Witteric
| Witteric | |
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Arian; possibly Chalcedonian Christianity after 589 |
Witteric (
. He ruled from 603 to 610.Rise to power
The first mention of Witteric in history was as a conspirator with
Leovigild. He invaded the royal palace and deposed the young king.[citation needed] Witteric cut off the king's right hand, and then had him condemned and executed in the summer of 603.[2]
Reign
During his reign, the Visigoths fought the Byzantines. However,
Cartago Nova) was taken, as its bishop appears in a council of Toledo
in 610.
In the twelfth year of his reign, king
Clotaire II of Neustria, and Agilulf of the Lombards to effect his deposition and death. Despite their mutual fear of Theodoric, their alliance did not accomplish anything; according to Fredegar, "Theodoric got wind of it [the alliance] but treated it with utter contempt.".[4]
Assassination
In April 610, a faction of
Catholic nobles conspired against Witteric and assassinated him during a banquet. His body was dragged ignominiously through the streets and he was later buried without the honors corresponding to his status.[5] The nobles then proclaimed Gundemar, Duke of Narbonne, king.[3]
References
- ^ Lives of the Fathers of Merida, 5.10; Peter Heather, The Goths (Oxford: Blackwell, 1996), pp. 282f
- ^ Isidore of Seville, Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum, chapter 57. Translation by Guido Donini and Gordon B. Ford, Isidore of Seville's History of the Goths, Vandals, and Suevi, second revised edition (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1970), p. 27
- ^ a b Isidore, chapter 58; translated by Donini and Ford, p. 27
- ^ J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, translator, The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1960), p. 21
- ^ Rachel L. Stocking, Bishops, Councils, and Consensus in the Visigothic Kingdom, 589-633 (University of Michigan Press, 2000), p. 119.
External links
- (in Spanish) Coins of King Witteric
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