isidore of seville and the evolution of kingship in visigothic spain.pdf

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2

Isidore f Seville

and the

Evolution f

Kingship

in

Visigothic pain

Jace

T.

Crouch

After their conversion

to Catholicism

n

589,

the

Visigothic ings

f

Spain

began ncreasingly

o

rely

n the

support

f the

Spanish

hurch.

he monarchs

themselves eeded n

ally gainst

he

turbulentnd rebellious othic

nobility.

The

Spanishbishops,

or heir

art,

were

willing

o

collaborate ith

Visigothic

monarchs

n a level hat

hadno

parallel

n

western

urope. 3

he churchventu-

ally

onstituted

uch n

important

lement f he

political

nfrastructurehatVisi-

gothic pain

became

virtual

yarchy.

he effortsfthese

panishbishops

lti-

mately

ransformedhe

heoreticalasisofthe

Visigothicingship

rom

hat f a

*For the

early

volution of Germanic

kingship

see

E. A.

Thompson,

The

Visigoths

n

the Time

of

Ulfila

Oxford:

Oxford

University

ress, 1966);

E. A.

Thompson,

Romans nd Barbarians: he Decline

of

the Western

mpire

Madison:

University

f

Wisconsin

Press, 1982),

38-57.

See also: R.

W.

Carlyle,

A

History f

Medieval Political

Thought

n the

West,

4th

ed.

(New

York:

Barnes

&

Noble, 1950),

vol.

1;

W.

Ullmann,

The

Carolingian

Renaissance nd the dea

of Kingship

London:

Methuen, 1969);

W.

Ull-

mann,

A

History

f

Political

hought

n the

Middle

Ages

Baltimore:

Penguin,

1970).

On the

Visigothic

realm,

see E. A.

Thompson,

The

Goths

n

Spain

(Oxford:

Oxford

University

Press,

1969).

For a recent and

comprehensive

bibliography,

ee

A.

Ferreiro,

The

Visigoths

n

Gaul and

Spain:

A

Bibliography

Leiden:

E.

J.

Brill,

1988).

See

also

Roger

Collins,

Early

Medieval

Spain: Unity

n

Diversity,00-1000 (New York:Macmillan,1983), 1-145; H. J.Diesner,IsidorvonSevillaund das West-

gotische panien

Berlin:

Akademie

Verlag,

1977);

Jacques

Fontaine,

Culture t

spiritualit

n

Espagne

du

IVe au Vile sicle

London:

Variorum, 1986);

J.

N.

Hillgarth,

Visigothic

pain, Byzantium,

nd the nsh

(London:

Variorum,1985);

P. D.

King,

Law and

Society

n the

Visigothic

ingdom

Cambridge: Cambridge

University

Press, 1972);

A.

Ziegler,

Church nd State

n

Visigothic pain

(Washington,

D.

C: Catholic

University

f America

Press,

1930).

3Roger

Collins,

Early

Medieval

Europe,

00-1000

(New

York:

St. Martin's

Press, 1991),

146.

On the

emergence

f a

church-state

yarchy

n

early

medieval

Europe,

see

Ullmann,

The Carolin-

gian

Renaissance nd the dea

of

Kingship,

1-111.

This

is not a modern

concept

that scholars

mpose

on

the

early

Middle

Ages;

Isidore of Seville

describes what is

effectively dyarchy

hen he writes: often

the

heavenly

kingdom

s advanced

through

he

earthly

kingdom,

uch as when

those

within

the Church

Iwho]

behave

contrary

o the faith nd

discipline

of

the Church are subdued

by

the

strength

f

princes,

and the

punishment

which

the Church in its

humility

s not

permitted

o exercise s then

imposed

on

the

obstinacy

of the

proud by

the

power

of

princes,

Sententiae

.51.5,

ed. Garcia

Loaisae;

Patrologia

Latina

Cursus

Completus

3.557-738

(Paris:

J.

P.

Migne,

1862),

hereafter ited as PL vol.

no.,

col. no.

Unless

otherwise

noted,

all translations

f Isidore are

my

own.

9


2/18

10

Mediterranean

tudiesVolume our

Germanic ar

eader nto ChristianizedDavidic

kingship

here he

monarchy

workedloselywith he ecclesiasticalierarchyo create ndpreserven earthly

society

n

which he

ure f oulswas facilitated.ne of

he

principal articipants

in

this

process

f

hurch-state

malgamation

as

Bishop

sidore fSeville.

Isidore

d.

636)

served s

bishop

f Seville

during

he

years

599-636 and

was

recognizedyVisigothic

ings

nd churchmenlike

s the

greatest

ntellectual

and

spiritual

uthority

f

his

day.

Isidorewas one of the

prime

movers f the

above-mentioned

ntellectualnd

political evelopments

n

Visigothic pain.

He

served

catalytic

unction

n

the

realm,

onfirming

rior panish olitico-religious

developments

hrough

is

theological

nd

historical

ritings,dvising

he

Visi-

gothic ings s to theproper ole f Christianovereign,ndthroughis eader-

ship

ofthe

Fourth ouncil

ofToledo

633)

attempting

o

strengthen

he nstitu-

tion

of

monarchy

n

Hispania

both

by

addressing

he

specific

olitical

eeds of

Visigothicings

hemselvesnd

by

stablishing

n

official

deology

f

kingship

hat

was

fully

n

accordwith

his own

and

the

church's)

eliefs.

ltimately

sidore's

activitiesransformed

nto he

xplicit

nd official

olitical

ogma

f he

Visigothic

kingdommany

deas bout

henature f

kingship

hathad

previously

xisted

nly

in

nchoate

orm,

f

t all.

The

present

tudy ttempts

o

demonstrateot

nly

what

Isidore

was

trying

o

accomplish

n

the

political

ealm,

utalso how sidorewas

influentialn some f hepoliticalvents f he arlyeventhentury.

Most

studies n Isidoreof Sevilletend

to concentraten the

ntellectual,

philosophical,

r

theological

spects

f sidore's ife nd

writings

ather hanon

any

ttempt

sidore

might

avemade o

put

his

deas nto

practice.

cholars ave

often

uggested

hat sidoremanifestedis

political

nd/or

ocial heories

hrough

activismfone sort

r

another,

ut

nly ecently

ave cholars

egun

o

delve nto

just

how nd

why

sidore

might

ave nvolved

imself

n

politics

nd

propaganda;8

The best recentstudy s JacquesFontaine, Isidorede Sevilleet la culture lassiquedans l'Espagne

wisigothique,

d

ed.,

3 vols.

(Paris:

tudes

Augustiniennes,

1983).

Recent

bibliographies

nclude

J.

N.

Hillgarth,

The

Position of Isidorian Studies: A

Critical Review of the

literature, 1936-1975,

Studi

Medievalu

er.

3, 24,

no.

2

(1983): 817-905,

and

Ferreiro, sidore,

27-409.

Modern

scholarship

on Isidore of Seville is

voluminous. The

lumen

Hispaniae

has

been

the

sub-

ject

of

eleven books and over

fivehundred articles ince 1

936

alone.

Fontaine's

sidore

emains the most

important

recent

study

of

Isidore,

and the

appearance

of its

first dition

in

1959

sparked

a veritable

renaissance of

Isidorian studies. Fontaine has concentrated

especially

on Isidore's cultivation nd

pro-

motion of the seven liberal

arts

in

Spain, arguing onvincingly

hat

Spain experienced

a renaissance

si-

dorienne

hroughout

he

seventh

century.J.

N.

Hillgarth,

n

the collection

Visigothic pain, Byzantium,

and the

rish,

has demonstrated that

one result of this Isidorian renaissance was the transmission of

both

classical and

patristic

earning

to Ireland

(via

the

Breton monasteries f

Galicia),

whence the writ-

ingsof Isidore became the foundation ofthe Northumbrian Renaissance. For his comments on Visig-

othic

historiography,

ee below. The new

critical,

nternational dition of the

Etymologiae

s

slowlybeing

published,

book

by

book,

as each fascicle s

completed.

Citations

in

Ferreiro,

sidore.

27-409.

7Carlyle,

History f

Medieval Political

Thought

:221

f.;

Sr. Patrick

Mullins,

TKe

Spiritual ife

ccord-

ing

to Saint Isidore

of

Seville

Wash.,

D.

C: Catholic Univ. of

America

Press, 1940), 173-78;

Ziegler,

Church

nd

State,

95-99.

Recent articles

by

Fontaine,

Hillgarth,

and

Reydellet,

ited

below,

have

begun

to consider the

Isidorean

renaissance

n

a

political

as

well as an

intellectual ontext

J.

du

Quincy

Adams' The

Political


3/18

Jace

.

Crouch: sidore

f

Seville nd theEvolution

f

Kingship

1

1

norhave

hey

xaminedn this ontext

ny pecific olitical

vent n which sidore

mayhave been a majorparticipant.Despitethistendencyo dealwith sidore

almost

xclusively

s a

scholarly

leric,

t can be

argued

hat sidorewas

actively

involved

n the

political

vents

f the

Visigothic

ealm

hroughout

uch f his

adult ife.

My

approach

s threefold:

irst,

o demonstrate

hat sidore's

writings

evince irm

olitical

onvictions,

articularlyegarding

henature f

kingship

nd

theduties f

Christian

uler;

secondly,

o

consider

sidore's

elationship

o sev-

eral

Visigothic

ings;

nd

finally,

o

examine he

politico-religious

vents

f the

Fourth

Council of Toledo

633),

wherein he

Spanish bishops,

ed

by

sidore,

resolved

anonically

o involve

hemselves

ctively

n

the

political

ffairsf the

kingdom,ndwhereinhe panish hurchstablishedhe acral ature fkingship

in

Hispania.

Isidore's

olitical

deas

re most

learlyxpressed

n

passages

ftheSententiae

(a

short ork

oncerned

ith

Christian

morality),

he

Etymologiae

an

encyclopedia

of acred

nd secular

earning),

nd

n

the

eventy-fifth

anon f heFourth oun-

cil ofToledo

which

ronounces pon

the nstitutionf

kingship

nd its sacral

nature).11

sidore's

Historia othorums also

valuable,

roviding

hort

limpses

f

his attitudesowards everal

Gothic

kings.

Useful

oo are thefew

urviving

et-

ters f

the

period,

which nclude sidore's

orrespondence

nd the etters f si-

dore'sfriend nd student, raulioofSaragossa.14 umismaticvidence s also

useful t certain

oints,

ince he

changing

ature fthe

Visigothic ingship

ad

an

impact

n Gothic

oins.

Grammar

of sidore of Seville

considers

possible implications

f Isidore's use

of the word

populus

in

a

political

context,

but

ultimately

oncludes

that Isidore's use of

populus

is too

amorphous

to have

consistently

dentifiable

olitical

content

ArtsLibraux t

Philosophie

u

MoyenAge

Montral:

Universit

de Montral. 1969). 763-75

Thompson,

Goths

n

Spain,

170-79,

devotes considerable attention to the Fourth Council

of

Toledo,

and

mentions that sidore was

highly

nfluential t this

great

council,

but he does

not examine

how Isidoremighthave been important, rwhywe think that he influenced the canons of the council.

10Unless otherwise

noted,

Isidore's works re cited

in the

edition of

Faustino

Arevalo,

PL

81-83.

Although

portions

of the new

international dition of the

Etymologiae

ave been

published,

Isidore's

remarks n

kingship

re in book

9,

which has not

yet

ppeared.

Similarly,

sidore's remarks n

kingship

in the Sententiae

ppear

in book

3,

forwhich there

s no new edition.

nSententiae, d.,

Garcia

Loaisae,

PL

83.557-738;

Etymologiae,

d.,

Faustino

Arevalo,

PL

82.74-

728;

Concilium

Toletanum

uartum,

PL

84.363-390.

12Mommsen's

ritical dition of the Latin text s available

n MonumentaGermaniae

Histrica,

ue

torum

Antiquissimorum,

omus

XI:

Chronicorum

Minorum aec.

IV, V,

V,

Vil. Volumen

(Berlin:

Wei-

dman, 1894),

241-303.

An

English

translation s available in

History f

the

Kings

of

the

Goths,Vandals,

and

SuevL 2d

rev.

ed..

trans.

Guido Donini & Gordon B.

Ford, r. Leiden:

E.

I. Brill, 1970).

l3PL

83.893-914.

Latin text and

English

translation

in The Letters

f

Isidore

of

Seville,

2d

ed.,

trans. Gordon B. Ford,Jr.Amsterdam:Hakkert,1970). This edition has notgonewithoutcriticism.

14Braulio's

orrespondence

with Isidore is collected

in

Claude

Barlow,

Braulio

of

Saragossa,

ructo-

sus

of

Braga,

vol.

2

of Iberian

Fathers,

athers

of

the

Church,

vols. 62-63

(Washington,

D. C: Catholic

University

f America

Press,

1969),

15-26.

15George

C.

Miles,

The

Coinage

of

the

Visigoths

f

Spain, Leovigild

o Achila

(New

York:

American

Numismatic

Society,

1952);

Philip

Grierson,

Visigothic

Metrology,

Numismatic

hronicle,

th

ser.,

13

(1953):

74-87.

A

recent

tudy

hat makes excellent

se

of

Visigothic

oins is

J.

N.

Hillgarth,

Coins and

Chronicles:

ropaganda

n

Sixth-Century

pain

and

the

Byzantine ackground,

istona15

(1966):

483-50.


4/18

12

MediterraneantudiesVolume our

From he vailable

ources,

t s evident hat sidore

pent ractically

is entire

lifenthe ervice f he hurch. Certainly uch fhistimewas devoted ostudy.

Katherine

ell

MacFarlane as remarked

hat

he was a voracious eader fboth

pagan

nd Christian

uthors,

nd delved nto

variety

f

subjects

ot

usually

f

interest

o

the churchmenf

his

age.

Isidoremanifestedis

great earning y

writingoluminously

n

many opics, hereby

reating

or his

own and

succeeding

ages

a

synthesis

f

patristiceaching

n

every

ranch f sacred

earning.

Thus

did

Spain

succeed frica s the

guardian

fClassical

nd Christianetters.

In

addition o

being

scholar,

sidore ed an active ife

n

the ffairsfchurch

and state

n

the

Visigothic

ealm. As

bishop

f

Seville,

e

was not

only

he

piri-

tual overseer f theprovince fBaetica, utresponsibles wellfor uchworldly

tasks s

administering

hurchandsand

supervising

hurch inances.sidore

was

both

judge

nd a

diplomat

n

his

capacity

s

metropolitan,

nd his

surviving

et-

ters ndicate hathe intervened

orcefullyet autiously

n mattersf

ecclesiastical

discipline

nd church eform. Isidore lso served s friend nd advisor o

Visi-

gothic ings,

most

notably

isebut nd Sisenand.

isebut,

t

east,

ppears

o have

been an

eager

ollaborator ith

sidore, nd,

together

ith ther

membersfthe

Visigothiclergy

nd

nobility,

ing

nd

bishop

onsciouslyttempted

o

preserve

the

heritage

f heir lassical nd

Christian

ast. They ttempted

o redefinend

restoreheirocietyrom he opdown, nd thas beenargued hat heresults f

their ffortsonstituted

renaissanceidorienne.

Nevertheless,

nd

despite

he effortsf such

eading igures

s

Isidore nd

Sisebut,

he

Visigothic

onarchy

ontinued

o

face

xtremely

erious nternal

olit-

ical

problems.

he

Visigothic ingsmay

have made

peace

with the

Hispano-

Roman

population

ndwith he

lergyhough

heir onversiono

Catholicism,

ut

to

theGothic

obility

he

kings

till oreno

special

harisma:s electedmonarchs

they

ad no more

ight

o the hrone han

ny

ther mbitious othicnoble.As a

consequence,

uccession emained urbulentfter

he

conversion

f

589,

withno

^Biographical

materials re

fragmentary,

ut have been

translated nto

English,

and

analyzed

by

Mullins, Spintual Life.

1-41.

Katherine Nell

MacFarlane,

Isidore

f

Seville on the

Pagan

Gods

(Philadelphia:

American Philo-

sophical

Society,

1980),

3.

18Mullins,

piritual ife,

0.

J.

N.

Hillgarth, Visigothic Spain

and

Early

Christian

Ireland,

Proceedings f

the

Royal

rish

Academy,

2

(1962):

170.

Hereafter ited

as

Hillgarth, VisigothicSpain.

Fontaine, sidore, 2-16, 735-888;

and

King

Sisebus Vita Desiderii

nd

the

Political Function

of

Visigothic Hagiography,

Visigothic pain:

New

Approaches,

d. E.

James

Oxford:

Clarendon

Press,

1980),

93-129.

Hereafter ited as

Fontaine,

Sisebut

21Letters -5. PL 83.899-902.

Fontaine, sidore,

76f.;

Sisebut,

passim; Hillgarth, VisigothicSpain,

168-170.

23Fontainedevotes an entire

chapter

n

Isidore,

o La Renaissance Isidorienne: Sa Nature et ses

Limites,

863-888. Fontaine

sees the

Isidorian renaissance as

being

fourfold n nature:

an

intellectual

renaissance,

moral

rearmament,

religious

revival,

nd the

construction f a new

political, royal,

nd

national

ideology.


5/18

Jace

Crouch:

sidore fSeville nd the

Evolutionf

Kingship

13

institutionalized

ystemapart

rom

surpation).

ntrigue

nd

rebellion

mong

he

Gothicnobilityontinuedo bewidespread. Sisebut imself ayhavebeenpoi-

soned. Suinthila

621-631),

nother

ing

whom sidore

raises,

as

overthrown

by

Sisenand,

Gothic

eneral

rom

Narbonne. Like

Athanagild

n

the

previous

century,

isenand alled

n

foreign

ercenarieso

support

is

cause,

lthough

his

time twas

Franks,

ot

Byzantines.

Thus the

upport

fthe

Spanish

hurch nd its

bishops

was

clearly

ot uffi-

cientfor

he

monarchy's

eeds.

Specifically,

he

kings

needed to convince he

Gothic

obility

hat heirmonarchical

uthority

as

egitimate,

nd that twas not

to be

challengedhroughonspiracy

r rebellion. he

church,oo,

had a stake

n

seeingo t hat henobility astamednaway hat liminated,r at east educed,

theGothic

endency

owards

ntrigue

nd rebellion

gainst

he

king.

he

political

chaosthat btained

pon

a

violent

hange

f

rulers,

r

the

attempt

hereof,

ept

therealm

n

nearly

onstant

urmoil,

o the

peril

fGoth and Roman

like,

nd

more

mportantly,

o the detrimentf ecclesiastical

eace

and order.But what

could he

hurch o?

Suchwere he

political roblems

f

Visigothicpain during

he

episcopate

f

Isidore f

Seville,

roblems

hat sidore

ttempted

o solve. sidore's

pproach

o

these

roblems

eems

o havebeen wofold:o enunciate

n

his

writings

theory

f

kingshiphat fferedolutionsothe pecificroblemsfVisigothicpain, nd to

have that

theory

f

kingship

proclaimed

s the law of the land. This is an

extremely

ncautious

tatement,

nd demands mmediate

ualification.

t s

highly

unlikely

hat sidore

planned

t the outset hathis scattered iscussions n the

nature f

kingship

ltimately

ouldbecome he official

ogma

f

the

Visigothic

realm.More

ikely

e

believed hat

y ncorporatingogitations

n

kingship

nto

his

writings

hat

his ntended lerical nd

royal

udiences ouldbe

enlightened

s

to

their

roper

oles

n

a Christian

ociety. ventually

hese

nlightenedings

nd

clergy

ouldmend heir

ays,

ule

well,

nd

Hispania

would ecome

well-ordered

Christian ingdom.sidorewasprobablys pleasantlyurpriseds anyonewhen

many

fhis theories f

kingship

ecame he awof he and

n

633.

Although

sidore as eft s no works hat eal

exclusively

ithhis theories f

kingship,

is

political

deas

may

e reconstructed

y xamining

hose

passages

n

^Isidore,

Histona

Gothorum,

7-65.

Thompson,

Goths

n

Spain,

155-180,

covers these decades of

rebellion

n

detail.

25Historia

Gothorum, 1,

where

Isidore

notes that Sisebut

may

have died

through

immoderate

drinking

f a medication.

26Isidore ompleteda version ofhis HistoriaGothorum nd Chroniconwhile Suinthila was still n

power,

and so has leftno account of the

rebellion

against

or the

deposition

of Suinthila. Isidore was

quite laudatory

f Suinthila. On the other

hand,

Suinthila's

deposition

was

ratified

y

canon

75

of the

Fourth Council of

Toledo,

over which sidore

presided.

PL

84.383-386.

27TKe FourthBook

of

the

Chronicle

f Fredegar,

rans.

J.

M.

Wallace-Hadrill

(New

York: Thomas

Nelson, 1960),

4.73.


6/18

14

MediterraneantudiesVolume

our

hisworks

hich o

provide

vidence f

his

political

hought. Ultimately

tcan

be

demonstratedhat sidoreheldstrong olitical iews, nd thesepolitical iews

were

xclusively

oncerned

with

preserving

n

earthly

nvironment

n which

Christianalvationouldbe facilitated.

Isidore

elieved hat

kings

were aised

up

by

he

grace

fGod as His instru-

ments

f

order

n

earth,

itting

n

authority

ver he

people

for hebenefitfthe

many. They

ruled

by

divine

uthority,

ere estrained

nlyby

thefear f

God,

and were

ubject

o

no human

punishment. Kings

weremenwho had a

special

commission rom nd

relationship

o

God,

and

they

were nswerable o Him

alone.

Isidore's

onception

f

kingship

was thus more

n

accordance

withthe

DavidickingshipftheOld Testament31hanwith he Germaniconceptionf

the

king

s warlord.

fthe

uthority

fthe

king

amefrom

God,

thenneitherhe

Gothic

nobility,

he

comitatus,

or

ny

ther ecular

gency,

ould

egitimately

on-

spire

r rebel

gainst

he

monarchy.

Entrusteds

they

werewith

pecial ower

nd

authority,

sidore

rgued, ings

had

specialresponsibilities.

hey

were

upposed

o

rule,

fcourse:

or,

s Isidore

wrote,

Kingsget

heir amefrom

uling/

The divine

lan

did

not,however,

warrant

rbitrary

ule. sidore elieved hat

kings

were

upposed

o exercise heir

regnal

uthority

ccording

o

thedivine

lan,

nd he

sharply

dmonished

hem o

rulewell. Let theprinces f thisworld nderstand, ewrote, that heymust

render o God an account f he

Church,

hose

protection

as been

committed

o

them

y

Christ. orHe whohas entrustedhechurch o their

ower

willdemand

from hem n

accounting

fwhethercclesiastical

eace

nd order re ncreased r

diminished

y

hefaithfulnessftheseChristian

rinces/

The

kings

were hus

entrustedo establishnd

protect

secular

ociety

ithinwhich he hurch ould

work

ctively

nd

effectively

owardshe ure f ouls.

^This

has been

attempted,

lbeit in

a

fragmentary ay, by Carlyle,

History

f

Medieval Political

Thought,

71-74.

A more recent

ttempt

s that of Marc

Reydellet,

La

conception

du souverain hez

Isi-

dore de

Seville,

n

Isidoriana,

d. Manuel C. Diaz

y

Diaz

(Leon:

Centro de Estdios San

Isidoro, 1961),

456-66.

Reydellet

notes that Isidore considered the

Visigothic kings

to be the

legitimate

uccessors

of

the Roman

emperors p.

464),

and that the

kings

were secular servants f the

people,

without

ny mysti-

cal

significance

whatsoever

p.

466).

Sententiae,

.49.3.

See

also Historia

GotKorum, 2,

where Isidore relates that Suintila

gratia

divine

regni uscepit ceptra.

^Sententiae. 3.50.4.

31On the influence of Old Testament

kingship

on Medieval

theories of

kingship,

see

Ullmann,

HistoryfPoliticalThought, 8-58.

Reges regendo

ocati.This is one

of

Isidore's

etymological xplanations

that

explain

what some-

thing

s

(or does)

in termsof

where ts

name comes from.

Etymologiae,

.3.4.

^Sententiae, 3.51.6,

Cognoscant principes

saeculi Deo debere se rationemreddere

propter

Eccle-

siam,

quam

a Christo mendam

suscipiunt.

Nam sive

augeatur pax

et

disciplina

Ecdesiae

per

fidles

principes,

ive

solvatur,

lle ab eis rationem

xiget, ui

eorum

potestati

uam

Ecdesiam credidit.


7/18

Jace

.

Crouch: sidore

fSeville

nd

theEvolutionf

Kingship

1

5

The first

unctionf

king

whoruled

ccording

o thedivine

lan

was to

pro-

vide ustice n the realm.34 n environment hereinhestrong nd powerful

could

triumph

ver he weak

was

not

thought

o be conducive

o

the

curing

f

souls.

Further,

he

king

was

not

upposed

o

provide

usticemerely

hrough

nforc-

ing ust

aws,

ut lso

by bserving

hese

ust

awshimself.

sidorewrites:

They

re

correctly

alled

kings

who

knowhowto

govern

oth

hemselvesnd their

ubjects

with

proper

ule.'

Despite

heir

osition

f

power

nd

authority

bove heir

el-

lowman,

ings

were

ertainly

ot bove he

aw

n thedivine cheme f

hings.

e

continues:

It s

ust

or

he

prince

o

obey

hisown

aws,

orwhenhe

himselfhows

respect

or is aws

hey

willbe deemed

worthy

o be

held n

respect

y

ll,

and

the oice f heiruthoritys ust f hey onot llow hemselveso do thatwhich

they

orbid

o their

ubjects/

The

justice

f a

king

had to be

balanced

by

his

piety,

owever,

for

ustice

alone

s too

severe.

Witnessingiety

o one'sfellowman

as one of

he ardinal

tenets

f

Christianity,

nd

sidore

rgued

hat

ings

must

roclaim

heir hristian

faith

hrough

he

xample

f heirives.38

he

king upholds

he

royal ignity

ith

humble

pirit;

either oes

he

delight

n

iniquity

orburn

with

upidity.

ithout

defrauding

nyone

e

gives

o the

poor,

nd

thatwhichhe

could exact

rom he

people

with

ust

force,

e

forgives

ith

merciful

lemency.

A kingwasnecessaryoprovideustice ndmercy ecauseman hadfallen

from

race,

nd

had a

tendency

o

arrogance

nd

evil

ways.

he church

ould

min-

ister

o correct

hese

endencies,

ut thad

no commission

o

punish;

his

was the

function

fthe

king.

Isidorewrites:

[Kingly]

ower

s

only

needed... o enforce

through

error f

punishment

hat

which

riests

annot

ffect

hrough

reaching

the

word. 41

sidore

devoted

onsiderable

ime o

ustifying

his

aspect

f

royal

power,

rguing

hat

often he

heavenly ingdom

s advanced

hrough

he

earthly

kingdom

hen hose

within

he Church

who]

ehave

ontrary

o

the faith nd

3*Etymologiae,

.3.6.

35Sententiae, .48.7,

Recto

enim

illi

reges

vocantur,

qui

tam

semetipsos,

quam

subjectos,

bene

regendo

modificare

noverunt

36Sententiae,.51.1,2,

Justum

st

principem

egibus

suis.

Tune enim

ura

sua

ab omnibus custodi-

enda

existimet,

uando

et

ipse

illie reverentiam

raebet. Principes

egibus

teneri

uis,

neque

in se

posse

damnare

ura

quae

in

subjectis

constituunt.

Justa

st enim

voeis eorum

auctoritas, i,

quod populis

pro-

hibent,

ibi

licere

non

potiantur.

^Etymologiae,

.3.5,

Regiae

virtutes

praecipuae

duae,

justitia

t

pietas,

plus

autem

in

regibus

au-

datur

pietas;

nam

justitiaeper

severa est

38Sententiaet

.51.3.

39Sententiae, .49.2,

Regni fastgio

humili

praesidet

animo;

non eum delectat

iniquitas,

non

inf ammatcupiditas;sinedefraudatione licujus ex paupere divitemfacit, t quod justa potestate pop-

ulis

extorquerepoterat,

aepe

misericordi ementia donat.

In Historia

Gothorum,

5-56,

Isidore

attrib-

uted these

exact virtues

to

Reccared,

whom he celebrates

as a most

perfect

Christian

king.

In

Historia

Gothorum,

4,

he

champions

the same

virtues in

Suinthila,

whose

deposition

he

personally

ratified

n

633,

amid

accusationsthat

Suinthila ooted

the

poor.

*On

this ministerial

unction,

ee

Ullmann,

History f

Political

hought,

1,

82.


8/18

16 MediterraneantudiesVolume

our

discipline

ftheChurch re subdued

y

he

trength

f

princes,

nd that

unish-

mentwhich he hurchn itshumilitys notpermittedoexercisesthen mposed

on the

obstinacy

f he

proud y

he

power

f

princes/

Although

he

king

had

clearly

efined uties o

God

and to his

people,

here

was no

guarantee

hat he

people

would

lways

ave

good kings.Generally

peak-

ing,

he

Lordwould eward

good people

with

good king,

nd would

ubject

n

evil

people

to the ruleof a bad

king.

Isidoreknew hat vena

good king,

who

ruled n accordance ith hedivine

lan,

ould

rr,

uthe

believed hat

ood

kings

were

naturally

nclined

o do

justice,

nd that

hey

would

uickly epent

f their

crimes ncemade ware f hem.

Sincekingswere iven heir ower yGod inorder o do His willon earth,t

only

ollowedhatGod

would emove

king

whoruled

ontrary

o thedivine. si-

dorenever

aid this

xplicitly,lthough

e

did write: A ruler

who acts

correctly

keeps

henameof

king,

ut n

doingwrong

e loses t.

Just

ow a

king

might

lose the hronesidore id not

ponder,

uthe noted

epeatedly

hatwhen

hrough

misrule he

Visigothic ings

ostthe

support

f their

ellow

Goths,

he Gothic

nobility

ose

up

and overthrew

hemiscreant

ing.

Nowhere id he

imply

hat

n

overthrowing

heir uler he

Goths did

righteously,

lthough

e

noted everal

times hat he

unhappy

ates fbad rulers

ad

generally

it heir

rimes.

Perhaps

inwithholdingirect pproval foverthrowingking, sidorehad inmind he

example

f

David,

who

did not ssume hetitle

f

king

while

aul was

alive,

nor

did he

do harm o Saul whenhe

had the

opportunity,

ut

nstead llowed heLord

to

remove aul n His

own time.

Perhaps

sidore

ealized s well hat t

wouldnot

be wise

to draw

up

in

his

writings

n

ideological

lueprint

or

verthrowing

he

king.

The

Gothic

nobility

ad

already

emonstrated

propensity

or

ebellion;

they

eeded

no theoretical

ustification

hat

mightncourage

hem o further

ebel-

liousness.

In

general,

owever,

he

Visigothic

ings

had not ived

up

to the

standards

outlined y sidore.He was notwritingbouthowthingswere ntheVisigothic

Sententiae, .51.4,

Principes

saeculi

nonnunquam

intra

Ecdesiam

potestas

adeptae

culmina

tenent,

ut

per

eamdem

potestatem

disciplinam

ecclesiasticam muniant.

Caeterum

intra

Ecclesiam

potestates

necessariae non

essent,

nisi

ut,

quod

non

praevalet

acerdos efficere

er

doctrinae

sermonem,

potestas

hoc

imperet er disciplinae

terrorem.

Sententiae, .51.5,

Saepe per

regnum

errenum oeleste

regnum

proficit,

t

qui

intra Ecclesiam

positi

contra fidem t

disciplinam

Ecdesiae

agunt, rigore

principm

onterantur;

psamque disciplinam,

quam

Ecdesiae humilitas xercerenon

praevalet,

ervicibus

uperborumpotestas principalis mponat;

et

ut

venerationem

mereatur,

irtute

potestatis mpertiat

^Sententiae,3.48.11.

^Sententiae,

3.49.4.

Etymologiae,

.3.4,

Recte

igitur

faciendo

regis

nomen

tenetur, eccando

amittitur.

^Historia

Gothorum, 4, 45-46,

58.

47I

Sam.

19-31. Isidore

may

indeed have had

this incident n

mind;

I

Samuel

26:9

is

quoted

in

canon

75

of the

Fourth Council of

Toledo,

which

openly

condemns

violence

against

the

king,

admon-

ishing:

Who shall

put

forthhis hand

against

the Lord's

anointed,

and remain

guiltless?

The famous

incidentof David's

refusing

o kill

Saul is in I

Samuel,

24.


9/18

Jace

.

Crouch: sidore f

Seville nd theEvolution

f

Kingship

1

7

realm,

uthow

they

houldbe: the

king

houldrulewith

ustice, umility,

nd

clemency,nd theking hould upporthewelfarendmission f he hurch. his

blueprint

or

kingship

ot

only

portrayed

n ideal Christian

ing,

utalso

illus-

trated

he ort

f

king

hat he

Visigothic

onarchs

sually

ere ot

What

sidore

described

as the sort f

king

hat he

Visigothic

ulers

hould

spire

o

be,

and

the ort

f

king

hat

Hispania

eeded.

The

Spanish

ishops

ound hemselves

n a situation here

hey

were

uled

y

a

line fGermanic

ings

whose

riginal

xemplar

as the nti-Christian

or

at east

anti-Nicene)

ilitaryeadership

fthe

pagan

Athanaric.48et heLordhad

estab-

lished

heseGothic

kings

n

Spain

as

part

fthedivine

lan.

The

bishops

eeded

to understandust xactlyowtheseGothic ings it nto he osmologicalcheme

of

things,

and Isidore's

heory

f

kingship

elped

to

explain

his. Once

the

churchmen

hemselves

nderstoodhe

cosmic oleoftheseGermanic

ings,

hey

thenhad

both o

enlighten

he

kings

bout he

proper

ole

f

kingship,

nd

to con-

vince hese

Gothic

monarchs o act

according

o the

divine

lan

for

Christian

society.

his s what

sidore ried o do.

Part f

he askhad

already

een

ccomplished.

he Gothswere

t eastChris-

tian

when

hey

ntered

pain,

ven

f

heretical.

he

Arians nderstood

hetenets

of

Judaeo-Christian

orality,espite

heir

nusualnotions

egarding

he

Trinity.

In 589theGoths onvertedoCatholicism,argelyecause f he vangelicalork

of sidore's

rother

eander.

sidore

himselfstablished

atholic chools

n the

Gothic

areas to

educate

Gothic

clergy

nd

laymen

n their

new faith.

What

remained

was to

incorporate

he

kings

tructurally

nto the

organism

f

the

church.50

As mentioned

arlier,

sidore's

most bvious

ttempt

o

complete

he

ransfor-

mation

f

he

kingship

as

through

is

writings.

e devoted

everal ections

f

his

Sententiaeo

the

proper

oleof

kings

n

a Christian

ociety,

othas

regards

heir

earthly

ctions

nd

their osmic

uties.

assages

hat eal

with

kingship

refewer

in theEtymologiae,utthey learlynunciateheministerialunctionsfkings.

Even n his

Historia

othorumsidore

hampioned

ings

whose ule

was character-

ized

byrighteousness

nd

concern

or he

piritual

elfaref

heir

eople.

These

works

ere irculated

n Isidore's

ifetime

mong

he

higher

lergy

nd at

the

royal

^Historia

Gothorum,

.

According

o

Isidore,

by

the

timeAthanaric

had assumed

leadership

of the

Goths

(Isidore

does

not call him

king )

Christianity

had been

preached

to the Gothic

people,

and

many

Goths

were

already

Christians.

Similarly,

Alaric

was elected

king only

after he

Visigoths

them-

selves had

largely

een Christianized.

Among

the

Visigoths,

Christianity receded kingship,

which

may

have

suggested

o

Isidore that the Gothic

kingship

was not a

pagan

institution.

49For an excellentdiscussion of this extremely ifficult oint, see Ullmann, CarolingianRenais-

sance,

43-71.

Thus

Ullmann, CarolingianRenaissance, 3,

is in a somewhatdifferent

ontext

51

Isidore

was to a

large

extent

practicing

seventh-century

ariety

f

politically

orrect

dvocacy

journalism

n his Historia

Gothorum. e did

not hesitate o

gloss

over,

or omit

entirely,

nformation hat

might

nderminehis theme

of the

latter-dayVisigothic

rulers s God's

Vicars,

new Constantines.

See

J.

N.

Hillgarth,

Historiography

n

VisigothicSpain,

La

storiografia

ltomedievale. ettimani

i studio el

Centro

taliano

di studi ull'alto

medioevo

7

(1970):

280. See

esp.

Hillgarth,

Coins and

Chronicles.


10/18

1

8 MediterraneantudiesVolume

our

court

n Toledo.An

early

ersion f

the

Etymologiae

as dedicated

o

King

isebut

(612-621), s was thefirstersionf heHistoria othorum.longer ersionf he

Historia othorumas dedicated o Suinthila. These

works

ntroducedsidore's

notions f

kingship

o the ntellectuallite fthe

Spanish

hurch,

nd to theVisi-

gothic ings,

nd

promoted

is

belief

hat he

Visigothicegnum

as the

egitimate

successor

f

heConstantinian

egnum.

t

s ess

certain

hat sidore's

deasreached

the

Gothic

nobility,

owever,

o the

process

f

evangelizing

heGoths about he

role nd

status f

kings

was

only artiallyccomplished.

One does not

change ingship

y

writing

bout

t,however,

nd

Isidore

id

not

imit

is

political

ctivitieso

philosophicalpeculations

uried

eeply

within

religiousexts. he learnedbishopof Sevillewasthe close friendndprincipal

advisor f

King

isebut,

videntlynjoying

relationship

ith

isebut

nalogous

o

that

of Cassiodorus

to

Theodoric,

Alcuin to

Charlemagne,

nd

Eriugena

o

Charles

heBald. Isidore

eferredo Sisebut

s

filius,

nd,

as

a token f friend-

ship

nd outof

respect

or he

king's

earning,

sidore

edicated

e

Ntura erum

and

several ther

writings

o

the

king.

Sisebut

ersonallycknowledged

eceipt

of De Ntura

Rerum,

nd dedicated

poem

on

thenature f

eclipses

o Isidore.

The

relationship

etween hese women

s

worth

xamining.

Sisebut awhimselfs theheir f

both

Reccared

he

Visigoth

nd

Constantine

theGreat,nd wasdedicatedothe reconstructionf he ivil ndreligiousife f

Visigothic

pain.' Paralleling

his

royal

ttitude,

sidore's

istorical orks imi-

larly

romoted

he

dea that

he

Visigothic

ealmwas

the

egitimate

uccessor

f

the

Constantinian

ealm,

nd that the

providential

antlewith

which usebius

of

Caesarea

nd

his

successors ad invested

yzantine

mperors

had

been trans-

ferred]

o

the

Visigothic ings

f

Toledo.'

Only

one

etter

f

sidore's o

Sisebut

has

survived,

ut

the

various

edications nd

references

o

one another ndicate

that

here

was

much nteraction

etween

ing

nd

bishop.

52The HistoriaGothorum

pparently

went

through

everal

redactions

n

Isidore's lifetime. he first

was

dedicated

to

Sisebut,

the second to

Suinthila;

see

Hillgarth,

Historiography

n

Visigothic

Spain,

287-88.

Fontaine, Isidore,

08-9.

De

Ntura Rerumwas

dedicated to

Sisebut,

as

were

early

versions

of the HistoriaGothorum nd

the

Etymologiae.

55

A

critical edition of this

poem appears

in

Jacques

Fontaine's edition of Isidore's De Ntura

Rerum,

Trait

de la Nature

(Bordeaux:

Feret et

Fils,

1960).

Sisebut also wrote a

biography

of

St.

Desiderus,

which

has

survived. For a recent

discussion

of this

unusual

biography,

ee

Fontaine,

Sise-

but

56Fontaine, Sisebut, 97.

57J.

N.

Hillgarth,

Isidore of

Seville,

in

Dictionary f

the Middle

Ages

New

York:

Charles

Scrib-

ner's

Sons,

1985).

On this

point,

see

especially

Marc

Reydellet,

Les intentions

dologiques

et

poli-

tiques

dans

la

Chronique

d'Isidore de

Seville,

Mlanges

d'archaeologie

t

d'histoire

e

l'cole

Franaise

de

Rome,

82

(1970),

363-400;

H.

J.

Dienser,

Isidor

von

Sevilla und

seine Zeit

Stuttgart:

Calwer

Verlag,

1973).


11/18

Jace

T.

Crouch: Isidore of

Seville and

the Evolution

f

Kingship

19

Sisebut

appears

to

have

taken

many

of

Isidore's

admonitions o

heart,

for

not

onlydid he attempto promote earning nd dispel superstitionn therealm,but

he was rememberedboth

in

Spain

(where

one would

expect

it)

and

in Francia

(where

ne

would

not),

not

only

as a

great

warrior,

ut

as

a

pious, ust,

and

merciful

ruler.

Further,

isebut echoes

in

one of his letters he

Isidorian notion

that

he

must

render

n account

to

God

for

evils that

occurred

during

his

reign.

Thus

there

s

evidence

that Sisebut

and

Isidore

were active collaborators

n what Fon-

tainecalls

the renaissance

sidorienne,w

nd

that sidore's

attempt

o transform

is

political

heories

nto

political

realities

had some

positive

onsequence.

In

addition

to his close

working

elationship

with

Sisebut,

sidore

interacted

withotherVisigothicmonarchsas well. As earlyas 610 Isidore had traveledto

Toledo

to attend Gundemar's

regional

council,

evidently

n

support

of the

Dec-

return

undemari. Isidore

affixed

is

signature

mmediately

fter

hat

of

the

king.

Not

only

did

he

journey

rom eville

to the Fourth

Council

of

Toledo

in December

633,

but Isidore's

letters o Braulio

of

Saragossa

indicate

that he traveled

from

Seville

to Toledo

at

east

two other

imes

during

he

reign

f

Sisenand,

each

time t

the

king's request.62

Aware of

the

interaction

etween sidore

and

the

Visigothic

kings,

n

625

Braulio

openly

sked

Isidore

to use

his

influence

with

Suinthila,

nd

in

632

with Sisenand.63

Thus

despite

the

paucity

f

documents

from his

period,

there s evidencethat sidore maintainedan influential elationshipwithno less

than four

Gothic

kings.

It s

surely

o accident

hat

sidore's

Historia

Gothorum

s

fullof

praise

forboth

Sisebut

and Suinthila.65

They

were the

kings

with whom

he had worked most

closely,

nd

upon

whom his influence

was

perhaps

most

effective.n the

Historia

58Fredegar,

ho

is otherwise

quite

hostile to the

Visigoths,

remarks

f Sisebut

that he

was a wise

and most

pious

man

who

fought

bravely,

was

merciful o

his

vanquished

enemies,

and extended

Visigothic

rule

from

the sea to the

Pyrenees.

Fredegar,

4.33.

See

also

Fontaine,

Sisebut,

97-101;

Fontaine, sidore, 63-88.

59Letter

o

Caesarius,

ed. W.

Grundlach,

Monumento, ermaniae

Historka,

Epistolae

Merowingici

t

Karolini

Aevi,

Tomus

1,

Epistolae

Wisigothicae

.18-21

(p.

665).

60On

the other

hand,

Sisebut's

persecution

of the

Jews, specially

the

forced

conversions

that

occurred

during

his

reign,

were

offensive

o

Isidore. In

the

long

version of

the Historia

GotKorum,

si-

dore

speaks

out

against

his

practice,

noting

hat

t was not done

out of

wisdom.

Historia

Gothorum,

0.

6lDecretum

Gundemari,

n

J.

Mansi,

Sacrorum onciliorum

Nova

et

Amplssima

ollectio

Florence,

1759-98;

rpt,

Graz,

Austria:Akademische

Druck-U.

Varlagsanstalt,

960),

10:510B-512D.

Isidore

lent

support

to Gundemar's

efforts

o make Toledo the

episcopal

seat of

Carthagenensis,

noting

dum in

urbem Toletanam oro occursu reeio advenissem.

62Barlow,

Braulio

of Saragossa,

etters

4

and

6,

which

seem to refer

o

two

separate

journeys.

If

letter

refers

o

a

trip

n

late

632 or

early

33,

then

Isidore

would have

made another

ourney

o

Toledo

in

December,

when IV Toledo

convened,

unless,

of

course,

he remained n Toledo theentire

year.

63Barlow,

Braulio

of

Saragossa,

etters

and

5.

In

letter

,

Braulio more

than

implies

that

sidore's

own

methods

included

both

flattery

nd

loud

criticism,

n addition

to

patristic

itations

and

scrip-

tural

arguments.

^That

is,

Gundemar,

Sisebut, Suinthila,

and Sisenand.

65Historia

Gothorum,

0-65.


12/18

20 MediterraneantudiesVolume our

Gothorumisebut nd Suinthila

ppeared

s near-ideal hristian

ings:

hey

were

victoriousnwar gainsthosewhowoulddisturbhepeaceofthekingdom;hey

promotedustice; hey

were

merciful;

hey

were

ood

Christian

men;

nd therealm

prospered

nder heir ule. That

s,

these

kings xemplified

he

royal

irtues hat

Isidore

hampioned

n theSententiaend the

Etymologiae.

owhere

n

his

writings

did sidore

mply

hat

he

virtue f hesemonarchs as due

solely

o

his own nflu-

ence,

but t s reasonable o assume hat n his

capacity

s

advisor

sidore ontrib-

uted o what

e

perceived

s their

eneral

xcellence.

One could

argue,

f

course,

hat sidorewas

merely

ne of

many

dvisors o

the

kings,

nd thathis

political houghtmerely

eflectsdeas current

n

theVisi-

gothic ealm nd elsewherenthe arlymedieval est. hekingsmayndeedhave

had

many

dvisors,

ut the evidence ited arlier

ndicates hat sidorewas the

most

espected

f these

dvisors,

t east

mong

hosewho were

hurchmen.

n

fact,

most

f

the

Visigothic

onarchs

rom his

period

eem o

haverelied

pon

a

prominent

hurchmans their

rincipal

dvisor. sidore's

rother eanderhad

beentheforemostdvisor fthe

rebel

king

Hermenegild,

nd he even raveled o

Constantinople

n

an

attempt

o

rally yzantine

upport

or

Hermenegils

atho-

lic nsurrection. Leander

ater ecame he

principal

dvisor f

King

Reccared.

After

sidore's

eath,

he

Visigothic ings

ll

had

prominent

hurchmen

s their

politicalndspiritualdvisors. Thesechurchmenlayed n active ole nboth

religious

nd

secular ssues.

In

fact,

he

political

ctivity

f

clerics

n

theVisi-

gothic

ealmwas

such that ne historian

as called

seventh-century

isigothic

Spain

a

priest-ridden

ingdom. 70

n

short,

he

political ctivity

f

prominent

ler-

66These

audatory

emarks

eed

not

be consideredmere

raise

or

reigning

onarch.

istoria

Gothorument

hrough

everal

edactions,

s mentioned

bove.The first

ersion,

ublished

n

Sisebut's

lifetime,

raised

he

king

n

the erms

mentioned

bove.The

second ersion

reated

ith

hedeath f

Sisebut,

ffered

igh

raise

o

Suinthila,

ut aid

nothing

o defame he

memory

fSisebut sidefrom

condemning

is

policy

f

forciblyonvertingews

o

Christianity.

he final

edaction,ompleted

t the

beginning

fSisenand's

eign,

eleted he

audatory

edicationo

Suinthila,

dded note hat isebut

may

havebeen

poisoned hrough

mmoderate

se

of

medicine,

utonce

again

dded

nothing

efama-

tory

o the

memory

f

Sisebut r

Suinthila,

espite

he fact hat

Suinthilahad

onlyrecently

een

deposedby

Sisenandhimself.sidore

may

n

fact

merely

ave

been

keeping p

the

reputation

f his

protgs,

ut hereweremen

iving

n 631

(the

arliest

atefor hethird edaction

fthe

text),

ho

undoubtedly

ememberedhe

reigns

f

Sisebut nd

Suinthila,

nd t s doubtfulhat sidore

ould

have

lied

outright

bout heir haracters ith

mpunity.

Thompson,

othsn

Spain,

6.

68Brauliof

Saragossa

nd

Eugene

and

I

ofToledo

under

Kings

Chintila,

ulga,

nd Chindas-

vinth

636-672),

Hildephonse

fToledo under

King

Reccesvinth

649-672),

Julian

fToledo under

Wamba nd

Erwig

672-687),

nd

Felix nd Gunderic f

Toledounder he ast

Gothic

ings

687-71 ).

Ziegler,hurchndState,6-50.

Ziegler,

hurchnd

State,

6-50.

See

also

King,

aw and

Society,

22-58;

Thompson,

Goths

n

Spain,

75-319.

Henry Bradley,

The

Goths,

rom

heEarliest

imes o theEnd

of

the

GothicDominion

n

Spain

New

York:G.

P.

Putnam's

ons,

1903),

333-41.

This is a

popular

work,

haracterizedot

onlyby

much

romanticism,

ut lso

by pronounced

nti-Catholic

ias.


13/18

Jace

.

Crouch:

sidore f

Seville nd the

Evolutionf

Kingship

21

ics bothbefore nd aftersidore's

ifetime,

onsidered

ogether

ith he

evidence

concerningsidore's elationshipith isebut ndSisenand,ndicateshat sidore

was

not

merely

ne

advisor

mongmany,

utthe

most

prominent

dvisor

f

the

realm.

Isidorewas active t

a

crucial

oint

n

Visigothic istory.

n

the

early

eventh

century

heGothic

kings

were

urningncreasingly

o

the

church nd to church-

men

n

an

attempt

o

solidify

heir

osition

s

monarchs

gainst

turbulentothic

nobility.

he

Gothic

nobility

may

have been

rebellious,

ut t

was small. The

church

as not

nly

much

arger,

ltimatelyonstituting

he

ntire

hristian

opu-

lation

f he

realm,

ut twas

powerful

s well.The

ecclesiastical

ommunity

ould

usethe eachinguthorityf he lergy,s proclaimedrom hepulpit,opromote

the

king's

welfare,

nd use the church's orrective

nd

penitential

uthority

o

punish

is enemies. he

king

needed he ctive

upport

fthechurch

n order o

retain he

llegiance

fthe

Hispano-Roman

opulation,

nd

the

church eeded

king

whowas aware

fhis

ministerial

unctions

s

regards

ure f

souls.As

they

cooperated

ver

more

losely uring

he seventh

entury

he

monarchy

nd the

church onstituted

omething

f a common

ront

gainst

he Gothic

ristocracy,

the urbulence

fwhich oth

king

nd church

ought

o curb.

he

kings

ad

been

pursuing

uch

policy

more r ess

since hetime

f

Reccared,

ut

the

events f

theearlyeventhenturympelledheVisigothic onarchso acceleratehepro-

cess.

Isidore's and

n this

process

f hurch-state

malgamation

s

easily

erceived.

His

writings

n the nature f

kingship

ertainly

emonstrate

hathe was

con-

cerned

with he

problems

f the

realm.His close

association

with

Sisebut nd

Suinthila,

s well

s his mission

n behalf f

Gundemar,

uggests

hat

he mani-

fested isconcern

or

herealm

y erving

s the

friendnd advisor

f

he

Gothic

kings.

onetheless,

uch emains

phemeral.

he

proofs

hus ar ffered

reoften

more

ogical

r inferential

han

unequivocal.

With

the events

f

631-633,

how-

ever, heargumentor sidore's ctive articipationn thepolitics f the realm

becomes

much

tronger.

In

631,

Suinthila

was overthrown

y

a

rebellion f the

Gothic

nobility.

Although

arlier

n his

reign

sidore

ad

praised

im s

a

just

nd able

ruler,

all-

ing

him hefatherf

he

poor,

n ater

ears

uinthila

ecame

variciousnd

high-

handed

owards

he

nobility.71

he rebellion as ed

by

Sisenand,

Gothic

noble,

who

called

n

the

Franco-Burgundianroops

of

Dagobert

for

mercenaryup-

port.72

hat Sisenand

eeded

foreign

ercenaries

o overthrow

uinthila

mplies

that heGothic

rmynitially

acked

he

reigning

ing,

ut ittle lse

can be

said

71Fredegar,

.73.

72Sisenand

was

governor

f

Septimania,

and the rebellion

began

in Narbonne.

Fredegar,

.73.


14/18

22 Mediterranean

tudies

Volume our

about he

beginnings

f herevolt.

he Gothic

rmy

vidently

urrendered

ithout

a fight, and evenSuinthila's rother eila went ver oSisenans ause. Per-

haps

the

unfortunate

uler ailed

o heed sidore's dmonition

o rulewithin he

law,

nd

the ver-dissident

isigothic obility

as

unwilling

o tolerate urther

ep-

redations.

In

any

event,

Suinthila

was

deposed

(although

not

killed),

and

Sisenand eized

he

Spanish

hrone.

In 633 Sisenand alled he

bishops

f

therealm

ogether

or national oun-

cil,

theFourth ouncil

ofToledo.

Evidently

e felt nsecure n the hrone

e had

so

recentlysurped.

Whatever

he reasonfor his

nsecurity,

e

turned

o

the

church

or

upport.

he

bishops

ssembledn

Toledo,

nder he

presidency

f si-

dore fSeville, nd n ateDecember ing isenand onvenedheFourth ouncil

ofToledo.At the

opening

f he ouncil

isenand

ppeared

eforesidore nd

the

assembled

ishops, ccompanied y

themost

llustriousnd noble men of the

kingdom,

and]

prostrated

imself n

the

ground

efore

he

priests

f

God,

and

with

ears nd

groans

e asked he

bishops

o

intercedeor imwithGod. He

may

have been

merely sking

or

orgiveness

fter

is

violent

surpation

f the

throne,

utmodern cholars

gree

hathe was

seeking

nstead

or

perhaps

n

addi-

tion)

the formal

upport

f the church orwhat

musthave been a troubled

throne.78

Isidore nd the other ssembled ishopswerewilling o offerisenand he

support

e

needed,

nd

they

evoted he

seventy-fifth

anon ofthe

proceedings

exclusively

o

politico-religious

atters. anon

75

left

o

doubt hat isenand

was

the awful uler f

Spain,

nd thathe had the

full

upport

ftheChurch. anon

75

was also themost etailed

tatement

f

he acralnature f

Visigothic

ingship

that

had

thus ar

ppeared

n

the

realm.

he

canon

dealtwith

opics anging

rom

the divine

nstitution f

kingship

o the

king's

ministerial uties.The canon

addressed ll of

the

majorproblems

acing

he

Visigothicmonarchy

nd offered

solutions

o

eachof

hem,

olutions

hereby

herole f he

monarchy

nd the anc-

tityf herulerwere efined ndprotectedy anon aw.

That he

bishops

ealized he

political ower

he hurch

eld

n the

Visigothic

realm s

implicit

n

the

opening

entence fthecanon:

hecouncil f

bishops

was

73Fredegar,

.73.

Thompson,

Goths

n

Spain,

70-72.

75Fredegar,

.73.

For detailed iscussion f heFourth

ouncil

f

Toledo nd

political

ircumstances

urround-

ing

his

pochal

ouncil,

ee

Thompson,

oths

n

Spain,

72-80.

Hie

quippe

dum n basilica

eatissimae

t

sanctae

martyris

eocadiae mnium ostrum

ariter

jamcoetusadesset, alipromrito idei uae cummagnificentissimist nobilissimisir ngressus

primm

oram

acerdotibus

ei

humo

prostratus

um

acrymis

t

gemitibus

ro

se interveniendum

Deo

postulavit,

L

84.363d-364d.

The canonsof

the Fourth

Council

of

Toledo are

conveniently

assembledn

PL

84.363-390.

^Thompson,

oths

n

Spain,

74-76,

who

posits

hat here

may

ave

been

widespread

ebellion

against

isenand

uring

he632 and 633

campaign

easons.


15/18

Jace

.

Crouch:

sidore fSeville nd theEvolutionf

Kingship

23

assembled

for

trengthening

ur

king

nd

giving tability

o the race of the

Goths/ The churchttemptedo accomplishhisthrough sing tsstrongest

weapon:

he

power

o excommunicate

r anathematize.

he

engthy

entral

assage

of canon

75

was devoted

o a detailed ondemnationfthose

who

presumed

o

usurp

he

kingdom

or

hemselvesnd establish

tyrannypresumably

isenand

squirmed

henhe heard

his).

All

who

planned,

ttempted,

r succeeded

n

doing

so were eclared

nathema

o

God the

Father nd His

angels,

nathema

o Christ

and

His

apostles,

nd

anathema o the

Holy

pirit

nd

the

martyrs

fChrist

They

had

profaned

he

holy

Catholic

hurchwith heir

erjury,

ince

hey

ad violated

their athof

allegiance

o the

king,

nd

they

were herefore

anonically

lienated

from olyCommunionnd thefellowshipfChristians.hey ustly ad that or-

tion

whichwas allotted

o thedemons nd thefallen

ngels.

hey

were eclared o

be anathema

maranatha,

hey

weredamned

n

the advent

f the

Lord,

nd

they

were

ompared

o

Judas

scariot.

That

these

powerfulmprecations

id not

pply

o Sisenand s

evidentn the

next

assage:

ing

uinthila as

declared

ormallyeposed;

e and

his

family

ere

to be

deprived

ftheir

roperty

nd were o

be sent nto xile. The

implication

was

that,

oweveruinthila

appened

o have ost he

hrone,

thad been

n accor-

dance

withGod's

will

and

in

punishment

orhis

wrongful

eeds. Sisenand

was

now he egitimateing,nd thatwas that.

Sisenand

imself

eems o havebeen

given special

tatus

n the

realm,

nd s

implicitly

eferred

o as the Lord's nointed ne. After series

f maledictions

against

hosewho would

ssault he

king,

he

bishops

autioned hat theLord

said: Touch

ye

not

my

nointed

ne,'

and who hall

put

forth is hand

against

the

Lord's nointed

ne and remain

uiltless?'

This s the

earliestvidence hat

Visigothic

ings

were nointedn their

ingship,

nd t

may

ndicate hat isenand

was

n

fact

hefirst othic

king

o

receive his acramental.

lthough

is account

of the Catholic

kings

f

Spain

is

detailed

egarding

he

religiosity

f each ruler

throughuinthila,sidore oes notreferoany fthem s having een anointed.

A

passage

n the

Etymohgiae

ndicateshat

nointing

f he

king

was not

practiced

in

Visigothic

pain prior

o

620.

Evidentlynointing

as ntroducedometime

between

20

and 633. Numismaticvidence

lso

suggests

hat isenand

was the

79PL

84.383c,

Pro robore nostrorum

egum

et stabilitate

entis

Gothorum.

*PL

84.384c-385c.

81

PL

84.386b.

PL

84.384b,

Dominus dicat: Nolite

tangere

hristos

meos';

et

David:

'Quis/

iniquit,

extendet

manum suam in christumDominei et innocens erit? 1 he Biblical passages quoted are Psalms 104:15

and

I Samuel

26:9,

respectively.

he latter

uotation,

the

bishops cannily pointed

out,

was from David

himself.

Although

there

s

no doubt

that the later

Visigothic

kings

were anointed

Chindasvinth-Achila

II),

there s a considerable

iterature n which a

Visigothic

was the first o be anointed. For a briefdis-

cussion on the

topic

and a

bibliographic uide

to

secondary

iterature,

ee

King,

Law and

Society,

8n.

5.


16/18

24

Mediterranean

tudies

Volume

our

first

isigothic

onarch

o receive

acramentalnction. e issued series f

oins,

all minted tMentesa, hich learlyhowhimdisplayingcross n hisforehead.

This

peculiar

oin

type

does not

ppear

nder

ny

therGothic

king.

Taken n

concert

ith he referenceso theLord's nointed n canon

75,

this

coin

type

may

epresent

he nstitutionf

royal

nction s first

pplied

o the forehead f

King

isenand.

Although

t s not certainwhether r not the

Visigothic

ings

hemselves

swore aths foffice

pon

ascending

o the

hrone,

anon

75

makes t

explicit

hat

Visigothic

obles

and

churchmenwore aths of

allegiance

o Sisenand. The

churchmen

epeatedly

dmonished

gainst

reaking

ne's

oath of

fidelity

o the

king: t was sacrilege otonly gainst heking, ut also againstGod, inwhose

nametheseoath-breakersad

promised

idelity.

If

we wish to

escape

divine

wrath nd to turn

His

severity

o

mercy,

hecouncil

nacted,

letus honor he

oathof

fidelity

hatwe havemade o our

princes.

Those who

violated heir ath

to the

king

r who

perjured

hemselves

hrough wearing alsely

eredeclared

anathema,

nd

cut ff rom ll

hope

of alvation.88

The canon

protected

ot

only

the

king

himself,

ut offered

urety

o the

Gothic

nobility

hat heir

osition

n

therealmwould ontinue o be

recognized.

The

church

ould

ccept

o

king,

or

xample,

howas notof

theGothic ace.89

Further,herole f heGothicnobilitynchoosinghekingwascanonicallystab-

lished:

When

he

king

has died

peacefully,

sidore nd the

bishops

esolved,

let

all the

great rinces

f the Goths assemble

ogether

ith

the

bishops,

nd

by

common onsentet hem

hoose successoro therealm. The

Visigothic

on-

archy

ad been elective rom he earliest

imes,

utthiswas the firstnstance n

which lection

as

canonically

andated.

urther,

nd

perhaps

most

mportantly,

this

was the firstnstance

n

the

Visigothic

ealm

perhaps

he firstnstance n

Europe)

wherein hechurch ssumed formal ole

n

the election f

kings.

Not

only

wasthe hurch

ncorporating

he nstitutionf

kingship

nto tsownecclesias-

ticalprogram or ociety; t was also canonicallynsertingtself nto the most

importantolitical rocess

f he

realm.

Miles,

Coinage of

the

Visigoths,

rom eovigild

o

Achila

U,

305,

plate

18.3,

American

Numismatic

Society

coin no. HSA

16396.

The

portrait

s a

facing

bust

type,

a variantof

Miles'

type 5g.

In

cataloguing

bust

types

Miles,

Coinage

of

the

Visigoths,

9,

notes that Sisebut issued a similar

coin,

bust

type 5g,

but Miles does

not nclude the coin in his

generalcatalog,

ist t

separately

nder Sise-

but,

or include

an

illustration.

86PL

84.384a.

87PL

84.384b,

Quod

si divinam iracundiam vitare volumus et severitatem

jus

ad dementiam

provocare cupimis,

servemus

erga

Deum

religionis

ultum

atque

timorem

t

usque

in

mortem ustodia-

mus erga principesnostrospollicitamfidem tque sponsionem.

88PL

84.384d-385c.

89PL

84.384d.

PL

84.384c,

Defuncto

in

pace principe primatus

totius

gentiis

cum sacerdotibus

successorem

regni

consilio communi constituant. Canon

75's

decree

regarding

he

royal

succession seems

parti-

cularly

o have been

disregarded.

n this

context,

Thompson,

Goths

n

Spain,

1

80,

has noted that of all


17/18

Jace

.

Crouch: sidore fSeville nd theEvolutionf

Kingship

25

Having

hus

worked

o

strengthen

he

kingship,

he

ssembled

ishops,

ed

by

Isidore,dmonishedheking o bemild nd moderateowards our ubjects,nd

rulewith

ustice

nd

piety

the

people

who are

entrustedo

youby

God. Render

justrecompense

o

Christ,

e who has established

ou,

eigning

ith

humility

f

heart

nd

virtuous eeds. 92

f

Sisenand r

any

fhis successorsuled

therwise,

they

were o be declared

nathema.

This caveat emindedhe

king

hathe had

duties s

well s

rights

s

king,

nd

that

heLordwould

all him

nto ccount or

his

guardianship

f the church

nd

people

of the

realm,

point

hat

had

been

made much arlier

y

sidore.

This

caveat lso

implied

hat he

king

ould be

called

o

account

y

he

hurch,

cting

s the

arthlyepresentative

f

God,

for lti-

matelytwasthe arthlyhurch,edby heSpanish ishops, howould ronounce

any

necessary

nathema.

All of these

resolutions,

ronouncements,

nd

admonitions

egarding

he

institutionf

kingship

ere

esigned

o enhance he

political tability

f

herealm.

The

bishops anonicallyegislatedegarding

uccessiono the

hrone,

nd

gave

he

condemnation

fthechurch o thosewho wouldunderminehe

king

n

anyway.

The council

then

proceeded

o define

kingship

n

terms hatwere

wholly

si-

dorean.

he

remaining

ext fcanon

75

reads ike summationf sidore's

olit-

ico-religiousritings,

nd

parallels

hem

n

conception,

n

presentation,

nd

in

language.

The

Visigothic ings

were

ecognized

s

having

een establishedn their ule

by

God,

in

accordance

ithHis divine

lan, point ong rgued y

sidore. In

their

apacity

s

kings,

he

Visigothic

monarchs ad duties o God and to their

people,

nother

oint

nsisted

pon

by

sidore. He

argued

n

Sententiae.51.6

that

He who has entrusted is Church o their

ower

will exact rom hem n

account/

a theme choed

n

canon

75.

Just

s Isidore

osited

hat there re wo

principal

irtues

n

kings, ustice

nd

piety,

canon

75

argued

hat he

king

shouldrule

with

ustice

nd

piety

he

people

entrustedo

[him]

y

God. In

ruling,sidorensisted, king who orrectlyses theroyal ower stablisheshe

the

remaining

kings

of the seventh

century,

Wamba

alone

was

properly

lected

by

the

nobility

nd the

bishops

in accordance with the

ruling

of the Fourth Council.

Hillgarth,

Position of Isidorian Stud-

ies,

881

,

notes

that canon

75

hardly

ver affected ater

royal

uccessions.

The

phrase justice

and

piety parallels

sidores's

justitia

t

pietas

in

Eymolojiae,

.3.4.

PL

84.385d,

Te

quoque praesentem regem futurosque

aetatum

sequentium principes

humili-

tate

que

debemus

deposcimus,

ut moderati

et

mites

erga

subjectos

existentes um

justitia

t

pietate pop-

ulos

a Deo vobis crditos

regatis,

bonamque

vicissitudinem

qui

vos constituit

largitori

Christo

respondeatis,rgnantes

n

humilitate ordis

cum

studio bonae actionis.

93PL84.386a.

^Sententiae 3.51.6.

95Sententiae

.49.3; 3.50.4;

3.51.6.

96Etymologiae

.3.4;

Sententiae

.48.7; 3.49.2; 3.49.4;

3.51.4-6.

Sententiae

.51.6,

Ille ab eis rationem

xiget, ui

eorum

potestati

uam

Ecclesiam credidit

Etymologiae

.3.5,

Regiae

virtutes

praecipuae

duae,

justitia

t

pietas.

PL

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