One of the most complicated periods to treat History of the Iberian Peninsula It is that of the Visigoths. These “children of a furious god” settled in it during one of the most turbulent periods in history. Due to the difficulty of dealing with the sources and the fact that much historiography on the subject is “contaminated” by teleologies and essentialisms that sought to support Spanish nationalism during the Franco era.
Now, Desperta Ferro proposes a new vision, thanks to one of its most distinguished authors in the study of Late Antiquity: José Soto Chica.
Data sheet
What we think of «Visigoths: sons of a furious god»
Connoisseurs of our reviews will know that the first thing we usually talk about is editing. Well, this time, Wake up Ferro returns to bring an exquisite edition, with excellently designed covers. In addition, the book includes several color sheets to enjoy high-quality photographs. At the same time, the book has a medium format, which allows us to transport it without many problems and that it can be read and enjoyed anywhere.
Leaving the most aesthetic section, it is time to get down to business. First of all, the bibliographic section is again impressive. José Soto Chica is one of the best documented authors in the Spanish language, something that makes his work something of great value. Why? We are used to seeing informative books arrive without any citation at all. This means that we do not know where the author gets the information from. This is not the case with Soto Chica, who makes prolific use of primary and secondary sources and tells us where he got everything from. This has a very useful double function, first it shows us that the book has been written with impressive scientific criteria. Second, he allows us to understand and delve into the subject if he really interests us. In this sense, it has been very useful for me personally to find sources that I did not know.
The book becomes a synchronous account of the history of the Visigoths. From its uncertain origins to its famous end in the Battle of Guadalete. Thus, the text could be divided into a first part in which it tells us about the relations between the Goths and the Romans until the fall of the Empire. There is no lack of important characters of these moments, such as Alaric himself. In this part, Soto Chica collects the opinions of great historians such as Guy Halsall or Peter Heather and amplifies them with his insights and stupendous knowledge of the military history. Thus, a fairly solid and interesting story is formed that expands the knowledge of any neophyte in the aftermath of the Roman Empire.
Then comes a perhaps more controversial part. Also documented in an extraordinary way, we delve into the foundation of the Kingdom of Toledo and the different issues that befell it. You can agree with the author in his theories or not, but the truth is that As an informative work, it continues to be of incalculable value. To a great extent it is due to the fact that the History of the Visigoths has always been very poorly told, something that Soto Chica masterfully solves by making an entertaining, interesting and very well-conducted story.
With the questions that can be agreed or not, we find the question of Spain. The author considers that the Visigoths are the first germ of Spain, by creating a homogeneous entity in the country. In addition, he considers that with the fall of the Kingdom, the idea of a united Spain was clearly marked in the memory of the inhabitants of the Peninsula, setting the ideological precedents of what Spain is today. This is very interesting, and has always generated incredible rivers of ink. However, Soto Girl does not fall into teleologies or essentialisms, but sticks to an interpretation of the sources. Thus, he moves away from nationalist interpretations and remains in no man’s land with a quite original argument.
So do we recommend it?
Those most experienced in Late Antiquity will find a novel vision and a rich and extremely well-documented bibliographical corpus. For their part, those who know nothing of the Gothic world will leave with a much deeper understanding of the fundamental issues of its existence. Then, It would be impossible not to recommend this book..
José Soto Chica surprises us again with the launch of a brilliant book. The author will not leave anyone indifferent with his opinion on the Visigoths. However, his vibrant narration of the events brings us closer to that torn world and raises some new and interesting questions.