- The Christian Realms
The Asturias and Leon
THE century that follows the Arab invasion of the peninsula in 711 is
probably the darkest in its history as far as the survival of evidence is
concerned. There are very few contemporary records, but for the first
half of the century there is a reasonably substantial chronicle, known
from the date of its final entry as the Chronicle of 754. It was very
probably compiled in Toledo, which briefly retained its position as
the centre of learning in the peninsula, and its author, although
anonymous, was clearly a Christian. He knew something of the his-
tory of the Visigothic kingdom and cast his work as a continuation of
Isidore's History of the Goths rather than a series of annals. His main
sources of information on seventh-century Spain were the secular
laws and a collection of conciliar acts, but he was better informed
about the history of the Arabs and of the Byzantine Empire. For these
he was able to use another continuation of Isidore compiled in all
likelihood in Cordoba soon after the date of its final entry in 74l.
This work, the Chronicle of 741, although written in Spain, concerns
itself solely with the history of the Arab Caliphate and the Byzantine
Empire. It is conceivable that its author, who wrote in Latin, came
from Mrica. It is striking how concerned both chronicles are with the
deeds of the new conquerors and the author of the Chronicle of 754
in particular was interested in putting their history into the context
of that of the recent past of the peninsula, adding it on to the Isidoran
tradition. Indeed he was doing for the Arabs something of what Isidore
had done for the Visigoths in respect of the historically minded in-
telligentsia of the conquered population. From a reference in his
Chronicle it appears that he also composed a history of the civil wars
that had just taken place in Spain in the middle of the century be-
tween the rival groups of Arabs.) This work, now lost, may have fol-
lowed the model of Julian'S History of Wamba. It is perhaps typical of
the perspective from Toledo, and of the centralising traditions of the
Visigothic church, that he either never knew of or was not interested
in the revolt in the Asturias, and the creation of its tiny Christian
kingdom.
Extant Arabic sources for the history of eighth-century Spain are all
later in date than the events described, and in view of the growing
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