Early Medieval Spain

The history of the Iberian peninsula, from at least Roman times to the present, has been characterised by a tension between the radical and cultural diversity of its different regions and the attempts of successive rulers to impose a political and natinal unity upon it. From this conflict a distinctive Hispanic identity has emerged.

In this study Roger Collins offers new interpretations of one of the most crucial phases of this process, 400 to 1000 AD, while presenting a synoptic view of the history of Spain as a whole that is also placed firmly in the context of Mediterranean and West European developments. The notion that Spain was essentially isolated is rejected. Thus the scolar and the student are provided with a challenging and informative account.

This volume forms a companion to Angus MacKay’s “Spain in the Middle Ages: From Frontier to Empire, 1000 – 1500, already publishes in this series, and contains maps, geneological tables, lists of rulers, full references and bibliographies.