In previous posts, we analyzed the intense historiographical debate regarding the sincerity of the Visigothic King Reccared’s conversion to Catholicism.
We saw how the monarch’s personal conviction has been defended by various schools of thought, from the Franco era to our current democratic stage. However, there is a line of thought that takes a theological leap and points to providentialism as the determining axis in this conversion.
This perspective argues that behind the Third Council of Toledo (589 AD), the intervention of Divine Providence operated in a direct and tangible way. God thus becomes an active driving force in History.
But what is truly fascinating from the standpoint of our research is tracing the temporal continuity of this narrative. During the Franco dictatorship, authors such as the writer José María Pemán (1950) or the historian and priest José Orlandis Rovira (1956) enthusiastically embraced this vision.
We might think that in a democratic era, this teleological reading would have disappeared. However, far from dying out, it survives. Historians like Santiago Cantera Montenegro (2021 – 1st ed., 2014) continue to integrate the providential component as a real, explanatory factor for the Visigothic conversion in the present day.
And what do you think about this persistence of providentialism in contemporary historiography? Follow us to learn more about the wonderful world of the Visigoths, late antiquity, historiography and, of course, AI. #baddo #visigoths #artificialintelligence #baddoproject
Alfonso García Sánchez
