| Erwig | |
|---|---|
 Atremissis minted atMérida during Erwig's reign shows the face of Christ and precedes this type of representation inByzantine coinage, which first occurred underJustinian II | |
| King of the Visigoths | |
| Reign | 31 October 680 – 14 November 687 |
| Predecessor | Wamba |
| Successor | Egica |
| Born | c. 645 Visigothic Kingdom |
| Died | 687 Visigothic Kingdom |
| Spouse | Liuvigoto |
| Issue | Cixilo |
Erwig[1] (Latin:Flavius Ervigius;[2] after 642 – 687) was a king of theVisigoths inHispania (680–687).
According to the 9th-centuryChronicle of Alfonso III, Erwig was the son of Ardabast, who had journeyed from theByzantine Empire to Hispania during the time ofChindasuinth, and married Chindasuinth's niece Goda.[3] Ardabast (or Artavasdos), was probably an Armenian or Persian Christian exile in Constantinople or inByzantine Africa. In Hispania he was made a count.[4]
Seventeenth-century Spanish genealogistLuis Bartolomé de Salazar y Castro gave Ardabast's father as Athanagild, the son of SaintHermenegild andIngund, and his mother as Flavia Juliana, a daughter ofPeter Augustus and niece of the EmperorMaurice.[5] This imperial connection is disputed byChristian Settipani, who says that the only source for Athanagild's marriage to Flavia Julia isJosé Pellicer, who he claims to be a forger.[6]
After his predecessorWamba had taken the monastic habit while on the verge of death, he was forced to retire from the kingship on 14 October 680, even though he recovered, and enter a monastery. He appointed Erwig his successor and the latter was anointed inToledo on 31 October 680. Later, 9th-century legends attributed to Erwig the poisoning of the king, who was made a penitent by his supporters while Erwig's supporters raised him to the throne. The bishops of theTwelfth Council of Toledo, which Erwig opened on 9 January 681, confirmed that the documents of abdication and confirmation of Erwig from Wamba were authentic and contained his own signature. Nonetheless, some historians have seen in the rapidity of Erwig's unction after the king had received the penitential sacrament evidence for a pre-planned palace coup.[7]
Erwig began his reign in a climate of uneasiness concerning the way in which he reached the throne. Probably feeling insecure himself, the nobles and bishops took advantage. Erwig restored to favour those who had been out of it in the time of Wamba. After the Twelfth Council, theThirteenth (683) andFourteenth (684) followed in quick succession. The councils confirmed Erwig's legitimacy for a second time and wrote many laws to protect the life and rule of the king and his family, including that of his queen, Liuvigoto.[8]
After falling seriously ill, Erwig proclaimed his son-in-lawEgica, the husband of his daughterCixilo,[9] as his heir on 14 November 687 and retired to a monastery as a penitent the next day, after giving leave to his court to return to Toledo with Egica for the anointing and crowning.[10]
Erwig issued 28 laws condemningJews with the support of the Twelfth Council. He himself stated to the council his desire to return to the legislation of the reign ofSisebut, though he was a little more lenient, dispensing with thedeath penalty.[11] These laws were part of a revised and expanded version of theLiber Iudiciorum which is attached to Erwig's name. All of the laws, which dealt with Jews, have been attributed to the influence ofJulian of Toledo, the fanatically anti-Jewisharchbishop of Toledo.[12] When the Ervigian code was promulgated in November 681, Erwig had added six more of his own new laws and three laws of Wamba, as well as revised eighty laws ofRecceswinth. There is no evidence, however, that the Ervigian code "superseded" the Recceswinthian and manuscripts of both continued to be produced and sold.
Declaring them a plague on the kingdom, he called for the total removal of the Jews from the kingdom. Such a decree had been issued by Erwig's predecessor Wamba and much as that one Erwig's also failed. So in 681 he issued another decree, this time requiring that all Jews become Christians or leave the kingdom. Jews were officially discriminated against and anyone caught helping them faced heavy fines.[13]
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of the Visigoths 31 October 680 – 15 November 687 | Succeeded by |
.jpg) | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
