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Visigoths: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Visigoths
The Gutones, a people believed to have their origins in Scandinavia, migrated southeastwards into eastern Europe. By the middle of the third century AD, they were the most formidable military power beyond the lower Danube frontier. Long struggles between neighboring tribes like the Vandili and Lugii contributed to their earlier exodus into mainland Europe. The vast majority settled between the Oder and Vistula rivers until overpopulation forced them south and east. They eventually settled just north of the Black Sea, though this legend is not supported by archaeological evidence. Historian Malcolm Todd contends that the movement was probably the result of warrior bands moving closer to the wealth of Ukraine and the cities of the Black Sea coast. The Visigoths spoke an eastern Germanic language that was distinct by the 4th century. Eventually the Gothic language died as a result of contact with other European people during the Middle Ages.
Conflict With The Roman Empire
In 376, one of their leaders, Fritigern, appealed to the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens to be allowed to settle on the south bank of the Danube. A famine broke out and Rome was unwilling to supply them with either the food they were promised or the land. Open revolt ensued, leading to six years of plundering throughout the Balkans. The Battle of Adrianople in 378 was the decisive moment of the war. The Roman forces were slaughtered and the Emperor Valens was killed during the fighting. Fourth-century Roman soldier and historian Ammianus Marcellinus ended his chronology of Roman history with this battle. In 410, Alaric's troops entered Rome through the Salarian Gate and sacked the city. This event severely shook the Empire's confidence, especially in the West. From the late 370s up to 402, Milan was the seat of government, but after the siege of Milan the Imperial Court moved to Ravenna in 402.
The Gutones, a people believed to have their origins in Scandinavia, migrated southeastwards into eastern Europe. By the middle of the third century AD, they were the most formidable military power beyond the lower Danube frontier.
When did the Visigoths sack Rome for the first time?
In 410, Alaric's troops entered Rome through the Salarian Gate and sacked the city. This event severely shook the Empire's confidence, especially in the West.
What happened to the Visigothic kingdom after the Battle of Vouillé in 507?
In 507, the Franks under Clovis I defeated the Visigoths in the Battle of Vouillé and wrested control of Aquitaine. King Alaric II was killed in battle and the center of Visigothic rule shifted from Barcelona to Toledo.
How did the Visigoths convert from Arianism to Catholicism?
King Reccared convened the Third Council of Toledo to settle religious disputations related to the conversion from Arianism to Catholicism. When Reccared I converted to Catholicism, he sought to unify the kingdom under a single faith.
Who wrote the Visigothic Code of Law and when was it set in writing?
The Visigothic Code of Law was set in writing in the year 654 by King Chindasuinth. This book survives in two separate codices preserved at el Escorial in Spain.
When did the Visigothic kingdom end and who defeated them?
The kingdom survived until 711 when King Roderic was killed while opposing an invasion from the south by the Umayyad Caliphate in the Battle of Guadalete. A Visigothic nobleman named Pelayo defeated the Umayyad forces in the Battle of Covadonga in 718 and established the Kingdom of Asturias.
In 418, Honorius rewarded his Visigothic federates by giving them land in Gallia Aquitania on which to settle. The settlement formed the nucleus of the future Visigothic kingdom that would eventually expand across the Pyrenees and onto the Iberian peninsula. King Euric unified the various quarreling factions among the Visigoths particularly in Hispania and in 475 concluded a peace treaty with the emperor Julius Nepos. At his death, the Visigoths were the most powerful of the successor states to the Western Roman Empire. However, in 507, the Franks under Clovis I defeated the Visigoths in the Battle of Vouillé and wrested control of Aquitaine. King Alaric II was killed in battle. After Alaric II's death, Visigothic nobles spirited his heir, the child-king Amalaric, first to Narbonne and further across the Pyrenees into Hispania. The center of Visigothic rule shifted first to Barcelona, then inland and south to Toledo.
Religious Conversion And Unity
King Reccared convened the Third Council of Toledo to settle religious disputations related to the conversion from Arianism to Catholicism. Before this event, the Visigoths had for a long time adhered to Arianism while their subjects followed Nicene Christianity. When Reccared I converted to Catholicism, he sought to unify the kingdom under a single faith. The political aspects of the imposition of Church power cannot be ignored in these matters. With the conversion of the Visigothic kings to Chalcedonian Christianity, the bishops increased their power until, at the Fourth Council of Toledo in 633, they selected a king from among the royal family. By the end of the 7th century, Catholic conversion made the Visigoths less distinguishable from the indigenous Roman citizens of the Iberian peninsula. Their Gothic identity faded when the last strongholds fell to the Muslim armies.
Legal Codification And Society
The Visigothic Code of Law was set in writing in the year 654 by King Chindasuinth. This book survives in two separate codices preserved at el Escorial in Spain. It goes into more detail than a modern constitution commonly does and reveals a great deal about Visigothic social structure. The code abolished the old tradition of having different laws for Romans and Visigoths. Under which all the subjects of the Visigothic kingdom ceased being romani and gothi and instead became hispani. All the kingdom's subjects were under the same jurisdiction, which eliminated social and legal differences. One of the greatest contributions of the Visigoths to family law was their protection of the property rights of married women. This continued by Spanish law and ultimately evolved into the community property system now in force throughout the majority of western Europe.
Cultural Artifacts And Architecture
In Spain, an important collection of Visigothic metalwork was found in Guadamur known as the Treasure of Guarrazar. This archeological find is composed of twenty-six votive crowns and gold crosses from the royal workshop in Toledo. The two most important votive crowns are those of Recceswinth and of Suintila, displayed in the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid. Both are made of gold, encrusted with sapphires, pearls and other precious stones. During their governance of Hispania, the Visigoths built several churches that survive including San Pedro de la Nave in El Campillo. Reccopolis, located near the tiny modern village of Zorita de los Canes, is an archaeological site of one of at least four cities founded in Hispania by the Visigoths. It is the only city in Western Europe to have been founded between the 5th and 8th centuries.
Collapse And Historical Legacy
The kingdom survived until 711 when King Roderic was killed while opposing an invasion from the south by the Umayyad Caliphate in the Battle of Guadalete. A Visigothic nobleman named Pelayo defeated the Umayyad forces in the Battle of Covadonga in 718 and established the Kingdom of Asturias. According to Joseph F. O'Callaghan, the remnants of the Hispano-Gothic aristocracy still played an important role in the society of Hispania. At the end of Visigothic rule, the assimilation of Hispano-Romans and Visigoths was occurring at a fast pace. Their nobility had begun to think of themselves as constituting one people, the gens Gothorum or the Hispani. An unknown number of them fled and took refuge in Asturias or Septimania. In the early years of the Emirate of Córdoba, a group of Visigoths who remained under Muslim dominance constituted the personal bodyguard of the Emir, al-Haras.