6/7/07 San Antonio-Medieval Spain

Spain in the Medieval period
Spain continues to have a thrust of invaders such as the Goths/Visigoths. Many historians would consider that their legacy obscure they did have some notable accomplishment. What were they? How is Spain being different again?

The Visigoths ruled Spain longer than the other conquerors. They ruled for three centuries. Even though the Visigoths were in rule for so long, the only legacy they left behind was a rough-hewn country church, a few pieces of jewelry or a regal crown sitting in a museum, and an obscure law code. Even though the Visigoths had confusion and chaos, they still were able to keep the longest strongest kingdom in Europe. They were the first to attempt to unify the country. The accomplishments they had were the large-scale herding of animals, the horseshoe arch and a few dozen surviving words. Their greatest impact was choosing a capital in the meseta at Roman Toletum (Toledo).
For the first time the more advanced coastal regions looked to the interior as the source of political power. This change did not drastically alter the country. Ortega y Gasset, one of Spain’s foremost modern thinkers, blamed the nation’s problems on the Visigoths. He accused them of being weak barbarians who never achieved unity or stability in Europe. Spain was different for the first time.