Chronicle of 754
Encyclopedia
The Chronicle of 754 was a Latin
-language history in ninety-five chapters with the narrative theme "the ruin of Spain", which was composed in the year 754
, in Toledo
or Córdoba
. Its compiler was an anonymous Christian
Mozarab
chronicler, living under Arab rule in Iberia
; the author was called a phantom Isidorus Pacensis (Isidore of Beja) through compounded errors (see below). The Chronicle of 754 covers the years 610 to 754, during which it has few contemporary sources against which to check its veracity; some consider it one of the best sources for post- Visigothic history and for the story of the Moorish conquest of Spain and southern France
; it provided the basis for Roger Collins
, The Arab Conquest of Spain, 711-797 (Blackwell) 1989), the first modern historian to utilise it so thoroughly. It contains the most detailed account of the Battle of Poitiers-Tours
.
The Chronicle is a continuation of an earlier history. It survives in three manuscripts, of which the earliest, of the ninth century, is divided between the British Library
and the Biblioteca de la Real Academia de la Historia
, Madrid. The other manuscripts are of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
The Chronicle was first published in its entirety in Pamplona
, 1615; it was printed in Migne
’s Patr. Lat., vol. 96, p. 1253 sqq. and given a modern critical edition and translated into Spanish by José Eduardo Lopez Pereira, Cronica mozarabe de 754 (Zaragoza, 1980). An English translation by Kenneth Baxter Wolf can be found in his volume Conquerors and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain (Liverpool, 1990).
(modern Beja
, Portugal), credited with the authorship of this Chronicle, which some modern scholars consider anonymous and others reference without hesitation, continues a career in popular history. Cautious recent writers, like Bernhard and Ellen M. Whishaw, Arabic Spain: Sidelights on Her History and Art (2002:36 note 1) refer to "The anonymous writer known as Isidorus Pacensis", or the "autor del Pseudo-Isidoro (Isidorus Pacensis)", as noted by Nachman Falbel, "Sobre el mesianismo judío medieval", in Lectura Judía y Relectura Cristiana de la Biblia (Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias).
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
-language history in ninety-five chapters with the narrative theme "the ruin of Spain", which was composed in the year 754
754
Year 754 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 754 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Pope Stephen II crowns Pepin the short King...
, in Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
or Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
. Its compiler was an anonymous Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Mozarab
Mozarab
The Mozarabs were Iberian Christians who lived under Arab Islamic rule in Al-Andalus. Their descendants remained unconverted to Islam, but did however adopt elements of Arabic language and culture...
chronicler, living under Arab rule in Iberia
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
; the author was called a phantom Isidorus Pacensis (Isidore of Beja) through compounded errors (see below). The Chronicle of 754 covers the years 610 to 754, during which it has few contemporary sources against which to check its veracity; some consider it one of the best sources for post- Visigothic history and for the story of the Moorish conquest of Spain and southern France
Southern France
Southern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...
; it provided the basis for Roger Collins
Roger Collins
Roger J. H. Collins is an English medievalist, currently an honorary fellow in history at the University of Edinburgh.Collins studied at the University of Oxford under Peter Brown and John Michael Wallace-Hadrill. He then taught ancient and medieval history at the universities of Liverpool and...
, The Arab Conquest of Spain, 711-797 (Blackwell) 1989), the first modern historian to utilise it so thoroughly. It contains the most detailed account of the Battle of Poitiers-Tours
Battle of Tours
The Battle of Tours , also called the Battle of Poitiers and in Battle of the Court of the Martyrs, was fought in an area between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, located in north-central France, near the village of Moussais-la-Bataille, about northeast of Poitiers...
.
The Chronicle is a continuation of an earlier history. It survives in three manuscripts, of which the earliest, of the ninth century, is divided between the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
and the Biblioteca de la Real Academia de la Historia
Real Academia de la Historia
Real Academia de la Historia is a Spanish institution based in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of civilisation, and of the culture of the Spanish...
, Madrid. The other manuscripts are of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
The Chronicle was first published in its entirety in Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
, 1615; it was printed in Migne
Migné
Migné is a commune in the Indre department in central France.-References:*...
’s Patr. Lat., vol. 96, p. 1253 sqq. and given a modern critical edition and translated into Spanish by José Eduardo Lopez Pereira, Cronica mozarabe de 754 (Zaragoza, 1980). An English translation by Kenneth Baxter Wolf can be found in his volume Conquerors and Chroniclers of Early Medieval Spain (Liverpool, 1990).
The phantom "Isidorus Pacensis"
Henry Wace explained the origin and the phantom history of an "Isidorus Pacensis", an otherwise unattested bishop of Pax JuliaPax Julia
Pax Iulia or Colonia Civitas Pacensis was a city in the Roman province of Lusitania, today Beja, Portugal. Already inhabited in Celtic times around 400 BC, there are indications of a Carthaginian presence, and the city is mentioned by Polybius and Claudius Ptolemy in the second century BC...
(modern Beja
Beja (Portugal)
Beja is a city in the Beja Municipality in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The municipality has a total area of 1,147.1 km² and a total population of 34,970 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 21,658....
, Portugal), credited with the authorship of this Chronicle, which some modern scholars consider anonymous and others reference without hesitation, continues a career in popular history. Cautious recent writers, like Bernhard and Ellen M. Whishaw, Arabic Spain: Sidelights on Her History and Art (2002:36 note 1) refer to "The anonymous writer known as Isidorus Pacensis", or the "autor del Pseudo-Isidoro (Isidorus Pacensis)", as noted by Nachman Falbel, "Sobre el mesianismo judío medieval", in Lectura Judía y Relectura Cristiana de la Biblia (Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias).