Isidor von Sevilla und das Königtum

Approximately one and a half century after the end of the Roman Empire in the West, Isidore of Seville was the first one to develop a coherent idea of Christian kingship. This can be reconstructed mainly from his Historia Gothorum, canon 75 of the fourth council of Toledo, and above all his Sententiae. The article starts with an examination of the picture of the Visigothic kings and kingship as presented by Isidore in the Historia Gothorum. The analysis of canon 75 offers some new considerations regarding the deposition of king Suinthila, which - as he argues - was not contrary to the principles laid down by Isidore in the Sententiae. The article ends with a survey and assessment of Isidore’s idea of Christian kingship contained in the Sententiae.