616 realism
curing process required understanding the intelligible
order of the world and acting on it to attain a determined
end. Al-Razi’s name is connected with experimentation
and surgical procedures. He denounced charlatans, listing
their fallacious procedures. In his Proof of the Doctor,he
suggested norms and possible content for medical treat-
ment, and in his Treatise on Drugs,he applied his alchem-
ical or chemical knowledge to medicine. He died in
925/935 at Baghdad.
See alsoMEDICINE.
Further reading:Al-Razi, A Treatise on Small-Pox and
Measles,trans. William A. Greenhill (1847; reprint, Balti-
more: Williams & Williams, 1939); al-Razi, The Spiritual
Physick of Rhazes,trans. Arthur J. Arberry (London: Mur-
ray, 1950); Donald E. H. Campbell, Arabian Medicine and
Its Influence on the Middle Ages(London: K. Paul, Trench,
Trubner, 1926); L. E. Goodman, “Al-Razi, Abu Bakr
Muhammad ibn Zakariyya,” Encyclopedia of Islam
8:474–477; Sarah Stroumsa, Freethinkers of Medieval
Islam: Ibn al-Rawandi, Abu Bakr al-Razi and Their Impact
on Islamic Thought (Leiden: Brill, 1999); Dominique
Urvoy, “Rhazes,” EMA2.1,233–1,234.
realism For the question of universals, realism was
any doctrine, generally Platonic, that held that the uni-
versal existed in things or even as a thing. For the philos-
ophy of knowledge, realism was any doctrine that
asserted the reality of a world external to thought and the
ability of that thought to obtain authentic knowledge of
it. Medieval Christianity claimed to be realistic. It was
wary of speculation and tried to root itself in fact.
Abstract concepts or universals did have a real existence
apart from individuals for many medieval thinkers.
See alsoABÉLARD, PETER; ADELARD OFBATH; AUGUS-
TINE OFHIPPO,SAINT;JOHNSCOTTUSERIUGENA;MAR-
TIANUSCAPELLA; NOMINALISM; PLATO ANDPLATONISM.
Further reading:Frederick C. Copleston, Medieval
Philosophy(1952; reprint, New York: Harper & Row,
1961); Robert Heinaman, ed., Aristotle and Moral Real-
ism (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1995); Norman
Kretzmann, Anthony Kenny, Jan Pinborg, and Eleonore
Stump, eds., The Cambridge History of Later Medieval
Philosophy: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Disin-
tegration of Scholasticism, 1100–1600(Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press, 1982); Gordon Leff, Medieval
Thought: St. Augustine to Ockham (Harmondsworth:
Penguin Books, 1958); Charles B. Schmitt, Quentin
Skinner, and Jill Kraye, eds., The Cambridge History of
Renaissance Philosophy(Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1988).
Recared I (560–601)king of the Visigoths
Born about 560, Recared was the second son of Leovigild
(r. 568–586). His reign unified the Iberian Peninsula
under his royal authority. He continued his father’s
project of religious unification by converting the VISIG-
OTHSto Christianity. In the spring of 587, on the advice
of Leander of Seville (540–599) and working with Pope
GREGORYI THEGREAT, Recared deserted ARIANISM. This
course was soon followed by the bishops, the nobility,
and the whole of the Visigoths. There were minor centers
of unsuccessful resistance at Merida and within the court
of TOLEDO.
On May 8, 589, at the third council of Toledo,
Recared declared his adherence to the anti-Arian dogma
defined by the first four ecumenical orthodox councils.
This conversion began the fusion of the Visigothic and
Roman populations. By doing so he strengthened the ties
between the church and the Crown, but he persecuted
JEWSand uncooperative Arians. Besides suppressing sev-
eral uprisings, he pushed the BYZANTINESback into an
enclave around Cartagena. He died at about 601, the time
of his deposition from the throne by the nobility.
See alsoBASQUES.
Further reading:E. A. Thompson, The Goths in Spain
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969); Alberto Ferreiro, The
Visigoths in Gaul and Spain, A.D. 418–711: A Bibliography
(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1988).Reconquest(Reconquista) One of the formative and
the major events of medieval Spanish history the Recon-
quest of the peninsula by the Christians began in the
mid-11th century and was fulfilled with the surrender of
GRANADAin 1492. The ARABShad controlled much of
the Iberian Peninsula from the early eighth century.
The Reconquest a military and economic crusade, con-
stituted close to a permanent state of war for both sides.
Monarchs took the excuse to extend their powers, levy
extraordinary taxes, and control the church. Christian
CASTILE and ARAGON became societies organized for
war. Knightly and military prowess was highly valued
and social mobility was high, as Christians availed
themselves of the frequent opportunities to move to
newly controlled territories.
TOLEDOwas taken in 1085. LISBONwas captured in- The Christian victory at the Battle of La Navas de
Tolosa in 1212 led to the taking of SEVILLEand CÓRDOBA,
leaving only the kingdom of GRANADAin Muslim hands.
FERDINANDII and ISABELI managed the surrender of the
last stronghold the town of Granada in 1492. Despite all
this conflict, there was cultural interaction, though con-
tinually declining, among the Christians, Muslims, and
JEWSuntil after the fall of Granada.
See also ALMOHADS; ALMORAVIDS; ASTURIAS-LÉON,
KINGDOM OF;BARCELONA;CRUSADES;RODRIGODÍAZ DE
VIVAR, HISTORY AND LEGENDS OF.
Further reading:Simon Barton and Richard Fletcher,
trans., The World of El Cid: Chronicles of the Spanish
Reconquest (Manchester: Manchester University Press,
2000); Health Dillard, Daughters of the Reconquest: Women