Debate: Arianism
and Orthodoxy in
Proposition: The
Visigoths should remain Arian and not convert to Orthodoxy.
Remember:
you will be called upon to answer at
least one of the questions as part of the debate; you may (should) also
take
part in other parts if you have things to say that differ from what
your
teammates have said.
Debate:
Team 1:
argue for the Proposition
Team 2:
argue against the Proposition
This debate differs
from the first
one on taxes. In this debate, you
are not to argue what modern scholars think about the Arian/Orthodox
question,
but what people AT THE TIME were arguing about the religious status of
Christianity in the Visigothic kingdom. If
you are on Team 2, you should ground your arguments in the
primary sources I have assigned; if you are on Team 1, you may
certainly make
references to the primary sources, but you will have to construct
arguments
based on what you know of the history of the Visigoths, since no Arian
writings
on the question survive.
Assigned
questions - Team 1:
1. Background
- Describe the history of
the Visigoths' conversion to Christianity?
Where and when did it take place? What
names do we have of people involved?
2. Background
- Describe the history of
the Visigothic kings from 570 to 586.
3. Background
- What did the Third Council
of Toledo actually do? Who was
present, and how was it organized?
4. Presentation
of the proposition: what is the topic? what is the basis of your argument?
5. Arguments
- present one argument that favors your side, and illustrate it from a
primary source if possible
6. Arguments - present one argument that favors your side, and illustrate it from a primary source if possible
7. Arguments - present one argument that favors your side, and illustrate it from a primary source if possible
8. Do
the summary, summarizing your team's
arguments and state why they are preferable (you can't do this ahead of
time).
Assigned
questions - Team 2:
1. Background
- Describe the history of
the Visigoths from 409 to 570, omitting their religious history
2. Background
- Who was Leander of Seville?
What was his role in all of this?
3. Background
- What was the reaction of the Visigoths
to the Third Council
of Toledo?
4. Presentation
of the proposition: what is the topic? what is the basis of your argument?
5. Arguments
- present
one argument that favors your side, and illustrate it from a primary
source if possible
6. Arguments - present one argument that favors your side, and illustrate it from a primary source if possible
7. Arguments - present one argument that favors your side, and illustrate it from a primary source if possible
8. Do
the summary, summarizing your team's
arguments and state why they are preferable (you can't do this ahead of
time).
Primary source
evidence
All the primary sources that we have were written
by
Catholic authors; thus, the Arian side is not represented at all. Those on Team 1 will have to read these
sources, read between the lines, and come up with arguments that people
might
have made for remaining Arian (based on history).
Two histories of the Visigothic kingdom were
written in the
late sixth/early seventh century. I
have put selections from both of these in one PDF file called
"VisChronicles.pdf" on Oncourse. One of
these was by John of Biclaro,
and consists of a chronicle (a year-by-year listing of events) that
includes
events from the Eastern Roman Empire (these are the "Romans" and the
various emperors), as well as events from the Visigothic kingdom. I have placed entries for the years
573-592 (pp. 67-80). In the
same PDF file, I have put two entries from the History of the Goths
written by Isidore of Seville (the brother of Leander):
first the section that describes the
Visigoths' conversion to Christianity (pp. 84-86), and then the section
about
Leovigild and Reccared (pp. 102-105).
Both of these translations come from K.B. Wolf (trans.), Conquerors
and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain
(Liverpool, 1992).
Several documents survive from the Third Council of Toledo; I have put two of these into one PDF file called "Toledo.pdf" on Oncourse. The first of these is the text known as the Tome presented by King Reccared to the council, which comes from J.N. Hillgarth (trans.), Christianity and Paganism, 350-700 (Philadelphia, 1986). The second text is the introduction from the Acts of the Council of Toledo, in which the events of the council are described; this comes from O.R. Constable (ed.), Medieval Iberia (Philadelphia, 1997).
Information on the Visigoths and Arianism
There is good brief
summary of
Visigothic history (scroll down and read the section on "Historical
Background" at http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521837499&ss=exc
In the Resources folder on Oncourse, I have put a PDF file with a selection
from Roger
Collins' Visigothic Spain, 409-711 (Blackwell, 2004)
that covers
the years 569-90 (including Reccared's conversion and the Third Council
of Toledo)