[gothic-l] Re: Hic jacet Rodericus

[Carlos Carvalho]

Good Evening Dirk,

The tomb seems later if you look at the inscription, but looks older
if you look at the piece of granit alone. The story goes that after the
retaking of Viseu, a sarcophagus was found saying only
Rodericus Rex". It was substituted (or reshaped) by the present one.
Some say it was found in Serra da Estrela (some 50 km to the south),
the highest mountains in Portugal. Most agree it was found in Viseu in
a church.
It lays adajcent to the wall of the church, to the right
of the altarpiece. The church is very small, it is thought to be in
the place where the Visigothic Siege was. (first known bishop there
was Remisol, just before the arians came, VI th century)
The older building was totally reconstructed amid XVIII th century.
Last time I've seen it while attending a funeral (it's 1 km from my parent's
house). I was not aware of any gothic link then, so I can't recall much.
Curious to know Rodericus might not have existed,
my youngest son was named Rodrigo after him (and the tomb proximity )

Kind Regards,

Carlos Carvalho

> Hi Carlos,
>
> do you know if this tomb inscription is really contemporary with the
> early 8th century? Often tombs of long-dead heroes were erected
> centuries after their death. For example the tomb of the Saxon duke
> Widukind dates to the 11/12 century. I am just curious, because some
> authors of Visigothic history have even questioned the historicity of
> Roderic and/or described him as a rather elusive figure. Certainly,
> all the coins in his name turned out to be 19th century fakes,
> meaning that he is the only Visigothic king not to have minted any
> coins.
>
> cheers
> Dirk

> --- In gothic-l at y..., "Carlos Carvalho" <cdecarvalho at s...> wrote:
> > A tomb in Viseu says:
> >
> > "Hic jacet Rodericus ultimus Rex Gothorum
> > maledictus furor impius Juliani pertinax
> > indinatio ejus quia dura Vesanus furia
> > animosus indignatione, impetuosus
> > furore, oblitus fidelitatis."
> >
> > This is a fact unknown by most of the
> > people who visit the town, because the
> > church where it was deposed, S. Miguel do Fetal,
> >  is normally closed.
> > I think that along with him some nobles
> > necessarily would accompany his corpse or the
> > alive king (it is not known if he died there or not,
> > the tradition says 2 years after arriving, as a monk).
> > These people would be in the genesis of later
> > powerfull portuguese counts that appear there and later made
> > the court of Ramiro II, king of Leon, who reigned from Viseu.
> >
> > I would appreciate your comments on this if possible.
> >
> > Kind regards,
> >
> > Carlos Carvalho
> > (Maia - Portugal)
> >
> >





------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Access Your PC from Anywhere - Free Trial
http://us.click.yahoo.com/o5uw2C/0ncEAA/Ey.GAA/wWMplB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/