168  

from the perspective of Christian sources, so that the “social mem-

ory” of the past, ethnic identity, the categorisation of gentes and po-
puli, the nomenclature of duces and reges—especially in the earlier
periods—are all formulated in Latin or Greek and from the per-
spective—and with a deliberate uplifting purpose—that the synthe-
sis of peoples is only possible at a spiritual level15 and that it is the
universal Catholic faith that makes peoples equal.
Last but not least, is the significance of the vocabulary employed
by the texts. We must try to determine the scope of those terms
whose meaning in one or several contexts can often be ambiguous
or different from one author to another, exhibiting some nuances or
non-exclusive usages. It is useful to consider the implication of lan-
guage and reality and how one serves the other or how the one can
be shaped by the interests of the other.

The gens Gothorum and the other gentes at the 3rd Council of Toledo

The expression gens Gothorum in the 3rd Council of Toledo desig-

nates, according to Teillet,16 a community born out of religious con-
version, or in other words, from religious unity and thus refers both
to Hispano-Romans and Goths under a single name, Gothi. This
idea, which Teillet reiterates in her work, seems to me one of the
most disputable or susceptible to scrutiny. I believe, on the contrary,
that gens Gothorum represents here a human group which, led by their
king, has converted to Catholicism. The Council is convened by
royal mandate so that the bishops under his rule (regiminis sui ) can
express their joy towards their and their people’s conversion.17 With

15
Pohl, Origini etniche, p. 27.
16
Teillet, Des Goths à la nation Gothique, p. 450. I must point out that I will
specifically refer to this book on occasions as it deals in detail with the main topic
of the Bellagio meeting and, of course, in particular with that concerning the Goths.
17
III Toledo, p. 50,10–11: Ut tam de eius conversione quam de gentis Gothorum inno-
vatione in Domino exultarent. Until the 10th Council of Toledo I follow the edition by
G. Martínez Díez and F. Rodríguez, La Colección Canónica Hispana, 5 vols. (Madrid
1966–92), here vol. 5: Concilios hispanos: segunda parte (Madrid 1992). Quotations will
be provided with no. of council, canon (= c.) if appropriate, and no. of page and
lines. For other councils besides these, the edition by J. Vives, Concilios visigóticos e
hispano-romanos (Barcelona-Madrid 1963). On the history and explanation of con-
tents: J. Orlandis and D. Ramos-Lissón, Historia de los Concilios de la España romana
y visigoda (Pamplona 1986).
   169

the exception of this and other preliminary remarks18 reference to a

gens Gothorum appears only in the king’s various interventions. In his
words, this expression seems always to refer to his people, who have
abjured with him the Arian faith. At the Council, the people are
represented by the king, the Gothic church hierarchy, bishops and
priests and the nobles among the gens: primorum Gothicae gentis, who
sign the fidei professio. These groups represent the conversion of the
entire Gothic people, to whom their king refers to as gens inclita (the
same expression is used by Leander of Seville in his homilia) et fere
omnium gentium genuina virilitate opinata, that is to say, known among
all the other peoples by their courage, a stereotype, found in con-
temporary literature that traces back the origins of one of their main
to time immemorial.19
The expression gens Gothorum, likewise, is emphasised with respect
to another specific gens: the gens Suevorum, that is another human com-
munity that inhabits the Gallaecia and has been conquered by the
Visigoths. Their presence in the Acta of the Council is the result of
Reccared’s belief that the Sueves’ conversion to Catholicism is also
his accomplishment.20 Perhaps, Reccared intends to highlight here
his recent conquest of that territory and the submission of the peo-
ple who previously ruled them. This was his father’s, Liuvigild’s,
work, however, not his.21 Reccared, on the contrary, does refer to

18
See further on, those introduced by the words of the Catholic or Gothic bish-
ops. And in the “rúbrica” preceding the professio fidei, incorporated into the Proceedings
at a later stage. On the problematic of the “rúbricas” or summaries heading sev-
eral parts of the councils and canons, see Martínez Díez and Rodríguez in La
Colección Canónica Hispana, vol. 1, pp. 249–54; vol. 3, pp. 11–2, and vol. 5, pp. 16–7.
19
It was still a “cliché” nonetheless, adopted by the sources from Tacitus’ Germania
and later Jordanes’ Getica and other works, to allude to the strength, vigour, even
ferocity of the Germanic peoples. H. Messmer, Hispania-Idee und Gotenmythos (Zürich
1960). We will see it even more exaggerated in Isidore of Seville’s Historia Gothorum,
in particular in the final Recapitulatio.
20
III Toledo, p. 58,98–101: Nec enim sola Gotorum conversio ad cumulum nostrae mer-
cedis accessit, quin immo et Suevorum gentis infinita multitudo, quam praesidio caelesti nostro
regno subiecimus. When, apparently, it was like that from the time of Teodomir and,
according to Isidore of Seville, due to the pastoral work undertaken by Martin of
Braga, see Hist. Goth. 91 and De vir. ill. 22.
21
Hist. Goth. 49 and 91; John of Biclar, Chronica 585,2, ed. T. Mommsen, MGH
AA 11 (Berlin 1894). That does not mean that, in this particular case, Reccared
did not regard gens Suevorum as the native Sueves but, probably, all the inhabitants
of the Gallaecia. As we will see later, the “ethnic” origin of the peoples, or rather
the racial differences and those based on custom, language and other traits giving
shape to a gens, must have been somewhat ambiguous and vague at the time. For
170  

other gentes in the royal Tomus: when he points out that God has
placed the burden of the kingdom upon him so that he can ensure
the welfare and prosperity of the peoples under his rule (III Toledo,
p. 54,51–53 and 56–59): Quamvis Deus omnipotens pro utilitatibus popu-
lorum regni nos culmen sunire tribuerit et moderamen gentium non paucarum
regiae nostrae curae commiserit [. . .]. Reccared is aware that the higher
his royal dignity over his “subjects”, the higher his responsibility to
safeguard the welfare of the peoples God has entrusted to him: [. . .]
quanto subditorum gloria regali extollimur, tanto providi esse debemus in his
quae ad Deum sunt, vel nostram spem augere vel gentibus a Deo nobis creditis
consulere.
These words clearly show the king’s political project. The definition
of the regnum Gothorum22 under his rule does include all the commu-
nities and peoples ( populi et gentes)23 inhabiting Hispania (and Gallia
Narbonensis). His rule, which Reccared and his predecessors achieved
through settlement and conquest, is thus legitimised and turned into
a divine mandate by his uprooting of the Arian heresy and conver-
sion to Catholicism. This is his political programme and this is what
he intends to achieve. It is also the wish of the Catholic church, as
Leander of Seville’s homily shows at the conclusion of the council,
when all the royal interventions are over. A vibrant, emotional and
perfect piece of oratory that can be described as lyrical meditation,
overflowing with joy in face of the people’s faith (de eorum nunc gaudea-
mus credulitate) and referring to the conversion of the new communi-
ties as a significant gain (lucrum) for the Church.24 The term gens

Reccared, who is not the instigator of this conversion, what matters is that this
region of Hispania is under his control and authority and that her kings, in their
case of Suevic extraction, no longer rule there. Both Reccared’s—and earlier his
father Liuvigild’s—perception must have been the conquest of an entire territory
with all its gentes where the regnum Suevorum had been previously established.
22
In the restricted sense of the definition found in Isidore of Seville’s Etymologiae
9,3,1, ed. J. Oroz Reta and M.A. Marcos Casquero (Madrid 1982) [henceforth:
Etym.]: Regnum a regibus dictum. Nam sicut reges a regendo vocati, ita regnum a regibus.
23
Akin also to the classical definitions of gens and populus later formulated by
Isidore, including the difference between this term and plebs: Etym. 9,2,1: Gens est
multitudo ab uno principio orta, sive ab alia natione secundum propriam collectionem distincta
[. . .] Gentes autem appellata propter generationes familiarum, id est a gignendo, sicut natio a
nascendo; ibid. 9,4,5: Populus est humanae multitudinis coetus, iuris consensu et concordi com-
munione sociatus. Populus autem eo distat a plebibus, quod populus universi cives sunt, connu-
meratis senioribus civitatis.
24
J. Fontaine, “La homilía de San Leandro ante el III Concilio de Toledo:
Temática y forma”, Actas del XIV Centenario del Concilio III de Toledo, 589–1989 (Toledo
   171

appears several times in this Homily, although never associated with

the Gothi, to refer to the several peoples united in the faith—some-
times also called populi—resorting to biblical quotations that do not
identify any specific peoples (although they make indirect reference).
This is so because the ordo naturalis requires all men, who stem from
a single creature (ex uno homine trahunt originem), to love each other.
The whole Council calls for rejoicing because Christ has united all
peoples in a single church (Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur omnibus
gentibus). At the end of the homily Leander expresses a desideratum,
his own dream of witnessing with his own eyes that spiritual union
in the earthly kingdom (III Toledo, p. 159,253–257):
Superest autem ut unanimiter unum omnes regnum effecti tam pro stabilitate regni
terreni quam felicitate regni caelestis Deum precibus adeamus, ut regnum et gens,
quae Christus glorificavit in terris, glorificetur ab illum non solum in terris, sed
etiam in caelis. Amen.
But the king’s political project and the Church’s desire do not attain
unanimity at the Council. It can be said that both Reccared and
Leander’s interventions are polarised towards their respective inter-
ests. The bishop of Seville constantly evokes the unity of the faith
and joy at the recent conversion of the peoples whose roughness he
had very recently lamented (quorum asperitate quondam gemebamus). He
expresses, as well, his desire for the union of all peoples on earth,
as we have seen. Reccared, on his part, presents himself as a true
imperator, now, as well as rex, he will be known by the imperial title
of princeps (as will all his successors)25 and will put his signature to
the Proceedings of the Council using the name of Flavius Reccaredus
rex. His own conception of royal power is clearly enunciated. If he
is not the author of his own speeches, at least they must have been
written by someone very close to him and under his supervision. I
do not believe though, as has sometimes been claimed, that they

1991) pp. 249–70. An insightful analysis of Leander’s Homily compared to King

Reccared’s and some bishops’ interventions at the 3rd Council, based on study of
the different linguistic expressions, can be found in J. Mellado, “Veladas discrep-
ancias y pugna por el poder en el III Concilio de Toledo”, Boletín de la Real Academia
de Córdoba 141 (2001) (forthcoming).
25
During the Council described as gloriossisimus fidelissimus princeps, piissimus, fidelissimus
rex, catholicus, orthodoxus, gloriosissimus dominus noster, apart from vestra sanctitas, vestra
beatitudo. See M.C. Díaz y Díaz, “Titulaciones regias en la monarquía visigoda”,
Revista Portuguesa de Historia 16 (1978) pp. 133–41; id., “Más sobre epítetos regios
en la Hispania visigótica”, Studi medievali 19 (1978) pp. 318–33.
172  

were written by Leander.26 Although some of Gregory the Great’s

ideas about royalty may have reached Reccared via Leander, they
had no direct influence on the king nor is Leander behind the
monarch’s words. He is the rex Gothorum who now exerts his rule
over Hispania, Gallia and Gallaecia and he makes public profession of
faith together with his very noble gens,27 represented by the nobility
and the bishops and clergy before the hierarchy of the Hispano-
Roman Catholic church. He leaves no doubt though that he him-
self has achieved this religious conversion and that it is he who rules
over all the peoples and subjects within his regnum. As Díaz y Díaz
remarks, the king commands the assembly. With a surprising turn
of phrase (non incognitum reor esse vobis), he starts by saying that he
thinks the bishops are aware that they have been convened by the
Council to re-establish ecclesiastical discipline (ordo canonicus) and he
warns them, albeit curtly, by means of the expression admoneo pariter
et exhorto, to busy themselves with this task now that his uprooting
of heresy has made it possible. “The king seems unwilling to toler-
ate the idea that the bishops claim as their own achievement the
final liquidation of Arianism” among the Goths.
But the gens Gothorum, to which the king belongs, does not lump
together Goths and Hispano-Romans. In Reccared’s words, they are
clearly distinguished from each other. In fact two expressions that
seem to be set against each other encapsulate the ultimate purpose
of the Council. The Goths, protagonists of the conversion, of whom
it is said that they are ex haerese Ariana conversos, are counterposed to
the Catholic bishops (Hispano-Roman on the whole, although there
may have been some of Gothic extraction, such as Masona): Unus
episcoporum catholicorum ad episcopos et religiosos vel maiores natu ex haerese
Ariana conversos eiusmodi allocutiae exorsus est dicens [. . .].
Church and Gothic nobility are explicitly mentioned in relation
to their professions of faith:
III Toledo, p. 180,330–331: Tunc episcopi omnes una cum clericis suis pri-
moresque gentis Goticae pari consensione dixerunt [. . .].

26
On the royal interventions, M.C. Díaz y Díaz’s analysis is decisive (“Los dis-
cursos del rey Recaredo: El Tomus”, Actas del XIV Centenario del Concilio III de Toledo,
589–1989 [Toledo 1991] pp. 223–36).
27
To which he adds the Sueves; he uses has nobilissimas gentes to refer to both,
although the latter will no longer have any kind of specific representation.
   173

III Toledo, p. 202,593–594: Post confessionem igitur et subscriptionem omnium

episcoporum et totius gentis Goticae seniorum [. . .].28
One can raise the objection that the Hispani or Romani are not men-
tioned, something that might have been expected,29 in contrast with
the Gothi or Suevi, but the context30 is exclusively that of the con-
version of the last two peoples, in which the Hispano-Romans played
no role and where the opposing terms are catholicus and Arianus. We
have seen, however, that the term gens Gothorum is stressed in con-
trast to other gentes in king Reccared’s interventions.31
Hispania, however, does appear on numerous occasions, mostly in
its singular form, rather than the designation inherited from Roman
antiquity, provincia (later dioecesis) Hispaniarum. Once again, Teillet
emphasises this use of the singular, both in these Council proceed-
ings and in John of Biclar’s Chronica to refer to the territorial unity
of the regnum.32 Its use, however, is neither systematic—it appears in
the plural three times—nor exclusive. We must recall that at the
Council bishops ab totius Hispaniae vel Gallia have gathered. It is obvi-
ous that totius Hispaniae refers to the whole Peninsula. What should
it be called, however, if, on the one hand, that was its former name
and, on the other, the political and administrative situation that
justified its use in the plural had changed? I do not mean that an
awareness of territorial unity did not exist, besides being geograph-
ically undeniable, but that we must not overstate the use of the sin-
gular Hispania as indicative of, or as a proof of, such unity.33 On the

28
The latter are Reccared’s own words. Omnium refers here to all and each of
the members of the Arian Church (as in the above quotation), whereas totius implies
all the members of the gens of the Goths, represented by their primores.
29
Romanus is the term used to designate the Hispano-Romans and, earlier, the
Gallo-Romans, in the Leges Visigothorum. On the other hand, this term has under-
gone a change concerning the reality that designated historically as, in this period,
an author such as John of Biclar will use it to name Byzantine soldiers, from the
Eastern Roman Empire, enemies at the same time (milites, hostes). Besides, Hispani
(the ancient Iberi, according to Isidore) would not include all the gentes of Hispania,
populated by diverse other gentes, as this author indicates: Etym. 9,2,107–114.
30
That is, the verbal context and the extralinguistic context.
31
Which remain, on the contrary, deliberately undifferentiated in Leander’s homily.
32
Teillet, Des Goths à la nation Gothique, p. 451, although drawing attention to the
fact that the use was already well known by other authors such as Jordanes, Getica
44,229, ed. T. Mommsen, MGH AA 5,1 (Berlin 1882): universa Hispania; 44,230:
tota Hispania; 32,166: in suis finibus, id est Hispaniae solo, quoted by Teillet in p. 326.
33
In fact, this argument concerning the use of the singular, attaching to it more
importance than may be justified, is countered by the uses in the plural in later
texts, such as the 4th Council of Toledo.
174  

other hand, allusions to Gallaecia and Gallia as two distinct parts of

Hispania34 continue to be made; the first had been recently incorpo-
rated into the regnum whereas the second had been part of that reg-
num since the beginning, although belonging to a somewhat different
geographical environment and to a territory with a different history.
Nonetheless, it is not clear whether the expression totius Hispaniae
designates an entity that replaces, or is equivalent to, the plural
Hispaniae, in the sense of incorporating the diversity of areas, provinces
and subdivisions of which the concept already existed, or a usage
adopted by earlier literary sources or, even, of an attempt to re-
affirm a territorial unity35 that had not in fact been achieved, due
to the inconvenient fact of the Byzantine presence on the south-east
coast of the peninsula and in some key towns.36
It is obvious—it already seemed so much earlier and it was, fur-
thermore, one of Liuvigild’s clear political decisions—that the goal
was territorial unity, which would be achieved only after the expul-
sion of the Byzantines by Swinthila in 625. But the fact that the
expression used is Hispania (in the singular or the plural) at the 3rd
Council of Toledo does not mean that gens Gothorum refers to all its
inhabitants, that is, to the Hispani, as well as the Gothi. It also seems
clear that it is the gens Gothorum, or at least their nobility, who have
become the ruling class in Hispania. Although the constituent ele-
ments of power are not yet clearly defined, as they were to be at
the 4th Council of Toledo, as we shall see, these groups take the
leading role in the 3rd Council’s solemn ceremony: the king, the
nobility and the clergy. With “almost complete” territorial unity
achieved by Liuvigild, and religious unity secured by Reccared—the

34
And, in my opinion, maintained some idiosyncracies for a long time, especially
Gallaecia, at least from the ecclesiastical point of view. Also, the feeling of being an
“appendix” of Hispania experienced by some sectors of Gallia Narbonensis, which, as
J. Fontaine explains (Isidore de Seville. Genèse, p. 371), leads an author like Isidore of
Seville not to devote much attention to it and treat it as one of Hispania’s borders,
always threatened by the Franks, can be behind the frequent revolts and usurpa-
tion attempts—even segregation—which broke out in this area from this period,
and culminated in Paulus’ rebellion against Wamba.
35
See John of Biclar, Chronica 372,2 (after Liuva’s demise): Hispania omnis Galliaque
Narbonensis in regno et potestate Liuvigildi.
36
On this see, in general, M. Vallejo Girvés, Bizancio y la España tardoantigua (ss.
V–VIII): Un capítulo de historia mediterránea (Alcalá de Henares 1993). Specifically,
G. Ripoll, “Acerca de la supuesta frontera entre el regnum Visigothorum y la Hispania
bizantina”, Pyrenae 27 (1996) pp. 251–67.
   175

latter a precondition for the levelling-out of the differences between

the populi (and gentes) dwelling in the regnum—the foundations are
being laid of a new society, or, if you wish, of a new natio.

A writer’s perspective: John of Biclar

It is the writers, in their capacity as intellectuals and leading mem-

bers of the Church, and of the nobility, who contribute decisively
to define and present a new image of that new society and, most
probably, also to build it. John of Biclar’s Chronica—of which Teillet
rightly says that it must be read in the light of the Proceedings of
the 3rd Council of Toledo—presents an accurate image of that new
society and one can detect in the work the basis of the mentality
that is being forged. Although I believe that here, as in the afore-
mentioned Council, gens Gothica (or Gothorum) cannot be identified
with the totality of the Gothi and Hispani or, for that matter, that
provincia Gothorum37—i.e. the territory under their rule—can be equated
with Spain “in the modern and almost national sense of the word”.38
The Chronica is written, at first sight, as a sequel to that of Victor
of Tunnuna (Huc usque Victor Tunnunensis [. . .] nos quae consecuta sunt
adicere curavimus) and is characteristic in form and content-based of
the genre of universal and Christian history,39 but follows a unique
dating system based on the years of emperors’ reigns and, starting
with the third heading, with the equivalent Gothic regnal year using
the formula: anno IV Iustini Imp. Qui est Liuvigildi regis secundus annus.
The focus of attention is, however, the Goths’ conversion to Catholicism

37
This expression is used in John of Biclar, Chronica 569,4, when talking for the
first time about Liuvigild to highlight that he succeeded in taking it back to its orig-
inal limits, previously reduced due to revolts: quae iam pro rebellione diversorum fuerat
diminuta, mirabiliter ad pristinos terminos revocat. The term provincia designates some ter-
rae, of very different sizes and history in each case: Hispania, Gallia, Italia, but also
Sabaria, Cantabria, Orospeda, etc. See J. Campos, Juan de Biclar. Obispo de Gerona, su
vida y su obra (Madrid 1960) p. 158.
38
Teillet, Des Goths à la nation Gothique, p. 440. It seems to me that this sense is
a bit “stretched” and, most of all, in contradiction with what is stated immediately
after: “On condition of bearing always in mind that the ‘province of the Goths’ is
that of the king of the Goths and his regnum, the idea of nation is inextricably linked
to that of regnum”. But that is precisely the question; what prevails is the idea of
territory dominated by the rex and his gens.
39
Hillgarth, “Historiography in Visigothic Spain”; Teillet, Des Goths à la nation
Gothique, pp. 421–49.
176  

as well as the celebration of the Council. One must bear in mind

that it was written shortly afterwards, around 590/91, but at a time
when the early effects of such a gathering were already being felt.40
The passage Chron. 587,5 notes, as can be inferred from Reccared’s
intervention at the Council, that the process of conversion was already
under way or completed, thanks to the king, during his first year on
the throne: sacerdotes sectae Arianae sapienti colloquio aggressus ratione potius
quam imperio converti ad catholicam fidem facit gentemque omnium Gothorum
et Suevorum ad unitatem et pacem revocat Christianae ecclesiae. The expres-
sions sapienti colloquio and ratione potius quam imperio show the phase of
deliberation and negotiation and of the theological debates that must
have taken place between Arians and Catholics culminating in the
official event of 589:41 debates that were already under way during
Liuvigild’s rule, such as those described in Vitas Sanctorum Patrum
Emeretensium between Masona and Sunna, part of a policy of reli-
gious unification under the Arian faith carried out, albeit unsuc-
cessfully, by Liuvigild.42 Here the achievement of having converted
the Sueves to Catholicism is attributed to Reccared.
The long passage devoted to the 3rd Council of Toledo—much
longer than would be expected in a work of this kind—and the news
about the Visigoths reveal that the author’s genuine interest, with-
out neglecting his aim of writing a Christian universal chronicle, is
to chronicle the reign of Liuvigild, the monarch who has ensured
territorial unity43 or helped the provincia Gothorum consolidate its size-
able domains, as well as that of Reccared, whose main accomplish-
ment has been the religious unification of the kingdom that reaches
its zenith in the Council. Although the work starts by relating the
events of Justin’s reign, the amount of information about the Visigoths
gradually increases. Moreover, the first time they are mentioned is
in the context of Liuvigild’s rule, when Athanagild’s death in Hispania
and Liuva’s accession to the throne (Chron. 568,3) are recorded; the
second reference is linked to this; Liuva involves his brother Liuvigild

40
Actually, the last point of the chronicle records Argimundo’s seditious attempt.
41
Note, however, the term revocat to describe the peoples, led with a clear sense
of mandate (imperium).
42
John of Biclar, Chronica 580,2; Vitas Sanctorum Patrum Emeritensium 5,5,7–9, ed.
A. Maya Sánchez, Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 116 (Turnhout 1992).
43
As indicated earlier, not yet achieved due to the Byzantine occupation; but
this fact is played down or, rather, avoided because the work states that Liuvigild
completely defeats them.
   177

in the running of the kingdom and the latter, on his part, marries
Athanagild’s widow and undertakes his first conquests, re-establish-
ing the original boundaries of the vanquished territory. The work
is, therefore, the product of his period and his personal circum-
stances. The author intends to pursue the literary model set by the
chronicles, but his work resembles a Historia Gothorum, in this case of
these two kings. It is not simply a matter of the Empire’s no longer
being the centre of the world, nor that it is considered a regnum along
with other regna44—in fact an enemy due to its presence in the
Peninsula—but that now the local, living history that the author
wishes to recount is that of the Hispanic community, of the regnum
Gothorum to which the author belongs, not just as a mere native but
also as a member of the Gothic nobility and prominent member of
the Catholic church.
It seems likely to me that this work could have been written at
the request, explicit or otherwise, of Reccared himself. Who was in
a better position than the author from Biclar to relate the deeds of
his king and his father? In fact, his vision of Liuvigild is so positive
that not even the terms in which he describes Liuvigild’s attempt to
convert Catholics to Arianism are excessively harsh: novello errore, seduc-
tionem, a seduction to which many Catholics ( plurimi nostrorum, the
only personal reference) succumb. Nothing is said, however, on his
personal exile or that suffered by others who, like him, refused to
become Arians.
John of Biclar shows Reccared as a new Constantine or Marcianus,
whose merits he surpasses in achieving the uprooting of heresy, and
he compares the Council of Toledo to those of Nicae and Chalcedon;
he even places it before them. It is this religious unity that under-
lies the definition of the gens Gothorum, but it runs in parallel with a
designation that stresses ethnic origin, linked to the past and the
origins of that people which expresses, in my view, an awareness
of belonging to the same group and of being part of the ruling
class. One might think that the author—let us not forget his Gothic

44
Perhaps, the dating system maintains the subordination of dates through quid
est just to record the initial aim of writing a universal history with such subordi-
nation not being actually conceptual. Note the strange formulation of 583: anno ergo
I Mauricii imperatoris, Liuvigildi regis XV annus, and in particular of 587, with a restric-
tion to the princeps and the mention of feliciter in the second sentence: anno V Mauricii
principis Romanorum qui est Reccaredi regis primus feliciter annus.