A Philosophical History: Unity and Diversity in Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada’s Historia de rebus Hispanie

Historia de rebus Hispanie (1243) is a search for Spain’s unity amid a diversity of political, ethnic, and religious impetus. Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada’s interpretation of Spain’s historical calling is examined in light of Neoplatonic philosophical thought, developed by Spanish Muslims, Jews, and Christians between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and diffused through the translating activities carried out in Toledo. Averroës, Ibn Gabirol, Jehuda Halevi, and Dominicus Gundissalinus shared the view that all objects in the visible world are manifestations of the single Creator, and that one could arrive at the understanding of God by studying the multiple manifestations of the creation. By studying material signs of Spain’s past, in particular the landmarks left by the invading Greek, Phoenician, Roman, Arab, and Frankish civilizations, Jiménez de Rada establishes a contrast between the multiplicity of nations that had successively sought to dominate the Iberian peninsula and Spain’s everlasting connection to its true origin and historical purpose. The Neoplatonic framework is used to define Spain’s role in universal history as a place where all manifestations of the Creator find home under the patronage of Castilian monarchy.