Lecture 08—The Coming of the Germans and Visigothic Spain

Arianism

As early as the 3rd century, in order to counter charges by opponents that Christianity was polytheistic, Church fathers (in particular Tertullian) began to elaborate what would become one of the most important doctrines of Christianity—the Trinity. This held that there were not three gods, but instead "One God in Three Persons," (father, son, and holy spirit). Throughout the 4th century, one of the major conflicts in Christian history raged over defining the precise relationship between these three persons. Arians (named for a priest named Arius) argued that God the Father was superior to the other two persons and pre-existed them. Early in the 4th century, opponents of Arianism who advocated the equality of the three persons drafted the Nicene Creed, the basis of most churches today. By the end of the 4th century, Arianism, despite having once been the majority view, lost out to Nicene Christianity which became the orthodox position supported by both Rome and Constantinople. By the year 400, when the invasions began, Arianism had been largely stamped out in the Roman world, particularly in the western provinces where it had never had that much of a foothold. When the Germans conquered the western empire, most of the Roman inhabitants, who greatly outnumbered them, had accepted the orthodox position on the Trinity and were therefore religiously divided from their pagan and Arian conquerors.

Celtic Buffer

As long as the Celts possessed territory between the Romans and Germans, they served as a buffer. However, around 50 B. C., Julius Caesar conquered Gaul, and established Rome's border along the Rhine River. As a result, the Romans and Germans came to share a frontier with the Germans hundreds of miles in length.

Comitatus

the Roman name for the German warrior band which surrounded a famous chieftain and which was a major part of German society. The comitatus was an important forerunner of the medieval institution of feudalism.

German Religion

the Roman name for the German warrior band which surrounded a famous chieftain and which was a major part of German society. The comitatus was an important forerunner of the medieval institution of feudalism.

Major influence came in the area of law

(1) Code of Euric: late 5th century Visigothic law code; the first written code of German law. (2) Liber judiciorum (or Fuero Juzgo): the final Visigothic code that drew on both German and Roman law. Visigothic Political Problem: repeated succession crises brought on by the ancient Visigothic tradition of elective monarchy helped make the crown a political football, the transfer of which often involved violence. A number of Spanish kings lost power through revolt and assasination

Forms of trial

(1) Compurgation (oath-taking) (2) Trial by Battle (a judicial duel) (3) Ordeal

Examples of Germanization

(1) German modes of dress became popular. (2) Roman women died their hair blond or red or used wigs made from German hair. (3) German colonists moved onto deserted land in growing numbers, filling the gap caused by depopulation and the flight of farmers to the cities. (4) The Roman army which guarded the frontiers became progressively more German in make-up. (5) Germans took their place in the higher ranks of society. (6) At all levels, there was social intercourse and inter-marriage.

Problems arising from the religious split between Visigoths and Romans

(1) In southern Spain, many Hispano-Romans supported and helped prolong the Byzantine presence. (2) North of the Pyrenees, the major challenge to Visigothic rule came from the Franks, the most important German tribe to enter the Roman Empire. Under their first great king, Clovis (481-511), the Franks embarked on a career of conquest that would make them the masters of Western Europe. Clovis married a Christian princess, Clothilde; then, while fighting the Alemanni, he converted to Roman Christianity with its orthodox position on the Trinity. Clovis went on to establish the Papal Frankish Alliance that would play a major role in shaping the early medieval west. While the conversion was portrayed as miraculous by its major historian, Bishop Gregory of Tours, there were good political reasons behind it. By converting and allying himself with Rome, Clovis hoped to win over support from the old Gallo-Roman population, a distinct majority, against their Arian Visigothic rulers.

The most important writers were

(1) Julius Caesar (1st century BCE) (2) Tacitus (1st century ) (3) Ammianus Marcellinus (4th century)

Roman uses for Germans who entered the Empire

(1) Military service (not only in the emperor's bodyguard, but increasingly in the army ) (2) Repopulation of underpopulated districts (3) A buffer against further penetration by the 'untamed' Germans across the rivers

Factors which set a people like the Germans in motion

(1) lure of better land or a warmer climate (2) exploding population (3) a food crisis brought on by population increase (4) love of exploration and adventure The Romans first encountered the Germans in 113 B. C. when a mixed horde of Celts and Germans raided northern Italy. Despite some initial success, they were eventually annihilated by a Roman army.

New strategies for dealing with the German Problem

1) Roman treachery [No need to keep faith with barbarians!] (2) Psychological warfare [The continuing use of the myth of Roman invincibility to overawe the Germans.] (3) Bribery [When you can't beat or intimidate them, buy them off!] (4) Divide and Conquer [The Roman policy of keeping the Germans north of the Rhine-Danube line fighting among themselves.] (5) Resettlement

Alongside a Germanic elite, other groups continued to co-exist on the peninsula, often with considerable autonomy.

1. The old Hispano-Romans cities (municipia) that became largely self-governing units 2. Lingering pockets of indigeneous people, like the Basques and other inhabitants of the mountainous north. 3. Territory held by the Byzantine Empire:

Provincial Revolts

Although foreign conquest decreased, the Roman army faced provincial revolts. During the Pax Romana,two other localities took the place of Spain as the major troublespots: 1. Britain (mid-1st century revolt) 2. Palestine, repeated problems including two major revolts both of which ended disastrously for the Jewish population: a. Great Jewish Revolt (66-73 CE) b. Bar Kochba Revolt (2nd century).

Increased significance of Toledo

Although the French city of Narbonne remained the Visigothic capital for several decades, the mid-sixth century king, Athanagild, ultimately moved his residence to Toledo. Leovigild, the greatest of Visigothic monarchs, made the change permanent and for the rest of the Visigothic period, Toledo, near the geographic center of Spain, served as both its political and religious capital.

Vandals vrs. Visigoths

Another gothic tribe that crossed the borders around 400 and reached Spain in 409. Although invited into the Peninsula by one western emperor during a struggle for the throne, the Romans eventually recruited the Visigoths under their new leader, Wallia, to expel them. When the two groups fought, the Vandals lost and moved across the straits to North Africa. Rather than surrender Spain back to Rome, the Visigoths maintained control. Later another king, Euric, officially claimed it as part of the new kingdom with its capital at Toulouse.

German religious positions at the beginning of the Age of Invasions

Belief in the ancient Gods (paganism): Probably the majority (Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Franks, etc.) Arian Christianity: Visigoths and Vandals

Visigoths enter the Roman Empire

By the arrival of the Huns, the Visigoths had already adopted the brand of Christianity currently approved in the eastern empire known as Arianism. Under their leader, Fritigern, they now appealed to Roman officials for permission to seek safety within the Empire. Permission was granted and, in 376, a massive migration of Visigoths crossed the Danube River into the Roman world. The Visigoths had agreed to serve in the army in return for food and land; however, either through corruption or incompetence, the Romans failed to keep their promises. As a result, the newcomers went on a rampage and began to pillage surrounding territory. The Romans now had to move against them militarily.

Visigothic Conversion to Roman Christianity (587)

By the late sixth century, the Visigoths had learned that continued adherence to Arianism put them at a disadvantage when facing enemies like the Franks and the Byzantines. Only by their own conversion could they level "the religious playing field." Leovigild's son, Hermenegild, converted to Roman Catholicism, then led a revolt against his father. Although he was defeated and killed, when his younger brother, Reccared, succeeded to the throne, he announced his personal conversion, followed by that of a number of his people. The cathedral at Toledo was reconsecrated and a church council declared Roman Catholicism the new official church. However, this did not end religious divisions since the majority of Visigoths seem to have remained Arian in their beliefs. As a result, religious difficulties repeatedly arose during the last century of Visigothic rule. Visigothic kings joined with the eleven church Councils of Toledo, to reshape both the religious and social picture of late Visigothic Spain.

Conclusion

Conflict between Arian and orthodox Christians, religious persecutions, and political instability came together to usher in the next stage in Spanish history—the Islamic Conquest.

Visigothic Legacy

Despite three centuries of occupation, the Visigothic legacy to the peninsula is relatively minor. In the realm of language, they quickly adopted the Romance speech of the people they conquered and only a few of their words entered the language.

Conversion of the Visigoths to Arianism

During the 4th century, Christianity began to make inroads north of the Rhine-Danube Line. Several tribes, including the Visigoths, began to convert under the influence of the first great missionary to the Germans, a monk named Ulfilas who developed Gothic script and translated the Bible into German. The converts accepted the Arian position that Ulfilas held. The Visigothic leader, Fritigern, converted to Arianism, probably for political reasons since it was then the position espoused by the eastern emperor.

Germans during Pax Romana

During the Pax Romana, a few Germans were actually permitted to migrate into the empire, mostly to serve as mercenary soldiers, especially members of the emperors personal bodyguards. For the most part, the Germans were quiet during the Pax Romana. The two societies watched one another across the Rhine-Danube line.

Germans during reign of Marcus Aurelius

Early in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the Germans began a concerted effort to push their way into the Empire. The emperor spent the rest of his life working to drive them back. As part of this effort, he attempted to reshape Rome's northern border in order to make it more easily defensible. At first, Marcus Aurelius enjoyed success in implementing his plan. Some Germans were driven back, others annihilated, until an unexpected disaster from the east negated his efforts.

Religious division of Visigothic Spain

For many within the Hispano-Roman population, being part of the Empire was an attractive alternative to their Visigothic rulers. Not only were the Byzantines the most direct descendants of the Roman past, there was also a religious consideration. Byzantine Christianity was more acceptable to the Roman population than the Arian beliefs of the Visigoths. Religion ultimately proved to be the most enduring weakness of Visigothic rule, a factor that alienated them from the people they had conquered on both sides of the Pyrenees.

Fighting pattern

For nearly five centuries, the Romans would continue to defeat the Germans on most occasions when they met in battle. Then, starting shortly before 400, this pattern was reversed as the Germans got the upper hand and within a few decades overran the western provinces of the Roman Empire.

German Males

German males delighted in warring, wenching, drinking, feasting, and hunting; while leaving most of the real work of society to the young, the old, and the women. War was regarded as the most honorable occupation of the German male. Loyalty and hospitality were important virtues among the Germans. Marriage appears to have been monogamous and divorce was fairly easy, at least for German males. The bard or storyteller was an important person, acting as entertainer, newscaster, and tribal historian. (In a pre-literate society what history there is tends to be handed down by word of mouth.) The German system of wealth was based not on money but on how many cattle a person possessed. There was some trade and some agriculture; however, since the Germans remained a pastoral nomadic people until after their conquest of the western Roman Empire, their economy was primarily based on the herding of animals, the gathering of wild food, and raiding.

Age of the Great Invasions (c. 400-550)

Had the movement of Germans into the empire continued at a manageable pace, it might have had far less sweeping results. However, shortly before the year 400, German pressure on the frontier again increased enormously. Instead of one or two tribes attacking Rome, waves of Germans all along the frontier swept across the borders. The policy of assimilation collapsed as the trickle of Germans into the Empire became a flood. Within a few decades, the entire westen half of the Roman world fell to the invaders.

Vandal Sack of Rome

In 455, the Vandals sailed across the Mediterranean under their greatest king, Gaiseric, and sacked Rome for the second time within half a century. Our word "vandal", meaning one who destroys property, comes from this event.

Source Problem

In learning about early German history, historians face a common problem. The Germans, like most pastoral nomadic societies of the past, were pre-literate. Not until several centuries after they first came in contact with the higher civilization of Rome did the Germans finally borrow writing from the Romans (just as the Romans had borrowed it from the Greeks). As a result, our principal knowledge concerning early German society comes not from the Germans themselves, but from the Roman and Greek authors who wrote about them. These accounts often display bias and lack of knowledge.

last millenium before Christ

In the last millenium before Christ, three Indo-European groups—the Celts, Germans, and Slavs—pushed into northern and central Europe, jostling one another for position. Apparently, it was an earlier movement of the Germans which pushed the Celts into Gaul and Britain where the Romans encountered and conquered them (c. 60 BCE-50 CE). After the conquest, most Celts gave up their languages and adopted Latin. Celtic languages (Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton) survive only in areas which not thoroughly Romanized or maintained their independence.

The Romans and the Jews

In the last several centuries BCE, the Jewish people began to spread outside of Palestine, often as merchants or mercenaries, a movement that has become known as the Diaspora. This movement intensified following the revolts against Roman rule in the 1st and 2nd centuries. A sizeable Jewish population (approx. 50,000 families) was transferred to Iberia by Hadrian following the Bar Kochba Revolt. Jews merged into the life of Roman Spain until the triumph of Christianity in the late 4th century brought on increasing persecution.

Germans

Indo-European speaking people who lived north of the Roman Empire, in the heavily region north of the Roman Empire, from the North Sea to the Black Sea.

Role of the Visigoths in the invasions

Leading the invasion were the Visigoths. Although Theodosius managed to keep them in the Balkans for several decades, they then moved across the Empire under their leader, Alaric, who sacked Rome in 410, the first time this had happened in 800 years. When Alaric died shortly afterwards, the Romans bought off his successor, Atauf, by giving the Visigoths much of southern Gaul. Ultimately, they expanded into the northeast corner of the Iberian Peninsula without Roman permission. Here, they confronted earlier German arrivals, particularly the Vandals.

Rome's Defensive Strategy

Most of Rome's expansion occurred during the last three centuries of the Republic. Under the Empire, the Romans adopted what was largely a defensive posture toward dangerous neighbors like the Germans. The first emperor, Augustus, established a new military policy for Rome: to defend existing borders from attack, rather than to continue expanding those borders, as Rome had done in the past. With a few exceptions, the emperors from Augustus onward followed this defensive strategy. One of these few exceptions came late in the reign of Augustus (9 CE) when the emperor violated his own defensive strategy by mounting an ill-fated invasion of Germany. The overconfident Roman general, a nephew of Augustus named Varus, blundered into a German ambush in which his legions were wiped out.

Andalucia

Originally Vandalucia or land of the Vandals, it is the only lasting reminder of their presence in Spain. For Islam, it came to mean "the West"; during the Reconquista, it came to refer to the province of southern Spain where Moslem power was long concentrated.

Military establishment also used to protect the border against twin threats

Parthians in the east; Germans in the north

Visigoths and the Jews

Persecution of the Jews became the norm in most of Christian Europe throughout the Middle Ages. One of the places where anti-Jewish sentiment was most pronounced was in Visigothic Spain following its 6th century conversion to Roman Christianity. Early in the 7th century, King Sisebut issued an edict giving the Jews a year in which to either convert or leave. Although the edict was not enforces, under the threat some Jews were forced to conversion, while others emigrated to North Africa.

GERMAN SOCIETY

Source Problem

Bar Kochba Revolt (2nd century)

The Bar Kochba had important repercussions for Spain since Hadrian transported a large number of exiled Jews to his homeland, Hispania, giving rise to Spain's Jewish population.

Territory held by the Byzantine Empire

The Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire had survived the turbulence of the German invasions, stabilizing its economy and rebuilding its army around an elite heavy cavalry while continuing to dominate the sea with its navy. Under the greatest Byzantine emperor, Justinian, an attempt was made by the empire to reestablish Roman control over the west. The attempt was successful in several places including the Iberian peninsula. In a quarrel between Visigothic claimants to the throne, one of them appealed for help. Under one of Justinian's leading generals, Narses, the Byzantine army entered Spain and conquered the southern area once been known as Baetica. Rather than turn it over to his Visigothic ally, the emperor incorporated it into the empire. Despite the campaigns of the geatestt Visigothic king, Leovigild, a Byzantine presence in southern Spain continued for around a century.

Huns

The German invasion was set in motion by the arrival of the Huns, a group of nomads from Central Asia who were not ethnically related to the Germans, but to the Mongols who, in the 13th century, would again sweep out of Mongolia under their great leader, Ghengis Khan. The Huns terrorized everybody, including the Germans. In 372, they crossed the Volga River and subjected the Ostrogoths ('East Goths') causing the next German tribe, the Visigoths (West Goths) to attempt to move. Huns setting the Germans in motion provides another example of the 'domino effect.'

Pax Romana

The highpoint of Roman civilization came during the first several centuries of the Empire, during the so-called Pax Romana or "Roman Peace" (27 BCE to 180). A critical turning point in the history of the Roman Empire came during the reign of Marcus Aurelius when a combination of factors led to the collapse of the Pax Romana, after which the Empire, particularly in the west, entered a long period of decline.

Significance of the year 476

The last western emperors became puppets of the leading German generals. In 476, a German general in Italy deposed the last western emperor and declared himself king of Italy ending the fiction of a Roman Empire in the West. The date has been enshrined in western historiography to symbolize the fall of the Roman Empire and mark the dividing line between ancient and medieval history. Note: the German invasions did not bring down the Roman Empire in the east (otherwise known as the Byzantine Empire) which lasted for another thousand years. Even after Spain became officially Visigothic, it was never a case of total domination by the newcomers.

They were divided into two great wings

They were divided into two great wings

Two of the most successful departures from the defensive strategy came during the mid-first and early second century

Two of the most successful departures from the defensive strategy came during the mid-first and early second century

Battle of Vouillé (507)

the Franks, supported by the Gallo-Romans, defeated the Visigoths and killed their king, Alaric II, driving them out of most of their lands north of the Pyrenees.

Battle of Adrianople (378 A. D.)

a battle, fought just north of Constantinople, where the Roman army sent out to bring the Visigoths back under control was annihilated. The rash emperor in command named Valens was killed along with 40,000 of his men. Adrianople proved to be a decisive battle because the Romans lost more than just an emperor and an army. The battle demonstrated to the Germans that they were fully capable of defeating the best which the Romans could send against them; consequently, the myth of Roman invincibility died at Adrianople.

St. Isidore of Seville

a leading Spanish religious figure of the period, he became one of the most important theological thinkers of the early Middle Ages.

Polygamy

a marriage in which there are multiple marriage partners. (One husband has several wives or one wife has several husbands.)

Monogamy

a marriage in which there is a single sexual partner. (One husband—one wife)

German law

although not as important as Roman law, did have a significant impact upon European law of the early Middle Ages. (For example, trial by battle and ordeal, both important in the Middle Ages, came out German law. Much of German law involved payment to victims for injury or death of a family member:

Parthian War

at the same time he was fighting the Germans in the north, Marcus Aurelius became involved in a war against Parthia. Despite victory on the battlefield, the war proved disastrous for Rome when an extremely virulent plague broke out in the Near East and was carried back into the Empire by returning soldiers.

Battle of Teutoberg Forest (9 CE)

battle at which a Roman army blundered into a disastrous ambush by the Germans from which very few Romans escaped. It became one of the great defeats in Roman history and ended Roman attempts to add Germany to the empire. Nevertheless, it was an exception to the rule: one of the few times until the end of the 4th century that the Germans managed to defeat the Romans.

Monotheism

believing in a single god

Polytheism

believing in more than one god.

Arminius Hermann

the German leader at Teutoberg Forest who defeated the Romans and thereby became the first major figure in German history. Comparable to Variatus in Spanish history. Afterwards, for several centuries, the two societies faced each other uneasily across the river line.

Rome's Resettlement Policy

he Roman policy of resettling a Germans within the Roman Empire, and using the new immigrants to Rome's advantage. Starting as early as the time of Caesar, some Germans had been permitted to enter the empire; despite the existence of the policy throughout the Pax Romana, after Marcus Aurelius, it became a crucial means of controlling the threat. For several centuries, the policy was largely successful. Germans entered the Empire slowly enough to be assimilated. They intermingled and intermarried with the Romans; and, as a result, became increasingly Romanized. At the same time that the newcomers were being Romanized, their presence was having a comparable effect upon the Romans. The Roman Empire, especially in the western provinces, became increasingly Germanized long before the Germans actually overran the western provinces.

Plague of the Antonines

named for the line of emperors to which Marcus Aurelius belonged, it was the worst epidemic of the ancient world. For fifteen years, it ravagaged the Empire, causing enormous loss of life and damage to Roman society. In its final year (180), the plague took the life of the emperor. The progressive weakening of the Empire brought on by this epidemic made it impossible for the emperor to complete his plans for reshaping the northern frontier. Commodus: untalented son of Marcus Aurelius whose succession to the imperial throne added to the disaster. Commodus abandonned the efforts of his father and devoted himself to his bizarre pursuit of pleasure (including the slaughter of ostriches in the arena!) Finally assassinated in 192. Following the disasters, Rome was never again strong enough for its army simply to drive the Germans out of the Empire. Fortunately for the Romans, German pressure was not constant. It diminished for long periods giving the empire some much needed breathing space.

Marcus Aurelius (161-180)

one of Rome's finest emperors and one of the most important philosophers in the ancient world. (His little book, The Meditations, written during his campaigns, is a major statement of Stoic philosophy.) Ironically, the crisis which led to the collapse of the Pax Romana came during the reign of a 'good emperor.'

Bots

payment to a victim for injury

Wergeld (death money)

payment to a victim's family for his/her death

Parthians

people who lived to the east of the Roman Empire. While the Romans had been conquering the eastern Mediterranean in the last several centuries B. C., the Parthians had pushed into the Near East from the other direction. Eventually, the two empires met and established an uneasy border east of Syria. Over the centuries, the Romans and Parthians continued to clash. The Romans had long feared the Parthians more than the Germans.

Theodosius

the last strong emperor of Rome who came to power after Adrianople, for a few years, he managed, through a skillful blend of fighting and negotiation, to keep the victorious Germans in check. However, after his death (395), the old borders in the west ceased to exist. One after another, the German tribes swarmed into the Empire and established new homes on what had once been Roman territory.

Rhine-Danube Line

the name given the northern border of the Roman Empire, which ran along the Rhine and Danube Rivers, from the English channel to the Black Sea.

'German Problem'

the rising pressure of the Germans on the northern borders of the Roman Empire. After several centuries of relative quiet, the Germans once again went iinto motion. During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, they began to exert intense pressure on Rome's northern frontier causing a military crisis.

Domino Effect

when human populations migrate, one group may be set in motion at least in part because it is being pushed by the group behind it. This is what historians call the domino effect. Example: when the Germans pushed into central Europe around 500 B. C. and drove the Celts westward into Gaul and Britain.