Suintila
Encyclopedia
Suintila (ca. 588 – 633/635) was Visigothic King
of Hispania
, Septimania
and Galicia
from 621 to 631. There was a new peace in the Kingdom of the Visigoths. As a direct result, by 624 the king was able to retake those lands that had been under the control of Byzantium
. He was a son of Reccared I and wife Bado, and a brother of the general
Geila.
On the linguistic front, it was around Suintila's time that a secondary form of the word Hispania was growing in usage: Spania
, from which the modern name of Spain
originated. According to Isidore of Seville
, who died in 636, it was with the Visigothic domination of Hispania that the idea of a peninsular unity was sought, and the phrase mater Spania ("mother Hispania") was first used. Up to that date, it had been the word Hispania that designated all of the land's in the Iberian peninsula. In his Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum
, Isidore describes Suintila as the first king of totius Spaniae. In the prologue to this work, De laude Spaniae ("About Hispania's Pride"), the country is dealt with as a Gothic nation.
Visigothic Kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom was a kingdom which occupied southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to 8th century AD. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire, it was originally created by the settlement of the Visigoths under King Wallia in the province of...
of Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, Septimania
Septimania
Septimania was the western region of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed under the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theodoric II. Under the Visigoths it was known as simply Gallia or Narbonensis. It corresponded roughly with the modern...
and Galicia
Kingdom of Galicia
The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in the year 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which...
from 621 to 631. There was a new peace in the Kingdom of the Visigoths. As a direct result, by 624 the king was able to retake those lands that had been under the control of Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
. He was a son of Reccared I and wife Bado, and a brother of the general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Geila.
On the linguistic front, it was around Suintila's time that a secondary form of the word Hispania was growing in usage: Spania
Spania
Spania was a province of the Roman Empire from 552 until 624 in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. It was a part of the conquests of Roman Emperor Justinian I in an effort to restore the western half of the Empire....
, from which the modern name of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
originated. According to Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
, who died in 636, it was with the Visigothic domination of Hispania that the idea of a peninsular unity was sought, and the phrase mater Spania ("mother Hispania") was first used. Up to that date, it had been the word Hispania that designated all of the land's in the Iberian peninsula. In his Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum
Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum et Suevorum
The Historia ' Gothorum, is a Latin history of the Goths from 265 to 624, written by Isidore of Seville. It is a condensed account and, due to its diverse sources, somewhat inconsistent...
, Isidore describes Suintila as the first king of totius Spaniae. In the prologue to this work, De laude Spaniae ("About Hispania's Pride"), the country is dealt with as a Gothic nation.
Marriage and issue
He married Theodora, born ca. 590, daughter of the first marriage of his brother-in-law, King Sisebut. Their issue included:- Liuvigoto, born circa 620, who married ErwigErwigErwig was a king of the Visigoths in Hispania . He was the only Visigothic king to be a complete puppet of the bishops and palatine nobility....
- SisenandSisenandSisenand, or Sisinand in Spanish, Galician and Portuguese Sisenando , was Visigothic King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia...
- Ricimer (ca. 610 – 631)
