Abstract

The Roman Empire in Spain did not fall until the 620s. It was only in this decade that the Visigothic kings managed to expel the final Roman forces from the south. Although the political fall of Rome in Spain took far longer than has often been imagined, the social and intellectual landscape had been in transition for many decades. This chapter uses the historical writings of Isidore of Seville, the pre-eminent bishop and scholar of seventh-century Spain, to show how individuals and communities managed the practical and interpretive transition from Roman to Visigothic control.