DOCSLIB.ORG

IBERIAN IDENTITIES: ISIDORE in CONTEXT the Elites of the Western

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
IBERIAN IDENTITIES: ISIDORE in CONTEXT the Elites of the Western CHAPTER TWO IBERIAN IDENTITIES: ISIDORE IN CONTEXT The elites of the western provinces of the Roman Empire came to terms with the end of Roman rule in many different ways. Strategies varied from outright resistance to the barbarian takeover to complete acceptance of the new political dispensation, although the vast majority of people fell somewhere between these two extremes. Responses varied across time and space. Intransigence and resistance waned as it became clear that the central Roman government was on the way out and was not likely to return any time soon. Regions which had only been loosely integrated into the empire departed from Roman commonwealth with little fuss, while those provinces which had experienced greater levels of Romanisation and its associated benefits were more resistant to change. Provincial elites realised relatively quickly that the barbarians were peo- ple with whom they could do business. The barbarian peoples who took over the former provinces of the Western Roman Empire had lived in the shadow of the empire for a long time and wished to benefit economically, socially and culturally from continued contact and interaction with local elites. Both sides could survive and hopefully prosper by working together. Apart from the super-rich and those who were politically and socially con- nected, and therefore had the option of relocating either temporarily or permanently to a second Rome, Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, few people could realistically consider disassociat- ing themselves entirely from the new situation.1 In the overwhelming majority of cases, therefore, the response to the barbarian takeover was one of positive adaptation. Elites and non elites had to make do and mend in political, social and religious terms if they were to survive and prosper.2 Within a few decades of the end of Roman government in the West, the barbarian kingdoms were the only political power in living memory. Roman control lay in the past and any likelihood of its return lay in a remote future. Scholars are gradually beginning to unpick how the secular 1 Brown (1984), 27–30; Mathisen (1984). Copyright © 2012. BRILL. All rights reserved. © 2012. BRILL. All Copyright 2 Jones (2009); Wickham (2005), 153–258; Amory (1997); Mathisen (1993). Wood, J. (2012). Politics of identity in visigothic spain : Religion and power in the histories of isidore of seville. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from cuhk-ebooks on 2019-08-25 05:47:00. 24 chapter two and religious leaders of Spain fit into these broader patterns. The Spanish experience of resistance, reconciliation and accommodation to the end of Roman governance and the eventual takeover by the Visigoths is poten- tially highly significant for comprehending how the post-Roman political world came to take on its distinctive shape. An awareness of this context is essential if we are to understand why Isidore depicted such transforma- tions in the ways that he did. It is important here that we do not forget the ‘feedback loop’ which existed between representation and reality. Isidore’s historical works attempted simultaneously to represent and explain what he thought had gone on in previous centuries and to influence other people’s perceptions of that past.3 As we shall see in later chapters, he did so in order to accrue particular political, social and pastoral benefits in the present. This chapter outlines the historical context from which Isidore emerged. By surveying what recent scholarship has said about the periods about which Isidore was writing we can gain interesting insights into how and why Isidore presented history in the ways that he did. Furthermore, through situating Isidore within his social and historical world we are bet- ter able to discern and then to comprehend the interventions that he made in that world. It is especially important to examine the period from the fourth- to early-seventh-centuries because it was for this era that Isidore expended most effort on moulding and remoulding his accounts of the past. As I noted in the Introduction, there is a significant risk, in the absence of alternative narrative sources, of adopting Isidore’s account of Visigothic history in a somewhat circular fashion. This chapter aims to use a range of source materials to overcome this potential limitation. I attempt to con- struct a more rounded view of the fifth- and sixth-centuries as a corrective to uncritical acceptance of Isidore’s teleology of Visigothic royal supremacy in Spain. The chapter demonstrates that both Spanish and Visigothic history in this period were typified by disunity and a lack of centralised control. Yet Isidore’s histories of the Visigoths and of Spain paint a very different pic- ture. Isidore presented the kings and bishops for whom he was writing with a much more unified past than had actually been the case. He papered over Visigothic revolts and Spanish heresies and replaced them with strong 3 For history-writing as a method for explaining rapid success in the context of the Copyright © 2012. BRILL. All rights reserved. © 2012. BRILL. All Copyright Islamic conquests see Sizgorich (2004). Wood, J. (2012). Politics of identity in visigothic spain : Religion and power in the histories of isidore of seville. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from cuhk-ebooks on 2019-08-25 05:47:00. iberian identities: isidore in context 25 kings and an illustrious orthodox church. But we can only see these histo- riographical interventions clearly if we first understand the context in which Isidore worked. From ‘Goths’ to ‘Visigoths’ The early origins of the group that came to be known as the ‘Visigoths’ remain unclear.4 By the mid-third-century groups which our Roman sources describe as ‘Gothi’ were making their presence felt north of the Danube frontier. Gothic forces raided imperial territory in 238 and 251 and attacked the Balkans and the northern shores of Asia Minor in the 260s and 270s. These inroads were not curtailed until the victories of emperors such as Claudius Gothicus (r. 268–270) in the late-third-century.5 The archaeological record of the areas where these Goths were settled suggests a relatively common material culture – known as the Sîntana de Mureş-Černjachov Culture – across large parts of south-eastern Europe.6 This culture is characterised by a mixture of different ethnic and cultural strands. Large amounts of Roman pottery and coinage has been found at some of the sites which have been ascribed to the Sîntana de Mureş- Černjachov Culture, supporting the proposition that there was a significant amount of contact across the Roman frontier. There is ample textual and epigraphic evidence for Gothic troops serving in the Roman military across the empire.7 Most of the contemporary evidence for the Goths draws heavily on Greek and Roman ethnographic stereotypes about barbarians. An excep- tion to this pattern in the case of the Goths is the Passion of St. Saba the Goth, an account in Greek of the trials and eventual execution of Saba, a Gothic martyr of the late-fourth-century. It is narrated in the form of a let- ter from the church in Gothic territory to the churches of Cappadocia and elsewhere.8 Although the text draws heavily on the traditions of Geek mar- tyrologies and the Greek New Testament, it also reveals much about com- munity life in a Gothic village beyond the Danube. It includes significant 4 Peter Heather is the scholar who has done perhaps the most work on this topic in recent decades, Heather (1996), (1991); see also Croke (1987); Wolfram (1988); Christensen (2002); Kulikowski (2007); Thompson (2008). 5 For the Gothic invasions of the third-century see Wolfram (1988), 43–57. 6 Heather and Matthews (1991), 47–95; Heather (1996), 18–25. 7 Heather (1996), 59, 62; (1991), 108–115. Copyright © 2012. BRILL. All rights reserved. © 2012. BRILL. All Copyright 8 Heather and Matthews (1991), 102. Wood, J. (2012). Politics of identity in visigothic spain : Religion and power in the histories of isidore of seville. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from cuhk-ebooks on 2019-08-25 05:47:00. 26 chapter two details about the efforts of tribal authorities to impose a persecution against the wishes of the village community.9 The text suggests the existence of royal and aristocratic elites that retained a significant degree of separation from the day-to-day life of the community they ruled. Our knowledge of the Gothic leadership is patchy for this period. In the Gothic language leaders were called reiks, which is often translated as the equivalent of Latin ‘rex’ (king or monarch), although a better translation might be ‘leader of men’ or ‘distinguished man’.10 This title was probably informal, representing an acquired rather than a formal rank that was passed down the generations. The Romans referred to the leaders of the fourth-century Gothic confederation as ‘judges’. It is thus highly likely that the Goths had quite a complicated and fragmented leadership structure.11 The Goths adhered to a form of Germanic paganism until groups of them were converted to Christianity in the early-fourth-century, possibly under the influence of captives who had been taken from Roman territory during raids. The effect of these conversions was to align some of the population more closely with the empire. There were at least two persecutions of Christians in Gothic lands in the fourth-century (in 347/8 and the 370s), possibly as part of an effort to resist increasing Roman influence and rein- force loyalty to the traditional religion. Ulfila (d. 381–383), the most influential Gothic Christian of the fourth- century, was appointed as a bishop under the Arian Emperor Constantius II (r.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Achila, Visigothic King, 34 Acisclus, Córdoban Martyr, 158 Adams
    Index ; Achila, Visigothic king, 34 Almodóvar del Río, Spain, 123–24 Acisclus, Córdoban martyr, 158 Almonacid de la Cuba, Spain, 150. See Adams, Robert, 21 also Dams Aemilian, St., 160 Alonso de la Sierra, Juan, 97 Aerial photography, 40, 82 Amalaric, Visigothic king, 29–30, 132, Aetius, Roman general, 173–75 157 Africa, 4, 21–23; and amphorae, 116, Amber, 114 137, 187, 196; and ARS, 46, 56, 90, Ammianus Marcellinus, Roman histo- 99, 187; and Byzantine reconquest, rian, 166, 168 30; and ‹shing, 103; and olive oil, Amphorae, 43, 80, 199–200; exported 88, 188; and Roman army, 114, 127, from Spain, 44, 97–98, 113, 115–16, 166; and trade, 105, 141; and Van- 172; kilns, 61–62, 87–90, 184; from dals, 27–28, 97, 127, 174 North Africa, 129, 187. See also African Red Slip (ARS) pottery, 101, Kilns 147, 186–87, 191, 197; de‹nition, 41, Anderson, Perry, 5 43, 44, 46; and site survival, 90, Andujar, Spain, 38, 47, 63 92–95, 98–99; and trade, 105–6, 110, Annales, 8, 12, 39 114, 116, 129, 183 Annona: disruption by Vandals, 97, Agde, council of, 29, 36, 41 174; to Roman army, 44, 81, 114–17; Agglomeration, 40–42, 59, 92 to Rome, 23, 27, 44, 81, 113; under Agila, Visigothic king, 158–59. See Ostrogoths, 29, 133. See also Army also Athanagild Antioch, Syria, 126 Agrippa, Roman general, 118 Anti-Semitism, 12, 33. See also Jews Alans, 24, 26, 27, 34, 126, 175 Antonine Itinerary, 152 Alaric, Visigothic king, 2, 5, 26–27 Apuleius, Roman writer, 75–76, 122 Alaric II, Visigothic king, 29–30 Aqueducts, 119, 130, 134, 174–75 Alcalá del Río, Spain, 40, 44, 93, 123, Aquitaine, France, 2, 27, 45, 102 148 Arabs, 33–34, 132–33, 137.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae
    CURRICULUM VITAE ALBERTO FERREIRO (October 2009) Address: Seattle Pacific University Department of History Seattle, WA 98119-1997 [email protected] (e-mail) 1-206-281-2939 (phone) 1-206-281-2771 (fax) Birthdate: 19 April, 1952, Mexico City, D.F. Education: Ph.D. 1986 University of California-Santa Barbara M. A. 1979 University of Texas-Arlington B. A. 1977 University of Texas-Arlington Languages: Fluent Spanish. Reading ability in Italian, French, Portuguese, German, Catalán, and Latin. Research Interests: Late Antique Gaul; Visigothic-Sueve Iberia; Medieval Monasticism; Christian Apocrypha; Cult of St. James; Priscillianism; and Early Christian-Medieval Heresy. Teaching Fields: Seattle Pacific University (Full Professor) At SPU since Autumn 1986 Fuller Theological Seminary , Seattle (Adjunct) 1991-1998 University of Sacramento, (Adjunct) 2006- University of Salamanca, (Visiting Professor/Lecturer) 2007- History of Christianity (Apostolic to Modern) Late Antiquity/Medieval History Medieval Monasticism - Spirituality Renaissance/Reformation Iberian Peninsula European Intellectual History 1 Publications: Books: Later Priscillianist Writings. Critical edition with historical commentary. Marco Conti and Alberto Ferreiro. Oxford University Press. (in preparation) The Visigoths in Gaul and Iberia (Update): A Supplemental Bibliography, 2007-2009. Medieval and Early Modern Iberian World. Alberto Ferreiro. E. J. Brill. (in preparation) 2008 The Visigoths in Gaul and Iberia (Update): A Supplemental Bibliography, 2004-2006. Medieval and Early Modern Iberian World, 35. Alberto Ferreiro. E. J. Brill, 2008. xxviii + 308 p. 2006 The Visigoths in Gaul and Iberia: (A Supplemental Bibliography, 1984- 2003). [Medieval and Early Modern Iberian World, 28]. Alberto Ferreiro. E. J. Brill: 2006. liv + 890 p. 2005 Simon Magus in Patristic, Medieval, and Early Modern Traditions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Assumption of All Humanity in Saint Hilary of Poitiers' Tractatus Super Psalmos
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Dissertations (1934 -) Projects The Assumption of All Humanity in Saint Hilary of Poitiers' Tractatus super Psalmos Ellen Scully Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Scully, Ellen, "The Assumption of All Humanity in Saint Hilary of Poitiers' Tractatus super Psalmos" (2011). Dissertations (1934 -). 95. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/95 THE ASSUMPTION OF ALL HUMANITY IN SAINT HILARY OF POITIERS’ TRACTATUS SUPER PSALMOS by Ellen Scully A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2011 ABTRACT THE ASSUMPTION OF ALL HUMANITY IN SAINT HILARY OF POITIERS’ TRACTATUS SUPER PSALMOS Ellen Scully Marquette University, 2011 In this dissertation, I focus on the soteriological understanding of the fourth- century theologian Hilary of Poitiers as manifested in his underappreciated Tractatus super Psalmos . Hilary offers an understanding of salvation in which Christ saves humanity by assuming every single person into his body in the incarnation. My dissertation contributes to scholarship on Hilary in two ways. First, I demonstrate that Hilary’s teaching concerning Christ’s assumption of all humanity is a unique development of Latin sources. Because of his understanding of Christ’s assumption of all humanity, Hilary, along with several Greek fathers, has been accused of heterodoxy resulting from Greek Platonic influence. I demonstrate that Hilary is not influenced by Platonism; rather, though his redemption model is unique among the early Latin fathers, he derives his theology from a combination of Latin-influenced biblical exegesis and classical Roman themes.
    [Show full text]
  • De Episcopis Hispaniarum: Agents of Continuity in the Long Fifth Century
    Université de Montréal De episcopis Hispaniarum: agents of continuity in the long fifth century accompagné de la prosopogaphie des évêques ibériques de 400–500 apr. J.-C., tirée de Purificación Ubric Rabaneda, “La Iglesia y los estados barbaros en la Hispania del siglo V (409–507), traduite par Fabian D. Zuk Département d’Histoire Faculté des Arts et Sciences Thèse présentée à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l’obtention du grade Maître ès Arts (M.A.) en histoire août 2015 © Fabian D. Zuk, 2015. ii Université de Montréal Faculté des etudes supérieures Ce mémoire intitule: De episcopis Hispaniarum: agents of continuity in the long fifth century présenté par Fabian D. Zuk A été évalué par un jury composé des personnes suivantes : Philippe Genequand, president–rapporteur Christian R. Raschle, directeur de recherche Gordon Blennemann, membre du jury iii In loving memory в пам'ять про бабусю of Ruby Zuk iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Résumé / Summary p. v A Note on Terminology p. vi Acknowledgements p. vii List of Figures p. ix Frequent ABBreviations p. x CHAPTER I : Introduction p. 1 CHAPTER II : Historical Context p. 23 CHAPTER III : The Origins of the Bishops p. 36 CHAPTER IV : Bishops as Spiritual Leaders p. 51 CHAPTER V : Bishops in the Secular Realm p. 64 CHAPTER VI : Regional Variation p. 89 CHAPTER VII : Bishops in the Face of Invasion : Conflict and Contenders p. 119 CHAPTER VIII : Retention of Romanitas p. 147 Annexe I: Prosopography of the IBerian Bishops 400–500 A.D. p. 161 Annexe II: Hydatius : An Exceptional Bishop at the End of the Earth p.
    [Show full text]
  • Julian of Toledo's Historia Wambae
    Wolfram Drews The Imageofthe Christian Ruler in the Catholic Monarchy of Visigothic Spain: Julian of Toledo’s Historia Wambae King Wamba(672– 680) was arguably the last strong ruler of Visigothic Spainable to assert royal power against aristocratic factions and ecclesiastical authorities alike. He is famous in medievalhistory first and foremost for the ecclesiastical inaugura- tion ritual at the beginning of his reign, which involved the first attested royal unc- tion in medieval Europe. The description of Wamba’sroyal inauguration comes from bishop Julian of Toledo, who was later involved in Wamba’sdeposition. In his Histor- ia Wambae,hedescribes Wamba as an exemplary Christian ruler,aprinceps religio- sus,imbued with Christian virtues. He contrasts the ideal figureusing the usurper Paul as an example of abad, un-Christian ruler,depicted as atyrant supported by hostileforces from the outside. The Historia Wambae mayhavebeen written after Wamba’sdeposition, reflectingpolitical interests of aristocratic elites duringthe reign of his second successor,king Egica.The literary figure of Wambaiscompletely different from the historical Wamba. Julian of Toledo aptlyconstructs the imageofan ideal Christian ruler,following literary models from the Roman past,such as Sallust, and the Old Testament.Christian kingship appears as afusion of both Roman and biblical traditions but geared to the conditions of late Visigothic Spain and, in par- ticular,toits leadingecclesiastical circles,which interestingly had been in opposition to the historical Wamba.
    [Show full text]
  • Martyrdom As a Spiritual Test in the Luciferian Libellus Precum
    Nonne gratum habere debuerunt: Martyrdom as a Spiritual Test in the Luciferian Libellus Precum One of the many ways in which Christians throughout antiquity defined themselves in relation to Jews and pagans was the special role that martyrs played in the Christian tradition.1 Ironically, in the fourth century martyrdom frequently served to draw boundaries not between Christians and Jews or pagans, but between different groups of Christians. Christians readily adapted their old mental frameworks to fit the new circumstances of an empire supportive of Christianity. This process is most clearly apparent with regard to one such group, the Luciferians. No scholar has yet pointed out how the Luciferians construct their group’s history by who persecutes and who is persecuted. Their unique emphasis on martyrdom as a spiritual test has also escaped notice. Although in many respects these are typical behaviors for late antique Christians, the Luciferians offer a great – and overlooked – example of a schismatic group developing a separate identity from these same, typical behaviors. This schismatic group developed after a disciplinary dispute. The Council of Alexandria was called in 362 to decide if a group of bishops who had signed the “Sirmian Creed” at the Council of Rimini should be allowed to return to the Church and retain their clerical rank – bishops remaining bishops, deacons remaining deacons, and so on.2 They agreed to this. A small group of Christians, however, disagreed with the decision of the council. Lucifer of Cagliari, an exiled bishop who had expressed dissatisfaction with the council, probably led this group. They called the bishops who had sworn to the Arian creed “praevaricatores” (‘traitors’), much like the Donatists called their enemies “traditores.” They refused to hold communion with most other bishops of the Church, because those bishops held communion with these praevaricatores.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of the Shroud
    MARK GUSCIN: THE HISTORY OF THE SHROUD Part One – Before the Thirteenth Century It is often said that the Shroud has no documented history before the thirteenth century; while it is true that we are all aware of the immense difficulties of establishing the Shroud’s history, the statement as such is somewhat misleading. It is often understood as meaning that there are no references to the Shroud before this date, and this is simply not true. In fact, there are numerous references to the conservation of the burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth from the very beginning of the Christian era – the problem comes when we try to equate the shroud mentioned in these documents with the cloth now kept in Turin. This is a very significant point: sceptics often say that there are no references to the Shroud – but there are. Hence in the title of this paper I have deliberately omitted the words “of Turin” after the word “Shroud”. Nevertheless, we are going to start this overview with an exception. There is one unmistakeable documentary reference to the Shroud of Turin from before the twelfth century. Well known to all Shroud scholars, its true significance is often overlooked. I am referring of course to Codex Pray, whose name is often misunderstood (at least in the English speaking world) as a reference to prayer. In fact, the name comes from the Jesuit György Pray, who discovered the manuscript in 1770. It is kept in the National Széchenyi library in Budapest, Hungary. It is the earliest known manuscript with a text in the Hungarian language, and so is an important national treasure.
    [Show full text]
  • A Friendship
    Conversions Wars Cultures Religions and a Family Name MICHAEL L. SENA C OPYRIGHTED , 2012 B Y G R E E N H O R SE P U B L I S H I N G C OMPANY V ADSTENA , S WEDEN EDITED AND REVISED DECEMBER 2013 ii WARS ARE FOUGHT to gain and keep control over wealth. Tribes, clans, countries and other groups that have wealth have the power to wage and win wars. Those without wealth will always be war’s victims. They lack the resources to build effective defences and protect themselves against destructive powers. Besides extermination or assimilation, one consequence of wars for the vanquished is displacement. Defeated peoples are often set adrift. Cultures, or societies, come into existence when a sufficient number of individuals agree on a way of living together, either through consensus or through force. Cultures are sensitive organisms. They are born, sometimes growing and flourishing, oftentimes contracting and vanishing. Even the most powerful civilizations in their times have had to relinquish their positions of dominance, most often because of self destructive actions taken by their leaders. When one culture is diminished, there is always another waiting to take its place. Humankind is the sum total of all those cultures that have gone before. Religion is the codification of a society’s rules that define what is considered right and what is deemed wrong. Societies base their laws on these definitions, and the laws establish the worldly consequences of not upholding or abiding by the rules. Those who are the codifiers, the priests, gain their legitimacy by providing answers to the unanswerable.
    [Show full text]
  • Framing Power in Visigothic Society
    LATE ANTIQUE AND EARLY MEDIEVAL IBERIA Dell’ Elicine & Martin (eds.) Framing Power in Visigothic Power SocietyFraming Edited by Eleonora Dell’ Elicine and Céline Martin Framing Power in Visigothic Society Discourses, Devices, and Artifacts FOR PRIVATE AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS Framing Power in Visigothic Society FOR PRIVATE AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS Late Antique and Early Medieval Iberia Scholarship on the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages is burgeoning across a variety of disciplines and time periods, yet the publication profile of the field remains disjointed. ‘Late Antique and Early Medieval Iberia’ (LAEMI) provides a publication hub for high-quality research on Iberian Studies from the fijields of history, archaeology, theology and religious studies, numismatics, palaeography, music, and cognate disciplines. Another key aim of the series is to break down barriers between the excellent scholarship that takes place in Iberia and Latin America and the Anglophone world. Series Editor Jamie Wood, University of Lincoln, UK Editorial Board Andrew Fear, University of Manchester, UK Nicola Clarke, Newcastle University, UK Inaki Martín Viso, University of Salamanca, Spain Glaire Anderson, University of North Carolina, USA Eleonora Dell’Elicine, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina FOR PRIVATE AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS Framing Power in Visigothic Society Discourses, Devices, and Artefacts Edited by Eleonora Dell’ Elicine and Céline Martin Amsterdam University Press FOR PRIVATE AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS Cover illustration: Golden ring of Teudericus, found at Romelle (Samos, Lugo). End of 6th to 7th century. Madrid, M.A.N, Inventory Number 62193 Cover design: Coördeisgn, Leiden Lay-out: Crius Group, Hulshout isbn 978 94 6372 590 3 e-isbn 978 90 4854 359 5 doi 10.5117/9789463725903 nur 684 © E.
    [Show full text]
  • Ὁ Ὤν Εὐλογητὸς Χριστὸς Ὁ Θεὸς Ἡμῶν: Observations on the Early Christian Interpretation of the Burning Bush Scene
    Ὁ ὤν εὐλογητὸς Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν: OBSERVATIONS ON THE EARLY CHRISTIAN INTERPRETATION OF THE BURNING BUSH SCENE Bogdan G. Bucur Duquesne University [email protected] Résumé Un aperçu des productions exégétiques, doctrinales, hymnogra- phiques et iconographiques dans la riche histoire de la réception d’Exode 3 au cours du premier millénaire de notre ère conduit à la conclusion que la lecture chrétienne la plus ancienne, la plus répan- due et la plus constante de ce texte a été son interprétation comme manifestation du Logos incarnaturum, comme « Christophanie ». Les termes couramment utilisés dans la littérature savante pour rendre compte de cette approche exégétique sont insatisfaisants, car ils ne parviennent pas à saisir la dimension épiphanique du texte, tel qu’il a été lu par de nombreux exégètes chrétiens anciens. Cet article examine aussi – et rejette – la proposition récente d’évaluer la relation directe entre le Christ et le Ὁ ὤν d’Exode 3,14 comme un exemple de la « Bible réécrite ». Summary A survey of the exegetical, doctrinal, hymnographic, and icono- graphic productions illustrating the rich reception history of Exodus 3 during the first millennium CE leads to the conclusion that the earliest, most widespread and enduring Christian reading of this text was its interpretation as a manifestation of the Logos-to- be-incarnate: a “Christophany”. The terms currently employed in scholarship to account for this exegetical approach are unsatisfactory because they fail to capture the epiphanic dimension of the text as Judaïsme ancien / Ancient Judaism 6 (2018), p. 37-82 © FHG 10.1484/J.JAAJ.5.116609 38 BOGdaN G.
    [Show full text]
  • The Growth of Gothic Identity in Visigothic Spain: the Evidence of Textual Sources
    University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ScholarWorks @ UTRGV History Faculty Publications and Presentations College of Liberal Arts 2015 The Growth of Gothic Identity in Visigothic Spain: The Evidence of Textual Sources Erica Buchberger The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/hist_fac Part of the European Languages and Societies Commons, History Commons, and the Medieval Studies Commons Recommended Citation Buchberger, Erica. 2015 “The Growth of Gothic Identity in Visigothic Spain: The Evidence of Textual Sources.” In Identidad y Etnicidad En Hispania. Propuestas Teóricas y Cultura Material En Los Siglos V- VIII, by Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo and Santiago Castellanos García, 1st ed., 87–100. Bilbao: Universidad del País Vasco. This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts at ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Growth of Gothic Identity in Visigothic Spain: The Evidence of Textual Sources Introduction In recent years, scholars have made significant progress in understanding the transition from a Roman world to a medieval world in Spain. New archaeological excavations have added to our knowledge of the early medieval landscape, and increasingly analytical discussions of the labels used to describe people and objects have brought new depth to both historical and archaeological studies. In place of black and white visions of Goth vs. Roman and continuity vs.
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Leander of Seville
    Saint Leander of Seville SAINT OF THE DAY 13-03-2021 Elder brother of three saints, among whom the best known is Isidore of Seville, Saint Leander (c. 534-599) is remembered above all for the role he played in the conversion of the Visigoth royal family from Arianism, which reigned over Spain at that time. He was the first of five children of a noble Roman family from Cartagena and, after the untimely death of his father, took care of his siblings Florentina, Fulgentius, Isidore and Theodosia. With the exception of the latter, all his siblings dedicated themselves to the religious life and are venerated by the Church. Florentina became a Benedictine nun and founded numerous monasteries. Fulgentius was appointed Bishop of Astigi (today's Écija), while Isidore, proclaimed Doctor of the Church, was Leander’s successor at the head of the Archdiocese of Seville and became famous in the Middle Ages for his encyclopaedic work Etymologies, which, at the dawn of the third millennium, led a group of people to propose him as patron saint of the Internet. Leander began his religious life as a Benedictine monk and around 578 he became Archbishop of Seville. Here he met Hermenegild, married to the very young Catholic Ingonda, and son of Leovigildus, Visigoth king of Aryan faith. The Catholicism professed by Ingonda (whom Leovigildo's second wife had attempted with violence to convert to Arianism) was the reason why Hermenegild and his wife were expelled from the court of Toledo: in 580, to avoid other problems, his father sent him to Seville to rule Betica (now Andalusia), a province that bordered with the lands occupied by the Byzantines.
    [Show full text]