The ''Códice de Roda'' or ''Códice de Meyá'' (Roda or Meyá codex) is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

manuscript that represents a unique primary source for details of the 9th- and early 10th-century

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...

and neighbouring principalities. It is currently held in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

as Royal Academy of History MS 78.García Villada (1928) The

codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

is thought to date from the late 10th century, although there are additions from the 11th century, and it was compiled in Navarre, perhaps at

Nájera Nájera () is a small town, former bishopric and now Latin Catholic titular see, former capital of the Kingdom of Najera-Pamplona, located in the "Rioja Alta" region of La Rioja, northern Spain, on the river Najerilla. Nájera is a stopping poi ...

, written in a

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

minuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing system ...

in several different hands with

cursive Cursive (also known as joined-up writing) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionality and m ...

marginal notes. It is , and contains 232

folio The term "folio" () has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging Paper size, sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for ...

s. The manuscript appears to have been housed at Nájera in the 12th century, and later in the archives of the cathedral at Roda de Isábena at the end of the 17th century. In the next century, it was acquired by the

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

of Santa María de Meyá, passing into private hands, after which only copies and derivative manuscripts were available to the scholarly community until the rediscovery of the original manuscript in 1928.Lacarra (1945) The codex includes copies of well-known

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

and

texts, as well as unique material. The first two-thirds of the compilation reproduces a single work,

Paulus 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 ...

' ''Seven Books of History Against the Pagans''. Also notable are

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...

's '' History of the Goths, Vandals and Suebi'', the '' Chronica prophetica'', the '' Historia de Melchisedech'', the '' Storia de Mahometh'', the '' Tultusceptru de libro domni Metobii'' and a

genealogy of Jesus The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham and works forwards, while Luke works back in time from Jesus to Adam. The lists of na ...

. Unique items include a list of

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

rulers and of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

kings of

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

– León,

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

; a chronicle of the

; the '' Chronicle of Alfonso III''; a necrology of the bishops of Pamplona; and the '' De laude Pampilone epistola''. It also includes a

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of no ...

in honour of an otherwise unknown Leodegundia Ordóñez, Queen of Navarre. Despite this diversity of material, the manuscript is perhaps best known for its genealogies of the dynasties ruling on both sides of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

.Lacarra (1992) The genealogies in the ''Roda Codex'' have played a critical role in interpreting the scant surviving historical record of the dynasties covered. The family accounts span as many as five generations, ending in the first half of the 10th century. These include the Íñiguez and Jiménez rulers of

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

, the counties of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

Sobrarbe Sobrarbe is a comarca of Aragon, Spain. It is located in the north of Huesca province, making up part of the autonomous community of Aragon. Many of its people speak the Aragonese language locally known as ''fabla''. Sobrarbe is a mountainous ...

, Ribagorza, Pallars,

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

and the duchy of

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

. It has recently been suggested that these genealogies, reminiscent of the work of

Ibn Hazm Ibn Hazm (; November 994 – 15 August 1064) was an Andalusian Muslim polymath, historian, traditionist, jurist, philosopher, and theologian, born in the Córdoban Caliphate, present-day Spain. Described as one of the strictest hadith interpre ...

, were prepared in an Iberian Muslim context in the

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

valley and passed to Navarre at the time the codex was compiled.

Detailed contents

The codex consists of the following texts, listed by their

rubric A rubric is a word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed in red ink for emphasis. The word derives from the Latin , meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th century or ...

s: * fols 1r–155r:

' ''Seven Books of History Against the Pagans''Carlos Villamarín (2011), pp. 121–122 *fols 156r–177r:

's '' History of the Goths, Vandals and Suebi'' interspersed with his ''Chronica Maiora'', with the history of the Vandals and Suebi (156r–159r) preceding the ''Chronica'' (159r–167r) and that of the Goths (167r–177r)Millares Carlo (1999), no. 210, at pp. 139–142 *fol. 177r–v: ''Item in Alexander'', an excerpt from the '' Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius''Tischler 2021, pp. 288ff. *fols 178r–185v: '' Chronicle of Alfonso III'', specifically, the version known as the ''Rotense'' *fol. 185v: '' Tultusceptru de libro domni Metobii'' *fols 186r–189v: '' Chronica prophetica'', a group of

Mozarab The Mozarabs (from ), or more precisely Andalusi Christians, were the Christians of al-Andalus, or the territories of Iberia under Muslim rule from 711 to 1492. Following the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom in Hispania, the Christian ...

ic traditions on Muslim rule in Spain and its eventual decline: :*fol. 186r: ''Dicta de Ezecielis profeta'' :*fol. 187r: ''Genealogia Sarracenorum'' :*fols 187r–188r: '' Storia de Mahometh'' :*fol. 188v: ''Ratio Sarracenorum de sua ingressione in Spania'' :*fols 188v–189r: ''De Goti qui remanserint civitates Ispaniensis'' :*fol. 189r: ''Hii sunt duces Arabum qui regnaverunt in Spania'' :*fol. 189r: ''Item reges qui regnaberunt in Spania ex origine Ismaelitarum Beniumeie'' :*fol. 189r–v: ''Remanent usque ad diem sancti Martini''Furtado (2016), p. 76–77 *fol. 189v: '' Nomina regum catholicorum Legionensium'', a list of the kings of León *fol. 190r–v: '' De laude Pampilone epistola''Lacarra (1945), pp. 202–203 *fols 191r–194r: a group of Pyrenean genealogies: :*fol. 191r–v: ''Ordo numerum regum Pampilonensium'', the kings of Pamplona :*fols 191v–192r: ''Item alia parte regum'' :*fol. 192r–v: ''Item genera comitum Aragonensium'', the counts of Aragon :*fol. 192v: ''Item nomina comitum Paliarensium'', the

counts of Pallars Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

:*fol. 192v: ''Item nomina comitum Guasconiensium'', the counts of Gascony :*fol. 192v: ''Item nomina comitum Tolosanesium'', the

counts of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding ...

*fol. 193r–v: ''Nomina imperatorum qui christianis persequuti sunt'', an account of the

persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire During their early history, Christians were persecuted, tortured, mutilated, raped, and massacred in a genocide, throughout the Roman Empire, beginning in the 1st century AD and ending in the 4th century. As Christianity spread through the ...

, including a list of persecuting Roman emperorsRuiz García (1997), pp. 398–399 *fol. 193v: '' Nomina sanctorum qui in arcibo Toletano repperta sunt'', an account of saints venerated in the

diptych A diptych (, ) is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by a hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was a diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a ...

s of the church of Toledo *fol. 193v: ''Nomina Sebigotorum'', a list of kings of the Visigoths *fol. 194r: ''De origine Romanorum'' *fol. 194r–v: ''De reges Francorum'', a genealogy of the

kings of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

*fol. 195r: ''Agnoscamus generationes quod processerunt a Noe'', a

Furtado (2020), p. 66 *fol. 195r–v: ''De fabrica mundi'', a Pseudo-Isidorean poem *fols 195v–196r: Isidore's ''De laude Spaniae'', a poem in praise of Spain *fol. 196r–v: a series of texts drawn from the '' Chronica Albeldense'' under the rubrics ''Exquisitio Spaniaee'', ''De septem miracula'' and ''De proprietatibus gentium'' *fol. 196v: ''De LXXII generationes linguarum'' plus a short statement that begins ''Item de uitulorum carnibus'' *fols 197r–198r: drawings of

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

and Toledo with the short text ''Historia de Octaviano et Septemsidero'' *fol. 198r: ''De laude Hispaniae'', a poem in praise of Spain *fols 198v–207r: ''Genealogia Christi'', with the text ''De orbe terre'' and a T and O map inserted at fols 200v–201r *fols 207v–208r: ''De sexta etate seculi'' *fols 208r–209r: ''Ordo annorum mundi'' *fol. 209r–v: ''De natiuitate et passione et resurrectione Domini'' *fols 209v–210r: ''De fine mundi'' *fol. 210v: ''De natura diaboli'', an excerpt from

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

's '' City of God'' *fol. 210v: two short texts entitled ''Interrogatio'' and ''De Christo'' *fol. 211r: ''De ordinibus angelorum'' *fol. 211r: ''Numerus legionum'' with a table *fol. 211v: ''Item sanctus Augustinus'', an excerpt from Augustine's '' De Genesi ad litteram'' *fol. 211v: excerpts from

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

and Isidore *fol. 212r: ''De sepulcro Domini'', an excerpt from

Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel OSB ( 770 – c. 840) was a Benedictine monk of Saint-Mihiel Abbey near Verdun. He was a significant writer of homilies and commentaries. Life Of Visigothic heritage, Smaragdus was born in Spain around 770. He had mov ...

's ''Collectiones'' *fol. 212v: ''Unde factus est corpus de Adam'' *fol. 212v: ''Liber generationum'' *fol. 213v: ''De sex peccatis'' *fols 214r–215r: ''Item de cognitio ciuitas Ierusalem'', an abridged version of the ''

De situ terrae sanctae ''De situ terrae sanctae'' is a short 6th-century report of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Its author is identified in a 9th-century manuscript (Codex Vaticanus 6018) as a German archdeacon named Theodosius. The work includes a list of places an ...

'' *fols 215r–216r: '' Item Dicta de Melcisethec''Gil (1971), pp. 173–176. *fols 216v–217r: ''De natibitate Sancte Marie'', a text on the

nativity of Mary The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus. The modern Biblical canon does not record Mary's birth. The ...

drawn from the ''

Gospel of James The Gospel of James (or the Protoevangelium of James) is a second-century infancy gospel telling of the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary, her upbringing and marriage to Joseph, the journey of the couple to Bethlehem, the birth of J ...

'', is crossed out with a marginal note identifying it as

apocrypha Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

l (''apogrifum'') *fols 217r–222r: two creedal formulae, ''Iterum de beata Maria'' (217r) and ''Item de sancta Trinitate'' (217v–222r) *fols 222r–225r: ''Conlatio Trinitatis sancti Agustini ad semetipsum'' *fols 225r–230v: ''Iterum dehinc domini Isidori dicit ad Trinitatem brebiter collecta'', a treatise on the Trinity ascribed to Isidore *fol. 231r: ''De Pampilona'' *fol. 231r: ''Initium regnum Pampilonam'' *fol. 231v: ''Necrologium episcopale Pampilonense'' *fol. 232r–v: ''Versi domna Leodegundia regina'', the earliest surviving European

epithalamium An epithalamium (; Latin form of Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον ''epithalamion'' from ἐπί ''epi'' "upon," and θάλαμος ''thalamos'' "nuptial chamber") is a poem written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber. This fo ...

with music

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *Helena de Carlos Villamarín, "El Códice de Roda (Madrid, BRAH 78) como compilación de voluntad historiografica", ''Edad Media. Rev. Hist.'', 12:119–142 (2011). *Rodrigo Furtado
"The ''Chronica Prophetica'' in MS. Madrid, RAH Aem. 78,"
in L. Cristante and V. Veronesi, eds., ''Forme di accesso al sapere in età tardoantica e altomedievale'', 6:75–100 (2016). *Rodrigo Furtado, "Emulating Neighbours in Medieval Iberia around 1000: A Codex from La Rioja (Madrid, RAH, cód. 78)," in Kim Bergqvist, Kurt Villads Jensen and Anthony John Lappin, eds., ''Conflict and Collaboration in Medieval Iberia'' (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020). pp. 43–72. *Zacarías García Villada, "El códice de Roda recuperado," ''Revista de Filología Española'' 15:113–130 (1928). *Juan Gil Fernández, "Textos olvidados del Códice de Roda," ''Habis'' 2:165–178 (1971). *José María Lacarra. "Textos navarros del Códice de Roda," ''Estudios de Edad Media de la Corona de Aragón'', 1:194–283 (1945). article without accompanying genealogical charts
*José María Lacarra
"Las Genealogías del Códice de Roda,"
''Medievalia'', 10:213–216 (1992). *Agustín Millares Carlo
''Corpus de códices visigóticos'', Vol. 1: Estudios
(Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1999). *Elisa Ruiz García, ''Catálogo de la sección de códices de la Real Academia de la Historia'' (Madrid, 1997). *Matthias M. Tischler, "Spaces of ‘Convivencia’ and Spaces of Polemics Transcultural Historiography and Religious Identity in the Intellectual Landscape of the Iberian Peninsula, Ninth to Tenth Centuries", in

Walter Pohl Walter Pohl (born 27 December 1953) is an Austrian historian who is Professor of Auxiliary Sciences of History and Medieval History at the University of Vienna. He is a leading member of the Vienna School of History. Biography Walter Pohl was b ...

and Daniel Mahoney, eds., ''Historiography and Identity IV: Writing History Across Medieval Eurasia'' (Brepols, 2021), pp. 275–305. *{{emc1, John Wreglesworth, Crónica profetica, 400

External links

Digital images of the ''Códice de Roda''
Iberian chronicles 10th-century manuscripts 10th-century books in Latin Medieval genealogies and succession lists 10th-century writers in Latin