Visigothic Law and Governance in the Roman Empire
Distribution of Land
The legal basis for the establishment of the Visigoths in the Roman Empire lies in the 418 foedus agreed between the Visigoth king and Emperor Honorius. This agreement, whose text is not preserved, has its origins in the Roman concept of hospitalitas (an institution mentioned in the Theodosian and Justinian Codes). Soldiers hosted under hospitalitas were obligated to share their homes, divided into thirds. The property owner chose one-third, another third was for the soldier, and the final third was for the owner’s use. Scholars agree that the land division dates back to the reign of Valia. The existence of shared forests and meadows has nothing to do with this division, as such communal areas (compascua) remained outside the land distribution.
According to Torres López, both large and small estates were divided. However, Garcia Gallo believes that only large estates (latifundios) were shared due to the small properties’ inability to provide adequate means of subsistence after division. There is also no agreement on the proportion of the distribution. Torres stated it was one-third for the Romans and two-thirds for the Visigoths. Garcia Gallo’s theory is that, when only the latifundios were divided, the Visigoths received one-third of the terra dominicata (land directly exploited by the owner) and two-thirds of the terra indominicata (land cultivated by settlers and tenants). It can be deduced that Romans and Visigoths shared the land in more or less equal parts. The two-thirds of the terra indominicata, though seemingly a loss, corresponded to land passed from parents to children of settlers, who in reality only lost the moderate income paid to the landowners. Only the Visigoth ruling class became landowners or tenants. The Visigoths’ portions were called sortes gothicae and the Hispano-Romans’ tertia romanorum. This is reflected in place names, such as Villagodos (from sortes). Under hospitalitas, housing and farm objects were also shared, and even slaves were sometimes held in common.
The Code of Euric
Euric, the first true Gothic king, enacted a legislative code. After plotting against his brother Theodoric II, resulting in the latter’s death, Euric took the throne in 466. With the fall of what remained of the Western Roman Empire and the prefecture of Arles, Euric became a powerful king. Sidonius Apollinaris tells us that Euric dominated villages with weapons and with laws. Later, Saint Isidore would say that Euric was the first king under whose government the Goths began to be governed by law, not just customs.
The Code of Euric survives in the library of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The Spanish translation by D’Ors is the accepted scholarly version. The text is fundamentally based on vulgar Roman law (according to D’Ors), although some Germanic influences cannot be ignored. D’Ors believes that with the decline of the Western Roman Empire and the prefecture of Arles, Euric substituted the existing authority, dictating the code as an edict. Garcia-Gallo questions Euric’s sole authorship of the code. Only 276 of an estimated 350 precepts are preserved, and only 47 are continuous. If the text belongs to Theodoric II, according to Garcia-Gallo, its enactment would have taken place during his reign (453-484). If it belongs to Euric, according to the prevailing view, it would date from his reign (466-484).
The Councils of Toledo
Council meetings were of two kinds: provincial and general. Provincial councils grouped the episcopate under a metropolitan of an ecclesiastical province. General councils accommodated bishops of the kingdom to discuss matters of common interest. The Councils of Toledo were attended by the king, who participated in both governmental and legislative tasks. From Recaredo’s conversion to Catholicism at the Third Council of Toledo (589), the Church assumed an important role in religious, moral, and ethical matters, influencing the norms that governed political power. The Church’s participation in legislation is noteworthy, as monarchs sought support and collaboration in legislative tasks through these councils.
Kings convened the meetings and proposed topics for discussion in a Tomo Regio read at the opening session. For agreements to have legal effect, royal assent was required through a lex in confirmatione Concilii. The Councils of Toledo gathered all the bishops of Spain. While early meetings focused on religious themes, later councils addressed diverse issues such as conditions for electing the monarch, ensuring the oaths of the king and subjects, monitoring the legitimacy of uprisings, establishing judicial guarantees for ecclesiastical magnates, and ultimately dictating guidelines for the conduct of the state and monarchs.
Sánchez-Albornoz and García-Gallo argue that the Councils of Toledo were primarily religious assemblies, with limited political activity, and that they neither legislated nor judged. However, Ramón d’Abadal contends that the councils were also legislative and political control bodies that did legislate. The Tomo Regio, issued by the king for each council, outlined the tasks to be addressed. Therefore, the Councils of Toledo can be defined as mixed assemblies.