VISIGOTHIC SPAIN: LA ESPAÑA VISIGODA

by Harry E. Babbitt, Luis Rios (Illustrator), Nancy Frakes (Editor)

Volume 4 of our bilingual series of eBooks (VISIGOTHIC SPAIN — LA ESPAÑA VISIGODA) covers the history of the Visigoths in Spain from the middle of the 5th century to the year 711. Shortly before and especially after the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD, the Visigoths crossed the Pyrenees and immigrated in several waves into northern Spain. Most of the Visigothic tribes had helped the Romans defend their northern borders and so were familiar with the Roman way of life. In 589 King Recaredo renounced Arianism and adopted Catholicism as the official religion of the Visigoths. One of the most famous religious figures of the time was St. Isidore (San Isidoro) who is said to have been one of the wisest men of that period. Perhaps the greatest legacies left to Spain by the Visigoths are several historic churches that date from the 7th century. Among them are Quintanilla de las Viñas, San Pedro de la Nave, San Juan de los Baños and Santa Comba de Bande. At the beginning of the 8th century several Visigothic families were feuding for control of the empire. The Moors of northern Africa saw this weakness as an opportunity for an attack in the south of Spain. In 711, a general named Tarik crossed the strait and landed at Gibraltar, a named which means "Rock of Tarik." Soon thereafter the Moors defeated the Visigothic army at the Battle of Guadalete and then were able to occupy most of the Iberian Peninsula. They would rule a great part of Spain for almost 800 years until their last stronghold of Granada fell to the Christians in 1492.
This ebook is the fouth in a series of bilingual guides (English & Spanish) for teachers and students — each featuring an important topic in the field of history, literature or art of Spain and Latin America. Beginning students in either language can learn about their culture in their native language and advanced students can concentrate on the new language they want to learn. Why not learn a language and, at the same time, learn about its great culture by studying history, literature and art? These guides will be especially helpful for bilingual students who will learn to appreciate their history and background in either or both languages. Questions are included and can be used as notes to compose short presentations to promote connected speech rather than one or two word answers.

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 7, 2018