Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship in Visigothic Spain

Author(s): Jace T. Crouch

Source: Mediterranean Studies , 1994, Vol. 4 (1994), pp. 9-26
Published by: Penn State University Press

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 2

Isidore of Seville
and the Evolution of Kingship
in Visigothic Spain
Jace T. Crouch

After their conversion to Catholicism in 589, the Visigothic kings of Spain

began increasingly to rely on the support of the Spanish church. The monarchs
themselves needed an ally against the turbulent and rebellious Gothic nobility.
The Spanish bishops, for their part, were willing to collaborate with Visigothic
monarchs on a level that "had no parallel in western Europe."3 The church eventu-
ally constituted such an important element of the political infrastructure that Visi-
gothic Spain became a virtual dyarchy. The efforts of these Spanish bishops ulti-
mately transformed the theoretical basis of the Visigothic kingship from that of a

*For the early evolution of Germanic kingship see E. A. Thompson, The Visigoths in the Time of
Ulfila (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966); E. A. Thompson, Romans and Barbarians: The Decline of
the Western Empire (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1982), 38-57. See also: R. W. Carlyle, A
History of Medieval Political Thought in the West, 4th ed. (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1950), vol. 1;
W. Ullmann, The Carolingian Renaissance and the Idea of Kingship (London: Methuen, 1969); W. Ull-
mann, A History of Political Thought in the Middle Ages (Baltimore: Penguin, 1970).
On the Visigothic realm, see E. A. Thompson, The Goths in Spain (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1969). For a recent and comprehensive bibliography, see A. Ferreiro, The Visigoths in Gaul and
Spain: A Bibliography (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1988). See also Roger Collins, Early Medieval Spain: Unity in
Diversity, 400-1000 (New York: Macmillan, 1983), 1-145; H. J. Diesner, Isidor von Sevilla und das West-
gotische Spanien (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1977); Jacques Fontaine, Culture et spiritualité en Espagne du
IVe au Vile siècle (London: Variorum, 1986); J. N. Hillgarth, Visigothic Spain, Byzantium, and the Insh
(London: Variorum, 1985); P. D. King, Law and Society in the Visigothic Kingdom (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1972); A. Ziegler, Church and State in Visigothic Spain (Washington, D. C: Catholic
University of America Press, 1930).
3Roger Collins, Early Medieval Europe, 300-1000 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991), 146.
On the emergence of a church-state dyarchy in early medieval Europe, see Ullmann, The Carolin-
gian Renaissance and the Idea of Kingship, 71-111. This is not a modern concept that scholars impose on
the early Middle Ages; Isidore of Seville describes what is effectively a dyarchy when he writes: "often
the heavenly kingdom is advanced through the earthly kingdom, such as when those within the Church
Iwho] behave contrary to the faith and discipline of the Church are subdued by the strength of princes,
and the punishment which the Church in its humility is not permitted to exercise is then imposed on
the obstinacy of the proud by the power of princes," Sententiae 3.51.5, ed. Garcia Loaisae; Patrologia
Latina Cursus Completus 83.557-738 (Paris: J. P. Migne, 1862), hereafter cited as PL vol. no., col. no.
Unless otherwise noted, all translations of Isidore are my own.

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10 Mediterranean Studies Volume Four

Germanic war leader into a Christianized "Davidic" kingship where the monarchy
worked closely with the ecclesiastical hierarchy to create and preserve an earthly
society in which the cure of souls was facilitated. One of the principal participants
in this process of church-state amalgamation was Bishop Isidore of Seville.
Isidore (d. 636) served as bishop of Seville during the years с 599-636 and
was recognized by Visigothic kings and churchmen alike as the greatest intellectual
and spiritual authority of his day. Isidore was one of the prime movers of the
above-mentioned intellectual and political developments in Visigothic Spain. He
served a catalytic function in the realm, confirming prior Spanish politico-religious
developments through his theological and historical writings, advising the Visi-
gothic kings as to the proper role of a Christian sovereign, and through his leader-
ship of the Fourth Council of Toledo (633) attempting to strengthen the institu-
tion of monarchy in Hispania both by addressing the specific political needs of
Visigothic kings themselves and by establishing an official ideology of kingship that
was fully in accord with his own (and the church's) beliefs. Ultimately Isidore's
activities transformed into the explicit and official political dogma of the Visigothic
kingdom many ideas about the nature of kingship that had previously existed only
in inchoate form, if at all. The present study attempts to demonstrate not only what
Isidore was trying to accomplish in the political realm, but also how Isidore was
influential in some of the political events of the early seventh century.
Most studies on Isidore of Seville tend to concentrate on the intellectual,
philosophical, or theological aspects of Isidore's life and writings rather than on
any attempt Isidore might have made to put his ideas into practice. Scholars have
often suggested that Isidore manifested his political and/or social theories through
activism of one sort or another, but only recently have scholars begun to delve into
just how and why Isidore might have involved himself in politics and propaganda;8

The best recent study is Jacques Fontaine, Isidore de Seville et la culture classique dans l'Espagne
wisigothique, 2d ed., 3 vols. (Paris: Études Augustiniennes, 1983). Recent bibliographies include J. N.
Hillgarth, "The Position of Isidorian Studies: A Critical Review of the literature, 1936-1975," Studi
Medievalu ser. 3, 24, no. 2 (1983): 817-905, and Ferreiro, Isidore, 327-409.
Modern scholarship on Isidore of Seville is voluminous. The lumen Hispaniae has been the sub-
ject of eleven books and over five hundred articles since 1 936 alone. Fontaine's Isidore remains the most
important recent study of Isidore, and the appearance of its first edition in 1959 sparked a veritable
renaissance of Isidorian studies. Fontaine has concentrated especially on Isidore's cultivation and pro-
motion of the seven liberal arts in Spain, arguing convincingly that Spain experienced a renaissance Isi-
dorienne throughout the seventh century. J. N. Hillgarth, in the collection Visigothic Spain, Byzantium,
and the Irish, has demonstrated that one result of this Isidorian renaissance was the transmission of
both classical and patristic learning to Ireland (via the Breton monasteries of Galicia), whence the writ-
ings of Isidore became the foundation of the Northumbrian Renaissance. For his comments on Visig-
othic historiography, see below. The new critical, international edition of the Etymologiae is slowly being
published, book by book, as each fascicle is completed. Citations in Ferreiro, Isidore. 327-409.
7Carlyle, History of Medieval Political Thought 1:221 f.; Sr. Patrick Mullins, TKe Spiritual Life accord-
ing to Saint Isidore of Seville (Wash., D. C: Catholic Univ. of America Press, 1940), 173-78; Ziegler,
Church and State, 95-99.
Recent articles by Fontaine, Hillgarth, and Reydellet, cited below, have begun to consider the
Isidorean renaissance in a political as well as an intellectual context J. du Quincy Adams' "The Political

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 Jace T. Crouch: Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship 1 1

nor have they examined in this context any specific political event in which Isidore
may have been a major participant. Despite this tendency to deal with Isidore
almost exclusively as a scholarly cleric, it can be argued that Isidore was actively
involved in the political events of the Visigothic realm throughout much of his
adult life. My approach is threefold: first, to demonstrate that Isidore's writings
evince firm political convictions, particularly regarding the nature of kingship and
the duties of a Christian ruler; secondly, to consider Isidore's relationship to sev-
eral Visigothic kings; and finally, to examine the politico-religious events of the
Fourth Council of Toledo (633), wherein the Spanish bishops, led by Isidore,
resolved canonically to involve themselves actively in the political affairs of the
kingdom, and wherein the Spanish church established the sacral nature of kingship
in Hispania.
Isidore's political ideas are most clearly expressed in passages of the Sententiae
(a short work concerned with Christian morality), the Etymologiae (an encyclopedia
of sacred and secular learning), and in the seventy-fifth canon of the Fourth Coun-
cil of Toledo (which pronounces upon the institution of kingship and its sacral
nature).11 Isidore's Historia Gothorum is also valuable, providing short glimpses of
his attitudes towards several Gothic kings. Useful too are the few surviving let-
ters of the period, which include Isidore's correspondence and the letters of Isi-
dore's friend and student, Braulio of Saragossa.14 Numismatic evidence is also
useful at certain points, since the changing nature of the Visigothic kingship had
an impact on Gothic coins.

Grammar of Isidore of Seville" considers possible implications of Isidore's use of the word "populus" in
a political context, but ultimately concludes that Isidore's use of " populus" is too amorphous to have
consistently identifiable political content Arts Libéraux et Philosophie au Moyen Age (Montréal: Université
de Montréal. 1969). 763-75
Thompson, Goths in Spain, 170-79, devotes considerable attention to the Fourth Council of
Toledo, and mentions that Isidore was highly influential at this great council, but he does not examine
how Isidore might have been important, or why we think that he influenced the canons of the council.
10Unless otherwise noted, Isidore's works are cited in the edition of Faustino Arevalo, PL 81-83.
Although portions of the new international edition of the Etymologiae have been published, Isidore's
remarks on kingship are in book 9, which has not yet appeared. Similarly, Isidore's remarks on kingship
in the Sententiae appear in book 3, for which there is no new edition.
nSententiae, ed., Garcia Loaisae, PL 83.557-738; Etymologiae, ed., Faustino Arevalo, PL 82.74-
728; Concilium Toletanum Quartum, PL 84.363-390.
12Mommsen's critical edition of the Latin text is available in Monumenta Germaniae Histórica, Aue·
torum Antiquissimorum, Tomus XI: Chronicorum Minorum Saec. IV, V, Ví, Vil. , Volumen Π (Berlin: Wei-
dman, 1894), 241-303. An English translation is available in History of the Kings of the Goths, Vandals,
and SuevL 2d rev. ed.. trans. Guido Donini & Gordon B. Ford, Ir. (Leiden: E. I. Brill, 1970).
l3PL 83.893-914. Latin text and English translation in The Letters of Isidore of Seville, 2d ed.,
trans. Gordon B. Ford, Jr. (Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1970). This edition has not gone without criticism.
14Braulio's correspondence with Isidore is collected in Claude Barlow, Braulio of Saragossa, Fructo-
sus of Braga, vol. 2 of Iberian Fathers, Fathers of the Church, vols. 62-63 (Washington, D. C: Catholic
University of America Press, 1969), 15-26.
15George C. Miles, The Coinage of the Visigoths of Spain, Leovigild to Achila Π (New York: American
Numismatic Society, 1952); Philip Grierson, "Visigothic Metrology," Numismatic Chronicle, 6th ser., 13
(1953): 74-87. A recent study that makes excellent use of Visigothic coins is J. N. Hillgarth, "Coins and
Chronicles: Propaganda in Sixth-Century Spain and the Byzantine Background," Histona 15 (1966): 483-50.

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1 2 Mediterranean Studies Volume Four

From the available sources, it is evident that Isidore spent practically his entire
life in the service of the church. Certainly much of his time was devoted to study.
Katherine Nell MacFarlane has remarked that he was "a voracious reader of both
pagan and Christian authors, and delved into a variety of subjects not usually of
interest to the churchmen of his age." Isidore manifested his great learning by
writing voluminously on many topics, thereby creating for "his own and succeeding
ages a synthesis of patristic teaching in every branch of sacred learning." Thus
did Spain "succeed Africa as the guardian of Classical and Christian letters."
In addition to being a scholar, Isidore led an active life in the affairs of church
and state in the Visigothic realm. As bishop of Seville, he was not only the spiri-
tual overseer of the province of Baetica, but responsible as well for such worldly
tasks as administering church lands and supervising church finances. Isidore was
both a judge and a diplomat in his capacity as metropolitan, and his surviving let-
ters indicate that he intervened forcefully yet cautiously in matters of ecclesiastical
discipline and church reform. Isidore also served as friend and advisor to Visi-
gothic kings, most notably Sisebut and Sisenand. Sisebut, at least, appears to have
been an eager collaborator with Isidore, and, together with other members of the
Visigothic clergy and nobility, king and bishop consciously attempted to preserve
the heritage of their classical and Christian past. They attempted to redefine and
restore their society from the top down, and it has been argued that the results of
their efforts constituted a renaissance hidorienne.
Nevertheless, and despite the efforts of such leading figures as Isidore and
Sisebut, the Visigothic monarchy continued to face extremely serious internal polit-
ical problems. The Visigothic kings may have made peace with the Hispano-
Roman population and with the clergy though their conversion to Catholicism, but
to the Gothic nobility the kings still bore no special charisma: as elected monarchs
they had no more right to the throne than any other ambitious Gothic noble. As a
consequence, succession remained turbulent after the conversion of 589, with no

^Biographical materials are fragmentary, but have been translated into English, and analyzed by
Mullins, Spintual Life. 1-41.
Katherine Nell MacFarlane, Isidore of Seville on the Pagan Gods (Philadelphia: American Philo-
sophical Society, 1980), 3.
18Mullins, Spiritual Life, 40.
J. N. Hillgarth, "Visigothic Spain and Early Christian Ireland," Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy, 62 (1962): 170. Hereafter cited as Hillgarth, "Visigothic Spain."
°Fontaine, Isidore, 12-16, 735-888; and "King Sisebuťs Vita Desiderii and the Political Function
of Visigothic Hagiography," Visigothic Spain: New Approaches, ed. E. James (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1980), 93-129. Hereafter cited as Fontaine, "Sisebut"
21Letters 4-5. PL 83.899-902.
Fontaine, Isidore, 876f.; "Sisebut," passim; Hillgarth, "Visigothic Spain," 168-170.
23Fontaine devotes an entire chapter in Isidore, to "La Renaissance Isidorienne: Sa Nature et ses
Limites," 863-888. Fontaine sees the Isidorian renaissance as being fourfold in nature: an intellectual
renaissance, a moral rearmament, a religious revival, and the construction of a new political, royal, and
national ideology.

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 Jace X Crouch: Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship 13

institutionalized system (apart from usurpation). Intrigue and rebellion among the
Gothic nobility continued to be widespread. Sisebut himself may have been poi-
soned. Suinthila (621-631), another king whom Isidore praises, was overthrown
by Sisenand, a Gothic general from Narbonne. Like Athanagild in the previous
century, Sisenand called in foreign mercenaries to support his cause, although this
time it was Franks, not Byzantines.
Thus the support of the Spanish church and its bishops was clearly not suffi-
cient for the monarchy's needs. Specifically, the kings needed to convince the
Gothic nobility that their monarchical authority was legitimate, and that it was not
to be challenged through conspiracy or rebellion. The church, too, had a stake in
seeing to it that the nobility was tamed in a way that eliminated, or at least reduced,
the Gothic tendency towards intrigue and rebellion against the king. The political
chaos that obtained upon a violent change of rulers, or the attempt thereof, kept
the realm in nearly constant turmoil, to the peril of Goth and Roman alike, and
more importantly, to the detriment of ecclesiastical peace and order. But what
could the church do?
Such were the political problems of Visigothic Spain during the episcopate of
Isidore of Seville, problems that Isidore attempted to solve. Isidore's approach to
these problems seems to have been twofold: to enunciate in his writings a theory of
kingship that offered solutions to the specific problems of Visigothic Spain, and to
have that theory of kingship proclaimed as the law of the land. This is an
extremely incautious statement, and demands immediate qualification. It is highly
unlikely that Isidore planned at the outset that his scattered discussions on the
nature of kingship ultimately would become the official dogma of the Visigothic
realm. More likely he believed that by incorporating cogitations on kingship into
his writings that his intended clerical and royal audiences would be enlightened as
to their proper roles in a Christian society. Eventually these enlightened kings and
clergy would mend their ways, rule well, and Hispania would become a well-ordered
Christian kingdom. Isidore was probably as pleasantly surprised as anyone when
many of his theories of kingship became the law of the land in 633.
Although Isidore has left us no works that deal exclusively with his theories of
kingship, his political ideas may be reconstructed by examining those passages in

^Isidore, Histona Gothorum, 57-65. Thompson, Goths in Spain, 155-180, covers these "decades of
rebellion" in detail.
25Historia Gothorum, 61, where Isidore notes that Sisebut may have died through immoderate
drinking of a medication.
26Isidore completed a version of his Historia Gothorum and Chronicon while Suinthila was still in
power, and so has left no account of the rebellion against or the deposition of Suinthila. Isidore was
quite laudatory of Suinthila. On the other hand, Suinthila's deposition was ratified by canon 75 of the
Fourth Council of Toledo, over which Isidore presided. PL 84.383-386.
27TKe Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar, trans. J. M. Wallace-Hadrill (New York: Thomas
Nelson, 1960), 4.73.

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14 Mediterranean Studies Volume Four

his works which do provide evidence of his political thought. Ultimately it can be
demonstrated that Isidore held strong political views, and these political views
were exclusively concerned with preserving an earthly environment in which
Christian salvation could be facilitated.
Isidore believed that kings were raised up by the grace of God as His instru-
ments of order on earth, sitting in authority over the people for the benefit of the
many. They ruled by divine authority, were restrained only by the fear of God,
and were subject to no human punishment. Kings were men who had a special
commission from and relationship to God, and they were answerable to Him
alone. Isidore's conception of kingship was thus more in accordance with the
Davidic kingship of the Old Testament31 than with the Germanic conception of
the king as warlord. If the authority of the king came from God, then neither the
Gothic nobility, the comitatus, nor any other secular agency, could legitimately con-
spire or rebel against the monarchy.
Entrusted as they were with special power and authority, Isidore argued, kings
had special responsibilities. They were supposed to rule, of course: for, as Isidore
wrote, "Kings get their name from ruling/ The divine plan did not, however,
warrant arbitrary rule. Isidore believed that kings were supposed to exercise their
regnal authority according to the divine plan, and he sharply admonished them to
rule well. "Let the princes of this world understand," he wrote, "that they must
render to God an account of the Church, whose protection has been committed to
them by Christ. For He who has entrusted the church to their power will demand
from them an accounting of whether ecclesiastical peace and order are increased or
diminished by the faithfulness of these Christian princes/ The kings were thus
entrusted to establish and protect a secular society within which the church could
work actively and effectively towards the cure of souls.

^This has been attempted, albeit in a fragmentary way, by Carlyle, History of Medieval Political
Thought, 171-74. A more recent attempt is that of Marc Reydellet, "La conception du souverain chez Isi-
dore de Seville," in Isidoriana, ed. Manuel C. Diaz y Diaz (Leon: Centro de Estúdios San Isidoro, 1961),
456-66. Reydellet notes that Isidore considered the Visigothic kings to be the legitimate successors of
the Roman emperors (p. 464), and that the kings were secular servants of the people, without any mysti-
cal significance whatsoever (p. 466).
Sententiae, 3.49.3. See also Historia GotKorum, 62, where Isidore relates that "Suintila gratia
divine regni suscepit sceptra."
^Sententiae. 3.50.4.
31On the influence of Old Testament kingship on Medieval theories of kingship, see Ullmann,
History of Political Thought, 38-58.
Reges a regendo vocati. This is one of Isidore's etymological explanations that explain what some-
thing is (or does) in terms of where its name comes from. Etymologiae, 9.3.4.
^Sententiae, 3.51.6, "Cognoscant principes saeculi Deo debere se rationem reddere propter Eccle-
siam, quam a Christo mendam suscipiunt. Nam sive augeatur pax et disciplina Ecdesiae per fidèles
principes, sive solvatur, ille ab eis rationem exiget, qui eorum potestati suam Ecdesiam credidit."

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 Jace T. Crouch: Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship 1 5

The first function of a king who ruled according to the divine plan was to pro-
vide justice in the realm.34 An environment wherein the strong and powerful
could triumph over the weak was not thought to be conducive to the curing of
souls. Further, the king was not supposed to provide justice merely through enforc-
ing just laws, but also by observing these just laws himself. Isidore writes: "They are
correctly called kings who know how to govern both themselves and their subjects
with proper rule.' Despite their position of power and authority above their fel-
lowman, kings were certainly not above the law in the divine scheme of things. He
continues: "It is just for the prince to obey his own laws, for when he himself shows
respect for his laws they will be deemed worthy to be held in respect by all," and
"the voice of their authority is just if they do not allow themselves to do that which
they forbid to their subjects/
The justice of a king had to be balanced by his piety, however, "for justice
alone is too severe." Witnessing piety to one's fellowman was one of the cardinal
tenets of Christianity, and Isidore argued that kings must proclaim their Christian
faith through the example of their lives.38 The king "upholds the royal dignity with
humble spirit; neither does he delight in iniquity nor burn with cupidity. Without
defrauding anyone he gives to the poor, and that which he could exact from the
people with just force, he forgives with merciful clemency."
A king was necessary to provide justice and mercy because man had fallen
from grace, and had a tendency to arrogance and evil ways. The church could min-
ister to correct these tendencies, but it had no commission to punish; this was the
function of the king. Isidore writes: "[Kingly] power is only needed... to enforce
through terror of punishment that which priests cannot effect through preaching
the word."41 Isidore devoted considerable time to justifying this aspect of royal
power, arguing that "often the heavenly kingdom is advanced through the earthly
kingdom when those within the Church [who] behave contrary to the faith and

3*Etymologiae, 9.3.6.
35Sententiae, 3.48.7, "Recto enim illi reges vocantur, qui tam semetipsos, quam subjectos, bene
regendo modificare noverunt"
36Sententiae, 3.51.1,2, "Justum est principem legibus suis. Tune enim jura sua ab omnibus custodi-
enda existimet, quando et ipse illie reverentiam praebet. Principes legibus teneri suis, neque in se posse
damnare jura quae in subjectis constituunt. Justa est enim voeis eorum auctoritas, si, quod populis pro-
hibent, sibi licere non potiantur."
^Etymologiae, 9.3.5, "Regiae virtutes praecipuae duae, justitia et pietas, plus autem in regibus lau-
datur pietas; nam justitiae per severa est"
38Sententiaet 3.51.3.
39Sententiae, 3.49.2, "Regni fastígio humili praesidet animo; non eum delectat iniquitas, non
inf lammat cupiditas; sine defraudatione alicujus ex paupere divitem facit, et quod justa potestate a pop-
ulis extorquere poterat, saepe misericordi dementia donat." In Historia Gothorum, 55-56, Isidore attrib-
uted these exact virtues to Reccared, whom he celebrates as a most perfect Christian king. In Historia
Gothorum, 64, he champions the same virtues in Suinthila, whose deposition he personally ratified in
633, amid accusations that Suinthila looted the poor.
*°On this ministerial function, see Ullmann, History of Political Thought, 81, 82.

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16 Mediterranean Studies Volume Four

discipline of the Church are subdued by the strength of princes, and that punish-
ment which the church in its humility is not permitted to exercise is then imposed
on the obstinacy of the proud by the power of princes/
Although the king had clearly defined duties to God and to his people, there
was no guarantee that the people would always have good kings. Generally speak-
ing, the Lord would reward a good people with a good king, and would subject an
evil people to the rule of a bad king. Isidore knew that even a good king, who
ruled in accordance with the divine plan, could err, but he believed that good kings
were naturally inclined to do justice, and that they would quickly repent of their
crimes once made aware of them.
Since kings were given their power by God in order to do His will on earth, it
only followed that God would remove a king who ruled contrary to the divine. Isi-
dore never said this explicitly, although he did write: "A ruler who acts correctly
keeps the name of king, but in doing wrong he loses it. Just how a king might
lose the throne Isidore did not ponder, but he noted repeatedly that when through
misrule the Visigothic kings lost the support of their fellow Goths, the Gothic
nobility rose up and overthrew the miscreant king. Nowhere did he imply that in
overthrowing their ruler the Goths did righteously, although he noted several
times that the unhappy fates of bad rulers had generally fit their crimes. Perhaps
in withholding direct approval of overthrowing a king, Isidore had in mind the
example of David, who did not assume the title of king while Saul was alive, nor
did he do harm to Saul when he had the opportunity, but instead allowed the Lord
to remove Saul in His own time. Perhaps Isidore realized as well that it would not
be wise to draw up in his writings an ideological blueprint for overthrowing the
king. The Gothic nobility had already demonstrated a propensity for rebellion;
they needed no theoretical justification that might encourage them to further rebel-
liousness.

In general, however, the Visigothic kings had not lived up to the standards
outlined by Isidore. He was not writing about how things were in the Visigothic

Sententiae, 3.51.4, "Principes saeculi nonnunquam intra Ecdesiam potestas adeptae culmina
tenent, ut per eamdem potestatem disciplinam ecclesiasticam muniant. Caeterum intra Ecclesiam
potestates necessariae non essent, nisi ut, quod non praevalet sacerdos efficere per doctrinae sermonem,
potestas hoc imperet per disciplinae terrorem."
Sententiae, 3.51.5, "Saepe per regnum terrenum coeleste regnum proficit, ut qui intra Ecclesiam
positi contra fidem et disciplinam Ecdesiae agunt, rigore principům conterantur; ipsamque disciplinam,
quam Ecdesiae humilitas exercere non praevalet, cervicibus superborum potestas principalis imponat; et
ut venerationem mereatur, virtute potestatis impertiat"
^Sententiae, 3.48.11.
^Sententiae, 3.49.4.
Etymologiae, 9.3.4, "Recte igitur faciendo regis nomen tenetur, peccando amittitur."
^Historia Gothorum, 44, 45-46, 58.
47I Sam. 19-31. Isidore may indeed have had this incident in mind; I Samuel 26:9 is quoted in
canon 75 of the Fourth Council of Toledo, which openly condemns violence against the king, admon-
ishing: "Who shall put forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and remain guiltless?" The famous
incident of David's refusing to kill Saul is in I Samuel, 24.

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 Jace T. Crouch: Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship 1 7

realm, but how they should be: the king should rule with justice, humility, and
clemency, and the king should support the welfare and mission of the church. This
blueprint for kingship not only portrayed an ideal Christian king, but also illus-
trated the sort of king that the Visigothic monarchs usually were not What Isidore
described was the sort of king that the Visigothic rulers should aspire to be, and
the sort of king that Hispania needed.
The Spanish bishops found themselves in a situation where they were ruled by
a line of Germanic kings whose original exemplar was the anti-Christian (or at least
anti-Nicene) military leadership of the pagan Athanaric.48 Yet the Lord had estab-
lished these Gothic kings in Spain as part of the divine plan. The bishops needed
to understand just exactly how these Gothic kings fit into the cosmological scheme
of things, and Isidore's theory of kingship helped to explain this. Once the
churchmen themselves understood the cosmic role of these Germanic kings, they
then had both to enlighten the kings about the proper role of kingship, and to con-
vince these Gothic monarchs to act according to the divine plan for a Christian
society. This is what Isidore tried to do.
Part of the task had already been accomplished. The Goths were at least Chris-
tian when they entered Spain, even if heretical. The Arians understood the tenets
of Judaeo-Christian morality, despite their unusual notions regarding the Trinity.
In 589 the Goths converted to Catholicism, largely because of the evangelical work
of Isidore's brother Leander. Isidore himself established Catholic schools in the
Gothic areas to educate Gothic clergy and laymen in their new faith. What
remained was to incorporate the kings structurally into the organism of the
church.50
As mentioned earlier, Isidore's most obvious attempt to complete the transfor-
mation of the kingship was through his writings. He devoted several sections of his
Sententiae to the proper role of kings in a Christian society, both as regards their
earthly actions and their cosmic duties. Passages that deal with kingship are fewer
in the Etymologiae, but they clearly enunciate the ministerial functions of kings.
Even in his Historia Gothorum Isidore championed kings whose rule was character-
ized by righteousness and concern for the spiritual welfare of their people. These
works were circulated in Isidore's lifetime among the higher clergy and at the royal

^Historia Gothorum, 5. According to Isidore, by the time Athanaric had assumed leadership of the
Goths (Isidore does not call him "king") Christianity had been preached to the Gothic people, and
many Goths were already Christians. Similarly, Alaric was elected king only after the Visigoths them-
selves had largely been Christianized. Among the Visigoths, Christianity preceded kingship, which may
have suggested to Isidore that the Gothic kingship was not a pagan institution.
49For an excellent discussion of this extremely difficult point, see Ullmann, Carolingian Renais-
sance, 43-71.
°Thus Ullmann, Carolingian Renaissance, 43, is in a somewhat different context
51 Isidore was to a large extent practicing a seventh-century variety of politically correct advocacy
journalism in his Historia Gothorum. He did not hesitate to gloss over, or omit entirely, information that
might undermine his theme of the latter-day "Visigothic rulers as God's Vicars, new Constantines." See
J. N. Hillgarth, "Historiography in Visigothic Spain," La storiografia altomedievale. Settimani di studio del
Centro italiano di studi sull'alto medioevo 17 (1970): 280. See esp. Hillgarth, "Coins and Chronicles."

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1 8 Mediterranean Studies Volume Four

court in Toledo. An early version of the Etymologiae was dedicated to King Sisebut
(612-621), as was the first version of the Historia Gothorum. A longer version of the
Historia Gothorum was dedicated to Suinthila. These works introduced Isidore's
notions of kingship to the intellectual elite of the Spanish church, and to the Visi-
gothic kings, and promoted his belief that the Visigothic regnum was the legitimate
successor of the Constantinian regnum. It is less certain that Isidore's ideas reached
the Gothic nobility, however, so the process of evangelizing the Goths about the
role and status of kings was only partially accomplished.
One does not change kingship by writing about it, however, and Isidore did
not limit his political activities to philosophical speculations buried deeply within
religious texts. The learned bishop of Seville was the close friend and principal
advisor of King Sisebut, evidently enjoying a relationship with Sisebut analogous to
that of Cassiodorus to Theodoric, Alcuin to Charlemagne, and Eriugena to
Charles the Bald. Isidore referred to Sisebut as filius, and, as a token of friend-
ship and out of respect for the king's learning, Isidore dedicated De Nátura Rerum
and several other writings to the king. Sisebut personally acknowledged receipt
of De Nátura Rerum, and dedicated a poem on the nature of eclipses to Isidore.
The relationship between these two men is worth examining.
Sisebut saw himself as the heir of both Reccared the Visigoth and Constantine
the Great, and was dedicated to the "reconstruction of the civil and religious life of
Visigothic Spain.' Paralleling this royal attitude, Isidore's historical works simi-
larly promoted the idea that the Visigothic realm was the legitimate successor of
the Constantinian realm, and that "the providential mantle with which Eusebius
of Caesarea and his successors had invested Byzantine emperors [had been trans-
ferred] to the Visigothic kings of Toledo.' Only one letter of Isidore's to Sisebut
has survived, but the various dedications and references to one another indicate
that there was much interaction between king and bishop.

52The Historia Gothorum apparently went through several redactions in Isidore's lifetime. The first
was dedicated to Sisebut, the second to Suinthila; see Hillgarth, "Historiography in Visigothic Spain,"
287-88.
"Fontaine, Isidore, 808-9.
De Nátura Rerum was dedicated to Sisebut, as were early versions of the Historia Gothorum and
the Etymologiae.
55 A critical edition of this poem appears in Jacques Fontaine's edition of Isidore's De Nátura
Rerum, Traité de la Nature (Bordeaux: Feret et Fils, 1960). Sisebut also wrote a biography of St.
Desiderus, which has survived. For a recent discussion of this unusual biography, see Fontaine, "Sise-
but"
56Fontaine, "Sisebut," 97.
57J. N. Hillgarth, "Isidore of Seville," in Dictionary of the Middle Ages (New York: Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons, 1985). On this point, see especially Marc Reydellet, "Les intentions idéologiques et poli-
tiques dans la Chronique d'Isidore de Seville," Mélanges d'archaeologie et d'histoire de l'École Française de
Rome, 82 (1970), 363-400; H. J. Dienser, Isidor von Sevilla und seine Zeit (Stuttgart: Calwer Verlag,
1973).

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 Jace T. Crouch: Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship 19

Sisebut appears to have taken many of Isidore's admonitions to heart, for not
only did he attempt to promote learning and dispel superstition in the realm, but
he was remembered both in Spain (where one would expect it) and in Francia
(where one would not), not only as a great warrior, but as a pious, just, and merciful
ruler. Further, Sisebut echoes in one of his letters the Isidorian notion that he
must render an account to God for evils that occurred during his reign. Thus
there is evidence that Sisebut and Isidore were active collaborators in what Fon-
taine calls the "renaissance Isidorienne,w and that Isidore's attempt to transform his
political theories into political realities had some positive consequence.
In addition to his close working relationship with Sisebut, Isidore interacted
with other Visigothic monarchs as well. As early as 610 Isidore had traveled to
Toledo to attend Gundemar's regional council, evidently in support of the Dec-
return Gundemari. Isidore affixed his signature immediately after that of the king.
Not only did he journey from Seville to the Fourth Council of Toledo in December
633, but Isidore's letters to Braulio of Saragossa indicate that he traveled from
Seville to Toledo at least two other times during the reign of Sisenand, each time at
the king's request.62 Aware of the interaction between Isidore and the Visigothic
kings, in 625 Braulio openly asked Isidore to use his influence with Suinthila, and
in 632 with Sisenand.63 Thus despite the paucity of documents from this period,
there is evidence that Isidore maintained an influential relationship with no less
than four Gothic kings.
It is surely no accident that Isidore's Historia Gothorum is full of praise for both
Sisebut and Suinthila.65 They were the kings with whom he had worked most
closely, and upon whom his influence was perhaps most effective. In the Historia

58Fredegar, who is otherwise quite hostile to the Visigoths, remarks of Sisebut that he was "a wise
and most pious man" who "fought bravely," was merciful to his vanquished enemies, and extended
Visigothic rule "from the sea to the Pyrenees." Fredegar, 4.33. See also Fontaine, "Sisebut," 97-101;
Fontaine, Isidore, 863-88.
59Letter to Caesarius, ed. W. Grundlach, Monumento, Germaniae Historka, Epistolae Merowingici et
Karolini Aevi, Tomus 1, Epistolae Wisigothicae 4.18-21 (p. 665).
60On the other hand, Sisebut's persecution of the Jews, especially the forced conversions that
occurred during his reign, were offensive to Isidore. In the long version of the Historia GotKorum, Isi-
dore speaks out against this practice, noting that it was not done out of wisdom. Historia Gothorum, 60.
6lDecretum Gundemari, in J. Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova et Amplíssima Collectio (Florence,
1759-98; rpt, Graz, Austria: Akademische Druck-U. Varlagsanstalt, 1960), 10:510B-512D. Isidore lent
support to Gundemar's efforts to make Toledo the episcopal seat of Carthagenensis, noting "dum in
urbem Toletanam oro occursu reeio advenissem."
62Barlow, Braulio of Saragossa, letters 4 and 6, which seem to refer to two separate journeys. If
letter 6 refers to a trip in late 632 or early 633, then Isidore would have made another journey to Toledo
in December, when IV Toledo convened, unless, of course, he remained in Toledo the entire year.
63Barlow, Braulio of Saragossa, letters 3 and 5. In letter 5, Braulio more than implies that Isidore's
"own methods" included both flattery and loud criticism, in addition to patristic citations and scrip-
tural arguments.
^That is, Gundemar, Sisebut, Suinthila, and Sisenand.
65Historia Gothorum, 60-65.

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20 Mediterranean Studies Volume Four

Gothorum Sisebut and Suinthila appeared as near-ideal Christian kings: they were
victorious in war against those who would disturb the peace of the kingdom; they
promoted justice; they were merciful; they were good Christian men; and the realm
prospered under their rule. That is, these kings exemplified the royal virtues that
Isidore championed in the Sententiae and the Etymologiae. Nowhere in his writings
did Isidore imply that the virtue of these monarchs was due solely to his own influ-
ence, but it is reasonable to assume that in his capacity as advisor Isidore contrib-
uted to what he perceived as their general excellence.
One could argue, of course, that Isidore was merely one of many advisors to
the kings, and that his political thought merely reflects ideas current in the Visi-
gothic realm and elsewhere in the early medieval west. The kings may indeed have
had many advisors, but the evidence cited earlier indicates that Isidore was the
most respected of these advisors, at least among those who were churchmen. In
fact, most of the Visigothic monarchs from this period seem to have relied upon a
prominent churchman as their principal advisor. Isidore's brother Leander had
been the foremost advisor of the rebel king Hermenegild, and he even traveled to
Constantinople in an attempt to rally Byzantine support for Hermenegilďs Catho-
lic insurrection. Leander later became the principal advisor of King Reccared.
After Isidore's death, the Visigothic kings all had prominent churchmen as their
political and spiritual advisors. These churchmen played an active role in both
religious and secular issues. In fact, the political activity of clerics in the Visi-
gothic realm was such that one historian has called seventh-century Visigothic
Spain "a priest-ridden kingdom."70 In short, the political activity of prominent cler-

66These laudatory remarks need not be considered mere praise for a reigning monarch. Historia
Gothorum went through several redactions, as mentioned above. The first version, published in Sisebut's
lifetime, praised the king in the terms mentioned above. The second version treated with the death of
Sisebut, offered high praise to Suinthila, but said nothing to defame the memory of Sisebut aside from
condemning his policy of forcibly converting Jews to Christianity. The final redaction, completed at the
beginning of Sisenand's reign, deleted the laudatory dedication to Suinthila, added a note that Sisebut
may have been poisoned through immoderate use of medicine, but once again added nothing defama-
tory to the memory of Sisebut or Suinthila, despite the fact that Suinthila had only recently been
deposed by Sisenand himself. Isidore may in fact merely have been keeping up the reputation of his
"protégés," but there were men living in 631 (the earliest date for the third redaction of the text), who
undoubtedly remembered the reigns of Sisebut and Suinthila, and it is doubtful that Isidore could have
lied outright about their characters with impunity.
Thompson, Goths in Spain, 66.
68Braulio of Saragossa and Eugene I and II of Toledo under Kings Chintila, Tulga, and Chindas-
vinth (636-672), Hildephonse of Toledo under King Reccesvinth (649-672), Julian of Toledo under
Wamba and Erwig (672-687), and Felix and Gunderic of Toledo under the last Gothic kings (687-71 1).
Ziegler, Church and State, 46-50.
Ziegler, Church and State, 46-50. See also King, Law and Society, 122-58; Thompson, Goths in
Spain, 275-319.
Henry Bradley, The Goths, from the Earliest Times to the End of the Gothic Dominion in Spain (New
York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1903), 333-41. This is a popular work, characterized not only by much
romanticism, but also by a pronounced anti-Catholic bias.

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 Jace T. Crouch: Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship 21

ics both before and after Isidore's lifetime, considered together with the evidence
concerning Isidore's relationship with Sisebut and Sisenand, indicates that Isidore
was not merely one advisor among many, but the most prominent advisor of the
realm.
Isidore was active at a crucial point in Visigothic history. In the early seventh
century the Gothic kings were turning increasingly to the church and to church-
men in an attempt to solidify their position as monarchs against a turbulent Gothic
nobility. The Gothic nobility may have been rebellious, but it was small. The
church was not only much larger, ultimately constituting the entire Christian popu-
lation of the realm, but it was powerful as well. The ecclesiastical community could
use the teaching authority of the clergy, as proclaimed from the pulpit, to promote
the king's welfare, and use the church's corrective and penitential authority to
punish his enemies. The king needed the active support of the church in order to
retain the allegiance of the Hispano-Roman population, and the church needed a
king who was aware of his ministerial functions as regards cure of souls. As they
cooperated ever more closely during the seventh century the monarchy and the
church constituted something of a common front against the Gothic aristocracy,
the turbulence of which both king and church sought to curb. The kings had been
pursuing such a policy more or less since the time of Reccared, but the events of
the early seventh century impelled the Visigothic monarchs to accelerate the pro-
cess.

Isidore's hand in this process of church-state amalgamation is e

His writings on the nature of kingship certainly demonstrate t
cerned with the problems of the realm. His close association wit
Suinthila, as well as his mission on behalf of Gundemar, suggest
fested his concern for the realm by serving as the friend and advi
kings. Nonetheless, much remains ephemeral. The proofs thus far
more logical or inferential than unequivocal. With the events of
ever, the argument for Isidore's active participation in the polit
becomes much stronger.
In 631, Suinthila was overthrown by a rebellion of the Go
Although earlier in his reign Isidore had praised him as a just and
ing him the father of the poor, in later years Suinthila became av
handed towards the nobility.71 The rebellion was led by Sisenand
who called in the Franco-Burgundian troops of Dagobert I for m
port.72 That Sisenand needed foreign mercenaries to overthrow S
that the Gothic army initially backed the reigning king, but litt

71Fredegar, 4.73.
72Sisenand was governor of Septimania, and the rebellion began in Narbonne.

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22 Mediterranean Studies Volume Four

about the beginnings of the revolt. The Gothic army evidently surrendered without
a fight, and even Suinthila's brother Geila went over to Sisenanďs cause. Per-
haps the unfortunate ruler failed to heed Isidore's admonition to rule within the
law, and the ever-dissident Visigothic nobility was unwilling to tolerate further dep-
redations. In any event, Suinthila was deposed (although not killed), and
Sisenand seized the Spanish throne.
In 633 Sisenand called the bishops of the realm together for a national coun-
cil, the Fourth Council of Toledo. Evidently he felt insecure on the throne he had
so recently usurped. Whatever the reason for this insecurity, he turned to the
church for support. The bishops assembled in Toledo, under the presidency of Isi-
dore of Seville, and in late December King Sisenand convened the Fourth Council
of Toledo. At the opening of the council Sisenand appeared before Isidore and the
assembled bishops, accompanied by "the most illustrious and noble men of the
kingdom, [and] prostrated himself on the ground before the priests of God, and
with tears and groans he asked the bishops to intercede for him with God." He
may have been merely asking for forgiveness after his violent usurpation of the
throne, but modern scholars agree that he was seeking instead (or perhaps in addi-
tion) the formal support of the church for what must have been a troubled
throne.78
Isidore and the other assembled bishops were willing to offer Sisenand the
support he needed, and they devoted the seventy-fifth canon of the proceedings
exclusively to politico-religious matters. Canon 75 left no doubt that Sisenand was
the lawful ruler of Spain, and that he had the full support of the Church. Canon
75 was also the most detailed statement of the sacral nature of Visigothic kingship
that had thus far appeared in the realm. The canon dealt with topics ranging from
the divine institution of kingship to the king's ministerial duties. The canon
addressed all of the major problems facing the Visigothic monarchy and offered
solutions to each of them, solutions whereby the role of the monarchy and the sanc-
tity of the ruler were defined and protected by canon law.
That the bishops realized the political power the church held in the Visigothic
realm is implicit in the opening sentence of the canon: the council of bishops was

73Fredegar, 4.73.
Thompson, Goths in Spain, 170-72.
75Fredegar, 4.73.
For a detailed discussion of the Fourth Council of Toledo and political circumstances surround-
ing this epochal council, see Thompson, Goths in Spain, 172-80.
Hie quippe dum in basilica beatissimae et sanctae martyris Leocadiae omnium nostrum pariter
jam coetus adesset, tali pro mérito fidei suae cum magnificentissimis et nobilissimis vir ingressus
primům coram sacerdotibus Dei humo prostratus cum lacrymis et gemitibus pro se interveniendum
Deo postulavit," PL 84.363d-364d. The canons of the Fourth Council of Toledo are conveniently
assembled in PL 84.363-390.
^Thompson, Goths in Spain, 174-76, who posits that there may have been a widespread rebellion
against Sisenand during the 632 and 633 campaign seasons.

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 Jace T. Crouch: Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship 23

assembled "for strengthening our king and giving stability to the race of the
Goths/ The church attempted to accomplish this through using its strongest
weapon: the power to excommunicate or anathematize. The lengthy central passage
of canon 75 was devoted to a detailed condemnation of those who presumed to
usurp the kingdom for themselves and establish a tyranny (presumably Sisenand
squirmed when he heard this). All who planned, attempted, or succeeded in doing
so were declared anathema to God the Father and His angels, anathema to Christ
and His apostles, and anathema to the Holy Spirit and the martyrs of Christ They
had profaned the holy Catholic Church with their perjury, since they had violated
their oath of allegiance to the king, and they were therefore canonically alienated
from Holy Communion and the fellowship of Christians. They justly had that por-
tion which was allotted to the demons and the fallen angels. They were declared to
be anathema maranatha, they were damned in the advent of the Lord, and they
were compared to Judas Iscariot.
That these powerful imprecations did not apply to Sisenand is evident in the
next passage: King Suinthila was declared formally deposed; he and his family were
to be deprived of their property and were to be sent into exile. The implication
was that, however Suinthila happened to have lost the throne, it had been in accor-
dance with God's will and in punishment for his wrongful deeds. Sisenand was
now the legitimate king, and that was that.
Sisenand himself seems to have been given a special status in the realm, and is
implicitly referred to as the Lord's anointed one. After a series of maledictions
against those who would assault the king, the bishops cautioned that "the Lord
said: 'Touch ye not my anointed one,'" and "who shall put forth his hand against
the Lord's anointed one and remain guiltless?' This is the earliest evidence that
Visigothic kings were anointed in their kingship, and it may indicate that Sisenand
was in fact the first Gothic king to receive this sacramental. Although his account
of the Catholic kings of Spain is detailed regarding the religiosity of each ruler
through Suinthila, Isidore does not refer to any of them as having been anointed.
A passage in the Etymohgiae indicates that anointing of the king was not practiced
in Visigothic Spain prior to 620. Evidently anointing was introduced sometime
between 620 and 633. Numismatic evidence also suggests that Sisenand was the

79PL 84.383c, "Pro robore nostrorum regum et stabilitate gentis Gothorum."

*°PL 84.384c-385c.
81 PL 84.386b.
PL 84.384b, "Dominus dicat: 'Nolite tangere christos meos'; et David: 'Quis/ iniquit, 'extendet
manum suam in christum Dominei et innocens erit?"1 The Biblical passages quoted are Psalms 104:15
and I Samuel 26:9, respectively. The latter quotation, the bishops cannily pointed out, was from David
himself.
Although there is no doubt that the later Visigothic kings were anointed (Chindasvinth-Achila
II), there is a considerable literature on which a Visigothic was the first to be anointed. For a brief dis-
cussion on the topic and a bibliographic guide to secondary literature, see King, Law and Society, 48n. 5.

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24 Mediterranean Studies Volume Four

first Visigothic monarch to receive sacramental unction. He issued a series of coins,

all minted at Mentesa, which clearly show him displaying a cross on his forehead.
This peculiar coin type does not appear under any other Gothic king. Taken in
concert with the references to "the Lord's anointed" in canon 75, this coin type
may represent the institution of royal unction as first applied to the forehead of
King Sisenand.
Although it is not certain whether or not the Visigothic kings themselves
swore oaths of office upon ascending to the throne, canon 75 makes it explicit that
Visigothic nobles and churchmen swore oaths of allegiance to Sisenand. The
churchmen repeatedly admonished against breaking one's oath of fidelity to the
king: it was sacrilege not only against the king, but also against God, in whose
name these oath-breakers had promised fidelity. "If we wish to escape divine
wrath and to turn His severity to mercy," the council enacted, "let us honor the
oath of fidelity that we have made to our princes." Those who violated their oath
to the king or who perjured themselves through swearing falsely were declared
anathema, and cut off from all hope of salvation.88
The canon protected not only the king himself, but offered surety to the
Gothic nobility that their position in the realm would continue to be recognized.
The church would accept no king, for example, who was not of the Gothic race.89
Further, the role of the Gothic nobility in choosing the king was canonically estab-
lished: "When the king has died peacefully," Isidore and the bishops resolved, "let
all the great princes of the Goths assemble together with the bishops, and by
common consent let them choose a successor to the realm." The Visigothic mon-
archy had been elective from the earliest times, but this was the first instance in
which election was canonically mandated. Further, and perhaps most importantly,
this was the first instance in the Visigothic realm (perhaps the first instance in
Europe) wherein the church assumed a formal role in the election of kings. Not
only was the church incorporating the institution of kingship into its own ecclesias-
tical program for society; it was also canonically inserting itself into the most
important political process of the realm.

Miles, Coinage of the Visigoths, from Leovigild to Achila U, 305, plate 18.3, American Numismatic
Society coin no. HSA 16396. The portrait is a facing bust type, a variant of Miles' type 5g.
In cataloguing bust types Miles, Coinage of the Visigoths, 59, notes that Sisebut issued a similar
coin, bust type 5g, but Miles does not include the coin in his general catalog, list it separately under Sise-
but, or include an illustration.
86PL 84.384a.
87PL 84.384b, "Quod si divinam iracundiam vitare volumus et severitatem ejus ad dementiam
provocare cupimis, servemus erga Deum religionis cultum atque timorem et usque in mortem custodia-
mus erga principes nostros pollicitam fidem atque sponsionem."
88PL 84.384d-385c.
89PL 84.384d.
PL 84.384c, "Defuncto in pace principe primatus totius gentiis cum sacerdotibus successorem
regni consilio communi constituant." Canon 75's decree regarding the royal succession seems parti-
cularly to have been disregarded. In this context, Thompson, Goths in Spain, 1 80, has noted that "of all

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 Jace T. Crouch: Isidore of Seville and the Evolution of Kingship 25

Having thus worked to strengthen the kingship, the assembled bishops, led by
Isidore, admonished the king to "be mild and moderate towards your subjects, and
rule with justice and piety the people who are entrusted to you by God. Render
just recompense to Christ, He who has established you, reigning with humility of
heart and virtuous deeds."92 If Sisenand or any of his successors ruled otherwise,
they were to be declared anathema. This caveat reminded the king that he had
duties as well as rights as king, and that the Lord would call him into account for
his guardianship of the church and people of the realm, a point that had been
made much earlier by Isidore. This caveat also implied that the king could be
called to account by the church, acting as the earthly representative of God, for ulti-
mately it was the earthly church, led by the Spanish bishops, who would pronounce
any necessary anathema.
All of these resolutions, pronouncements, and admonitions regarding the
institution of kingship were designed to enhance the political stability of the realm.
The bishops canonically legislated regarding succession to the throne, and gave the
condemnation of the church to those who would undermine the king in any way.
The council then proceeded to define kingship in terms that were wholly Isi-
dorean. The remaining text of canon 75 reads like a summation of Isidore's polit-
ico-religious writings, and parallels them in conception, in presentation, and in
language.
The Visigothic kings were recognized as having been established in their rule
by God, in accordance with His divine plan, a point long argued by Isidore. In
their capacity as kings, the Visigothic monarchs had duties to God and to their
people, another point insisted upon by Isidore. He argued in Sententiae 3.51.6
that "He who has entrusted His Church to their power will exact from them an
account/ a theme echoed in canon 75. Just as Isidore posited that "there are two
principal virtues in kings, justice and piety," canon 75 argued that the king
should rule "with justice and piety the people entrusted to [him] by God." In
ruling, Isidore insisted, a king "who correctly uses the royal power establishes the

the remaining kings of the seventh century, Wamba alone was properly elected by the nobility and the
bishops in accordance with the ruling of the Fourth Council." Hillgarth, "Position of Isidorian Stud-
ies," 881 , notes that canon 75 "hardly ever affected later royal successions."
The phrase "justice and piety" parallels Isidores's "justitia et pietas" in Eťymolojřiae, 9.3.4.
PL 84.385d, "Te quoque praesentem regem futurosque aetatum sequentium principes humili-
tate que debemus deposcimus, ut moderati et mites erga subjectos existentes cum justitia et pietate pop-
ulos a Deo vobis créditos regatis, bonamque vicissitudinem qui vos constituit largitori Christo
respondeatis, régnantes in humilitate cordis cum studio bonae actionis."
93PL 84.386a.
^Sententiae 3.51.6.
95Sententiae 3.49.3; 3.50.4; 3.51.6.
96Etymologiae 9.3.4; Sententiae 3.48.7; 3.49.2; 3.49.4; 3.51.4-6.
Sententiae 3.51.6, "Ille ab eis rationem exiget, qui eorum potestati suam Ecclesiam credidit"
Etymologiae 9.3.5, "Regiae virtutes praecipuae duae, justitia et pietas."
"PL 84.385d, "Cum justitia et pietate populos a Deo vobis créditos regatis."

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26 Mediterranean Studies Volume Four

form of justice in deeds rather than in words.... He bears the royal dignity with
humble spirit/'100 and should take an example from the humility of David.101
This, too, recalls canon 75, which admonished king Sisenand to reign "in humility
of heart and through virtuous deeds/
Clearly, Isidore was the guiding spirit behind this canon, and it reflects every-
thing he ever wrote concerning the institution of kingship. The canon defined
kingship in exactly the terms Isidore had outlined in his earlier writings, and
brought the monarchy and church together in a way that had previously existed
only in theory. Even Isidore's previous association with Sisebut and Suinthila was
not so politically important as was this dear statement of Isidorian political ideol-
ogy, now given the force of canon law. Coming as it did near the end of his life, the
Fourth Council of Toledo was a fitting culmination of Isidore's years of labor in
Visigothic Spain.

l00Sententiae 3.49.2, "Qui recte utitur regni potestate formam justitiae factis magis quam verbis
instituit. ... regni fastígio humili praesidet animo."
iU1Sententiae 3.67.1.
W1PL 84.385d, "Regnantes in humilitate cordis cum studio bonae actionis."
103Canon 67 of IV Toledo {PL 84.379d-380a) also shows influence of Isidore by legislating against
the forced conversion of Jews to Christianity. Isidore opposed forced conversions, and had criticised
Sisebut for such harsh measures in Historia Got/iorum 60.

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