Talk:St Patrick halfpenny

Numismatics: British currency Mid‑importance

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Latest comment: 15 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

The kneeling figure is commonly called King David.

But there are arguments to support it being Brian Boru.

Not least of which was that Boru was a noted harpist and after his death at the Battle of Clontarf his harp was reportedly brought to Rome and given to the Pope - Henry VIII, also a noted musician, was presented with a Harp by the pope (when they were still on speaking terms) which was reportedly the same harp. This event was one of the triggers for the introduction of the harp as the symbol of Ireland (replacing the 3 crowns in pale) and its use on the next Irish currency (the 'harp' groats in 1534). This same harp was subsequenly presented to Trinity College Dublin where it resides in the Long Room of the Library (near where the Book of Kells used to be displayed before somebody decided that we needed an interpretive centre for the Book). It was one of the models for the harp on current Irish coinage. But the harp in Trinity College is clearly not Brian Boru's as it is a 14th or 15th century harp and probably Scottish in origin. It is not clear where the path breaks down - my guess would be in the archives in Rome, but it could have been in London between the Pope's gift arriving and its much later presentation to Trinity.

It is probable that the iconography of the kneeling harpist which would have been recognisable as either Boru or David in an Irish context would have only been seen as a David figure in the US colonies or the Isle of Man where the coins also circulated.

Clearly this argument is only useful if the coins are of Irish origin. Johnsl (talk) 18:24, 9 January 2009 (UTC) JohnslReply

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