THE SEVENTH-CENTURY KINGDOM 93Fidelis himself used some of his resources for rebuilding the epis-
copal palace, which collapsed one Sunday morning - miraculously, as
our author points out -just after the bishop and his attendants had
left it. The palace built to replace it was sumptuously decorated: the
walls and floor were completely faced with marble. Fidelis also re-
stored the Basilica of St Eulalia and erected two towers over it, an
interesting if rare glimpse of architectural detail. His successor Masona
was a builder on an even more lavish scale. He erected a number of
monasteries, an episcopal activity later strongly advocated at III
Toledo over which he presided, and also several new churches. The
monasteries were endowed with farms to make them economically
self-supporting. So too was the xenodochium, a cross between a hospital
and a pilgrim's hostel, that he erected in the city. It was intended to
accommodate the sick and travellers, many of whom may have been
pilgrims to the shrine of St Eulalia, whose cult was widespread in the
peninsula by this time. Physicians were attached to the institution and
were required to visit all parts of the city to find and bring in the sick
of all religious persuasions. Such a system may not have originated
entirely with Masona, as there is a reference to doctors being at-
tached to the Church in the time of the Greek bishop Paul, himself
a former physician.
Our source provides evidence of the enormous range of philan-
thropic activities that a bishop such as Masona could indulge in. As
well as building his hospital, he arranged for a free distribution of
wine and oil and honey to any in need, a service available both to the
citizens of Merida and to those who came in from the countryside.
He also deposited two thousand gold solidi, a fairly substantial sum
from what comparisons can be made, to be available in interest-free
loans. This service was administered by the clergy of the Basilica of St
Eulalia. With sufficient funds at his disposal, a bishop could make a
considerable impact on the lives of his fellow citizens, not only in
respect of their economic and bodily needs but also upon the physi-
cal appearance of the city in which they lived.1o Of course Merida was
exceptional, even in comparison with other metropolitan sees, in
respect of the wealth that its bishops had at their disposal. Other
bishoprics, less well endowed and more dependent upon the chance
offerings and legacies of poorer congregations, must have presented
a far less impressive display of episcopal opulence.
However, it was not on secular wealth alone that the status and
local influence of a bishop of his town depended. Their spiritual