816), Pope 795-816
* Leon III of Abkhazia, King of Abkhazia 960–969
* Leo II, King of Armenia (c. 1236–1289), ...
(717–741), but thereafter they were only rarely struck in the east of the empire, probably only for ceremonial uses, until the reign of Basil I (867–886), after which they disappeared. Nevertheless, the coin continued in common use in the Sicilian theme until the fall of Syracuse in 878. The trachy
Trachy (german: Althammer) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sośnicowice, within Gliwice County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Sośnicowice, west of Gliwice, and west of ...
, introduced in the 11th century, was equivalent in value to the old tremissis. Although it was not made of gold, it was one third of the standard golden hyperpyron
The ''hyperpyron'' ( ''nómisma hypérpyron'') was a Byzantine coin in use during the late Middle Ages, replacing the ''solidus'' as the Byzantine Empire's gold coinage.
History
The traditional gold currency of the Byzantine Empire had been the '' ...
. It was not, however, called tremissis.
Outside of the Roman empire, tremisses were minted by the Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
, Burgundians
The Burgundians ( la, Burgundes, Burgundiōnes, Burgundī; on, Burgundar; ang, Burgendas; grc-gre, Βούργουνδοι) were an early Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared in the middle Rhine region, near the Roman Empire, and ...
, Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
, Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...
, Lombards
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...
, Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
, Suevi
The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...
and Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
between the 5th and 8th centuries. The word tremissis was borrowed into Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
as '' thrymsa''.
In Frankish sources, the tremissis is sometimes called a triens
The triens (plural trientes) was an Ancient Roman bronze coin produced during the Roman Republic valued at one-third of an as (4 unciae). The most common design for the triens featured the bust of Minerva and four pellets (indicating four unci ...
, a term likewise meaning "a third", which originally referred to a bronze coin worth a third of an as. The historian and bishop Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...
calls the Frankish tremissis a ''trians'' or ''treans''. The German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
form is also attested. In French historiography the term ''tiers'' (third) or ''tiers de sou'' (third of a solidus) is often used. The French, in general, prefer to call the coin of the Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
kings a triens (but avoiding the plural form ''trientes''), while British scholarship prefers tremissis.
It was still used as an accounting currency until at least the 12th century in Sardinia. It appears as ''tremisse'' in the ''condaghe
A ''condaghe'' (also spelled as ''condache'' or ''condake'', ; also ''fundaghe''), from the medieval Sardinian term (from grc-x-byzant, κοντάκιον, kontákion, the pole around which a scroll is wound), was a kind of administrative docum ...
''.Il condaghe di Santa Maria di Bonarcado / a cura di Maurizio Virdis. - Nuoro : Ilisso, 2003
References
Further reading
* Metcalf, William E. (ed.). ''The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage''. Oxford University Press, 2012.External links
* {{Byzantine coinage Coins of ancient Rome Coins of the Byzantine Empire Gold coins