Athanagild

Athanagild (c. 517 – December 567) was Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania. He had rebelled against his predecessor, Agila I, in 551. The armies of Agila and Athanagild met at Seville, where Agila met a second defeat.^[1] Following the death of Agila in 554, he was sole ruler for the rest of his reign.

Roger Collins writes that Athanagild's reign "is perhaps more significant than our sources may care to let us believe." Collins argues that the account of Isidore of Seville may be colored by the hostility subsequent Visigothic kings had towards Athanagild and his descendants.^[2]

The Roman invasion

During the conflict between the two, a

Athanagild died of natural causes in Toledo, according to Isidore, then, after an interregnum of five months, Liuva I became king.^[8]

Dynastic alliances

His queen,

However Athanagild's death in 567 altered the situation. Wood speculates that the date of Galswintha's murder followed soon after his death.[10] Brunhilda avoided her sister's fate, and became a central figure of Frankish history for the remainder of the sixth century.^[11] Lastly, Goiswintha survived the upheaval that followed Athangild's death, and became the second wife of Liuvigild, the brother of Athangild's successor Liuva, and himself a future king of the Visigoths.^[12]

References