them under that form of government which he thought proper to impose. This great design was accomplished with complete success; and Leovigilde had the satisfaction of observing that the reputation of his arms increased with every campaign; and that his government was now established in perfect security.

Anxious to improve this favourable conjuncture to the advantage of his own family, he prevailed on the Visigoths to admit the association of his two sons, Hermenigilde and Recared, as heirs expectant of the kingdom, and as possessors of a certain share of the regal authority. He alsc concluded a marriage between Hermenigilde and the princess Ingonde, and sent the young couple to keep their court at Seville: but, in consequence of some religious disputes, a civil war ensued between the father and the son; and the latter, being reduced to great extremities, was despoiled of all ensigns of royalty, and thrown into prison at Toledo. This quarrel, among other mischievous consequences, occasioned a violent persecution against the Catholic bishops and clergy, and gave rise to a general rebellion of the Vascons, who inhabited the countries of Navarre, Jacca, and Guipuscoa.

While the king was employed in suppressing this revolt, Hermenigilde escaped from his prison, and took the best measures for his security by fortifying himself in Seville: but that city was reduced to such extremities, by Leovigilde, that the unfortunate prince was obliged to quit it, and to retire to Cordova, where he was again made prisoner by his exasperated father, From Cordova he was sent, in chains, to Seville, and shut up in a solitary tower, where he received

an

an offer of forgiveness, on condition of his renouncing the catholic faith, and communicating with an Arian prelate: but as he rejected these proposals with honest indignation, he was pri vately murdered by the royal command, and his only son, whom he had by the princess Ingonde, was sent to Constantinople.

A. D. 584.

Some time after this tragical occurrence, Leovigilde turned his victorious arms against the Sueves, who were under the power of an usurper named Andaca. He met with a very feeble resistance in his pas sage to Brague; and on the reduction of that city he banished Andaca to Badajos, and obliged him to become a priest, in order to prevent any future disturbances from his intrigues or pretensions. Thus was the kingdom of the Sueves subverted; and from this period the two nations of the Sueves and Visigoths acknowledged the same sovereign.

The Franks made a powerful irruption, about the same time, into Leovigilde's Gallic dominions but they were repulsed with considerable loss by the bravery of prince Rechared; and the young conqueror acquired a considerable degree of popularity, at his return, by espousing the daugher of a powerful and opulent Goth. Toward the latter end of the year Leovigilde died, in an advanced age, at Toledo; and is said, by some historians, to have been reconciled to the catholic faith but this fact is by no means indisputable.

In the character of Leovigilde, as in those of most heroes, we perceive a combination of good and evil qualities. Ambition, avarice, and cruelty have been justly charged upon him by

most

most writers; yet historical justice compels us to observe, that he was a brave commander, a great economist, a lover of equity, and an able politician. He reduced a disordered government to perfect regularity; revised and enforced those salutary laws which, from the time of Alaric, had been shamefully neglected; settled a royal treasury, and regulated the finances; overawed the Imperialists and the neighbouring barbarians by the terror of his arms; and, by cajoling, corrupting, and dividing his enemies, gradually prepared them for subjection. He was the first king of the Visigoths who assumed the insignia of royalty; and he conducted himself on all occasions with such fortitude and majesty, that he was much more respected than any of his predecessors. All ranks and descriptions of people submitted to his authority and executed his commands without murmuring; and it is evident that this general obedience resulted principally from a conviction of the solid advantages which arose from his uniform and well regulated administration.

A. D.

586.

Recared, the only surviving son of Leovigilde, was raised to the vacant throne, immediately after his father's decease; and his first care was to pursue the negociations which had been opened in the late reign between the Visigoths, and their powerful neighbours the Franks. At the courts of Orleans and Burgundy, the proposed accommodation was rejected with contempt: but Childebert, king of Austrasia, laid aside his hostile intentions, and, after mature deliberation, concluded a definitive treaty of peace. The forces of Gontran, king of Orleans, made an irruption

into

into the provinces which the Visigoths still held in Gaul, and obtained some important advantages; but they were at length attacked by the army of Recared, and repulsed with prodigious slaughter.

Whilst the Visigoths were triumphing in the happy effects of this victory, Recared made a public acknowledgment of his conversion to the catholic faith, and at the same time proposed the introduction of that religion into all parts of his dominions. An innovation, so bold in its nature and so important in its consequences, might be naturally supposed to occasion much commotion in the kingdom; and, though it was received with all the exterior marks of approbation, it was followed by several alarming conspiracies against the king's person and government. These, however, were all discovered and frustrated; and, in spite of all the exertions of the Arian prelates and nobility, the catholic religion was firmly established in a solemn assembly at Toledo, and the conversion of the Visigoths became a national act,

Having accomplished this great work, Recared espoused the princess Clodosinde, sister of Ingonde, and sent ambassadors to pope Gregory the Great, in order to procure an extract of the treaties between his predecessor, Athanagilde, and the emperor Justinian, that he might clearly understand the terms upon which the Imperialists still retained certain territories in Spain. He also chastised some Gascons who had made an irruption into his dominions, and made some laudable exertions for the amendment and promulgation of various salutary laws; but whilst he was devoting his entire attention to

the

A. D.

601.

the felicity of his people, he was seized with a fit of illness which terminated in his death, after an equitable and glorious reign of fifteen years. The respect for the memory and virtues of Recared was so universal, that both the nobility and commonalty were anxious to preserve the crown in his family, and, as he had no legitimate issue, they bestowed the regal dignity upon his natural son, Liuva, who appears to have been a youth of engaging manners and promising abilities. This prince, however, was unfortunately betrayed into an imprudent action against the Imperialists; and the traitor, who led him into this error, not only went over to the opposite party, but basely deposed the king, thrust him into prison, and eventually caused him to be put to death.

A. D.

604.

The treacherous Witeric was immediately proclaimed king by his unprincipled adherents; and his accession was marked by a vigorous war against the Imperialists, whom he reduced to great distress at the battle of Siguenca. He afterwards attempted to form a powerful alliance against Theodoric, king of Burgundy, who had demanded his daughter in marriage, and then refused to consummate the nuptials; but, the league being suddenly dissolved, he became an object of derision to all his neighbours; and his subjects were so discontented with his government, that he was soon taken off by assassination, and his corpse, after being dragged through the streets with every mark of ignominy, was deposited in a place appropriated for the sepulture of common malefactors.

Gundemar,