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116-478: Based on historical accounts, and oral tradition, the site of the chapel was (around 560 A.D.) the location of a small Roman villa and, likely, a temple dedicated to the god Asclepius . In 656, Fructuosus of Braga , then Bishop of Bracara, founded on this site the Monastery of São Salvador, ordering the construction of the chapel, as his tomb. In the biography of his life, São Valerius confirms as much, mentioning that

232-687: A cult to the saint was begun. In 1102, the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela , D. Diogo Gelmires, transferred the mortal remains of Frutuoso to Compostela. In 1523, Archbishop D. Diogo de Sousa founded the Franciscan convent of the Order of the Capuchos da Piedade , alongside the chapel of São Frutuoso, likely destroying the older Monastery of São Salvador. From notes by friar Manuel de Monforte (in 1696), in his Crónica da Província da Piedade ( Chronicle of

348-680: A forced Christian conversion upon all Jews residing in Spain. This mandate apparently achieved only partial success: similar decrees were repeated by later kings as central power was consolidated. These laws either prescribed forcible baptism of the Jews or forbade circumcision, Jewish rites, and the observance of the Sabbath and other festivals. Throughout the 7th century the Jews were persecuted for religious reasons, had their property confiscated, were subjected to ruinous taxes, forbidden to trade and, at times, dragged to

464-593: A hoped-for spearhead to a "Reconquest" of the far west envisaged by emperor Justinian I . Imperial Roman armies took advantage of Visigothic rivalries and established a government at Córdoba. The last Arian Visigothic king, Liuvigild , conquered most of the northern regions (Cantabria) in 574, the Suevic kingdom in 584, and regained part of the southern areas lost to the Byzantines , which King Suintila recovered in 624. Suintila reigned until 631. Only one historical source

580-501: A model/design aesthetic based on the mausoleum Galla Placidia in Ravenna . This redesign was followed by the DGEMN reconstruction of cupola and roof in 1939, again in 1941, repairs in 1958, that included the reconstruction of the walls, door, plastering of the cupola and several projects around the churchyard. In 1961, the pavement, main arch, reconstruction of the staircase and consolidation of

696-425: A mountain called Tittheion (from τίτθη "wet nurse", τιτθεύω "to suckle, breastfeed"). The child was given milk by one of the goats that pastured about the mountain, and was guarded by the watch-dog of the herd. Aresthanas, the owner of goats and the guard dogs found the child. As he came near, he saw lightning that flashed from the child, and thinking of it to be a sign of the divine, he left the child alone. Asclepius

812-655: A people is as obscure as that of the Franks and Alamanni . The Visigoths spoke an eastern Germanic language that was distinct by the 4th century. Eventually the Gothic language died as a result of contact with other European people during the Middle Ages . Long struggles between the neighboring Vandili and Lugii people with the Goths may have contributed to their earlier exodus into mainland Europe. The vast majority of them settled between

928-565: A snake with a "head of linen" was an incarnation of Asclepius. The Greek language rhetorician and satirist Lucian produced the work Alexander the False Prophet to denounce the swindler for future generations. He described Alexander as having a character "made up of lying, trickery, perjury, and malice; [it was] facile, audacious, venturesome, diligent in the execution of its schemes, plausible, convincing, masking as good, and wearing an appearance absolutely opposite to its purpose." In Rome,

1044-538: A son, Aratus , with Aristodeme . Asclepius once started bringing back to life the dead people like Tyndareus, Capaneus, Glaucus, Hymenaeus, Lycurgus and others. Others say he brought Hippolytus back from the dead on Artemis's request, and accepted gold for it. It is the only mention of Asclepius resurrecting the dead. In all other accounts he is said to use his skills simply as a physician. However, Hades accused Asclepius of stealing his subjects and complained to his brother Zeus about it. According to others, Zeus

1160-473: Is "entirely arguable, but so is the opposite". Wolfram believes that "Vesi" and "Ostrogothi" were terms each tribe used to boastfully describe itself and argues that "Tervingi" and "Greuthungi" were geographical identifiers each tribe used to describe the other. This would explain why the latter terms dropped out of use shortly after 400, when the Goths were displaced by the Hunnic invasions . Wolfram believes that

1276-455: Is a Visigothic chapel from the mid-7th century, built during the reign of Wamba to preserve the remains of the martyr Saint Antoninus of Pamiers , a Visigothic-Gallic nobleman brought from Narbonne to Visigothic Hispania in 672 or 673 by Wamba himself. These are the only remains of the Visigothic cathedral of Palencia. Reccopolis, located near the tiny modern village of Zorita de los Canes in

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1392-417: Is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology . He is the son of Apollo and Coronis , or Arsinoe , or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters, the "Asclepiades", are: Hygieia ("Health, Healthiness"), Iaso (from ἴασις "healing, recovering, recuperation", the goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (from ἄκεσις "healing",

1508-632: Is further below these buildings. To the southeast, the old granite pavement leads to the Quinta do Lago ( Estate of the Lake ) and the Escola Primária de Real ( Primary School of Real ) to the west. The chapel of São Frutuoso continues to be an enigma, but it is a uniquely rare example of Visigothic structures in Portugal, based on a Greek-cross, which may have followed the design of a Byzantine mausoleum comparable to

1624-460: Is now referred to as Germanic paganism . While the Germanic peoples were slowly converted to Christianity by varying means, many elements of the pre-Christian culture and indigenous beliefs remained firmly in place after the conversion process, particularly in the more rural and distant regions. The Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Vandals were Christianized while they were still outside the bounds of

1740-678: The Notitia Dignitatum as equating the Vesi with the Tervingi in a reference to the years 388–391. On the other hand, another recent interpretation of the Notitia is that the two names, Vesi and Tervingi, are found in different places in the list, "a clear indication that we are dealing with two different army units, which must also presumably mean that they are, after all, perceived as two different peoples". Peter Heather has written that Wolfram's position

1856-470: The Galla Placidia , in Ravenna . The church is laid out in a Greek cross design, with a rectangular exterior, and semi-circular interior arms (to the north, south and east). From the exterior, the main volume of the chapel is surmounted by a tower-like cupola and cross, with the roof covered in rounded tiles. The limestone walls are surmounted by edged cornices, preceded by frieses, also in limestone, in

1972-468: The Aesculapian snake ( Zamenis longissimus ) is named for the god. He was originally called Hepius but received his popular name of Asclepius after he cured Ascles, ruler of Epidaurus who suffered an incurable ailment in his eyes. Asclepius became so proficient as a healer that he surpassed both Chiron and his father, Apollo. Asclepius was therefore able to evade death and to bring others back to life from

2088-727: The Battle of Adrianople in 378. Relations between the Romans and Alaric's Visigoths varied, with the two groups making treaties when convenient, and warring with one another when not. Under Alaric, the Visigoths invaded Italy and sacked Rome in August 410 . The Visigoths were subsequently settled in southern Gaul as foederati to the Romans, a relationship that was established in 418. This developed as an independent kingdom with its capital at Toulouse , and they extended their authority into Hispania at

2204-572: The College of Aesculapius and Hygia was an association ( collegium ) that served as a burial society and dining club that also participated in the Imperial cult . The botanical genus Asclepias (commonly known as milkweed) is named after him and includes the medicinal plant A. tuberosa or "Pleurisy root". Asclepius was depicted on the reverse of the Greek 10,000 drachmas banknote of 1995–2001. At

2320-508: The Oder and Vistula rivers until overpopulation (according to Gothic legends or tribal sagas) forced them to move south and east, where they settled just north of the Black Sea . However, this legend is not supported by archaeological evidence so its validity is disputable. Historian Malcolm Todd contends that while this large en masse migration is possible, the movement of Gothic peoples south-east

2436-609: The Roman Empire during late antiquity . The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the command of Alaric I . Their exact origins are believed to have been diverse but they probably included many descendants of the Thervingi who had moved into the Roman Empire beginning in 376 and had played a major role in defeating the Romans at

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2552-560: The Roman Empire ; however, they converted to Arianism rather than to the Nicene version (Trinitarianism) followed by most Romans, who considered them heretics . There was a religious gulf between the Visigoths, who had for a long time adhered to Arianism, and their Catholic subjects in Hispania. There were also deep sectarian splits among the Catholic population of the peninsula which contributed to

2668-608: The Salarian Gate , and sacked the city . However, Rome, while still the official capital, was no longer the de facto seat of the government of the Western Roman Empire. From the late 370s up to 402, Milan was the seat of government, but after the siege of Milan the Imperial Court moved to Ravenna in 402. Honorius visited Rome often, and after his death in 423 the emperors resided mostly there. Rome's fall severely shook

2784-478: The Therapeutae of Asclepius . The etymology of the name is unknown. In his revised version of Frisk's Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch ( Greek Etymological Dictionary ), R. S. P. Beekes gives this summary of the different attempts: Beekes suggested a Pre-Greek proto-form *(a)-s klap- . His name may mean "to cut open" from a story about his birth. Asclepius was the son of Apollo and, according to

2900-528: The gens Gothorum or the Hispani . An unknown number of them fled and took refuge in Asturias or Septimania. In Asturias they supported Pelagius's uprising, and joining with the indigenous leaders, formed a new aristocracy. The population of the mountain region consisted of native Astures , Galicians , Cantabri , Basques and other groups unassimilated into Hispano-Gothic society. Other Visigoths who refused to adopt

3016-544: The only new cities founded in Western Europe between the 5th and 8th centuries . It is certain (through contemporary Spanish accounts) that they founded four: Reccopolis , Victoriacum (modern Vitoria-Gasteiz , though perhaps Iruña-Veleia ), Luceo and Olite . There is also a possible 5th city ascribed to them by a later Arabic source: Baiyara (perhaps modern Montoro ). All of these cities were founded for military purposes and three of them in celebration of victory. Despite

3132-487: The province of Guadalajara , Castile-La Mancha, Spain, is an archaeological site of one of at least four cities founded in Hispania by the Visigoths. It is the only city in Western Europe to have been founded between the 5th and 8th centuries. The city's construction was ordered by the Visigothic king Liuvigild to honor his son Reccared and to serve as Reccared's seat as co-king in the Visigothic province of Celtiberia , to

3248-600: The "greatest of the Visigothic kings" for he managed to secure territorial gains denied to his predecessors and even acquired access to the Mediterranean Sea . At his death, the Visigoths were the most powerful of the successor states to the Western Roman Empire and were at the very height of their power. Not only had Euric secured significant territory, he and his son, Alaric II , who succeeded him, adopted Roman administrative and bureaucratic governance, including Rome's tax gathering policies and legal codes. At this point,

3364-448: The 7th century. Two older tribal names from outside the Roman empire are associated with Visigoths who formed within the empire. The first references to any Gothic tribes by Roman and Greek authors were in the third century, notably including the Thervingi , who were once referred to as Goths by Ammianus Marcellinus . Much less is known of the "Vesi" or "Visi", from whom the term "Visigoth"

3480-483: The Danube provinces were effectively sealed off by concerted Roman efforts, and while there was no decisive victory to claim, it was essentially a Roman triumph ending in a treaty in 382. The treaty struck with the Goths was to be the first foedus on imperial Roman soil. It required these semi-autonomous Germanic tribes to raise troops for the Roman army in exchange for arable land and freedom from Roman legal structures within

3596-568: The Eastern Roman Emperor Valens to be allowed to settle with his people on the south bank of the Danube . Here, they hoped to find refuge from the Huns . Valens permitted this, as he saw in them "a splendid recruiting ground for his army". However, a famine broke out and Rome was unwilling to supply them with either the food they were promised or the land. Generally, the Goths were abused by

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3712-583: The Empire's confidence, especially in the West. Loaded with booty, Alaric and the Visigoths extracted as much as they could with the intention of leaving Italy from Basilicata to northern Africa . Alaric died before the disembarkation and was buried supposedly near the ruins of Croton. He was succeeded by his wife's brother. The Visigothic Kingdom was a Western European power in the 5th to 8th centuries, created first in Gaul, when

3828-431: The Empire's military capabilities. Adrianople shocked the Roman world and eventually forced the Romans to negotiate with and settle the tribe within the empire's boundaries, a development with far-reaching consequences for the eventual fall of Rome . Fourth-century Roman soldier and historian Ammianus Marcellinus ended his chronology of Roman history with this battle. Despite the severe consequences for Rome, Adrianople

3944-478: The Empire. The new emperor, Theodosius I , made peace with the rebels, and this peace held essentially unbroken until Theodosius died in 395. In that year, the Visigoths' most famous king, Alaric I , made a bid for the throne, but controversy and intrigue erupted between the East and West, as General Stilicho tried to maintain his position in the empire. Theodosius was succeeded by his incompetent sons: Arcadius in

4060-455: The Goths and their neighbors. After the Romans withdrew from the territory of Dacia, the local population was subjected to constant invasions by the migratory tribes, among the first being the Goths. In 238, the Goths invaded across the Danube into the Roman province of Moesia , pillaging and exacting payment through hostage taking. During the war with the Persians that year, Goths also appeared in

4176-580: The Goths, which was a simplification and literary device, while political realities were more complex. Cassiodorus used the term "Goths" to refer to only the Ostrogoths, whom he served, and reserved the geographic reference "Visigoths" for the Gallo-Spanish Goths. The term "Visigoths" was later used by the Visigoths themselves in their communications with the Byzantine Empire , and was still in use in

4292-544: The Iberian Visigoths maintained their Christian Arianism, especially the Visigothic elite until the end of Liuvigild's reign. When Reccared I converted to Catholicism, he sought to unify the kingdom under a single faith. While the Visigoths retained their Arian faith, the Jews were well tolerated. Previous Roman and Byzantine law determined their status, and it already sharply discriminated against them, but royal jurisdiction

4408-559: The Judges) and Lex Visigothorum (English: Law of the Visigoths), is a set of laws first promulgated by king Chindasuinth (642–653 AD) that had been part of aristocratic oral tradition and were set in writing in the year 654. This book survives in two separate codices preserved at el Escorial (Spain). It goes into more detail than a modern constitution commonly does and reveals a great deal about Visigothic social structure. The code abolished

4524-554: The Muslim faith or live under their rule fled north to the kingdom of the Franks , and Visigoths played key roles in the empire of Charlemagne a few generations later. In the early years of the Emirate of Córdoba , a group of Visigoths who remained under Muslim dominance constituted the personal bodyguard of the Emir , al-Haras . During their long reign in Spain, the Visigoths were responsible for

4640-469: The Province of Piedade ), the chapel "is in [the shape of a cross] with all sides equal; whose points form four chapels, whose walls close in a half-circle. One of the chapels, which one can call the foot of the cross, serves as the entrance where the door is; another which rightly corresponds to this one, as the head of the cross, serves as the principal chapel, or where the altar is; in the other two, which are

4756-655: The Rhine near Mogontiacum (modern Mainz ) the last day of 406 and eventually were invited into Spain by a Roman usurper in the autumn of 409 (the latter two tribes were devastated). This was probably done under hospitalitas , the rules for billeting army soldiers. The settlement formed the nucleus of the future Visigothic kingdom that would eventually expand across the Pyrenees and onto the Iberian peninsula. That Visigothic settlement proved paramount to Europe's future as had it not been for

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4872-404: The Roman armies of Gordian III . When subsidies to the Goths were stopped, the Goths organized and in 250 joined a major barbarian invasion led by the Germanic king, Kniva . Success on the battlefield against the Romans inspired additional invasions into the northern Balkans and deeper into Anatolia . Starting in approximately 255, the Goths added a new dimension to their attacks by taking to

4988-471: The Roman legions massacred the families of thousands of barbarian soldiers who were trying to assimilate into the Roman empire, Alaric decided to march on Rome. After two defeats in Northern Italy and a siege of Rome ended by a negotiated pay-off, Alaric was cheated by another Roman faction. He resolved to cut the city off by capturing its port. On August 24, 410, however, Alaric's troops entered Rome through

5104-451: The Romans lost their control of the western half of their empire and then in Hispania until 711. For a brief period, the Visigoths controlled the strongest kingdom in Western Europe. In response to the invasion of Roman Hispania of 409 by the Vandals , Alans , and Suebi , Honorius , the emperor in the West, enlisted the aid of the Visigoths to regain control of the territory. From 408 to 410

5220-470: The Romans, who began forcing the now starving Goths to trade away their children so as to stave off starvation. Open revolt ensued, leading to 6 years of plundering throughout the Balkans, the death of a Roman Emperor and a disastrous defeat of the Roman army. The Battle of Adrianople in 378 was the decisive moment of the war. The Roman forces were slaughtered and the Emperor Valens was killed during

5336-621: The Umayyad forces in the Battle of Covadonga in 718 and established the Kingdom of Asturias in the northern part of the peninsula. According to Joseph F. O'Callaghan, the remnants of the Hispano-Gothic aristocracy still played an important role in the society of Hispania. At the end of Visigothic rule, the assimilation of Hispano-Romans and Visigoths was occurring at a fast pace. Their nobility had begun to think of themselves as constituting one people,

5452-467: The Visigothic identity emerged from the Gothic War of 376–382 when a collection of Tervingi, Greuthungi and other "barbarian" contingents banded together in multiethnic foederati (Wolfram's "federate armies") under Alaric I in the eastern Balkans , since they had become a multi ethnic group and could no longer claim to be exclusively Tervingian. Other names for other Gothic divisions abounded. In 469,

5568-552: The Visigothic kings, that is, until their transition from Arianism to Catholicism. Conversion to Catholicism across Visigothic society reduced much of the friction between the Visigoths and the Hispano-Roman population. However, the Visigothic conversion negatively impacted the Jews, who came under scrutiny for their religious practices. King Reccared convened the Third Council of Toledo to settle religious disputations related to

5684-482: The Visigothic throne. Sometime in 549, the Visigoth Athanagild sought military assistance from Justinian I and while this aide helped Athanagild win his wars, the Romans had much more in mind. Granada and southernmost Baetica were lost to representatives of the Byzantine Empire (to form the province of Spania ) who had been invited in to help settle this Visigothic dynastic struggle, but who stayed on, as

5800-410: The Visigothic warriors who fought side by side with the Roman troops under general Flavius Aetius , it is perhaps possible that Attila would have seized control of Gaul, rather than the Romans being able to retain dominance. The Visigoths' second great king, Euric , unified the various quarreling factions among the Visigoths and, in 475, concluded the peace treaty with the emperor Julius Nepos . In

5916-770: The Visigoths built several churches in the basilical or cruciform style that survive, including the churches of San Pedro de la Nave in El Campillo, Santa María de Melque in San Martín de Montalbán , Santa Lucía del Trampal in Alcuéscar, Santa Comba in Bande, and Santa María de Lara in Quintanilla de las Viñas. The Visigothic crypt (the Crypt of San Antolín) in the Palencia Cathedral

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6032-496: The Visigoths caused so much damage to Rome and the immediate periphery that nearly a decade later, the provinces in and around the city were only able to contribute one-seventh of their previous tax shares. In 418, Honorius rewarded his Visigothic federates by giving them land in Gallia Aquitania on which to settle after they had attacked the four tribes— Suebi , Asding and Siling Vandals , as well as Alans —who had crossed

6148-565: The Visigoths less distinguishable from the indigenous Roman citizens of the Iberian peninsula; when the last Visigothic strongholds fell to the Muslim armies, whose subsequent invasions transformed Spain from the beginning of the 8th century, their Gothic identity faded. In the eighth through 11th centuries, the muwallad clan of the Banu Qasi claimed descent from the Visigothic Count Cassius . During their governance of Hispania,

6264-470: The Visigoths to restore their royal line and re-partition the Visigothic kingdom through Amalaric, who incidentally, was more than just Alaric II's son; he was also the grandson of Theodoric the Great through his daughter Theodegotho. Amalaric reigned independently for five years. Following Amalaric's assassination in 531, another Ostrogothic ruler, Theudis took his place. For the next seventeen years, Theudis held

6380-489: The Visigoths were also the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula , quickly crushing the Alans and forcing the Vandals into north Africa . By 500, the Visigothic Kingdom, centred at Toulouse , controlled Aquitania and Gallia Narbonensis and most of Hispania with the exception of the Kingdom of the Suebi in the northwest and small areas controlled by the Basques and Cantabrians . Any survey of western Europe taken during this moment would have led one to conclude that

6496-461: The Visigoths were called the "Alaric Goths". The Frankish Table of Nations , probably of Byzantine or Italian origin, referred to one of the two peoples as the Walagothi , meaning "Roman Goths" (from Germanic * walhaz , foreign). This probably refers to the Romanized Visigoths after their entry into Spain. Landolfus Sagax , writing in the 10th or 11th century, calls the Visigoths the Hypogothi . The name Tervingi may mean "forest people", with

6612-454: The appropriate therapy by a process of interpretation. Some healing temples also used sacred dogs to lick the wounds of sick petitioners. In honor of Asclepius, a particular type of non-venomous snake was often used in healing rituals, and these snakes—the Aesculapian Snakes —slithered around freely on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept. These snakes were introduced at the founding of each new temple of Asclepius throughout

6728-418: The arms, are the two collateral altars; having both about 17 palms, and half a square, in this so small space this church has 24 columns: four at the main entrance to the door, six in each collateral chapel, and eight in the main of all..." . In 1728, by order of Archbishop D. Rodrigo de Moura Teles, the beginnings of a reconstruction and remodelling of the Convent of São Francisco's Church is undertaken, with

6844-422: The art of medicine. It is said that in return for some kindness rendered by Asclepius, a snake licked Asclepius's ears clean and taught him secret knowledge (to the Greeks snakes were sacred beings of wisdom, healing, and resurrection). Asclepius bore a rod wreathed with a snake, which became associated with healing. Another version states that when Asclepius (or in another myth Polyidus ) was commanded to restore

6960-416: The baptismal font. Many were obliged to accept Christianity but continued privately to observe the Jewish religion and practices. The decree of 613 set off a century of difficulty for Spanish Jewry, which was only ended by the Muslim conquest. The political aspects of the imposition of Church power cannot be ignored in these matters. With the conversion of the Visigothic kings to Chalcedonian Christianity ,

7076-408: The basis for court procedure in most of Christian Iberia until the Late Middle Ages , centuries after the demise of the kingdom. The Visigoths were never called Visigoths, only Goths, until Cassiodorus used the term, when referring to their loss against Clovis I in 507. Cassiodorus apparently invented the term based on the model of the " Ostrogoths ", but using the older name of the Vesi, one of

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7192-425: The beginning of the Reconquista by Christian troops under Pelagius . The Visigoths founded the only new cities in western Europe from the fall of the Western half of the Roman Empire until the rise of the Carolingian dynasty . Many Visigothic names are still in use in the modern Spanish and Portuguese languages. Their most notable legacy, however, was the Visigothic Code , which served, among other things, as

7308-424: The bishops increased their power, until, at the Fourth Council of Toledo in 633, they selected a king from among the royal family, a practice previously reserved for nobles. This was the same synod that spoke out against those who had been baptized but had relapsed into Judaism. As far as the Visigoths were concerned, the time for religious pluralism "was past". By the end of the 7th century, Catholic conversion made

7424-497: The brink of death and beyond. This caused an excessive abundance of human beings, and Zeus resorted to killing him to maintain balance in the numbers of the human population. At some point, Asclepius was among those who took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt. Also, he was one of the Argonauts . Asclepius was married to Epione , with whom he had five daughters: Hygieia , Panacea , Aceso , Iaso , and Aegle , and three sons: Machaon , Podaleirios and Telesphoros . He also sired

7540-433: The century that followed, the region was dominated by the Councils of Toledo and the episcopacy. In 711, an invading force of Arabs and Berbers defeated the Visigoths during the Battle of Guadalete . The Visigoth king, Roderic , and many members of the Visigothic governing elite were killed and their kingdom rapidly collapsed. This was followed by the subsequent formation of the Kingdom of Asturias in northern Spain and

7656-429: The chapel of São Frutuoso integrated into the Church. From this point forward, the Chapel is accessible from the main Church, owing to significant alterations; this changes include, the destruction of the main façade, the modification of the eastern and western arms of the Latin cross -design; and alterations to the internal columns, including changes to the baldachins . It was architect Ernest Korrodi who first promoted

7772-403: The child-king Amalaric , first to Narbonne , which was the last Gothic outpost in Gaul, and further across the Pyrenees into Hispania. The center of Visigothic rule shifted first to Barcelona , then inland and south to Toledo . From 511 to 526, the Visigoths were ruled by Theoderic the Great of the Ostrogoths as de jure regent for the young Amalaric. Theodoric's death in 526, however, enabled

7888-399: The church of the Convent of São Francisco, below the level of the latter. While access to the interior of the chapel is made from the church, its original exterior access was made from through a small enclosed courtyard and gates. East of the chapel are the ruins of the old convent and its dependencies, in addition to the Fountain of Santo António ( Portuguese : Fonte de Santo António ) which

8004-412: The city of Miletus , archaeologists discovered a cave under the city's theatre which was associated with Asclepius cult. At Hyperteleatum , Hypsi and Hyettus there were temples of Asclepius. Visigoth The Visigoths ( / ˈ v ɪ z ɪ ɡ ɒ θ s / ; Latin : Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within

8120-424: The classical world. The original Hippocratic Oath began with the invocation "I swear by Apollo the Physician and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea and by all the gods ...". Epidauria (τὰ Ἐπιδαύρια) was a festival at Athens in honour of Asclepius. Some later religious movements claimed links to Asclepius. In the 2nd century AD the controversial miracle-worker Alexander claimed that his god Glycon ,

8236-567: The crown of Suintila, this crown was stolen in 1921 and never recovered. There are several other small crowns and many votive crosses in the treasure. These findings, along with others from some neighbouring sites and with the archaeological excavation of the Spanish Ministry of Public Works and the Royal Spanish Academy of History (April 1859), formed a group consisting of: The aquiliform (eagle-shaped) fibulae that have been discovered in necropolises such as Duratón , Madrona or Castiltierra (cities of Segovia ), are an unmistakable example of

8352-403: The cult of Asclepius grew very popular and pilgrims flocked to his healing temples ( Asclepieia ) to be cured of their ills. Ritual purification would be followed by offerings or sacrifices to the god (according to means), and the supplicant would then spend the night in the holiest part of the sanctuary– the abaton (or adyton). Any dreams or visions would be reported to a priest who would prescribe

8468-519: The earliest accounts, a mortal woman named Koronis (Coronis), who was a princess of Tricca in Thessaly. When she displayed infidelity by sleeping with a mortal named Ischys , Apollo found out with his prophetic powers and killed Ischys. Coronis was killed by Artemis for being unfaithful to Apollo and was laid out on a funeral pyre to be consumed, but Apollo rescued the child by cutting him from Coronis' womb. According to Delphian tradition, Asclepius

8584-429: The east and Honorius in the west. In 397, Alaric was named military commander of the eastern Illyrian prefecture by Arcadius. Over the next 15 years, an uneasy peace was broken by occasional conflicts between Alaric and the powerful Germanic generals who commanded the Roman armies in the east and west, wielding the real power of the empire. Finally, after the western general Stilicho was executed by Honorius in 408 and

8700-431: The eastern arm of the chapel is an arcosolium , where the mortel remains of Saint Fructuosus was originally entombed, and exposed to the exterior. The inner masonry walls are defined by round arches, supported by large pillars, above which are large decorated friezes, with triple horseshoe-shaped arches, and a larger central arch. The chapel's arms are crossed in the middle of the wall by a narrow ribbon of limestone. While

8816-505: The equation of Vesi with the Tervingi, argues that while primary sources occasionally list all four names (as in, for example, Gruthungi, Austrogothi, Tervingi, Visi ), whenever they mention two different tribes, they always refer either to "the Vesi and the Ostrogothi" or to "the Tervingi and the Greuthungi", and they never pair them up in any other combination. In addition, Wolfram interprets

8932-658: The expense of the Suebi and Vandals who had taken control of large swathes of Roman territory. In 507, Visigothic rule in Gaul was ended by the Franks under Clovis I , who defeated them in the Battle of Vouillé . It is within what is now Spain and Portugal that the Visigoths created the polity for which they are best remembered. During their governance of Hispania, the Visigoths built several churches that survived and left many artifacts, items which have been discovered in increasing numbers by archaeologists in recent years. The Treasure of Guarrazar of votive crowns and crosses are

9048-694: The fact that the Visigoths reigned in Spain for upwards of 250 years, there are few remnants of the Gothic language borrowed into Spanish. The Visigoths as heirs of the Roman empire lost their language and intermarried with the Hispano-Roman population of Spain. A genetic study published in Science in March 2019 examined the remains of eight Visigoths buried at Pla de l'Horta in the 6th century. These individuals displayed genetic links to northern and central Europe . The Visigothic Code of Law ( Latin : Forum Iudicum), also called Liber Iudiciorum (English: Book of

9164-416: The fighting. Precisely how Valens fell remains uncertain but Gothic legend tells of how the emperor was taken to a farmhouse, which was set on fire above his head, a tale made more popular by its symbolic representation of a heretical emperor receiving hell's torment. Many of Rome's leading officers and some of their most elite fighting men died during the battle which struck a major blow to Roman prestige and

9280-428: The first part of the name related to Gothic triu , and English "tree". This is supported by evidence that geographic descriptors were commonly used to distinguish people living north of the Black Sea both before and after Gothic settlement there, by evidence of forest-related names among the Tervingi, and by the lack of evidence for an earlier date for the name pair Tervingi–Greuthungi than the late third century. That

9396-457: The fourth-century Tervingian king Athanaric , and the Ostrogoth kings from Theoderic the Great to Theodahad as the heirs of the Greuthungi king Ermanaric . Based on this, many scholars have traditionally treated the terms "Vesi" and "Tervingi" as referring to one distinct tribe, while the terms "Ostrogothi" and " Greuthungi " were used to refer to another. Wolfram, who still recently defends

9512-637: The goddess of the healing process), Aegle (the goddess of good health) and Panacea (the goddess of universal remedy). He has several sons as well. He was associated with the Roman/Etruscan god Vediovis and the Egyptian Imhotep . He shared with Apollo the epithet Paean ("the Healer"). The rod of Asclepius , a snake-entwined staff similar to the caduceus , remains a symbol of medicine today. Those physicians and attendants who served this god were known as

9628-474: The high point of Visigothic goldsmithery. The two most important votive crowns are those of Recceswinth and of Suintila , displayed in the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid; both are made of gold, encrusted with sapphires, pearls and other precious stones. The discoverer of the second lot gave Spanish Queen Elizabeth II some of the pieces that she still had in her possession, including

9744-424: The interior arms are supported by wooden joists, the interior part of the hemispherical dome is plastered and painted white. The granite floor slabs are inscribed with coat of arms, and preceded from the main church by a staircase to the lower chapel. Asclepius Asclepius ( / æ s ˈ k l iː p i ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Ἀσκληπιός Asklēpiós [asklɛːpiós] ; Latin : Aesculapius )

9860-481: The life of Glaucus, he was confined in a secret prison. While pondering on what he should do, a snake crept near his staff. Lost in his thoughts, Asclepius unknowingly killed it by hitting it again and again with his staff. Later, another snake came there with an herb in its mouth, and placed it on the head of a dead snake, which soon came back to life. Seeing this, Asclepius used the same herb, which brought Glaucus back. A species of non-venomous pan-Mediterranean serpent,

9976-559: The most famous temples of Asclepius was at Epidaurus in north-eastern Peloponnese , dated to the fourth century BC. Another famous asclepeion was built approximately a century later on the island of Kos , where Hippocrates , the legendary "father of medicine", may have begun his career. Other asclepieia were situated in Gortys (in Arcadia), and Pergamum in Asia . From the fifth century BC onwards,

10092-577: The most spectacular among the finds thus far. In or around 589, the Visigoths under Reccared I converted from Arian Christianity to Nicene Christianity , gradually adopting the culture of their Hispano-Roman subjects. Their legal code, the Visigothic Code (completed in 654), abolished the longstanding practice of applying different laws for Hispano-Roman population and Visigoths. Once legal distinctions were no longer being made between Romani and Gothi , they became known collectively as Hispani . In

10208-454: The name Tervingi has pre-Pontic, possibly Scandinavian, origins still has support today. The Visigoths are called Wesi or Wisi by Trebellius Pollio , Claudian and Sidonius Apollinaris. The word is Gothic for "good", implying the "good or worthy people", related to Gothic iusiza "better" and a reflex of Indo-European * wesu "good", akin to Welsh gwiw "excellent", Greek eus "good", Sanskrit vásu-ş "id.". Jordanes relates

10324-435: The old tradition of having different laws for Romans ( leges romanae ) and Visigoths ( leges barbarorum ), and under which all the subjects of the Visigothic kingdom ceased being romani and gothi and instead became hispani . All the kingdom's subjects were under the same jurisdiction, which eliminated social and legal differences and facilitated greater assimilation of the various population groups. The Visigothic Code marks

10440-464: The people Zosimus describes were those Tervingi who had remained behind after the Hunnic conquest. For the most part, all of the terms discriminating between different Gothic tribes gradually disappeared after they moved into the Roman Empire. Many recent scholars, such as Peter Heather , have concluded that Visigothic group identity emerged only within the Roman Empire. Roger Collins also believes that

10556-458: The recuperation of the original plan for the chapel (in 1897), publishing a small note entitled "Um Monumento Latino-Bizantino em Portugal" ( A Latin-Byzantine Monument in Portugal ). More than a century would pass, before João de Moura Coutinho e Sousa Lobo would begin to restore the original plan in 1931. The architect followed the original hypothesis that the chapel was ordered constructed by Fructuosus of Braga as his 6th century tomb, following

10672-429: The religious conversion from Arianism to Catholicism. The discriminatory laws passed at this Council seem not to have been universally enforced, however, as indicated by several more Councils of Toledo that repeated these laws and extended their stringency. These entered canon law and became legal precedents in other parts of Europe as well. The culmination of this process occurred under King Sisibut, who officially decreed

10788-601: The saint who founded the convent was buried there (between 665 and 666). In the 9th-10th century, the chapel was reconstructed and redecorated. From a document dated in 883, the chapel was reconsecrated to São Salvador , also affirming the original construction to between 656 and 665. Around the 12th century, following the Reconquista from the Arabs, with the revival of the Christian community and affinity for Saint Frutuoso of Braga,

10904-561: The sake of Apollo, put among the stars." Asclepius was killed by Zeus, and by Apollo 's request, was subsequently immortalized as a star. The most ancient and the most prominent asclepeion (or healing temple) according to the geographer of the 1st century BC, Strabo, was situated in Trikala . The 1st century AD Pool of Bethesda , described in the Gospel of John , chapter 5, was found by archaeologists in 1964 to be part of an asclepeion. One of

11020-528: The sea and invading harbors which brought them into conflict with the Greeks as well. When the city of Pityus fell to the Goths in 256, the Goths were further emboldened. Sometime between 266 and 267, the Goths raided Greece but when they attempted to move into the Bosporus straits to attack Byzantium, they were repulsed. Along with other Germanic tribes, they attacked further into Anatolia, assaulting Crete and Cyprus on

11136-410: The shape of rope, semi-circles, six-pointed rosettas and fleur-de-lis. The collateral façades are decorated with blind arcades, alternating between angular and double rounded-frieses, which are repeated in the tower cupola, and intersected by small round windows. The principal façade, which was the main entrance at one time, is highlighted by a grand arch portico, preceded by staircase. In northern part of

11252-667: The throne according to the Chronica Regum Visigothorum . The kingdom survived until 711, when King Roderic (Rodrigo) was killed while opposing an invasion from the south by the Umayyad Caliphate in the Battle of Guadalete . This marked the beginning of the Umayyad conquest of Hispania , when most of the Iberian Peninsula came under Islamic rule in the early 8th century. A Visigothic nobleman, Pelayo , defeated

11368-600: The toleration of the Arian Visigoths on the peninsula. The Visigoths scorned to interfere among Catholics but were interested in decorum and public order. King Liuvigild (568–586), attempted to restore political unity between the Visigothic-Arian elite and the Hispano-Roman Nicene Catholic population through a doctrinal settlement of compromise on matters of faith, but this failed. Sources indicate that

11484-427: The transition from Roman law to Germanic law . One of the greatest contributions of the Visigoths to family law was their protection of the property rights of married women, which was continued by Spanish law and ultimately evolved into the community property system now in force throughout the majority of western Europe. Before the Middle Ages , the Visigoths, as well as other Germanic peoples, followed what

11600-405: The treaty the emperor was called a friend ( amicus ) to the Visigoths, while requiring them to address him as lord ( dominus ). Though the emperor did not legally recognize Gothic sovereignty, according to some views under this treaty the Visigothic kingdom became an independent kingdom. Between 471 and 476, Euric captured most of southern Gaul. According to historian J. B. Bury, Euric was probably

11716-412: The tribal names which the fifth-century poet Sidonius Apollinaris , had already used when referring to the Visigoths. The first part of the Ostrogoth name is related to the word "east", and Jordanes , the medieval writer, later clearly contrasted them in his Getica , stating that "Visigoths were the Goths of the western country." According to Wolfram, Cassiodorus created this east–west understanding of

11832-595: The tribe's name to a river, though this is probably a folk etymology or legend like his similar story about the Greuthung name. The Visigoths emerged from the Gothic tribes, probably a derivative name for the Gutones , a people believed to have their origins in Scandinavia and who migrated southeastwards into eastern Europe. Such understanding of their origins is largely the result of Gothic traditions and their true genesis as

11948-418: The vaulted ceiling were undertaken, followed by conservation projects in 1966. Similar repairs were undertaken in 1970 (repair and cleaning of the roof), in 1973 (checking of the rood, repairs, painting conservancy and arrangement of the area around the chapel), in 1984 (arrangement of the roof and paintings) and in 1987 (new projects evolving conservancy). The chapel is situated on the eastern lateral façade of

12064-461: The very future of Europe itself "depended on the Visigoths". However, in 507, the Franks under Clovis I defeated the Visigoths in the Battle of Vouillé and wrested control of Aquitaine. King Alaric II was killed in battle. French national myths romanticize this moment as the time when a previously divided Gaul morphed into the united kingdom of Francia under Clovis. Visigothic power throughout Gaul

12180-530: The way; shortly thereafter, they pillaged Troy and the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Throughout the reign of emperor Constantine the Great , the Visigoths continued to conduct raids on Roman territory south of the Danube River. By 332, relations between the Goths and Romans were stabilized by a treaty but this was not to last. The Goths remained in Dacia until 376, when one of their leaders, Fritigern , appealed to

12296-633: The west of Carpetania , where the main capital, Toledo, lay. In Spain, an important collection of Visigothic metalwork was found in Guadamur , in the Province of Toledo , known as the Treasure of Guarrazar . This archeological find is composed of twenty-six votive crowns and gold crosses from the royal workshop in Toledo, with signs of Byzantine influence. According to Spanish archaeologists, this treasure represents

12412-440: Was afraid that Asclepius would teach the art of resurrection to other humans as well. Concerning the fate of Asclepius, Ovid writes that "the youth [Asclepius] blasted by ancestral bolts [of Zeus] soars from earth [rising as the constellation Ophiuchus] and flings his hands coiled with double snakes." Later accounts read "The Serpent-Holder. Many astronomers have imagined that he is Aesculapius [Asclepius], whom Jupiter [Zeus], for

12528-483: Was born in the temple of Apollo, with Lachesis acting as a midwife and Apollo relieving the pains of Coronis. Apollo named the child after Coronis' nickname, Aegle. Phoenician tradition maintains that Asclepius was born of Apollo without any woman involved. According to the Roman version, Apollo, having learned about Coronis' betrayal with the mortal Ischys through his raven Lycius , killed her with his arrows. Before breathing her last, she revealed to Apollo that she

12644-413: Was derived. Before Sidonius Apollinaris, the Vesi were first mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum , a late-4th- or early-5th-century list of Roman military forces. This list also contains the last mention of the " Thervingi " in a classical source. Although he did not refer to the Vesi, Tervingi or Greuthungi, Jordanes identified the Visigothic kings from Alaric I to Alaric II as the successors of

12760-444: Was in any case quite limited: local lords and populations related to Jews as they saw fit. We read of rabbis being asked by non-Jews to bless their fields, for example. Historian Jane Gerber relates that some of the Jews "held ranking posts in the government or the army; others were recruited and organized for garrison service; still others continued to hold senatorial rank". In general, then, they were well respected and well treated by

12876-467: Was later taken by Apollo. According to Strabo and other traditions, the birthplace of Asclepius is considered to be Tricca (modern Trikala city in Thessaly ). Apollo named the rescued baby "Asclepius" and reared him for a while and taught him many things about medicine. However, like his half-brother, Aristaeus , Asclepius had his formal education under the centaur Chiron who instructed him in

12992-468: Was not lost in its entirety due to the support from the powerful Ostrogothic king in Italy, Theodoric the Great , whose forces pushed Clovis I and his armies out of Visigothic territories. Theodoric the Great's assistance was not some expression of ethnic altruism, but formed part of his plan to extend his power across Spain and its associated lands. After Alaric II's death, Visigothic nobles spirited his heir,

13108-410: Was not nearly as productive overall for the Visigoths and their gains were short-lived. Still confined to a small and relatively impoverished province of the Empire, another Roman army was being gathered against them, an army which also had amid its ranks other disaffected Goths. Intense campaigns against the Visigoths followed their victory at Adrianople for upwards of three years. Approach routes across

13224-408: Was pregnant with his child. He repented his actions and unsuccessfully tried to save her. At last, he removed their son safely from her belly before she was consumed by the fire. In yet another version, Coronis who was already pregnant with Apollo's child, had to accompany her father to Peloponnesos . She had kept her pregnancy hidden from her father. In Epidaurus , she bore a son and exposed him on

13340-477: Was probably the result of warrior bands moving closer to the wealth of Ukraine and the cities of the Black Sea coast. Perhaps what is most notable about the Gothic people in this regard was that by the middle of the third century AD, they were "the most formidable military power beyond the lower Danube frontier". Throughout the 3rd and 4th centuries there were numerous conflicts and exchanges of varying types between

13456-499: Was written between the years 625 through 711, which comes from Julian of Toledo and only deals with the years 672 and 673. Wamba was the king of the Visigoths from 672 to 680. During his reign, the Visigothic kingdom encompassed all of Hispania and part of southern Gaul known as Septimania . Wamba was succeeded by King Ervig, whose rule lasted until 687. Collins observes that "Ervig proclaimed Egica as his chosen successor" on 14 November 687. In 700, Egica's son Wittiza followed him on

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