joinng group, focus of visigoth

[Carl Edlund Anderson]

On 16/03/2007 15:42, Kristin Marie Wall wrote:
> Do you have visigoth information for me? If so, please email me. In 
> any event, email me with your skeptical questions so as not to take 
> up time from the rest of the group. I have my information from the 
> top echelon families in Spain. I'll be indebted to know the sources 
> of your skepticism.

I want to emphasize that my skepticism (and, yes, sarcasm) was _not_ 
aimed at you -- but I freely admit it is aimed whoever told about this 
mysterious information unknown to "the scholars".  I would also like to 
emphasize that Gothic issues were never my main area of work, but I do 
know a number of people who have worked on late antique and early 
medieval Spain, including on Visigothic issues, and my skepticism is 
based on my general background and experience, as well as what I've 
gleaned about the field from friends and colleagues.

With regard to the particular issue at hand -- that of private families 
(regardless of their echelon) in Spain having genuine information about 
Visigothic Spain that is not known to the academic and scholarly world 
in general -- I think I will leave it at saying I find it utterly 
incredible in every sense of the word.  Of course, it's a free internet, 
and one can choose to believe what and who one will.  But I am 
_strongly_ inclined to file information alongside concepts such as 
Merovingians being descended from Jesus and Atlanteans building the 
pyramids.  I'm not a dogmatic knee-jerk kind of guy, though, and I am 
entirely open to being proven wrong -- it would not be the first time :) 
  But I would be _extremely_ surprised and (in the event that there was 
genuine new information available to the world) very happy.

With regards to the topic Visigothic Spain generally, I cannot say much 
specific that's of any value since that is, as I note, not my area of 
expertise.  I can say that I know the subject has always been a 
difficult one, and the history of its study is littered with ethnic, 
religious, and political issues.  (Even during the period of the 
Visigothic kings, ethnicity and identity seems to have been fairly fluid 
concepts in the Iberian peninsula, thanks to the complicated religious 
and political situation.)  I fear the best overview of the subject in 
English is still E.A. Thompson's, _The Goths in Spain_ -- an excellent 
book, just now 40 years or so old.  More promisingly, there has been a 
lot of interest in ethnicity and identity in late antiquity and the 
early medieval period in recent decades, and there's a good deal of 
Spanish-language scholarship that appeared in the form of journal 
articles and such dealing with such issues regarding various Roman, 
Visigothic, and Moorish identities (as well as Basque) around the time 
of the Visigothic kings and also effects of relations with the Frankish 
polities to the north.  If you read Spanish, seeking out recent articles 
treating Visigothic identity is probably the best bet.  Visigothic Spain 
is unquestionably a fascinating field over which there surely much 
debate yet to come.

Cheers,
Carl

-- 
Carl Edlund Anderson
mailto:cea at carlaz.com
http://www.carlaz.com/
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