The Visigothic Kingdom

How did the breakdown of Roman rule in the Iberian Peninsula eventually result in the formation of a Visigothic kingdom with authority centralised in Toledo? This collection of essays challenges the view that local powers were straightforwardly subjugated to the expanding central power of the monarchy. Rather than interpret countervailing events as mere 'delays' in this inevitable process, the contributors to this book interrogate where these events came from, which causes can be uncovered and how much influence individual actors had in this process. What emerges is a story of contested interests seeking cooperation through institutions and social practices that were flexible enough to stabilise a system that was hierarchical yet mutually beneficial for multiple social groups. By examining the Visigothic settlement, the interplay between central and local power, the use of ethnic identity, projections of authority, and the role of the Church, this book articulates a model for understanding the formation of a large and important early medieval kingdom.

Sabine Panzram is Professor of Ancient History at Hamburg University (Germany). She focuses on social history of power in the Western Mediterranean, and in particular on urban history in the Iberian Peninsula. Currently she is preparing a study on Christendom without the Church: The Genesis of an Institution in the Dioecesis Hispaniarum (4th to 7th centuries). Paulo Pachá is Assistant Professor of Medieval History at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). He works on the history of the Visigothic kingdom and the development of its political structure and power relationships.

1 Sabine Panzram, The Visigothic Kingdom: Current Perspectives on the Negotiation of Power in Post-Roman lberia,The Day before - Prologue, 2 Laurent Brassous, Late Roman Spain, Concepts of Central and Local Power, 3 Javier Arce, The Visigoths in Spain: New Perspectives on their Arrival and Settlement, 4 Jaime Vizcaíno Sánchez and Luis A. García Blánquez, The Early Visigothic Presence in the Southeast of Hispania. New Findings from a Rural Settlement in the Carthaginiensis, Senda de Granada (Murcia), 5 Paulo Pachá, Beyond Central and Local Powers: The General Councils of Toledo and the Politics of Integration, 6 Sebastian Steinbach, King Wamba's Campaign against dux Paulus (673) - Narration of Military and Royal Power in the Late Visigothic Kingdom,Power, Identity, and Ethnicity, 7 Herwig Wolfram, How to Stay Gothic without a Gothic King, 8 Manuel Koch, Who are the Visigoths? Concepts of Ethnicity in the Kingdom of Toledo: A Case Study of the Vitas Sanctorum Patrum Emeretensium, 9 Christoph Eger, The Visigothic Kingdom - A Kingdom Without Visigoths? The Debate on the Ethnic Interpretation of the Early Medieval Cemeteries on the Iberian Peninsula, 10 Javier Martínez Jiménez, Local Citizenships and the Visigothic Kingdom,Representations of Power, 11 Lauro Olmo Enciso, Recopolis, the Representation of Power in a Complex Landscape, 12 Ruth Pliego, Figura et potentia: Coin and Power in the Visigothic Kingdom, 13 Michael J. Kelly, The Liber Iudiciorum: A Visigothic Literary Guide to Institutional Authority and Self-Interest, 14 Javier de Santiago Fernández, Epigraphic Habit and Power in Visigothic Hispania,Power and Church, 15 Rafael Barroso Cabrera, Between Throne and Altar. Political Power and Episcopal Authority in the Beginning of the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo, 16 Isabel Sánchez Ramos and Jorge Morín de Pablos, Ecclesiastical Landscapes in the Visigothic Capital and Countryside of Toledo, 17 Markus Mülke, Ancient Classics and Catholic Tradition through Time and Space: Martin of Braga and His Cultural Claims, 18 Jamie Wood, Conflicts over Episcopal Office in Southern Hispania: Comparative Perspectives from Visigothic and Byzantine Territories, The Day after - Epilogue, 19 Julián M. Ortega Ortega, In a Savage Kingdom (regnum efferum)? Evaluating the Islamic Conquest of Spania from the Archaeological Record, 20 Paulo Pachá, Conclusions and Future Perspectives