Wittiza
Encyclopedia
Wittiza was the Visigothic King of
Hispania
from 694 until his death, co-ruling with his father, Ergica
, until 702 or 703.
places the event in 698. Numismatic analysis of coinage types also supports the thesis that Wittiza ruled from 694. The raising of Wittiza to the kingship coincided with the revolt of Sunifred
and may have been either its cause or effect.
On 15 or 24 November 700, Wittiza was anointed king; this forms the last entry in the Chronica Regum Visigothorum, a Visigothic regnal list. The delay between his appointment as co-regent and his unction, to which much importance was ascribed, is most probably explained by his coming of age, likely fourteen, in that year. Wittiza was Ergica's son by Cixilo, daughter of the previous king Erwig
, who was dismissed by her husband in late 687 after a short marriage and thus puts a limit on the possible date of birth of Wittiza.
Sometime during the joint reign of Ergica and Wittiza, a Byzantine fleet
raided the coasts of southern Hispania and was driven off by Theudimer. The dating of this event is disputed: it may have occurred as part of Leontios
' expedition to relieve Carthage
in 697; perhaps later, around 702; or perhaps late in Wittiza's reign. A plague broke out at Constantinople
in 698 and it spread westward across the Mediterranean reaching Hispania in 701. It was severe enough to force the two kings from their capital of Toledo
and it might be that this was the period when Wittiza was sent by his father to rule in Tui
in Gallaecia
over the regnum Suevorum
, an event recorded by the Chronicle of Alfonso III
and often dismissed by scholars as nonsense, although there is numismatic evidence that suggests its veracity.
was held under the supervision of Wittiza and the archbishop of Toledo, either Gunderic
or Sindered. The acts of the council are lost to us, but may have been highly controversial, leading to their suppression. Wittiza may have forced the council to force marriage upon the Catholic clergy. There is a reference in the Chronicle of 754 to Wittiza commanding Sindered to exert pressure on the established clergy, but what exactly this means is unknown. It may mean that he pressured the Eighteenth Council to ratify the decision of the Quinisext Council
that clerical marriage was permissible: according to the Chronicle of Alfonso III, Fruela I of Asturias
(757–68) reversed this ruling. The collective sense is that Wittiza made an effort to reform corruptions in the Visigothic Catholic church.
Of Wittiza's early acts after his father's demise was the rescindment of the exile of several noblemen. He returned their slaves and confiscated property, and reinstated them in their palatine offices. Wittiza also had the cautiones written against them burned publicly. The cautiones were probably pledges, cessions, or confessions the exiles had been forced to sign; or statements of debt to the treasury. Wittiza also returned land which his family was holding to the royal fisc
in accordance with the law. All this activity was probably a response to complaints made about his father's rule and which he considered politically wise to correct. The Chronicle of 754 calls Wittiza "merciful", and only criticizes the method of his succession, probably in reference to these events and to the hated Ergica.
Though he himself passed no legislation further oppressing the Jews, Wittiza also probably did not repeal the legislation of his father in that regard. A thirteenth-century chronicle by Lucas of Tuy accuses Wittiza of relieving the oppression of the Jews and being eager for their support in an attempt to smear him as a "Jew-lover." The accuracy of Lucas' statement, despite the lateness of it, has been bolstered by the fact that Lucas was from Tui, the Galician city whereat Wittiza probably ruled as sub-king under his father at one point. Perhaps the people of Tui preserved an oral tradition or perhaps the canons of XVIII Toledo were available to Lucas.
A law sometimes attributed to Ergica which prescribes the caldaria (ordeal of boiling water) for those accused of theft no matter how small the sum has been attributed to Wittiza by some.
with the support of a faction of nobles. Others believe he died a natural death. At the time, the king was still only in his twenties.
After his death, natural or forced, or deposition, Hispania was divided between rival claimaints: Roderic in the south and Agila II
in the north. Agila may have been a son of Wittiza's and a co-monarch (from about 708), but this would require that he be either a child king or that Wittiza not be the son of Cixilo. Others say Wittiza left two sons not yet of age. At the time of his death, "he was beloved in the highest degree by the people and equally hated by the priesthood."
Whatever the actual circumstances surrounding the end of Wittiza's reign, memory of him was not positive a century and a half later. The Chronicle of Moissac
, circa 818, wrote that Witicha deditus in feminis exemplo suo sacerdote ac populum luxuriose vivere docuit, irritans furorem Domini: "Wittiza left a poor example to his clergy and his people by his unchaste life, thus provoking the fury of the Lord." The Chronicle of Alfonso III mentions his many wives and mistresses and how he brought "ruin to Hispania", while the Chronicle of 754, written less than a half century after his death, records that he brought "joy and prosperity" to the kingdom.
The "sons of Wittiza", who are otherwise unknown, are made out by the Chronicle of Alfonso III to be traitors who helped deliver Hispania to the Moors
. Oppa, a shadowy but historical figure, is reputed to have been either a brother, half-brother, or a son of Wittiza, though the latter is impossible based simply on Wittiza's youthfulness and Oppa's reputed age in 711. According to the Rotensis version of the Chronicle of Alfonso III, Wittiza had three sons: Olmund, Romulus, and Ardabast (Artabasdus), who became Count of the Christians of Coimbra
. Olmund is a Gothic name, Romulus is Roman, and Ardabast is Greek (originally Armenian).
, in the first part of his 1835 Legends of the Conquest of Spain, Wittiza's reign initially showed great promise. "He redressed grievances, moderated the tributes of his subjects, and conducted himself with mingled mildness and energy in the administration of the laws." However, the honeymoon lasted only a short while. Soon Wittiza "showed himself in his true nature, cruel and luxurious."
Coming to doubt the security of his throne, he ended the careers of two relatives regarded as rivals: Favila, duke of Cantabria
, and Theodofred, duke of Córdoba
, who lived in retirement at court. Wittiza had Favila killed and Theodofred blinded then imprisoned in the Córdoba dungeon. The son of Favila, who we are told was Pelayo
, happened to be elsewhere at the time and was thus spared for the major role he would later play in history. The son of Theodofred was Roderic, duke of Baetica, who escaped to Italy.
At last feeling safe, the king "gave reins to his licentious passions, and soon, by his tyranny and sensuality, acquired the appellation of Witiza the Wicked." Specifically, using secret orders he demolished castles that he feared could be used by future internal enemies, oblivious to the possibility that he was weakening the kingdom's defenses against foreign invaders. And at court, inspired by the custom of Muslim rulers, he "indulged in a plurality of wives and concubines, encouraging his subjects to do the same."
In later times such stories were told of Wittiza because, in opposition to the policies of the Church hierarchy, he had been lenient toward the Jews and had encouraged the clergy to marry. Therefore, when the kingdom met sudden ruin in the first year of his successor Roderic (a favorite of the Church), this was readily explained by alleging that the sins of Wittiza "had drawn down the wrath of Heaven upon the unhappy nation."
As the story goes, it was in an attempt to save Hispania from such divine punishment that the exiled Roderic returned from Italy with an army. Wittiza was soon defeated in the field and taken captive. Roderic was then crowned king at Toledo, after which he avenged his father by having Wittiza blinded and imprisoned at Córdoba. There the former king "passed the brief remnant of his days in perpetual darkness, a prey to wretchedness and remorse." Meanwhile, Wittiza's two sons, Evan and Siseburto, were banished or escaped to Tangier
in Africa
.
Visigothic Kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom was a kingdom which occupied southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to 8th century 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...
Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
from 694 until his death, co-ruling with his father, Ergica
Ergica
Egica, Ergica, or Egicca was the Visigoth King of Hispania and Septimania from 687 until his death. He was the son of Ariberga, and the brother in law of Wamba.He was married Egica, Ergica, or Egicca (c. 610 – 701x703) was the Visigoth King of Hispania and Septimania from 687 until his...
, until 702 or 703.
Joint rule
Early in his reign, Ergica made it clear that his intention was to secure his family in a position of power from which they could not be removed. Based on a charter dated to Ergica's seventh year (November 693 to November 694) which mentions Wittiza as co-king, it is probable that Wittiza was made co-ruler in 694, even though the Chronicle of 754Chronicle of 754
The Chronicle of 754 was a Latin-language history in ninety-five chapters with the narrative theme "the ruin of Spain", which was composed in the year 754, in Toledo or Córdoba...
places the event in 698. Numismatic analysis of coinage types also supports the thesis that Wittiza ruled from 694. The raising of Wittiza to the kingship coincided with the revolt of Sunifred
Sunifred
Sunifred or Sunifredo is a Germanic given name, probably of Gothic origin, the name of two counts of Urgell, one of whom was also count of Barcelona:*Sunifred II of Ampurias *Sunifred, Count of Barcelona...
and may have been either its cause or effect.
On 15 or 24 November 700, Wittiza was anointed king; this forms the last entry in the Chronica Regum Visigothorum, a Visigothic regnal list. The delay between his appointment as co-regent and his unction, to which much importance was ascribed, is most probably explained by his coming of age, likely fourteen, in that year. Wittiza was Ergica's son by Cixilo, daughter of the previous king Erwig
Erwig
Erwig was a king of the Visigoths in Hispania . He was the only Visigothic king to be a complete puppet of the bishops and palatine nobility....
, who was dismissed by her husband in late 687 after a short marriage and thus puts a limit on the possible date of birth of Wittiza.
Sometime during the joint reign of Ergica and Wittiza, a Byzantine fleet
Byzantine navy
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...
raided the coasts of southern Hispania and was driven off by Theudimer. The dating of this event is disputed: it may have occurred as part of Leontios
Leontios
Leontios was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. He came to power by overthrowing the Emperor Justinian II, but was overthrown in his turn by Tiberios III. His actual and official name was Leo , but he is known by the name used for him in Byzantine chronicles.- Early life :Leontios was born in...
' expedition to relieve Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
in 697; perhaps later, around 702; or perhaps late in Wittiza's reign. A plague broke out at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 698 and it spread westward across the Mediterranean reaching Hispania in 701. It was severe enough to force the two kings from their capital of Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
and it might be that this was the period when Wittiza was sent by his father to rule in Tui
Tui, Galicia
Tui , in Spanish Tuy, is a town in Galicia , in the province of Pontevedra. It is located on the left bank of the Minho River, facing the Portuguese town of Valença....
in Gallaecia
Gallaecia
Gallaecia or Callaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province and an early Mediaeval kingdom that comprised a territory in the north-west of Hispania...
over the regnum Suevorum
Kingdom of Galicia
The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in the year 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which...
, an event recorded by the Chronicle of Alfonso III
Chronicle of Alfonso III
The Chronicle of Alfonso III is a chronicle composed in the early tenth century on the order of King Alfonso III of León with the goal of showing the continuity between Visigothic Spain and the later Christian medieval Spain...
and often dismissed by scholars as nonsense, although there is numismatic evidence that suggests its veracity.
Sole rule
The death of Ergica can be dated to 702 (traditionally) or 703 (based on the fact that Ergica promulgated a law in his sixteenth year, which began on 24 November 702).Concessions upon succession
Soon after his death, the Eighteenth Council of ToledoEighteenth Council of Toledo
The Eighteenth Council of Toledo was the last of the councils of Toledo held in Visigothic Spain before the Moorish conquest and perhaps the last of the Siglo de Concilios, that is, the seventh century...
was held under the supervision of Wittiza and the archbishop of Toledo, either Gunderic
Gunderic, Archbishop of Toledo
Gunderic was the Archbishop of Toledo briefly between Felix and Sindered from about 701. He was a Visigoth and is highly praised in the Chronicle of 754, according to which he was a holy man who performed many miracles...
or Sindered. The acts of the council are lost to us, but may have been highly controversial, leading to their suppression. Wittiza may have forced the council to force marriage upon the Catholic clergy. There is a reference in the Chronicle of 754 to Wittiza commanding Sindered to exert pressure on the established clergy, but what exactly this means is unknown. It may mean that he pressured the Eighteenth Council to ratify the decision of the Quinisext Council
Quinisext Council
The Quinisext Council was a church council held in 692 at Constantinople under Justinian II. It is often known as the Council in Trullo, because it was held in the same domed hall where the Sixth Ecumenical Council had met...
that clerical marriage was permissible: according to the Chronicle of Alfonso III, Fruela I of Asturias
Fruela I of Asturias
Fruela I , called the Cruel, was the King of Asturias from 757 until his death, when he was assassinated. He was the eldest son of Alfonso I and continued the work of his father....
(757–68) reversed this ruling. The collective sense is that Wittiza made an effort to reform corruptions in the Visigothic Catholic church.
Of Wittiza's early acts after his father's demise was the rescindment of the exile of several noblemen. He returned their slaves and confiscated property, and reinstated them in their palatine offices. Wittiza also had the cautiones written against them burned publicly. The cautiones were probably pledges, cessions, or confessions the exiles had been forced to sign; or statements of debt to the treasury. Wittiza also returned land which his family was holding to the royal fisc
Fisc
Under the Merovingians and Carolingians, the fisc applied to the royal demesne which paid taxes, entirely in kind, from which the royal household was meant to be supported, though it rarely was...
in accordance with the law. All this activity was probably a response to complaints made about his father's rule and which he considered politically wise to correct. The Chronicle of 754 calls Wittiza "merciful", and only criticizes the method of his succession, probably in reference to these events and to the hated Ergica.
Legislation
During his years of sole government, Wittiza promulgated two new laws and issued a revised version of the Liber Iudiciorum. This reissue, too, may be related to the political situation following Ergica's death and Wittiza's need to consolidate his authority and the support of the nobility and the clergy.Though he himself passed no legislation further oppressing the Jews, Wittiza also probably did not repeal the legislation of his father in that regard. A thirteenth-century chronicle by Lucas of Tuy accuses Wittiza of relieving the oppression of the Jews and being eager for their support in an attempt to smear him as a "Jew-lover." The accuracy of Lucas' statement, despite the lateness of it, has been bolstered by the fact that Lucas was from Tui, the Galician city whereat Wittiza probably ruled as sub-king under his father at one point. Perhaps the people of Tui preserved an oral tradition or perhaps the canons of XVIII Toledo were available to Lucas.
A law sometimes attributed to Ergica which prescribes the caldaria (ordeal of boiling water) for those accused of theft no matter how small the sum has been attributed to Wittiza by some.
Death, succession crisis and legacy
The date of Wittiza's death and the end of his reign are unknown. The several surviving regnal lists imply a death year of 710 (sometimes with a death month of February) while the Chronicle of 754 implies 711. Whatever the case, the Chronicle strongly implies that he was assassinated in political coup led by RodericRoderic
Ruderic was the Visigothic King of Hispania for a brief period between 710 and 712. He is famous in legend as "the last king of the Goths"...
with the support of a faction of nobles. Others believe he died a natural death. At the time, the king was still only in his twenties.
After his death, natural or forced, or deposition, Hispania was divided between rival claimaints: Roderic in the south and Agila II
Agila II
Achila II was the king of Visigothic Hispania from 710 or 711 until his death....
in the north. Agila may have been a son of Wittiza's and a co-monarch (from about 708), but this would require that he be either a child king or that Wittiza not be the son of Cixilo. Others say Wittiza left two sons not yet of age. At the time of his death, "he was beloved in the highest degree by the people and equally hated by the priesthood."
Whatever the actual circumstances surrounding the end of Wittiza's reign, memory of him was not positive a century and a half later. The Chronicle of Moissac
Chronicle of Moissac
The Chronicle of Moissac is an anonymous compilation that was discovered at the abbey of Moissac, but is now thought to have been compiled in the Catalan monastery of Ripoll in the end of the tenth century. Like most chronicles, it begins with Adam, but gains increasing interest for historians as...
, circa 818, wrote that Witicha deditus in feminis exemplo suo sacerdote ac populum luxuriose vivere docuit, irritans furorem Domini: "Wittiza left a poor example to his clergy and his people by his unchaste life, thus provoking the fury of the Lord." The Chronicle of Alfonso III mentions his many wives and mistresses and how he brought "ruin to Hispania", while the Chronicle of 754, written less than a half century after his death, records that he brought "joy and prosperity" to the kingdom.
The "sons of Wittiza", who are otherwise unknown, are made out by the Chronicle of Alfonso III to be traitors who helped deliver Hispania to the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
. Oppa, a shadowy but historical figure, is reputed to have been either a brother, half-brother, or a son of Wittiza, though the latter is impossible based simply on Wittiza's youthfulness and Oppa's reputed age in 711. According to the Rotensis version of the Chronicle of Alfonso III, Wittiza had three sons: Olmund, Romulus, and Ardabast (Artabasdus), who became Count of the Christians of Coimbra
County of Coimbra
The County of Coimbra was a political entity instituted as a subsidiary county for the prince Ardavast or Sisebuto son of King Wittiza until the fall of Visigothic Hispania by Abderraman III ruler of Al-Andalus. The first counts established a long and great dynasty which were several families and...
. Olmund is a Gothic name, Romulus is Roman, and Ardabast is Greek (originally Armenian).
Legend
According to American writer and historian Washington IrvingWashington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
, in the first part of his 1835 Legends of the Conquest of Spain, Wittiza's reign initially showed great promise. "He redressed grievances, moderated the tributes of his subjects, and conducted himself with mingled mildness and energy in the administration of the laws." However, the honeymoon lasted only a short while. Soon Wittiza "showed himself in his true nature, cruel and luxurious."
Coming to doubt the security of his throne, he ended the careers of two relatives regarded as rivals: Favila, duke of Cantabria
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
, and Theodofred, duke of Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, who lived in retirement at court. Wittiza had Favila killed and Theodofred blinded then imprisoned in the Córdoba dungeon. The son of Favila, who we are told was Pelayo
Pelayo
Pelayo is the Spanish form of the Latin name Pelagius. It may refer to:*Pelagius of Asturias, founder of the Kingdom of Asturias and beginner of the Reconquista*Pelayo of Oviedo, bishop and chronicler...
, happened to be elsewhere at the time and was thus spared for the major role he would later play in history. The son of Theodofred was Roderic, duke of Baetica, who escaped to Italy.
At last feeling safe, the king "gave reins to his licentious passions, and soon, by his tyranny and sensuality, acquired the appellation of Witiza the Wicked." Specifically, using secret orders he demolished castles that he feared could be used by future internal enemies, oblivious to the possibility that he was weakening the kingdom's defenses against foreign invaders. And at court, inspired by the custom of Muslim rulers, he "indulged in a plurality of wives and concubines, encouraging his subjects to do the same."
In later times such stories were told of Wittiza because, in opposition to the policies of the Church hierarchy, he had been lenient toward the Jews and had encouraged the clergy to marry. Therefore, when the kingdom met sudden ruin in the first year of his successor Roderic (a favorite of the Church), this was readily explained by alleging that the sins of Wittiza "had drawn down the wrath of Heaven upon the unhappy nation."
As the story goes, it was in an attempt to save Hispania from such divine punishment that the exiled Roderic returned from Italy with an army. Wittiza was soon defeated in the field and taken captive. Roderic was then crowned king at Toledo, after which he avenged his father by having Wittiza blinded and imprisoned at Córdoba. There the former king "passed the brief remnant of his days in perpetual darkness, a prey to wretchedness and remorse." Meanwhile, Wittiza's two sons, Evan and Siseburto, were banished or escaped to Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Sources
- Bachrach, Bernard S.Bernard BachrachBernard S. Bachrach is an American historian and a professor of history at the University of Minnesota. He specialises in the Early Middle Ages, mainly on the topics of Medieval warfare, Medieval Jewry, and early Angevin history...
"A Reassessment of Visigothic Jewish Policy, 589-711." The American Historical Review, Vol. 78, No. 1. (Feb., 1973), pp 11–34. - Collins, Roger. "'Sicut lex Gothorum continet': Law and Charters in Ninth- and Tenth-Century León and Catalonia." The English Historical ReviewThe English Historical ReviewThe English Historical Review is an academic journal founded in 1886 and published by the Oxford University Press. It publishes articles on British, European, and World history since the classical era....
, Vol. 100, No. 396. (Jul., 1985), pp 489–512. - Collins, Roger. The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–97. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1989. ISBN 0 631 15923 1.
- Collins, Roger. Visigothic Spain, 409–711. Blackwell Publishing, 2004.
- García Moreno, Luis A. "Prosopography, Nomenclature, and Royal Succession in the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo." Journal of Late Antiquity, 1(1:2008), 142–56.
- Hodgkin, ThomasThomas HodgkinThomas Hodgkin was a British physician, considered one of the most prominent pathologists of his time and a pioneer in preventive medicine. He is now best known for the first account of Hodgkin's disease, a form of lymphoma and blood disease, in 1832...
. "Visigothic Spain." The English Historical Review, Vol. 2, No. 6. (Apr., 1887), pp 209–34. - Irving, WashingtonWashington IrvingWashington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
. Legends of the Conquest of Spain, originally from The Crayon Miscellany, Volume 3 (1835); in Irving, Pierre M. Spanish Papers. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Company, 1871. - King, P. D. "King Chindasvind and the First Territorial Law-code of the Visiogothic Kingdom." Visigothic Spain: New Approaches. ed. Edward JamesEdward James (historian)Edward James is Professor of Medieval History at University College, Dublin. He received a BA 1968; DPhil in 1975. He was a Lecturer, then College Lecturer, at the Department of Medieval History, University College Dublin from 1970-1978...
. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. pp 131–57. - López Sánchez, Fernando. "La moneda del reino visigodo en Toledo: ¿Por qué? ¿Para quién?" Mainake, Vol. 31 (2009), pp 175–86.
- Thompson, E. A.Edward Arthur ThompsonEdward Arthur Thompson was a British classicist, medievalist and professor at the University of Nottingham from 1948 to 1979. He wrote from a Marxist perspective, and argued that the Visigoths were settled in Aquitaine to counter the internal threat of the peasant bagaudae...
. The Goths in Spain. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.