Overview

Gallaecia Gothica offers a new interpretation of the Argimundus rebellion, one of the most difficult challenges of Reccared’s reign. There are no specific details of how the conspiracy came about, but the throne was seriously threatened. The Chronicle of John of Biclaro underlined the gravity of this menace in his description of the punishment suffered by the rebel and his collaborators. His categorical condemnation of the attempted overthrow of the monarch is unlike that given to any other uprising narrated in the Chronicle, and it shows the importance that the abbot of Biclaro gave it in his narration. The fact that the Chronicle notes that Argimundus was not only a member of the Aula Regia but also a dux prouinciae (duke of a province), combined with the status of Gallaecia as a newly conquered province, suggests that this was not just a palace conspiracy, but a genuine provincial revolt which could have ruined the political settlement established by Leovigild and Reccared. However, it is difficult to prove Argimundus’ ultimate aim: to replace Reccared on the Visigothic throne or, on the contrary, to restore the old Suevic kingdom in Gallaecia. This book uses numismatic and archaeological evidence seems to suggest the latter view.

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9781803275079

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‘Scholars of Hispania in this period will be grateful for the contribution that Barroso Cabrera, Morín de Pablos, and Sánchez Ramos have made with this text. Their work highlights that sometimes what our scarce – and often un-helpful – literary sources do not say regarding a specific event can be just as informative as what they do. Much of their discussion and analysis concerns evidence not written down, but this by no means implies hypotheses clutch-ing at straws. Instead, it shows that good use of alternative research methods can demonstrate the wider reality of a historical event.’ – Alec Dawson (2024): PLEKOS 26

Author Information

Rafael Barroso Cabrera has a master’s degree in Prehistory and Archaeology from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He is the author of many articles and books dedicated to the archaeology of the Visigothic period. He has worked as director of excavations at the Roman sites of Valeria and Ercavica, as well as at various sites from the Visigothic period such as La Dehesa de la Casa and Tinto Juan de la Cruz. He is attached to the Sedes Regia Toletana research project of the Toledo Foundation. His work currently focuses on the archaeological sites of Los Hitos and San Pedro de la Mata. Jorge Morín de Pablos is a senior PhD researcher, focusing on archaeology from Late Roman to medieval times. He is the director of the Department of Cultural Heritage Resources of AUDEMA (Madrid). He is also member of the Regia Sedes Toletana and IDAVE research projects. Currently he manages the excavations of the archaeological sites of Los Hitos and San Pedro de la Mata. Isabel Sánchez is a Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Pablo de Olavide of Seville. Her research interests focus on settlements and the architecture of power in Late Roman and Visigothic times. She is a member of the Regia Sedes Toletana project and has led the IDAVE research project.

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