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47-576: When the Visigothic king Athanagild died in 567, Liuva I was elevated to the kingship at a ceremony held in Narbonne , the last bastion of Visigothic rule. Recognizing the leadership qualities of his younger sibling, in the second year of his reign, King Liuva I declared his brother Liuvigild co-king and heir, assigning him Hispania Citerior , or the eastern part of Hispania (Spain), to directly rule over. Both co-regents were Arian Christians , which

94-524: A Goth, but was wholly devoted to God with very ready heart," i.e. Catholic. He entered the church young and served from an early period in the Basilica of Saint Eulalia at Mérida, which had been rebuilt in her honour by Bishop Fidelis around 560. Masona is said to have had such a close relationship with Eulalia that by his prayers, and her intercession, a plague ravishing all Lusitania was lifted. Though no writings of his are known to have survived, Masona

141-650: A compromise solution between Arian Christianity and Catholicism to no avail. However, important if not permanent changes in the Spanish realm came when Liuvigild's son Reccared aggressively promoted the Catholic faith at the expense of Arian Christianity, whereby he made Catholicism the official religion of the entire kingdom in 589. Later successors to Liuvigild included the likes of King Chindasuinth (642–653) and his son Recceswinth (653–672), both of whom reformed Visigothic laws and legal codes that essentially eliminated

188-471: A crime punishable by death. Through this action and others administrative moves, Liuvigild reassured his rule and when he had secured the capital, began a new campaign, during which he conquered the district of Sabaria, the province of Braganza, and Torre de Moncorvo along the Suebian frontier. Gregory of Tours contended that Liuvigild exceeded his power when he divided the kingdom between his two sons, but it

235-504: A military aristocracy and kings had to be formally ratified by the nobility. Visigoths and their Ibero-Roman subjects were still separated by religion and by distinct law codes. Liuvigild modified the old Code of Euric which governed the Goths and created his own Codex Revisus . He also repealed old Roman laws dating back to the late 4th century forbidding intermarriage between Visigoths and Ibero-Romans. Such marriages had once been considered

282-469: A sermon to compare Leovigild to God, the true King, in that both are to be feared: Si regem, ecce regem quem timere oportet; nam non talem qualis tu es. Later Leovigild tried by persuasion and argumentation as well as by threats and bribes to convert Masona back to Arianism, but unsuccessfully. Leovigild ordered a commission to examine the rival claims of Arians and Catholics to the Eulalian basilica, but

329-884: A time when the Suebi and Byzantines were planning attacks against Liuvigild. Undeterred by these manifold threats, he attended to the concerns within his empire and with his son Reccared's assistance, he succeeded in subduing the rebels who rose to oppose him. In doing so, he seized Ammaia, the capital of the Cantabri; he took the Asturian stronghold, Saldania (Saldana); he also successfully quelled insurgent activities in Toledo and Evora (Aebura Carpetana). Not given to mercy—in every rebellious region—he sealed his victories by exacting terrible punishments upon his erstwhile enemies. Sometime during this campaign in 576, Liuvigild's predominance led to

376-481: A victim as he tried to forge alliances in the name of Catholicism. Despite having Pope Gregory's tacit support, contemporary Catholic writers—including Isidore of Seville and Gregory of Tours—expressed little to no sympathy for Hermenegild's revolt against his father. When the Byzantines failed to send aid for the revolt, Liuvigild besieged and took Seville and in 584, banished his son to Valencia , where in 585, he

423-521: Is feasible that he took this action to weaken the authority of the nobles from amid both the Visigoths and the Spanish-Romans. Whatever Liuvigild's original motivation was or whether this move to empower his children can be viewed as beyond his authority, the act stirred several insurrections— first among the Cantabri, then amid the people of Cordova and Asturia, and lastly in Toledo and Evora—at

470-544: The Catholic Church be transferred to Sunna's church and when Masona resisted he was called to Toledo . Leovigild then increased his demands, ordering Masona to hand over the tunic of Eulalia, the most sacred relic of the city, to the Arian faction in Toledo. Masona successfully tricked the king and kept the tunic. Masona, for noncompliance with the king's last order, was banished. The reason behind Masona's banishment

517-511: The Catholic faith" before he "gave up the ghost." He was succeeded by his second son Reccared , who converted to Catholic Christianity in 589 and brought religious and political unity between the Visigoths and their subjects. The Visigoths in Hispania considered themselves the heirs of western Roman imperial power, not its enemies. Signs of this can be seen in their mimicry of Roman bureaucratic and administrative norms, such as tax collection and

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564-549: The Suebi to rebel against the Visigoths, Liuvigild eventually forced them to swear their fidelity. By the end of his reign, only the Basque lands and two small southern territories of the Byzantine Empire made up the non-Visigothic parts of Hispania . However, despite his best efforts, Liuvigild was unable to establish common religious ground between Arian Christians and those of the Catholic majority. Liuvigild's last year

611-570: The Suebian king Miro rapidly agreeing to a treaty which included paying tribute, if but for a short period. In 577 Liuvigild marched into Orespeda, a region in southeastern Spain, and after suppressing an immediate revolt "of the common people" added this province to his kingdom. Upon the conclusion of these campaigns, Liuvigild celebrated his victories by founding a city in Celtiberia, which he named Recopolis for his son Reccared. In 582 Liuvigild then went on to capture Mérida , which had been under

658-456: The account of Isidore of Seville may be colored by the hostility subsequent Visigothic kings had towards Athanagild and his descendants. During the conflict between the two, a Roman force sent by Justinian seized control of a large portion of Hispania Baetica (Andalusia). The pretext for their arrival is unclear. Peter Heather states that Jordanes implies that Agila had summoned them. Isidore of Seville offers two conflicting stories: in

705-490: The administration of the Byzantine Empire, adopted its pomp and ceremony, the title Flavius , the throne, crown, scepter, and purple mantle, and subsequently struck gold coins in his own name to commemorate the event. Determined to exact revenge upon Liuvigild and reclaim their territories, the Suebi invaded the regions of Plasencia and Coria, Las Hurdes, Batuecas, and the territory of the Riccones. Whilst preparing to check

752-472: The circumstances and the scale of the morgengab suggest that the situation was more complex. "Athanagild had no sons. By marrying two daughters to Frankish kings, he may have intended to involve the Merovingians in the Visigothic succession. Perhaps he hoped that the marriages would produce grandsons who could succeed him." However Athanagild's death in 567 altered the situation. Wood speculates that

799-407: The cities. Masona, for instance, had preached a series of anti-Arian sermons on the eve of his city's capture, but this was probably unrelated. While in exile, Masona received 2,000 solidi on which to live from his supporters. During his exile he was replaced by another Catholic, Nepopis . Furthermore, he was not deprived of the right of correspondence. Masona returned to his see by permission of

846-437: The city to find the sick and bring them to the hospital. The main source of travellers to Mérida was in the form of pilgrimages to the shrine of Saint Eulalia, the city's patron saint . The food of the hospital was derived from farms dedicated to the hospital by the bishop. Masona also initiated a programme for the distribution of free wine , corn , oil , and honey for the citizens and rustici (rustics, that is, peasants of

893-477: The city, including one dedicated to the Virgin Mary whose foundation stone still survives and fragments, probably from three distinct churches, which survive as components of the current alcazaba . The decor preserved on the fragments is an indicator of the splendour of Masona's building projects. Besides his xenodochium , Masona instituted a system of public healthcare . Physicians visited each section of

940-443: The countryside, not the city). Masona established a public credit system by depositing 2,000 solidi with the deacon Redemptus at the basilica for the citizens to take out loans. A system of public bonds was probably a function of the diocese before the episcopate of Masona, however. In his early years, Masona was not on poor terms with the Arian king Leovigild . According to his early biographer Paul of Mérida, he even preached

987-454: The date of Galswintha's murder followed soon after his death. Brunhilda avoided her sister's fate, and became a central figure of Frankish history for the remainder of the sixth century. Lastly, Goiswintha survived the upheaval that followed Athangild's death, and became the second wife of Liuvigild , the brother of Athangild's successor Liuva, and himself a future king of the Visigoths. Masona Masona or Mausona (died c. 600/610)

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1034-483: The death of his Merovingian father, Sigibert I—began taking an interest in the developments of his sister's realm. Attempting to counteract any possible Frankish support for the Hermengild's rebellion, Liuvigild pressed for a marriage between Reccared and Chilperic's daughter, Rigunth, which unfortunately proved diplomatically useless upon Chilperic's death. During this father-son feud, Hermengild presented himself as

1081-521: The distinction between Christ and the Father by declaring them equals as opposed to the traditional Arian position, which held Christ as subordinate within the tripartite relationship. These unifying religious efforts came to naught since Arianism was losing its intellectual appeal. Hermenegild's revolt worried Liuvigild, as it raised concerns about his relations with the Merovingians; namely, since Ingund's brother, Childebert II—who had gained power following

1128-498: The distinction between Romans and Goths and which permitted intermarriage between the two peoples. Challenge to Visigothic rule came abruptly in the form of Muslim Berbers led by Umayyad commander Tariq , whose forces defeated the Visigothic King Roderic in 711 and by 725, the Visigothic kingdom in Hispania was fully overwhelmed by Muslim invaders. Athanagild Athanagild ( c. 517 – December 567)

1175-891: The east of the Straits of Gades " and included the cities of New Carthage ( Cartagena ), Corduba ( Córdoba ), and Assidonia . Peter Heather, while agreeing it included New Carthage and Assionia, is dubious about Corduba, and is certain Málaga , and Sagontia were included. Collins agrees that Corduba did not come under Roman control, nor did the Guadalquivir valley, stating that their principal strongholds were Medina Sidonia , Málaga and New Carthage. Athanagild died of natural causes in Toledo , according to Isidore, then, after an interregnum of five months, Liuva I became king. His queen, Goiswintha , gave him two daughters — Brunhilda and

1222-428: The first of several campaigns to expand the territory of the kingdom of the Visigoths, which Peter Heather describes as a "list of striking successes". Liuvigild's first campaign began against the Suebi in 569, during which he very quickly subdued Zamora, Palencia, and Leon. Then in 570, he attacked the district of Bastania Malagnefla (the ancient Bastetania), where he defeated imperial forces. In 570, Liuvigild "laid waste

1269-476: The imminent advance of the Suebi in 573, Liuvigild received news that his brother Liuva had died, which left him ruler over the entirety of the Visigothic dominions. Liuvigild made efforts to secure a peaceful succession, a perennial Visigothic issue, by associating his two sons, Hermenegild and Reccared , with himself in the kingly office and placing certain regions under their regencies; namely, making them dukes over Toledo and Narbonne. The Visigoths were still

1316-412: The institution of Roman-based laws. Further evidence of Visigothic affinity for all things Roman included the reestablishment of imperial style by Liuvigild, who recreated the royal regalia. Under Liuvigild, Spain was essentially unified and according to historian Chris Wickham, the "most Roman-influenced legislation of any of the barbarian kingdoms" was enacted. Throughout his reign, Liuvigild tried to find

1363-414: The king, who purportedly had a vision of Saint Eulalia, after three years, in 585. This was the same time at which John of Biclarum , the only other known Catholic Visigoth of the reign of Leovigild, returned from exile. In 588, following the conversion of the king, Reccared I , Sunna and his accomplices plotted the murder of Masona and the setting up of a rival king in the person of Segga . The plot

1410-408: The law demanded, compensating his church for their loss of services. The archdeacon Eleutherius, whom Masona had commended the diocese to until a successor was chosen, would probably have negated the bishop's actions by forcibly seizing and destroying the documents of emancipation had not he actually (miraculously) predeceased Masona, who survived the illness. The grants of small estates to the slaves

1457-399: The leadership of Hermenegild, who was supported by the orthodox bishops. Throughout the period of Hermenegild's religiously motivated sedition, Liuvigild sought various forms of theological reconciliation, including the acknowledgement of Catholic baptism (not forcing Arians to undergo a cleansing re-baptism upon conversion), tolerating the Catholic veneration of relics and saints, and softening

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1504-535: The majority Arian commission found in favour of the Catholics. Leovigild then threw his support behind the Arian faction in Mérida. In 582 Leovigild entered Mérida, appointing an Arian bishop, Sunna , following the two years from 580 to 582 when the city's Arian community was possibly suppressed by Hermenegild . Sunna and Masona had co-existed peacefully during the 570s. Leovigild ordered certain basilicas held by

1551-520: The murdered Galswintha — who were married to two Merovingian brother-kings: Sigebert I of Austrasia and Chilperic , king of the Neustrian Franks. Although Gregory of Tours states the reasons for this were that Sigebert disdained the prevalent practice of "taking wives who were completely unworthy of them", and sought the beautiful and cultured Brunhilda, while Chilperic married her sister out of sibling rivalry, Ian Wood points out that

1598-417: The political control of its popular bishop Masona since the early 570s. Over the course of his reign, Liuvigild had conquered most of the peninsula. In 579, Hermenegild had converted to orthodox Christianity, persuaded by his Frankish wife Ingunthis and Leander , bishop of Seville . After his father, who considered this conversion treason, insisted on appointing Arians as bishops, Baetica revolted under

1645-493: The region of Bastetania and the city of Málaga , defeating their soldiers". The following year he captured Medina Sidonia , assisted "through the treachery of a certain Framidaneus". Then, around the time he became sole ruler with the death of his brother Liuva (which occurred in either 571 or 572), seized Córdoba from the Byzantine Empire. Though constantly at war with the Byzantines in southern Hispania, Liuvigild accepted

1692-470: The religious transformations of Reccared's reign. Masona attended the Third Council of Toledo in 589, the first Catholic bishop in order of precedence. At a limited synod in Toledo in 597, Masona was still bishop. During a serious illness, when he thought he lay dying, Masona manumitted some of his church's slaves and granted them property ( exiguas possessiunculas ) on which to live without, as

1739-463: The rights of legitimate monarchs against usurpers", thus agreeing with Jordanes' version of the events. Although Athanagild recovered a few cities, the Romans held most of their conquest, which was organized as the province of Spania , long after the end of his reign. It is unclear the exact area this province covered. J. B. Bury states that it "comprised districts and towns to the west as well as to

1786-553: The section on Agila, the Goths surrounding him killed him out of fear "that Roman soldiers might invade Spain on the pretext of giving help"; while in the following section Isidore states Athanagild had asked Justinian for his help, but once they arrived in Spain "he was unable to remove them from the territory of the kingdom despite his efforts." Collins notes that "in both of the emperor Justinian 's other western interventions, Africa in 533 and Italy in 535, he came in ostensibly to uphold

1833-426: Was Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania . He had rebelled against his predecessor, Agila I , in 551. The armies of Agila and Athanagild met at Seville , where Agila met a second defeat. Following the death of Agila in 554, he was sole ruler for the rest of his reign. Roger Collins writes that Athanagild's reign "is perhaps more significant than our sources may care to let us believe." Collins argues that

1880-457: Was betrayed by count Witteric and Sunna undertook a voluntary exile in Mauretania . Since Witteric was later king, it has sometimes been presumed that his rise to power represents an Arian resurgence, but it is more likely that he was a nominally Catholic king who clung to old Arian beliefs and that he redressed the grievances of those who had suffered under Leovigild without reversing any of

1927-636: Was later murdered. Leander of Seville was also banished and later canonized as a saint. Hermenegild's wife Ingunthis was delivered to the Eastern Emperor Tiberius II Constantine and was last heard of in Africa. Pope Gregory held Liuvigild responsible for Hermengild's death and asserted that the latter died for his Catholic faith. In 585, Liuvigild conquered the Suebi peoples, bringing an end to some forty-years of their independence in Spain. Despite several failed attempts by

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1974-571: Was meant to confirm their new liberty. A letter supposedly from Isidore of Seville to Masona, and dated to 606, would place the latter's death sometime after that date, but the authenticity of the letter is debatable. The chief source for Masona is the Vitas sanctorum patrum Emeritensium , roughly modelled on the Dialogues of Gregory the Great , which devotes more space to Masona than to either of

2021-439: Was probably due to his power in the city and his association with the revolt of Hermenegild then being suppressed, rather than any desire for racial apartheid (separateness) which considered Masona, as a Catholic Goth, to be the worst heresy of all. The context of the revolt of Hermenegild was a sudden change in the relations between the Arian and Catholic churches, with each denomination vying for supremacy and political power in

2068-491: Was probably educated in a manner similar to men of classical learning, such as the contemporary Leander of Seville , with whom he shared an exile for a time. Masona built a xenodochium (580), an inn ( hostel ) for travellers, with a hospital for the sick incorporated. The xenodochium was open to Jews , and Masona is also recorded as showing kindness even to pagans , facts which his biographer clearly thought commendable. He built many churches and monasteries in and around

2115-593: Was the Bishop of Mérida and metropolitan of the province of Lusitania from about 570 (certainly by 573) until his death. He is famous for exercising de facto rule of the city of Mérida during his tenure as bishop and for founding the first confirmed hospital in Spain . He was a Visigoth and originally an Arian , but converted to Roman Catholicism probably in the middle of the 6th century, though some have supposed as late as 579. His biographer says he "was indeed

2162-620: Was the dominant religious faith of the Visigothic rulers until 587. Liuvigild was married twice: first to Theodosia, who gave birth to two sons, Hermenegild and Reccared I , and after her death, to Athanagild's widow Goiswintha . Almost every single year of his kingship, Liuvigild marched against the Byzantines , the Suebi , the Basques , or domestic competitors. According to the chronicle of John of Biclaro , as co-king Liuvigild initiated

2209-713: Was troubled by open war with the Franks along his northernmost borders. But overall, Liuvigild was one of the more effective Visigothic kings of Hispania, the restorer of Visigothic unity, ruling from his capital newly established at Toledo, where he settled toward the end of his reign. (From this, the Hispanic Visigothic monarchy is sometimes called the "Kingdom of Toledo"). While successful, Liuvigild attained unity and royal authority only through conquest. According to Gregory of Tours, Liuvigild fell ill in 586 and on his deathbed repented, wept for seven days and "embraced

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