The ''Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum'' ("History of the Kings of the Goths, Vandals and Suevi") is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

history of the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...

from 265 to 624, written by

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...

. It is a condensed account and, due to its diverse sources, somewhat inconsistent. The history of the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

is appended after that of the Goths, followed by a separate history of the

Suevi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...

. Isidore begins his history with a prologue, ''Laus Spaniae'', praising the virtues of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. It is here that he invents the phrase ''mater Spania'' (mother Spain). The rest of the work elaborates and defends the Gothic identity of a unified Spain. Isidore uses the

Spanish era The Spanish era ( la, Æra Hispanica), sometimes called the era of Caesar, was a calendar era (year numbering system) commonly used in the states of the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th century until the 15th, when it was phased out in favour of the ...

for dating throughout. The main source for his early history was

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

's continuation of

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

to the year 378. From there he used primarily

Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in ''Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), t ...

(to 417) and, for Spain,

Hydatius Hydatius, also spelled Idacius (c. 400 – c. 469) was a late Western Roman writer and clergyman. The bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia (almost certainly the modern Chaves, Portugal, in the modern district of Vila Real), he ...

(to 469). For his later history he relies on

Prosper Tiro Prosper of Aquitaine ( la, Prosper Aquitanus; – AD), a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle. Life Prosper was a native of Aquitaine, and may have been educated at ...

's continuation of Jerome (405–53).

Victor of Tununa Victor of Tunnuna (Latin ''Victor Tunnunensis'') (died 570) was Bishop of the North African town of Tunnuna and a chronicler from Late antiquity. He was also considered a martyr by Isidore of Seville. What little information we have on his life i ...

is his primary African witness for the years 444 to 566 and John of Biclar for recent Spanish history (565–90). Isidore also made use of a partially lost chronicle of

Maximus of Zaragoza Maximus was the first Visigothic bishop of Zaragoza (Hispania) in 592–619. He was also a theologian and historian. He succeeded Simplicius of Zaragoza as Bishop and was influential in the conversion of the Visigothic Kings to Catholicism. He ...

. For events in Spain between 590 and 624 Isidore is the modern historian's primary source. The ''Historia'' was composed in two versions, both surviving. The first, completed probably in 619, the year of the death of king

Sisebut Sisebut ( la, Sisebutus, es, Sisebuto; also ''Sisebuth'', ''Sisebur'', ''Sisebod'' or ''Sigebut'') ( 565 – February 621) was King of the Visigoths and ruler of Hispania and Septimania from 612 until his death. Biography He campaigned succe ...

, is shorter. The longer version was probably completed in 624, in the fifth year of the reign of

Suinthila Suintila, or ''Suinthila'', ''Swinthila'', ''Svinthila''; (ca. 588 – 633/635) was Visigothic King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia from 621 to 631. He was a son of Reccared I and his wife Bado, and a brother of the general Geila. Under Suintil ...

. Only the longer version contains the ''Laus Spaniae'' and the ''Laus Gothorum'', a eulogy of the Goths, which divides the Goths' history (to the reign of Suinthila) from that of the Vandals. The edition of the longer version by

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th centur ...

is the standard and was the basis of the first English translation. The ''Historia'' was previously translated into German.D. Coste, trans. ''Isidors Geschichte der Goten, Vandalen, Sueven'' (Leipzig: 1910).

References

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External links

Translation of the work by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
7th-century history books 7th-century Latin books Medieval Latin histories