Rita Donn Span 310 : 2017

Sunday, 2 April 2017

Isabel I of Castile: effective and influential ruler

Queen of Castile: 1474-1504

El Cid: hero, friend or servant?

Mudéjar architecture: another example of "Convivencia"

La Alhambra, Granada, 800s Mudéjar architecture in Zaragoza, 1300s

Visigothic Spain: Compare Hermenegild and Recarred’s conversion to Catholicism. What were their motivations? What was the outcome? Why was it different for each?

The Arian Visigothic king Leovigild had two sons, Hermenegild and Reccared who converted to Catholicism under different circumstances and with opposing end results. Hermenegild’s conversion in 582, which was motivated by his marriage to a Frankish princess who was also Catholic, resulted in his martyrdom in 585 and his wife fleeing to North Africa, while Reccared’s conversion in 587, which was formalized by the Third council of Toledo in 589, led to a unified peninsula where Arianism was crushed. This left me curious to find out more about the power struggle between Arian and Catholic supporters in Visigothic Spain. Why was Reccared’s conversion to Catholicism more successful than his brother’s and how did it become a driving force in the conversion of Visigothic nobles from Arianism to Catholicism and in the creation of a new unified Catholic kingdom? What had happened in the five years between Hermenegild and Reccared’s conversions, which significantly altered the outcome for each of Leovigild’s sons? Did Leovigild’s own death in 586, account for the differences in each of his sons’ future? I went back to the readings to try and find some answers to these questions.

Carr links Hermenegild’s tragedy with his hand in planning a revolt in Southern Spain in 584 against his father, which included an appeal for aid from the Catholic Byzantine Empire, which had established itself in southern Spain in 552 during the internal wars between two Arian Visigothic kings, Agila and Athanagild. Pope Gregory I’s account of Hermenegild’s death attributes it to his refusal to convert back to Arianism to appease his father, however, it may have been linked to the Visigoth’s attempt to expel the Byzantines from Spain, which did not occur until 620.

After Leovigild’s death in 586, Reccared, who had been helping his father rule the kingdom, became heir to the kingdom with the support of the Visigothic nobles. By the time Reccared converted to Catholicism one year later, several Arian nobles and bishops were also following in his footsteps. It seems that Hermenegild would have been more successful had he waited for his Arian father to predecease him and had he not involved the Byzantines in his plans.

Sunday, 22 January 2017

Cine Forum: Cleopatra

I liked the way this movie took great care to depict the elements of love, ambition, betrayal and loss, associated with the relationship between rulers of Rome and Egypt during Cleopatra’s reign, however, I found that we were left wondering more about the politics involved in the transformation of Rome from Republic to Empire. I also found that Caesar’s character was well developed, with attention drawn to his wit, unpredictability and diplomacy on his arrival to Egypt when Ptolmey and Pothinus had Cleopatra deposed, from the time of his entrance through the marketplace until his departure leaving Cleopatra back on the throne and her enemies well taken care of. By acting out some strategies that the Romans used in battle, such as the formation of the turtle to advance their troops when defending the Moon Gate, we could appreciate Caesar’s capabilities as an astute general as well as a smooth politician.

Rome benefited from Egypt and Hispania in much the same way: both of these colonies provided wheat, food and minerals needed by Rome to feed its soldiers and people and finance its expansion.

I found that the movie well represented Cleopatra’s role as ruler of Egypt. She was well respected and protected by her people once her sovereignty was re-established by Caesar. In contrast, Octavia’s role as diplomat to the Senate was somewhat undeveloped. In the movie we saw how her brother Octavian used her as a pawn to bring back Mark Anthony from Egypt, force his alliance to Rome, and curb Cleopatra’s ambitions for herself and her son Caesarion.

The portrayal of the Battle of Actium clearly illustrated Mark Anthony’s dependency on Cleopatra as well his feeble attempt to fulfill her dream of following in Alexander the Great’s footsteps. It also depicted Mark Anthony and Octavian as cowards: the first for abandoning his men to follow a fleeing Cleopatra, and the latter for relying on Agrippa and his men to fight in his place. The defeat of Mark Anthony due to his inferior ships and betrayal by one of his generals, Dellius, whom he had relieved of his duties at Actium and the desertion of his land army in a subsequent battle explained how Octavian rose to power; however, it is still unclear how the Roman Senate accepted the resulting transition from Republic to Empire under Octavian, when the senators had previously assassinated Caesar to prevent a similar transformation in Roman politics from occurring under a more deserving general as Emperor.