Women of the Romance Countries (Illustrated): Woman: In all ages and in all countries Vol. 6 (of 10)Effinger, John R. (John Robert)
History
Women of the Romance Countries (Illustrated): Woman: In all ages and in all countries Vol. 6 (of 10)
Effinger, John R. (John Robert)
Women -- Italy -- History; Women -- Spain -- History
In addition to the various social and political questions which were
demanding settlement at this time, there was a matter of ecclesiastical
difference which caused great trouble and confusion. The Goths, though
Christians, belonged to the Arian branch of the Church, while the
Spaniards were firm believers in the Athanasian or Latin form of
Christianity, and the struggle for supremacy between the two went on for
many years before either side was willing to submit. Near the beginning
of the sixth century, Clothilda, daughter of the Frankish king, Clovis,
was married to Amalaric, the Gothic king, whose capital was then in the
old city of Narbonne. Political advantages were supposed to come from
this international alliance, but the results were quite to the contrary.
The queen was an Athanasian, and the king an Arian Catholic, and neither
was willing to endure the heresy of the other. Amalaric used his most
persuasive arts in his attempts to win over his wife to the Gothic point
of view, but his endeavor was in vain, and she remained obstinately true
to the God of her fathers. Finally, irritated beyond measure, the king
ordered that Clothilda should no longer be allowed to make public
profession of her religion, and the result was a merry war which led to
the defeat and final death of the Arian sovereign. Late in this same
sixth century there was in Spain another Frankish queen, who not only
held steadfastly to her own faith, but was the indirect means whereby
all the country was induced to abandon the Arian creed. The native
Catholic clergy, under the leadership of Leander, a most noted
churchman, and Bishop of Seville, had long urged the necessity of such a
change, but the Goths were unwilling to submit; and so matters stood
until Prince Hermenegild, urged on by Leander, and most of all by his
wife Ingunda, led a revolt against his father, King Leovgild. The revolt
was not a success, but the star of the Athanasian party was rising
rapidly, and the open stand of the queen for the Latin doctrines gave
great impetus and power to the whole movement. The triumph was complete
when Leovgild's son and heir, Recared, saw that further opposition was
useless and publicly announced his conversion to the faith of Rome.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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