Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog:
Dogma, Hebrews 7:1-17, Psalms 110:1-4 ,Mark 3:1-6, St Idlephonsus, Toledo Spain, Visigothic Kingdom, Catholic Catechism Chapter 3:I Man's Response to God
Good Day Bloggers! Happy Mardi Gras!
Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
Year of Faith - October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to Purgatory and/or Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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January 02, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children, with much love and
patience I strive to make your hearts like unto mine. I strive, by my example,
to teach you humility, wisdom and love because I need you; I cannot do without
you my children. According to God's will I am choosing you, by His strength I am
strengthening you. Therefore, my children, do not be afraid to open your hearts
to me. I will give them to my Son and in return, He will give you the gift of
Divine peace. You will carry it to all those whom you meet, you will witness
God's love with your life and you will give the gift of my Son through
yourselves. Through reconciliation, fasting and prayer, I will lead you.
Immeasurable is my love. Do not be afraid. My children, pray for the shepherds.
May your lips be shut to every judgment, because do not forget that my Son has
chosen them and only He has the right to judge. Thank you."
December 25, 2012 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
Our Lady came with little Jesus in her arms and she did not give a message, but little Jesus began to speak and said : “I am your peace, live my commandments.” With a sign of the cross, Our Lady and little Jesus blessed us together.
December 2, 2012 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
Dear children, with motherly love and motherly patience anew I call you to live according to my Son, to spread His peace and His love, so that, as my apostles, you may accept God's truth with all your heart and pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you. Then you will be able to faithfully serve my Son, and show His love to others with your life. According to the love of my Son and my love, as a mother, I strive to bring all of my strayed children into my motherly embrace and to show them the way of faith. My children, help me in my motherly battle and pray with me that sinners may become aware of their sins and repent sincerely. Pray also for those whom my Son has chosen and consecrated in His name. Thank you."
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Today's Word: dogma dog·ma [dawg-muh]
Origin: 1590–1600; < Latin < Greek, equivalent to dok ( eîn ) to seem, think, seem good + -ma noun suffix
noun, plural dog·mas.
1. an official system of principles or tenets concerning faith, morals, behavior, etc., as of a church. Synonyms: doctrine, teachings, set of beliefs, philosophy.
2. a specific tenet or doctrine authoritatively laid down, as by a church: the dogma of the Assumption; the recently defined dogma of papal infallibility. Synonyms: tenet, canon, law.
3. prescribed doctrine proclaimed as unquestionably true by a particular group: the difficulty of resisting political dogma.
4. a settled or established opinion, belief, or principle: the classic dogma of objectivity in scientific observation. Synonyms: conviction, certainty.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 110:1-4
1 [Of David Psalm] Yahweh declared to my Lord, 'Take your seat at my right hand, till I have made your enemies your footstool.'
2 Yahweh will stretch out the sceptre of your power; from Zion you will rule your foes all around you.
3 Royal dignity has been yours from the day of your birth, sacred honour from the womb, from the dawn of your youth.
4 Yahweh has sworn an oath he will never retract, you are a priest for ever of the order of Melchizedek.
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Today's Epistle - Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17
1 Melchizedek, king of Salem, a priest of God Most High, came to meet Abraham when he returned from defeating the kings, and blessed him;
2 and Abraham
gave him a tenth of everything. By the interpretation of his name, he
is, first, 'king of saving justice' and also king of Salem, that is,
'king of peace';
3 he has no father, mother or ancestry, and his life has no beginning or ending; he is like the Son of God. He remains a priest for ever.
15 This becomes even more clearly evident if another priest, of the type of Melchizedek, arises who is a priest
16 not in virtue of a law of physical descent, but in virtue of the power of an indestructible life.
17 For he is attested by the prophecy: You are a priest for ever of the order of Melchizedek
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Today's Gospel Reading - Mark 3:1-6
Another
time he went into the synagogue, and there was a man present whose hand
was withered. And they were watching him to see if he would cure him on
the Sabbath day, hoping for something to charge him with. He said to
the man with the withered hand, 'Get up and stand in the middle!' Then
he said to them, 'Is it permitted on the Sabbath day to do good, or to
do evil; to save life, or to kill?' But they said nothing. Then he
looked angrily round at them, grieved to find them so obstinate, and
said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out and his
hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and began at once to plot with
the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.
Reflection
Reflection
• In
today’s Gospel we meditate on the last of the five conflicts which Mark
presents at the beginning of his Gospel (Mk 2, 1 to 3, 6). The four
previous conflicts were provoked by the enemies of Jesus. This last one
is provoked by Jesus himself and reveals the seriousness of the conflict
between him and the religious authority of his time. It is a conflict
of life or death. It is important to note the category of enemies which
has arisen in this conflict. It is a question of the Pharisees and the
Herodians, that is of the religious and the civil authority. When Mark
wrote his Gospel in the year 70, many of them still remembered very well
the terrible persecution of the 60’s, perpetuated by Nero against the
Christian communities. In hearing that Jesus himself had been threatened
to death and how he behaved in the midst of these dangerous conflicts,
the Christians found a source of courage and orientation so as not to be
discouraged along the journey.
• Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Jesus enters into the Synagogue. He had the habit of participating in the celebrations of the people. A man was there who had a withered hand. A physically disabled person who could not participate fully, because he was considered to be impure. Even if he was present in the community, he was marginalized. He had to remain far away from the rest.
• The concern of the enemies of Jesus. The enemies were observing him to see if Jesus would cure on Saturday. They wanted to accuse him. The second commandment of the Law of God ordered to “sanctify the Sabbath”. It was prohibited to work on that day (Ex 20, 8-20). The Pharisees said that to cure a sick person was the same as working. And for this reason they taught: “It is prohibited to cure on the Sabbath!” They placed the law above the well-being of persons. Jesus was an uncomfortable person for them, because he placed the well-being of persons above the norms and the laws. The concern of the Pharisees and of the Herodians was not the zeal for the Law, but rather the will, the desire to accuse and get rid of Jesus.
• Get up and stand in the middle! Jesus asks two things of the physically disabled person: Get up and stand in the middle! The word “get up” is the same one which the communities of Mark also used to say “rise, resurrect”. The disabled person has to “resurrect”, to get up, to live in the middle and to take his place in the centre of the community! The marginalized, the excluded, have to live in the middle! They cannot be excluded. They must be together with the others! Jesus calls the excluded one to stand in the middle.
• The question of Jesus leaves the others without knowing what to say. Jesus asks: Is it permitted on the Sabbath to do good or to do bad? To save life or to kill? He could have asked: “On the Sabbath is it permitted to cure: yes or no?! And in this way all would have answered: “No, it is not permitted!” But Jesus changed the question. For him, in that concrete case, “to cure” was the same as “to do good” or “to save a life”, and not “to kill!” . With his question Jesus put the finger on the wound. He denounced the prohibition of curing on the Sabbath considering this to be a system of death. A wise question! The enemies remain without knowing what to answer.
• Jesus looked angrily around at them, grieved to find them so obstinate. Jesus reacts with indignation and sadness before the attitude of the Pharisees and the Herodians. He orders the man to stretch out his hand, and he cures him. By curing the disabled man, Jesus shows that he does not agree with the system which places the law above life. In response to the action of Jesus, the Pharisees and the Herodians decide to kill him. With this decision they confirm that, in fact, they are defenders of a system of death! They are not afraid to kill in order to defend the system against Jesus who attacks and criticizes it in the name of life.
Personal questions
•
The disabled man was called to stand in the centre of the community. In
our community, do the poor and the excluded have a privileged place?
• Have you already confronted yourself, sometimes, with persons such as the Herodians and the Pharisees who place the law above the well-being of persons? What did you feel at that moment? Have you agreed with them or have you criticized them?
• Have you already confronted yourself, sometimes, with persons such as the Herodians and the Pharisees who place the law above the well-being of persons? What did you feel at that moment? Have you agreed with them or have you criticized them?
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Saint of the Day: St Ildephonsus
Feast Day: January 23
Patron Saint: n/a
Saint Ildefonsus or Ildephonsus (rarely Ildephoses; died 23 January 667)was born around 607, Ildephonsus came from a noble family and was probably a pupil of St. Isidore of Seville. He entered the Benedictine monastery of Agalia near
Toledo and went on to become its Abbot attending the
Councils of Toledo in 653 and 655. In 657, the clergy and people elected this holy man to succeed his uncle, St. Eugenius, as Archbishop of Toledo. He performed his episcopal duties with diligence and sanctity until his death in 667.
He was a Visigoth and his Gothic name was Hildefuns, which evolved into the Castilian name Alfonso. Ildefonsus, however, is known as San Ildefonso in Castilian and there are several places named after him. St. Ildephonsus is highly regarded in Spain
and closely associated with devotion to the Blessed Virgin which he
fostered by his famous work concerning her perpetual virginity.This saint was a favorite subject for medieval artists, especially in
connection with the legend of Our Lady's appearance to present him with a
chalice
He was canonised and his feast day is 23 January, the date of his death. His writings were less influential outside of Hispania, but he remained a potent force in the peninsula for centuries. Like several of his seventh-century predecessors, Ildefonsus was a monk from Agali, and specifically abbot, before being raised to the metropolitan see of Carthaginiensis.
Theology
Theologically, Ildefonsus regarded the Nicene Creed as sufficientem scientiam salutarem (sufficient knowledge for salvation) and as a foedus (compact) between believer and God. Like Isidore of Seville
before him, he regarded the creed as foming "two pacts" between God and
believer: that renouncing the devil and the statement of belief itself. Ildefonsus encouraged frequent Communion, implying that normal practice was infrequent, and insisted upon preparation, which may have discouraged many. In his De cognitione baptismi, Ildefonsus objected to the view of Isidore that Masses could be said efficaciously for the dead who had not had their last rites. Julian of Toledo in his Prognosticum follows Ildefonsus in this objection.
Writings
Ildefonsus' De viris illustribus emphasises the monasticism of the earlier bishops of Toledo. Nonetheless, the "pastoral concern" and emphasis on praedicatio (preaching) is noted by modern editors. De viris contains no biblical quotations, however Ildefonsus' De viris
is a continuation in thirteen parts of a work of Isidore bearing the
same name. Among the illustrious personages included in Ildefonsus'
expanded version is Isidore himself, though Ildefonsus' was apparently
ignorant of the better treatment of Isidore by Braulio of Zaragoza.
Nonetheless, Ildefonsus' continuation, with its Toledan emphasis, is an
important source for that city in the sixth and seventh centuries.
Ildefonsus' most important work, however, is his De perpetua virginitate Mariae contra tres infideles, which imitated an earlier work of Jerome's. In it he utilises the "synonymous method" of Isidore for theological purposes, introducing the so-called Synonyma Ciceronis, wherein he repeats every phrase several times in different, purportedly identical, ways. The identifications reveal the arguments in a rhetorically strong way. The synonyms Ildefonsus uses are of interest to lexicographers.
Ildefonsus is the probably author of the Visigothic Mass of Ascension,
in which he explains how the benefits received from Christ are richer
than the wonders he performed, such as "ascending unaided to the
clouds". Ildefonsus also wrote a Liber Prosopopoeia Imbecillitatis Propriae which has not survived. Such a treatise (on his own imbecility) was probably a confessional monologue or dialogue and it may have served as the basis for Valerius of Bierzo's work. It is only recorded in the Elogium Ildefonsi of Julian of Toledo, along with a reference to another lost work, an opusculum de proprietate personarum Patris, et Filii et Spiritus Sanctus dealing with monothelitism. Among his other works, Ildefonsus prepared an anthology of Isidore's works, excluding the Epistula ad Leudefredum.
Ildefonsus himself was included in a continuation made to the De viris illustribus by his later successor, Julian. His immediate successor was Quiricus, the dedicatee of Ildefonsus' De perpetua virginitate
References
- Collins, Roger. Visigothic Spain, 409–711. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-631-18185-7.
- Collins, Roger. "The 'Autobiographical' Works of Valerius of Bierzo: their Structure and Purpose." Los Visigodos: Historia y Civilización. ed. A. González Blanco. Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, 1986. Reprinted in Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain. Variorum, 1992. ISBN 0-86078-308-1.
- Collins, Roger. "Julian of Toledo and the Education of Kings in Late Seventh-Century Spain." Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain. Variorum, 1992. ISBN 0-86078-308-1. Revised version of "Julian of Toledo and the Royal Succession in Late Seventh Century Spain," Early Medieval Kingship, edd. P. H. Sawyer and I. N. Wood. Leeds: School of History, University of Leeds, 1977.
- James, Edward (ed). Visigothic Spain: New Approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. ISBN 0-19-822543-1.
- Ildefonsus. De viris illustribus, ed. and trans. by C. Codoñer Merino in Acta Salmanticensia, Filosofía y Letras, 65. Salamanca, 1972.
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Today's Snippet I: Toledo Spain
Toledo (pronounced: [toˈleðo]; Latin: Toletum, Arabic: طليطلة, DIN: Ṭulayṭulah) is a municipality located in central Spain, 70 km south of Madrid. It is the capital of the province of Toledo. It is also the capital of autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage as one of the former capitals of the Spanish Empire and place of coexistence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures, as well as the place where harsh religious persecutions were held against the Jews by the Visigoths.
Many famous people and artists were born or have lived in Toledo, including Al-Zarqali, Garcilaso de la Vega, Eleanor of Toledo, Alfonso X and El Greco. It was also the place of important historic events such as the Visigothic Councils of Toledo. As of 2010, the city has a population of 82,489 and an area of 232.1 km2 (89.6 sq mi).
History
Having been populated since the Bronze Age, Toledo (Toletum in Latin) grew in importance during Roman times, being a main commercial and administrative centre in the Roman province of Cartaginensis. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Toledo served as the capital city of Visigothic Spain, beginning with Liuvigild (Leovigild), and was the capital of Spain until the Moors conquered Iberia in the 8th century.
Under the Caliphate of Cordoba, Toledo was the center of numerous insurrections dating from 761 to 857. The Banu Qasi gained nominal control of the city until 920 and in 932 Abd-ar-Rahman III captured the city following an extensive siege. Toledo experienced a period known as La Convivencia, i.e. the co-existence of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Under Arab rule, Toledo was called Tulaytulah. After the fall of the Caliphate, Toledo was the capital city of one of the richest Taifas of Al-Andalus. Its population was overwhelmingly Muladi,
and, because of its central location in the Iberian Peninsula, Toledo
took a central position in the struggles between the Muslim and
Christian rulers of northern Spain. The conquest of Toledo by Alfonso VI of Castile marked the first time a major city in Al-Andalus had fallen to Christian forces; it served to sharpen the religious aspect of the Christian reconquest.
On May 25, 1085, Alfonso VI of Castile
took Toledo and established direct personal control over the Moorish
city from which he had been exacting tribute, ending the medieval Taifa's Kingdom of Toledo. This was the first concrete step taken by the combined kingdom of Leon-Castile in the Reconquista
by Christian forces. After Castilian conquest, Toledo continued to be a
major cultural centre; its Arab libraries were not pillaged, and a
tag-team translation centre
was established in which books in Arabic would be translated from
Arabic or Hebrew to Spanish by Muslim and Jewish scholars, and from
Spanish to Latin by Castilian scholars, thus letting long-lost knowledge
spread through Christian Europe again. For some time during the 16th
century, Toledo served as the capital city of Castile, and the city flourished. However, soon enough the Spanish court was moved, first to Valladolid and then to Madrid,
thus letting the city's importance dwindle until the late 20th century,
when it became the capital of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha.
Nevertheless, the economic decline of the city helped to preserve its
cultural and architectural heritage. Today, because of this rich
heritage, Toledo is one of Spain's foremost cities, receiving thousands
of visitors yearly. Toledo's Alcázar (Arabicized Latin word for palace-castle) became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy.
Culture
The old city is located on a mountaintop with a 150 degree view, surrounded on three sides by a bend in the Tagus River, and contains many historical sites, including the Alcázar, the cathedral (the primate church of Spain), and the Zocodover, a central market place.
From the 4th century to the 16th century about thirty synods were held at Toledo. The earliest, directed against Priscillian, assembled in 400. At the synod of 589 the Visigothic King Reccared declared his conversion from Arianism;
the synod of 633 decreed uniformity of liturgy throughout the
Visigothic kingdom and took stringent measures against baptized Jews who
had relapsed into their former faith. Other councils forbade
circumcision, Jewish rites and observance of the Sabbath and festivals.
Throughout the seventh century, Jews were flogged, executed, had their
property confiscated, were subjected to ruinous taxes, forbidden to
trade and, at times, dragged to the baptismal font. The council of 681 assured to the archbishop of Toledo the primacy of Spain. At Guadamur, very close to Toledo, was dug in 1858 the Treasure of Guarrazar, the best example of Visigothic art in Spain.
As nearly one hundred early canons of Toledo found a place in the Decretum Gratiani, they exerted an important influence on the development of ecclesiastical law. The synod of 1565–1566 concerned itself with the execution of the decrees of the Council of Trent; and the last council held at Toledo, 1582–1583, was guided in detail by Philip II.
Toledo was famed for religious tolerance and had large communities of Muslims and Jews until they were expelled from Spain in 1492 (Jews) and 1502 (Muslims). Today's city contains the religious monuments the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca, the Synagogue of El Transito, Mosque of Cristo de la Luz and the church of San Sebastián dating from before the expulsion, still maintained in good condition. Among Ladino-speaking Sephardi Jews, in their various diasporas, the family name Toledano is still prevalent—indicating an ancestry traced back to this city (the name is also attested among non-Jews in various Spanish-speaking countries).
In the 13th century, Toledo was a major cultural center under the guidance of Alfonso X, called "El Sabio" ("the Wise") for his love of learning. The Toledo School of Translators, that had commenced under Archbishop Raymond of Toledo,
continued to bring vast stores of knowledge to Europe by rendering
great academic and philosophical works in Arabic into Latin. The Palacio de Galiana, built in the Mudéjar style, is one of the monuments that remain from that period.
The Cathedral of Toledo (Catedral de Toledo) was built between 1226–1493 and modeled after the Bourges Cathedral, though it also combines some characteristics of the Mudéjar style. It is remarkable for its incorporation of light and features the Baroque altar called El Transparente,
several stories high, with fantastic figures of stucco, paintings,
bronze castings, and multiple colors of marble, a masterpiece of medieval mixed media by Narciso Tomé
topped by the daily effect for just a few minutes of a shaft of light
from which this feature of the cathedral derives its name. Two notable
bridges secured access to Toledo across the Tajo, the Alcántara bridge and the later built San Martín bridge.
The Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes is a Franciscan monastery, built 1477-1504, in a remarkable combination of Gothic-Spanish-Flemish style with Mudéjar ornamentation. Toledo was home to El Greco for the latter part of his life, and is the subject of some of his most famous paintings, including The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, exhibited in the Church of Santo Tomé. When Philip II moved the royal court from Toledo to Madrid in 1561, the old city went into a slow decline from which it never recovered.
Toledo steel
Toledo has been a traditional sword-making, steel-working center
since about 500 BC, and came to the attention of Rome when used by Hannibal in the Punic Wars. Soon, it became a standard source of weaponry for Roman Legions. Toledo steel was famed for its very high quality alloy, whereas Damascene steel, a competitor from the Middle Ages on, was famed for a specific metal-working technique .
Gastronomy
Toledo's cuisine is grouped with that of Castile–La Mancha,
well-set in its traditions and closely linked to hunting and grazing. A
good number of recipes are the result of a combination of Moorish and
Christian influences.
Some of its specialties include lamb roast or stew, cochifrito, alubias con perdiz (beans with partridge) and perdiz estofoda (partridge stew), carcamusa, migas, gachas manchegas, and tortilla a la magra.
Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or warm (such as chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squid).
In select bars in Spain, tapas have evolved into an entire, and
sometimes sophisticated, cuisine. In Spain, patrons of tapas can order
many different tapas and combine them to make a full meal. In some
Central American countries, such snacks are known as bocas. The serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation because
people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before
them. Also, in some countries it is customary for diners to stand and move about while eating tapas.
Two of the city's most famous food productions are Manchego cheese and marzipan, which has a Protected Geographical Indication (mazapán de Toledo).
Holidays
- Virgen del Valle: This pilgrimage is celebrated on May 1 at the Ermita de la Virgen del Valle, with a concentration popular holiday in that place.
- Easter: Declared of National Tourist Interest, is held in spring with various processions, highlighting those that take place on Good Friday, and religious and cultural events. Since the Civil War, most of the steps were burned or destroyed, so it had to create new steps or using images from other churches and convents Toledo. Being a city Toledo Castile, Holy Week is characterized as austere and introspective, as well as beauty, due in part to the beautiful framework in which it takes place: Toledo. Many people take advantage of the Easter break to visit the monastery churches that are only open to the general public at this time of year.
- Corpus Christi: Feast declared International Tourist Interest. Its origins lie in the thirteenth century and is probably the most beautiful Corpus Christi there. The processional cortege travels around two kilometers of streets and richly decorated awnings. In recent years, following the transfer of the traditional holiday Thursday present Sunday, was chosen to conduct two processions, one each of these days, with certain differences in members and protocol between them.
- Virgen del Sagrario: On August 15 they celebrate the festival in honor of the Virgen del Sagrario. Procession is held inside the Cathedral and drinking water of the Virgin in jars.
Apart from these festivals should be noted that patterns of Toledo are:
- San Ildefonso, Toledo Visigoth bishop whose feast day is January 23.
- Santa Leocadia, virgin and martyr of Roman Hispania, which falls on December 9.
Main Sights
The city of Toledo was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1940,
UNESCO later given the title of World Heritage in 1987. Sights include:
- Tomb of Saint Beatrice of Silva, founder of the Order of the Immaculate Conception, at the Conceptionist Monastery of Toledo.
- Castillo de San Servando. Medieval castle near the banks of the Tagus river and the Infantry Academy.
- The Gothic Cathedral, dating from the thirteenth century. Inside there is the Clear from Narciso Tome, in Baroque.
- Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, in Elizabethan Gothic style (15th century)
- The Renaissance Museo-Hospital de Santa Cruz (16th century)
- Museo de El Greco. House-museum designed as a recreation of the artist's home, which was lost centuries ago. It houses several important paintings.
- Santa María la Blanca, the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing, now owned by the Catholic Church.
- Synagogue de el Transito, in the Jewish Quarter. It is home to the Sephardic Museum.
- Hospital de Tavera Museum Duque de Lerma. Renaissance style, dates from the sixteenth century. Influenced the layout of El Escorial.
- Church of Santiago del Arrabal, in Mudéjar style.
- Iglesia de Santo Tome. Mudejar style, the fourteenth century, houses the famous Burial of Count Orgaz, by El Greco.
- El Cristo de la Luz, a small mosque-oratory built in 999, later extended with Mudejar apse for conversion into a church.
- Galiana Palace (13th century), in Mudejar style.
- Tornerías Mosque (11th century).
- Alcazar fortress (16th century), located in the highest part of town, overlooking the city. From 2009 it houses the collection of the Army Museum.
- Puerta de Bisagra Nueva. The main entrance and face of Toledo.
- Puerta de Bisagra The main entrance to the city in Andalusian times.
- Puerta del Sol. Mudejar style and built by the Knights Hospitallers in the fourteenth century.
- Puerta Bab al-Mardum. The oldest city gate of Toledo.
- New Gate of Hinge, by Alonso de Covarrubias (16th century, based on Arabic structures).
- Old door hinge or Puerta de Alfonso VI.
- Cambrón gate, of Muslim-16th century origin.
- San Román (Museum of the Councils and Visigoth culture).
- Ermita del Cristo de la Vega, in Mudéjar style (11th century).
- Alcántara bridge, Roman bridge across the Tagus
- Puente de San Martin, medieval bridge across the Tagus.
To mark the fourth centenary of the publication of the first part of Don Quixote,
the Council of Communities of Castile–La Mancha designed a series of
routes through the region crossing the various points cited in the
novel. Known as the Route of Don Quixote, two of the pathways
designated, sections 1 and 8, are based in Toledo; those linking the
city with La Mancha Castile and Montes de Toledo exploit the natural
route which passes through the Cigarrales and heads to Cobisa, Nambroca
Burguillos of Toledo, where it takes the Camino Real from Sevilla to
suddenly turn towards Mascaraque Almonacid de Toledo, deep into their
surroundings, near Mora, in La Mancha.
This stretch, Mascaraque-Toledo, of the Route of Don Quixote has
recently been included in an official way on the Camino de Santiago in
Levantine branch with origins in Cartagena, Alicante and Valencia, as
both routes are declared a European Cultural Route on this stretch.
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–57). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John
- Murray.Roger Collins, Early Medieval Spain: Unity in Diversity, 400-1000, (St. Martin's Press, 1995),
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Today's Snippet II: Visigothic Kingdom
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| Alaric parades conquered Athens in 395 |
The Visigothic Kingdom was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the fifth to the eighth centuries AD. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire, it was originally created by the settlement of the Visigoths under King Wallia in the province of Aquitaine
in southwest France by the Roman government and then extended by
conquest over all of the Iberian Peninsula. The Kingdom maintained
independence from the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire,
the attempts of which to re-establish Roman authority in Iberia were
only partially successful and short-lived.
By the early sixth century,
the Kingdom's territory in Gaul had been lost to the Franks, save the narrow coastal strip of Septimania, but the Visigoth control of Iberia was secured by the end of that century with the submission of the Suebi and the Basques.
The ethnic distinction between the indigenous Hispano-Roman population
and the Visigoths had largely disappeared by this time (the Gothic language lost its last and probably already declining function as a church language when the Visigoths converted to Catholicism in 589). Liber Iudiciorum
(completed in 654) abolished the old tradition of having different laws
for Romans and for Visigoths. Most of the Visigothic Kingdom was
conquered by Islamic troops from Morocco in 711 AD, with only the northern reaches of Spain remaining in Christian hands. These gave birth to the medieval Kingdom of Asturias when a local landlord called Pelayo, most likely of Gothic origin, was elected Princeps by the Astures.
History
Federate Kingdom
From 407 to 409 AD, the Germanic Vandals, with the allied Alans and Suebi, crossed the frozen Rhine and swept into the Iberian peninsula. For their part, the Visigoths under Alaric famously sacked Rome in 410, capturing Galla Placidia, the sister of Western Roman emperor Honorius.
Ataulf
(King of the Visigoths from 410 to 415), spent the next few years
operating in the Gallic and Spanish countrysides, diplomatically playing
competing factions of German and Roman commanders against one another
to skillful effect, and taking over cities such as Narbonne and Toulouse
(in 413). After he married Placidia, the Emperor Honorius enlisted him
to provide Visigothic assistance in regaining nominal Roman control of
Spain from the Vandals, Alans and Suevi.
In 418, Honorius rewarded his Visigothic federates under King Wallia (reigned 415-419) by giving them land in the Garonne valley of Gallia Aquitania on which to settle. This probably took place under hospitalitas,
the rules for billeting army soldiers. It seems likely that at first
the Visigoths were not given a large amount of land estates in the
region (as previously believed), but that they acquired the taxes of the
region, with the local Gallic aristocrats now paying their taxes to the
Visigoths instead of to the Roman government.
The Visigoths with their capital at Toulouse, remained de facto independent, and soon began expanding into Roman territory at the expense of the feeble Western empire. Under Theodoric I (418–51), the Visigoths attacked Arles (in 425 and 430) and Narbonne (436), but were checked by Flavius Aetius using Hunnic mercenaries, and Theodoric was defeated in 438. By 451, the situation had reversed and the Huns had invaded Gaul; now Theodoric fought under Aetius against Attila the Hun in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. Attila was driven back, but Theodoric was killed in the battle.
By 454, the Vandals had conquered North Africa and the Suevi had taken most of Spain. The Roman emperor Avitus now sent the Visigoths into Spain. Theodoric II (453–66) invaded and defeated the King of the Suevi, Rechiarius, at the battle on the river Orbigo in 456 near Asturica Augusta (Astorga) and then sacked Bracara Augusta (Braga)
the Suevi capital. The Goths sacked the cities in Spain quite brutally:
they massacred a portion of the population and even attacked some holy
places, probably due to the clergy's support of the Suevi. Theoderic took control over Hispania Baetica, Carthaginiensis and southern Lusitania. In 461, the Goths received the city of Narbonne from the emperor Libius Severus
in exchange for their support. This led to a revolt by the army and by
Gallo-Romans under Aegidius; as a result, Romans under Severus and the
Visigoths fought other Roman troops, and the revolt ended only in 465.
Kingdom of Toulouse
In 466, Theodoric's brother Euric
had him killed and was crowned as the new king. Under Euric (466–84),
the Visigoths began expanding in France and consolidating their presence
in Spain. Euric fought a series of wars with the Suebi who retained some influence in Lusitania, and brought most of this region under Visigothic power, taking Emerita Augusta (Mérida) in 469.
Euric also attacked the Western Roman Empire, capturing Hispania Tarraconensis in 472, the last bastion of Roman rule in Spain. By 476, he had extended his rule to the Rhone in the south having taken Arles and Marseille, and up to the Loire
river in the north. In his campaigns, Euric had counted on a portion of
the Gallo-Roman and Hispano-Roman aristocracy who served under him as
generals and governors.
The Visigothic Kingdom was formally recognized
when the Western emperor Julius Nepos
(473–480) signed an alliance with Euric, granting him the lands south
of the Loire and west of the Rhone in exchange for military service and
the lands in Provence (including Arles and Marseilles). The lands in Spain remained under de facto Visigothic control. After Odoacer deposed the last Roman emperor in the West, Romulus Augustulus, Euric quickly recaptured Provence, a fact which Odoacer formally accepted in a treaty.
By 500, the Visigothic Kingdom, centered at Toulouse, controlled Gallia Aquitania and Gallia Narbonensis and most of Hispania with the exception of the Suebic Kingdom of Galicia in the northwest and small areas controlled by independent Spanish peoples, such as the Basques and the Cantabrians. Euric's son Alaric II (484–507) issued a new body of laws, the Breviarium Alarici and held a church council at Agde.
The Visigoths now came into conflict with the Franks under their King Clovis I,
who had conquered northern Gaul. Following a brief war with the Franks,
Alaric was forced to put down a rebellion in Tarraconensis, probably
caused by recent Visigoth immigration to Spain due to pressure from the
Franks. In 507, the Franks attacked again, this time allied with the Burgundians. Alaric II was killed at the battle of Campus Vogladensis (Vouillé) near Poitiers, and Toulouse was sacked. By 508, the Visigoths had lost most of their Gallic holdings save Septimania in the south.
Arian Kingdom of Hispania
After Alaric II's death, his illegitimate son Gesalec took power until he was deposed by Theodoric the Great, ruler of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, who invaded and defeated him at Barcelona. Gesalic fled and regrouped, but was defeated again at Barcelona, and was captured and killed. Theodoric then installed his grandson Amalaric
(511–31), the son of Alaric II, as king. Amalaric, however, was still a
child and power in Spain remained under the Ostrogothic general and
regent, Theudis.
Only after Theoderic's death (526) did Amalaric obtain control of his
kingdom. His rule did not last long, as in 531, Amalaric was defeated by
the Frankish king Childebert I and then murdered at Barcelona. Afterwards, Theudis
(531–48) became king. He expanded Visigothic control over the southern
regions, but he was also murdered after a failed invasion of Africa.
Visigothic Spain suffered a civil war under King Agila I (549–54), which prompted the Roman/Byzantine emperor Justinian I to send an army and carve out the small province of Spania for the Byzantine Empire along the coast of southern Spain. Agila was eventually killed, and his enemy Athanagild
(552–68) became the new king. He attacked the Byzantines, but he was
unable to dislodge them from southern Spain, and was obliged to formally
acknowledge the suzerainty of the Empire.
The next Visigothic king was Liuvigild
(569 - April 21, 586). He was an effective military leader and
consolidated Visigothic power in Spain. Liuvigild campaigned against the
Romans in the south in the 570s and he took back Córdoba
after another revolt. He also fought in the north against the Suebi and
various small independent states, including the Basques and the
Cantabrians. He pacified northern Spain, but was unable to completely
conquer these peoples. When Liuvigild established his son Hermenegild as joint ruler, a civil war ensued. Hermenegild became the first Visigothic king to convert to Catholic Christianity
due to his ties with the Romans, but he was defeated and sent into
exile in 584. By the end of his reign, Liuvigild had united the entire
Iberian peninsula, including the Suebic Kingdom which he conquered in
585 during a Suebi civil war that ensued after the death of King Miro.
Liuvigild established amicable terms with the Franks through royal
marriages, and they remained at peace throughout most of his reign.
Liuvigild also founded new cities, such as Reccopolis and Victoriacum (Vitoria), the first barbarian king to do so.
Catholic Kingdom of Toledo
On becoming King, Liuvigild's son Reccared I (586–601) converted to Catholic Christianity. This led to some unrest in the kingdom, notably a revolt by the Arian bishop of Mérida which was put down; he also beat back another Frankish offensive in the north. Reccared I then oversaw the Third Council of Toledo
in 589, where he announced his faith in the Nicene creed and denounced
Arian. He adopted the name Flavius, the family name of the Constantinian
dynasty, and styled himself as the successor to the Roman emperors.
Reccared also fought the Byzantines in Hispania Baetica after they had begun a new offensive.
Reccared's son Liuva II became king in 601, but was deposed by the Visigothic noble Witteric
(603–610), ending the short-lived dynasty. There were various
Visigothic Kings between 610 and 631, and this period saw constant
regicide. This period also saw the definitive conquest of the Byzantine
territories in the south. War continued in the north against the Basques
and Asturians,
as indeed it would continue for the rest of the Visigothic Kingdom's
existence. These Kings also worked on religious legislature, especially
King Sisebut
(612–621), who passed several harsh laws against Jews and forced many
Jews to convert to Christianity. Sisebut was also successful against the
Byzantines, taking several of their cities, including Málaga. The Byzantines were finally defeated by Suintila (621–631), who had captured all of their Spanish holdings by 625. Suinthila was deposed by the Franks and replaced by Sisinand.
The instability of this period can be attributed to the power
struggle between the kings and the nobility. Religious unification
strengthened the political power of the church, which it exercised
through church councils at Toledo along with the nobles. The fourth
council, held during the brief reign of Sisinand in 633, excommunicated and exiled the king, replacing him with Chintila
(636–639). The church councils were now the most powerful institution
in the Visigothic state; they took the role of regulating the process of
succession to the kingship by election of the king by Gothic noble
'senators' and the church officials. They also decided to meet on a
regular basis to discuss ecclesiastical and political matters affecting
the Church. Finally, they decided the kings should die in peace, and
declared their persons sacred, seeking to end the violence and regicides
of the past. Despite all this, another coup took place and Chintila was
deposed in 639, and King Tulga took his place; he was also deposed in
the third year of his reign and the council elected the noble Chindasuinth as king.
The reigns of Chindasuinth and his son Recceswinth saw the compilation of the most important Visigothic law book, the Liber Iudiciorum (completed in 654). The code included old laws by past kings, such as Alaric II in his Breviarium Alarici,
and Leovigild, but many were also new laws. The code was based almost
wholly on Roman law, with some influence of Germanic law in rare cases.
The new laws applied to both Gothic and Spanish populations who had been
under different laws in the past, and it replaced all older codes of
law. Among the eliminated old laws were the harsh laws against Jews. The
Liber showed the old system of military and civil divisions in administration was changing, and dukes (duces provinciae) and counts (comes civitatis)
had begun taking more responsibilities outside their original military
and civil duties. The servants or slaves of the king became very
prominent in the bureaucracy and exercised wide administrative powers.
With the Visigoth law codes, women could inherit land and title and
manage it independently from their husbands or male relations, dispose
of their property in legal wills if they had no heirs, and could
represent themselves and bear witness in court by age 14 and arrange for
their own marriages by age 20. Chindasuinth (642–653) strengthened the
monarchy at the expense of the nobility, he executed some 700 nobles,
forced dignitaries to swear oaths, and in the seventh council of Toledo
laid down his right to excommunicate clergy who acted against the
government. He was also able to maneuver his son Recceswinth
on the throne, sparking a rebellion by a gothic noble who allied with
the Basques, but was put down. Reccesuinth (653–672) held another
council of Toledo, which reduced sentences for treason and affirmed the
power of the councils to elect kings.
Following Reccesuinth, King Wamba
(672–680) was elected king. He had to deal with initial revolts in
Tarraconensis, and because of this, he felt a need to reform the army.
He passed a law declaring all dukes, counts and other military leaders,
as well as bishops, had to come to the aid of the kingdom once danger
became known or risk harsh punishment. Wamba was eventually deposed in a
bloodless coup. King Ervig (680–687) held further church councils and
repealed the previous harsh laws of Wamba, though he still made
provisions for the army. Ervig had his son-in-law Egica made king.
Despite a rebellion by the bishop of Toledo, the 16th council, held in
693, denounced the bishop's revolt. The 17th council in 694 passed harsh
laws against the Jews, citing a conspiracy, and many were enslaved,
especially those who had converted from Christianity. Egica also raised
his son Wittiza
as coruler in 698. Not much is known about his reign, but a period of
civil war quickly ensued between his sons (Achila and Ardo) and King
Roderic, who had seized Toledo.
Visigoths
The Visigoths and their early kings were Arian Christians and came into conflict with the Catholic Church, but after they converted to Nicene Christianity, the Church exerted an enormous influence on secular affairs through the Councils of Toledo. The Visigoths also developed the most extensive secular legislation in Western Europe, the Liber Iudiciorum, which formed the basis for Spanish law throughout the Middle Ages.
In or around 589, the Visigoths under Reccared I converted from Arianism to the Nicene faith, gradually adopting the culture of their Hispano-Roman subjects. Their legal code, the Liber iudiciorum
(completed in 654) abolished the longstanding practice of applying
different laws for Romans and Visigoths. Once legal distinctions were no
longer being made between Romani and Gothi, they became known collectively as Hispani.
In the century that followed, the region was dominated by the Councils of Toledo
and the episcopacy. (Little else is known about the Visigoths' history
during the 7th century, since records are relatively sparse.) In 711 or
712, a force of invading Arabs and Berbers defeated the Visigoths in the Battle of Guadalete. Their king
and many members of their governing elite were killed, and their
kingdom rapidly collapsed. Gothic identity survived, however, especially
in Marca Hispanica and the Kingdom of Asturias, which had been founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius after his victory over the Moors at the Battle of Covadonga.
During their governance of the Kingdom of Hispania,
the Visigoths built several churches. They also left many artifacts,
which have been discovered in increasing numbers by archaeologists in
recent times. They founded the only new cities in western Europe from
the fall of the Roman Empire until the rise of the Carolingians. Many Visigothic names and surnames are still in use in modern Spanish and Portuguese. Their most notable legacy, however, was the Visigothic code of law, the Liber iudiciorum, which served, among other things, as the basis for court procedure in most of Christian Iberia until the Late Middle Ages, centuries after the demise of the kingdom.
Nomenclature: Vesi, Ostrogothi, Tervingi, Greuthungi
Contemporaneous references to the Gothic tribes use the terms "Vesi" (Latin for Visigoths), "Ostrogothi" (Latin for Ostrogoths), "Tervingi", and "Greuthungi."
Most scholars have concluded that the terms "Vesi" and "Tervingi" were
both used to refer to one particular tribe, while the terms "Ostrogothi"
and "Greuthungi" were used to refer to another. Herwig Wolfram points out that while primary sources occasionally list all four names (as in, for example, Gruthungi, Austrogothi, Tervingi, Visi),
whenever they mention two different tribes, they always refer either to
"the Vesi and the Ostrogothi" or to "the Tervingi and the Greuthungi",
and they never pair them up in any other combination. This conclusion is supported by Jordanes, who identified the Visigoth (Vesi) kings from Alaric I to Alaric II as the heirs of the 4th century Tervingian king Athanaric, and the Ostrogoth kings from Theodoric the Great to Theodahad as the heirs of the Greuthungi king Ermanaric. In addition, the Notitia Dignitatum equates the Vesi with the Tervingi in a reference to the years 388–391.
The earliest sources for each of the four names are roughly contemporaneous. The first recorded reference to "the Tervingi" is in a eulogy of the emperor Maximian (285–305), delivered in or shortly after 291 (perhaps at Trier on 20 April 292) and traditionally ascribed to Claudius Mamertinus. It says that the "Tervingi, another division of the Goths" (Tervingi pars alia Gothorum), joined with the Taifali to attack the Vandals and Gepidae. (The term "Vandals" may have been a mistaken reference to the "Victohali", since around 360 the historian Eutropius reports that Dacia was currently inhabited by Taifali, Victohali, and Tervingi.) The first recorded reference to "the Greuthungi" is by Ammianus Marcellinus,
writing no earlier than 392 and perhaps later than 395, recounting the
words of a Tervingian chieftain who is attested as early as 376. The first known use of the term "Ostrogoths" is in a document dated September 392 from Milan. (Claudian mentions that they, together with the Gruthungi, inhabit Phrygia.)
Wolfram notes that "Vesi" and "Ostrogothi" were terms each tribe used
to boastfully describe itself and argues that "Tervingi" and
"Greuthungi" were geographical identifiers each tribe used to describe
the other. This would explain why the latter terms dropped out of use shortly after 400, when the Goths were displaced by the Hunnic invasions. As an example of this geographical naming practice, Wolfram cites an account by Zosimus of a group of people living north of the Danube who called themselves "the Scythians" but were called "the Greutungi" by members of a different tribe living north of the Ister. Wolfram believes that the people Zosimus describes were those Tervingi who had remained behind after the Hunnic conquest.
For the most part, all of the terms discriminating between different
Gothic tribes gradually disappeared after they moved into the Roman
Empire. The last indication that the Goths whose king reigned at Toulouse thought of themselves as "Vesi" is found in a panegyric on Avitus by Sidonius Apollinaris dated 1 January 456.
Most recent scholars (notably Peter Heather) have concluded that Visigothic group identity emerged only within the Roman Empire. Roger Collins believes that the Visigothic identity emerged out of the Gothic War of 376–382 when a collection of Tervingi, Greuthungi, and other "barbarian" contingents banded together in multiethnic foederati (Wolfram's "federate armies") under Alaric I in the eastern Balkans, since they had become a multiethnic group and could no longer claim to be exclusively Tervingian.
The term "Visigoth" was an invention of the 6th century. Cassiodorus,
a Roman in the service of Theodoric the Great, invented the term
"Visigothi" to match that of "Ostrogothi", terms he thought of as
signifying "western Goths" and "eastern Goths" respectively.
The western–eastern division was a simplification (and a literary
device) of 6th century historians; political realities were more
complex.
Further, Cassiodorus used the term "Goths" to refer only to the
Ostrogoths, whom he served, and reserved the geographical term
"Visigoths" for the Gallo-Spanish Goths. This usage, however, was
adopted by the Visigoths themselves in their communications with the Byzantine Empire and was still in use in the 7th century.
Other names for other Gothic divisions abounded. A "Germanic"
Byzantine or Italian author referred to one of the two peoples as the Valagothi, meaning "Roman Goths", and in 469 the Visigoths were called the "Alaric Goths".
Etymology of Tervingi and Vesi/Visigothi
The name Tervingi may mean "forest people". This is supported by evidence that geographic descriptors were commonly used to distinguish people living north of the Black Sea
both before and after Gothic settlement there, by evidence of
forest-related names among the Tervingi, and by the lack of evidence for
an earlier date for the name pair Tervingi–Greuthungi than the late 3rd
century. That the name Tervingi has pre-Pontic, possibly Scandinavian, origins still has support today.
The Visigoths are called Wesi or Wisi by Trebellius Pollio, Claudian, and Sidonius Apollinaris. The word is Gothic for "good", implying the "good or worthy people", related to Gothic iusiza "better" and a reflex of Indo-European *wesu "good", akin to Welsh gwiw "excellent", Greek eus "good", Sanskrit vásu-ş "id.". Jordanes relates the tribe's name to a river, though this is most likely a folk etymology or legend like his similar story about the Greuthung name. The name Visigothi is an invention of Cassiodorus, who combined Visi and Gothi under the misapprehension that it meant "west Goths".
History
War with Rome (376–382)
The Goths remained in Dacia until 376, when one of their leaders, Fritigern, appealed to the Roman emperor Valens to be allowed to settle with his people on the south bank of the Danube. Here, they hoped to find refuge from the Huns. Valens permitted this, as he saw in them "a splendid recruiting ground for his army." However, 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 6 years of
plundering and destruction throughout the Balkans, the death of a Roman
Emperor and the destruction of an entire Roman army.
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. Adrianople shocked the Roman world and
eventually forced the Romans to negotiate with and settle the tribe
within the empire's boundaries, a development with far reaching
consequences for the eventual fall of Rome.
Reign of Alaric I
The new emperor, Theodosius I,
made peace with the rebels, and this peace held essentially unbroken
until Theodosius died in 395. In that year, the Visigoths' most famous
king, Alaric I, took the throne, while Theodosius was succeeded by his incapable sons: Arcadius in the east and Honorius in the west.
Over the next 15 years, an uneasy peace was broken by occasional
conflicts between Alaric and the powerful Germanic generals who
commanded the Roman armies in the east and west, wielding the real power
of the empire. Finally, after the western general Stilicho
was executed by Honorius in 408 and the Roman legions massacred the
families of 30,000 barbarian soldiers serving in the Roman army, Alaric
declared war. After two defeats in Northern Italy and a siege of Rome
ended by a negotiated pay-off, Alaric was cheated by another Roman
faction. He resolved to cut the city off by capturing its port. On
August 24, 410, however, Alaric's troops entered Rome through the Salarian Gate, to plunder its riches in the sack of Rome. While Rome was no longer the official capital of the Western Roman Empire (it had been moved to Ravenna for strategic reasons), its fall severely shook the empire's foundations.
Culture
Law
The Visigothic Code of Law (forum judicum), which had been part of aristocratic oral tradition, was set in writing in the early 7th century— and survives in two separate codices preserved at the Escorial. It goes into more detail than a modern constitution commonly does and reveals a great deal about Visigothic social structure. One of the greatest contributions of the Visigoths to family law was their protection of the property rights of married women, which was continued by Spanish law and ultimately evolved into the community property system now in force in part of the United States.
Religion
Prior to the Middle Ages, the Visigoths, as well as other Germanic peoples, followed what is now referred to as Germanic paganism. While the Germanic peoples were slowly converted to Christianity
by varying means, many elements of the pre-Christian culture and
indigenous beliefs remained firmly in place after the conversion
process, particularly in the more rural and distant regions.
The Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and Vandals were Christianized while they were still outside the bounds of the Roman Empire; however, they converted to Arianism rather than to orthodox Catholicism, and were soon regarded as heretics. There was a religious gulf between the Visigoths, who had for a long
time adhered to Arianism, and their Catholic subjects in Hispania. The
Iberian Visigoths continued to be Arians until 589. For the role of
Arianism in Visigothic kingship, see the entry for Liuvigild.
There were also deep sectarian splits among the Catholic population of the peninsula. The ascetic Priscillian of Avila was martyred
by the Catholic usurper Magnus Maximus in 385, who was trying to prove
his correct religious credentials against heretics, before the
Visigothic period, and the persecution continued in subsequent
generations as "Priscillianist" heretics were rooted out. At the very beginning of Leo I's pontificate, in the years 444–447, Turribius, bishop of Astorga in León,
sent to Rome a memorandum warning that Priscillianism was by no means
dead, reporting that it numbered even bishops among its supporters, and
asking the aid of the Roman See. The distance was insurmountable in the 5th century.
Nevertheless Leo intervened, by forwarding a set of propositions that
each bishop was required to sign: all did. But if Priscillianist bishops
hesitated to be barred from their sees, a passionately concerned
segment of Christian communities in Iberia were disaffected from the
more orthodox hierarchy and welcomed the tolerant Arian Visigoths. The
Visigoths scorned to interfere among Catholics but were interested in
decorum and public order.
The Arian Visigoths were generally intolerant of Judaism and its adherents, a tradition that lingered in post-Visigothic Septimania, exemplified by the career of Ferreol, Bishop of Uzès
(died 581). Jewish communities had prospered here under the Roman
empire and to some extent under the later Christian Orthodox (Byzantine)
rule, but under the Visigoth kings a Roman Catholic church-state policy
of systematic anti-Semitism was pursued. A succession of royal
ecclesiastical councils at Toledo, brushing aside Orthodox Christian
policy, either decreed the forcible baptism of the Jews or forbade
circumcision, Jewish rites and observance of the Sabbath and festivals.
Throughout the 7th century, Jews were flogged, executed, had their
property confiscated, were subjected to ruinous taxes, forbidden to
trade and, at times, dragged to the baptismal font. Many were obliged to
accept Christianity but continued privately to observe the Jewish laws.
In 589, King Reccared
converted his people to Catholicism. With the Catholicization of the
Visigothic kings, the Catholic bishops increased in power, until, at the
Fourth Council of Toledo
in 633, they took upon themselves the nobles' right to select a king
from among the royal family. Visigothic persecution of Jews began after
the conversion to Catholicism of the Visigothic king Reccared. In 633 the same synod of Catholic bishops that usurped the Visigothic nobles' right to confirm the election of a king declared that all Jews must be baptised. In the eighth through 11th centuries the muwallad clan of the Banū Qāsī claimed descent from the Visigothic Count Cassius.
References
- J. N. Hillgarth, The Visigoths in History and Legend. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2010, ISBN 978-0-88844-166-9
- Amory, Patrick. People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489–554. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-521-52635-3.
- Bachrach, Bernard S. "A Reassessment of Visigothic Jewish Policy, 589-711." American Historical Review 78, no. 1 (1973): 11-34.
- Collins, Roger. The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710-797. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1989. Reprinted 1998.
- Collins, Roger. Law, Culture, and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain. Great Yarmouth: Variorum, 1992. ISBN 0-86078-308-1.
- Collins, Roger. Visigothic Spain, 409–711. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-631-18185-7.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part One: Profession of Faith, Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
MAN'S RESPONSE TO GOD
142
By his Revelation, "the invisible God, from the fullness of his love,
addresses men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and
receive them into his own company."DV 2; cf. ⇒ Col 1:15; ⇒ I
Tim 1:17; ⇒ Ex 33:11;
⇒ Jn 15:14-15; Bar 3:38 (Vulg.) The adequate response to this
invitation is faith.
143
By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God.Cf. DV 5
With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture
calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, "the obedience
of faith".Cf. ⇒ Rom 1:5; ⇒ 16:26
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