Cultural Filters: Roderick and La Cava through the Eyes of Medieval Historians

Abstract

The divergent views of history expressed in the two quotations above reflect one of the fundamental oppositions between medieval Christian and Arabic historians as they strove to record the events that took place in Spain in the year 711. Conflicting historiographical traditions and the interplay between historical fact and fiction created disharmony among the ancient voices of the past, rendering their accounts of King Roderick’s demise opaque and confusing. No two exact contemporaneous accounts exist, since the first written records, produced in Spain, date from 741 and 754. The earliest reference to the Muslim invasion appears in the Crónica bizantino-arábiga¹ that Chalmeta suggests may have been written by a Christian from the Levante, possibly a convert to Islam.² However, the Crónica mozarábe de 754³ is of exceptional importance and was written anonymously, again according to Chalmeta by a Mozarabic clergyman from either Cordoba or Levante.⁴ This chronicle carries great weight since it is the best-informed source on this era and reflects Christian peninsular views.

History is philosophy from examples.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 30–37 BC

History is the propaganda of the victors.

Avi Shlaim, 2000