ABSTRACT

The sources for Visigothic-era Iberia include several vivid accounts of processions at which royal power was presented forcefully to the people. Narratives of the triumphs of the martyrs over their persecutors function very differently, as those who had formerly been subject to abject humiliation were turned into victorious emblems of local resistance to hegemonic imperial authority. This article argues that through their adaptations of hagiographical and martyrological traditions, the ecclesiastical authors of the Visigothic era articulated a vision of the ideal relationship between leaders and their followers that was constructed through the display of consensus and reciprocity. Stories about saints moving through and displaying their power within urban space, accompanied by their entourages (or enemies) in front of friendly (or hostile) audiences reflect an attempt to negotiate and assert control over contemporary urban space in the context of historical contestation. The inclusion of such examples in texts that were deployed repeatedly in liturgical contexts would have helped to shape expectations about the nature of power and its appropriate (and inappropriate) performance, also configuring thinking about relationships between those who saw themselves as belonging to the Christian civic community and those who were excluded from it.

摘要

西哥特时代伊比利亚的资料来源包括一些生动的游行记述，在这些游行中，王权被强力地展示给人民。关于烈士战胜迫害者的叙述的作用非常不同，因为那些以前遭受屈辱的人变成了当地反抗霸权帝国权威的胜利象征。本文认为，通过对圣徒传记和殉道传统的改编，西哥特时代的教会作者阐明了领导人与其追随者之间理想关系的愿景，这种关系是通过共识和互惠的表现而构建的。关于圣人在城市空间中穿行并展示其力量的故事，在友好（或敌对）观众面前由他们的随从（或敌人）陪伴，反映了在历史争论的背景下谈判和维护对当代城市空间的控制的尝试。将这些例子纳入在礼拜仪式中反复使用的文本中，将有助于形成对权力本质及其适当（和不适当）表现的期望，也有助于思考那些认为自己属于基督教公民的人之间的关系。社区和那些被排除在外的人。