Roderic (also spelled Ruderic, Roderik, Roderich, or Roderick; Spanish and , ; died 711) was the

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 ...

king in

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

between 710 and 711. He is well known as "the last king of the Goths". He is actually an extremely obscure figure about whom little can be said with certainty. He was the last Goth to rule from Toledo, but not the last Gothic king, a distinction which belongs to Ardo. Roderic's election as king was disputed and he ruled only a part of Hispania with an opponent, Achila, ruling the rest. He faced a rebellion of the

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

and the Umayyad invasion. He was defeated and killed at the

Battle of Guadalete The Battle of Guadalete was the first major battle of the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, fought in 711 at an unidentified location in what is now southern Spain between the Visigoths under their king, Roderic, and the invading forces o ...

. His widow Egilona is believed to have married Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, the first Muslim governor of Hispania.

Early life

According to the late '' Chronicle of Alfonso III'', Roderic was a son of Theodefred, himself a son of king Chindaswinth, and of a woman named Riccilo. Roderic's exact date of birth is unknown but probably was after 687, estimated from his father's marriage having taken place after his exile to Córdoba following the succession of King Egica in that year.

Succession

Usurpation

According to the '' Chronicle of 754'', Roderic "tumultuously 'tumultuose''invaded the kingdom 'regnum''with the encouragement of r at the exhortation ofthe senate 'senatus''"Thompson, 249.Collins, ''Visigothic'', 113. Historians have long debated the exact meaning of these words. What is generally recognised is that it was not a typical palace coup as had occurred on previous occasions, but rather a violent invasion of the palace which sharply divided the kingdom. It is probable that the "invasion" was not from outside the kingdom; because the word ''regnum'' can refer to the office of the king, it is likely that Roderic merely usurped the throne. Nonetheless, it is possible that Roderic was a regional commander ('' dux'' of

Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces created in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) in 27 BC. Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of ...

in later, legendary sources) or even an exile when he staged his coup. The "tumult" which surrounded this usurpation was probably violent, though whether or not it involved the deposition or assassination of the legitimate king, Wittiza, or was a consequence of his recent natural death has divided scholars. Some scholars believe that the king Achila, who ruled in opposition to Roderic, was in fact Wittiza's son and successor and that Roderic had tried to usurp the throne from him. The

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

with which Roderic accomplished his coup was probably composed of the "leading aristocrats and perhaps also some of the bishops." The participation of churchmen in the revolt is disputed, some arguing that the support of the bishops would not have led to the act being labelled a usurpation. The body of leading temporal and ecclesiastical lords had been the dominant body in determining the Visigothic succession since the reign of Reccared I.Collins, ''Visigothic'', 132. The palatine officials, however, had not been much affected by royal measures to decrease their influence in the final decades of the kingdom, as their effecting of a coup in 711 indicates. Roderic coin Egitania 1

Division of the kingdom

After the coup, the division of the kingdom into two factions, with the southwest (the provinces of

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

and western Carthaginiensis around the capital Toledo) in Roderic's hands and the northeast ( Tarraconensis and Narbonensis) in the hands of Achila is confirmed by

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and

numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...

evidence. Roderic's twelve surviving coins, all bearing the name Rvdericvs, were minted at Toledo, probably his capital, and "Egitania", probably Idanha-a-Velha.Collins, ''Visigothic'', 131. The regions in which the coins have been discovered do not overlap and it seems highly probable that the two rulers ruled in opposition from different regions. It is unknown to whom the provinces of

Gallaecia Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias and Leon and the later Kingdom of Gallaecia. The Roman cities inclu ...

and Baetica fell. That Roderic and Achila never appear to have come into military conflict is probably best explained by the preoccupation of Roderic with Arab raids and not to a formal division of the kingdom.Collins, ''Visigothic'', 139. A Visigothic regnal list mentions "Ruderigus" as having reigned seven years and six months, while two other continuations of the ''Chronicon Regum Visigothorum'' record Achila's reign of three years. In contrast to the regnal lists, which cannot be dated, the ''Chronicle of 754'', written at Toledo, says that "Rudericus" reigned for a year.

War with the Muslims

According to the ''Chronicle of 754'', Roderic immediately upon securing his throne gathered a force to oppose the

Arabs 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 yea ...

and

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

(''Mauri'', whence the word "Moors"), who were raiding in the south of the Iberian peninsula and had destroyed many towns under Tariq ibn Ziyad and other Muslim generals. While later Arabic sources make the conquest of Hispania a singular event undertaken at the orders of the governor Musa ibn Nusair of

Ifriqiya Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna (), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (roughly western Libya). It included all of what had previously been the Byzantine province of ...

, according to the ''Chronicle'', which was written much nearer in date to the actual events, the Arabs began disorganised raids and undertook to conquer the peninsula only with the fortuitous death of Roderic and the collapse of the Visigothic nobility.

Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, sc ...

's ''Historia Langobardorum'' records that the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

invaded "all Hispania" from Septem (

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

).Thompson, 250. Roderic made several expeditions against the invaders before he was deserted by his troops and killed in battle in 711 or 712.Collins, ''Visigothic'', 133. The ''Chronicle of 754'' claims that some of the nobles who had accompanied Roderic on his last expedition did so out of "ambition for the kingdom", perhaps intending to allow him to die in battle so that they could secure the throne for one of themselves. Whatever their intentions, most of them seem to have died in the battle as well. Other historians have suggested that low morale amongst the soldiery because of Roderic's disputed succession was the cause of defeat. The majority of Roderic's soldiers may have been poorly trained and unwilling slave conscripts; there were probably few freemen left fighting for the Goths.Thompson, 319. The location of the battle is debatable. It probably occurred near the mouth of the Guadalete river, hence its name, the

. According to Paul the Deacon, the site was the otherwise unidentifiable "Transductine promontories". According to the ''Chronicle of 754'', the Arabs took Toledo in 711 and executed many nobles still in the city on the pretense that they had assisted in the flight of

Oppa Oppas (died after 712), also spelled Oppa, was a member of the Visigoths, Visigothic elite in the city of Toledo, Spain, Toledo on the eve of the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, Muslim conquest of Hispania. He was a son of Egica and therefore a br ...

, a son of Egica. Since it took place, according to the same chronicle, after Roderic's defeat, either the defeat must be moved back to 711 or the conquest of Toledo pushed back to 712; the latter is preferred by Collins.Collins, ''Visigothic'', 134. It is possible that the Oppa who fled Toledo and was a son of a previous king was the cause of the "internal fury" which wracked Hispania at the time recorded in the ''Chronicle''. Perhaps Oppa had been declared king at Toledo by Roderic and Achila's rivals, either before Roderic's final defeat or between his death and the Arab capture of Toledo. If so, the death of the nobles who had "ambition for the kingdom" may have been Oppa's supporters who were killed in Toledo by the Arabs shortly after the battle in the south. According to a 9th-century chronicle, a tombstone with the inscription ''Hic requiescit Rodericus, rex Gothorum'' (here rests Roderic, king of the Goths) was found at Egitania (modern Idanha-a-Velha, Portugal). According to the legend of Nazaré the king fled the battlefield alone. Roderic left a widow, Egilo, who later married one of the Arabic governors of Hispania, Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa.

In legend and literature

According to a legend that was for centuries treated as historical fact, Roderic seduced or raped the daughter of Count Julian, known in late accounts as Florinda la Cava. The tale of romance and treachery has inspired many works. According to the '' Legend of Nazaré'', Roderic acquired the stature of Our Lady of Nazaré during the

. Roderic life is alluded in Nights 272 and 273 of the ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...

''. In the story, a king opens a mysterious door in his castle that was locked and sealed shut by the previous kings. The king discovers paintings of Muslim soldiers in the room and a note saying that the city of Labtayt will fall to the soldiers in the paintings if the room is ever opened. The king is later killed by Tariq ibn Ziyad. The details coincide with the fall of Toledo. Roderic is a central figure in the English playwright William Rowley's tragedy '' All's Lost by Lust'', which portrays him as a rapist usurped by Count Julian and the Moors. The Scottish writer

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

and the English writers

Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor (30 January 177517 September 1864) was an English writer, poet, and activist. His best known works were the prose ''Imaginary Conversations,'' and the poem "Rose Aylmer," but the critical acclaim he received from contempora ...

and Robert Southey handled the legends associated with those events poetically: Scott in " The Vision of Don Roderick" in 1811; Landor in his tragedy ''Count Julian'' in 1812; and Southey in " Roderick the Last of the Goths", in 1814. The American writer

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

retold the legends in his ''Legends of the Conquest of Spain'' (1835), mostly written while living in that country. These consist of "Legend of Don Roderick", "Legend of the Subjugation of Spain", and "Legend of Count Julian and His Family". Roderic has been mentioned in

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

's short story " Egotism; or, The Bosom-Serpent" by the name of "Don Rodrigo, the Goth" as a sinner that shares a common vice with "a man of impure life, and a brazen face". In

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

's unfinished poem Rodrik ( Russian Родрик) Roderic survives the last battle, becomes a hermit and gets a promise of victory from Heaven. Roderic has been the subject of two

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s: ''

Rodrigo Rodrigo () is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' ( Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the la ...

'' by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

and '' Don Rodrigo'' by

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical music, 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography G ...

. Roderic appears as a minor character in the first half of Portuguese early Romantic writer Alexandre Herculano's novel '' Eurico, o Presbítero'' ("Euric, the Presbyter", 1844). Roderic's story is told the British West End musical '' La Cava'' (2000).

References

Citations

Sources

* Bachrach, Bernard S.br>"A Reassessment of Visigothic Jewish Policy, 589–711."
''

The American Historical Review ''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association, for which it is an official publication. It targets readers interested in all period ...

'', Vol. 78, No. 1 (1973), pp 11–34. *Collins, Roger. ''The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–97''. Blackwell Publishing, 1989. *Collins, Roger. ''Visigothic Spain, 409–711''. Blackwell Publishing, 2004 *Drayson, Elizabeth. "Ways of Seeing: The First Medieval Islamic and Christian Depictions of Roderick, Last Visigothic King of Spain". ''Al-Masāq'', Vol. 18, No. 2 (2006), pp 115–28. * Hodgkin, Thomas
"Visigothic Spain."
'' The English Historical Review'', Vol. 2, No. 6 (1887), pp 209–234. * Ibn Abd-el-Hakem
"The Islamic Conquest of Spain."
*Shaw, R. Dykes
"The Fall of the Visigothic Power in Spain."
''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 21, No. 82 (1906), pp 209–228. * Thompson, E. A. ''The Goths in Spain''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969. {{Authority control 8th-century Visigothic monarchs Monarchs killed in action Gothic warriors 680s births 711 deaths Umayyad conquest of Hispania One Thousand and One Nights characters 7th-century people from the Visigothic Kingdom 8th-century Visigothic people