Theodemir or Theodemar (also ''Teodomiro'', la, Theodemirus; died 570) was one of the last Suevic kings of Galicia and one of the first Chalcedonian Christians to hold the title. He succeeded Ariamir sometime between the end of May 561 and the year 566 and ruled until his death. Theodemir has been posited as the first Orthodox Christian monarch of the Suevi since the death of

Rechiar Rechiar or Flavius Rechiarius (after 415 – December 456) was the third Suevic king of Gallaecia, from 448 until his death, and also the first one to be born in Gallaecia. He was one of the most innovative and belligerent of the Suevi monarch ...

and the monarch who brought about the conversion of his people from

Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

to orthodoxy with the help of the missionary

Martin of Dumio Martin of Braga (in Latin ''Martinus Bracarensis'', in Portuguese, known as ''Martinho de Dume'' 520–580 AD) was an archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal), a missionary, a monastic founder, and an ecclesiastical ...

. This theory is largely based on the ''

Historia Suevorum The ''Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum'' ("History of the Kings of the Goths, Vandals and Suevi") is a Latin history of the Goths from 265 to 624, written by Isidore of Seville. It is a condensed account and, due to its diver ...

'' of

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 ...

: ''regni potestatem Theodimirus suscepit: qui confestim Arrianae impietatis errore destructo Suevos catholicae fidei reddidit''. However, other sources, notably

John of Biclarum John of Biclaro, Biclar, or Biclarum (''c.'' 540 – after 621), also ''Iohannes Biclarensis'', was a Visigoth chronicler. He was born in Lusitania, in the city of ''Scallabis'' (modern Santarém in Portugal). He was also bishop of Girona. Earl ...

and

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

, plus the minutes of the

First Council of Braga In the First Council of Braga of 561, eight bishops took part, and twenty-two decrees were promulgated. In a number of canons, the council took aim directly at doctrines of Priscillianism. Those decrees included the following: that in the service ...

, give or imply different occurrences: John that

Reccared I Reccared I (or Recared; la, Flavius Reccaredus; es, Flavio Recaredo; 559 – December 601; reigned 586–601) was Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania. His reign marked a climactic shift in history, with the king's renunciation of Arianis ...

of the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

brought about the conversion of both peoples, Gregory that the saintly intercession of

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

at the bequest of the king Chararic brought it about, and the minutes of First Braga that Ariamir was the first to lift the ban on orthodox Catholic synods. Most scholars have attempted to meld these stories. It has been alleged that Theodemir must have been a successor of Ariamir's, since Ariamir was the first Suevic monarch to lift the ban on Catholic synods; Isidore therefore gets the chronology wrong. Reinhart suggested that Chararic was converted first through the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

of Saint Martin and that Theodemir was converted later through the preaching of Martin of Dumio.Thompson, 86.

Felix Dahn Felix Dahn (9 February 1834 – 3 January 1912) was a German law professor, German nationalism, German nationalist author, poet and historian. Biography Ludwig Julius Sophus Felix Dahn was born in Hamburg as the oldest son of Friedrich (1811–1 ...

equated Chararic with Theodemir, even saying that the latter was the name he took upon baptism. It has also been suggested that Theodemir and Ariamir were the same person and the son of Chararic. Ferreiro believes the conversion of the Suevi was progressive and stepwise and that Thoedemir was responsible for beginning a persecution of the Arians in his kingdom to root out their heresy. In 569 Theodemir called the

First Council of Lugo The Council of Lugo was a Catholic synod called by the Suevic king Theodemir in 569 in order to increase the number of dioceses within his kingdom. One possible reason for this restructuring was that some of the territory of the Suevic Kingdom wa ...

,Ferreiro, 199 n11. which increased the number of dioceses within the kingdom. In 570 he was attacked by the Arian king of the Visigoths,

Leovigild Liuvigild, Leuvigild, Leovigild, or ''Leovigildo'' (Spanish and Portuguese), ( 519 – 586) was a Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania from 568 to 586. Known for his Codex Revisus or Code of Leovigild, a law allowing equal rights between the ...

Notes

Sources

*Ferreiro, Alberto
"Braga and Tours: Some Observations on Gregory's ''De virtutibus sancti Martini''."
''

Journal of Early Christian Studies The ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'' is an academic journal founded in 1993 and is the official publication of the North American Patristics Society. It is devoted to the study of patristics, that is Christianity in the ancient period of rou ...

''. 3 (1995), p. 195–210. *Thompson, E. A. "The Conversion of the Spanish Suevi to Catholicism." ''Visigothic Spain: New Approaches''. ed.

Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inherite ...

. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. . {{Authority control 570 deaths 6th-century Suebian kings Christian monarchs Year of birth unknown