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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
-
7/25/2019 Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship in Visigothic Spain.pdf
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.
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7/25/2019 Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship in Visigothic Spain.pdf
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.
-
7/25/2019 Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship in Visigothic Spain.pdf
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.
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7/25/2019 Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship in Visigothic Spain.pdf
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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.
-
7/25/2019 Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship in Visigothic Spain.pdf
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.
-
7/25/2019 Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship in Visigothic Spain.pdf
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
-
7/25/2019 Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship in Visigothic Spain.pdf
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