ABSTRACT
One of the major strands in the Scandinavian research project Religion and Money: Economy of Salvation in the Middle Ages concentrates on archaeological evidence from church finds in Scandinavia. This region is described as a laboratory for studies of coin finds in medieval churches as a source of information on individual devotional practice, the use of money in ritual contexts, and monetisation. There is, however, a second region in Europe with a lot of evidence for coin finds in churches: Central Alpine Europe, and Switzerland in particular. This chapter will deal mainly with the Swiss material of the medieval and early modern periods, looking as well at neighbouring countries, i.e. Germany, Austria, France and Italy, together with some few remarks on the Benelux countries.
The topography of finds within the churches and adjacent buildings is the main focus. Where were coins lost – and deposited? What does the archaeological evidence tell about the use of money, the topography of money offerings and the organisation of space and coin loss? What patterns can be seen from the spatial distribution of coin finds within and around churches? To understand why there are so many coin finds in churches in Switzerland, the history of research and the institutional framework are discussed as a starting point for the survey.
