[gothic-l] Germanic Pagan survivals in Visigothic Spain

[F. E. Ximenez]

Greetings Everyone,

Here is an interesting Germanic survival in Medieval Spain. - More
interesting still are the opinions of certain of the cited authors who
believe that the Germanic custom (at least at the time of Witiza) was
especially vigorous among the lower classes who were not as "visible" to
the episcopate and lay rulers as the nobility. Instead, the legislation
indicates an open sanction of a practice previously thought to be
anathema by Hispano-Roman. clerics. It raises the interesting
possibility that other Visigothic customs, and perhaps a more robust
Visigothic tradition and identity was surviving away from the sight of
the authorities.

It was under Egica or perhaps his son Witiza (701-711) that the ordeal
by hot water was legalized. This is the only instance of the "ordeal" in
Visigothic Spain, and strangely enough was probably the last law issued
by a Visigothic ruler. Mention of the ordeal is included in the present
study because, according to the more commonly accepted opinion today,
the ordeal was a survival of Germanic paganism. (108) The reason for the
ordeal is stated in the law itself. Many free-born persons had
complained of the fact that they had been subjected to torture in law
suits involving a sum of money of less than three hundred solidi, in
which cases the law forbade freeborn persons to be tortured. The king,
therefore, decided that in cases where the sum of money in question was
less than three hundred solidi, the accused person was to be subjected
to the ordeal by hot water. If this ordeal proved him guilty, then
torture was to be [135] used; if; however, the ordeal proved the
innocence of the accused person he was not to be subjected to torture.
The same procedure (ordeal and torture) was to be followed in the case
of a person whose testimony was regarded with suspicion. There is no
mention of a religious ceremony on the occasion of this ordeal.

F. Dahn claims that the ordeal was introduced into Visigothic law
because of the Franks, who had settled in Spain. (109) This opinion has
been rejected by most
writers, however, J. Ficker asserts with greater probability that the
ordeals had never died out among the lower classes of the population,
who had been little affected by the law code of Receswinth, and that
their practices came to the surface and were legalized in the closing
years of the Visigothic monarchy. (110) The writer believes that the
process mentioned by Ficker was hastened by the fact that King Wamba had
deprived many people in Spain of the right of giving testimony in court,
because they had riot assisted him in crushing the rebellion of Paul, a
Visigothic noble, in 673. (111) Unable to settle their disputes legally
these people might easily revert to the old Germanic custom of the
ordeal.

Cheers,
Frithunanths Ximenez




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