Liturgy in the System of Political Propaganda in the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo

Abstract

The article is devoted  to the role of liturgy as an instrument of the political  propaganda in the Visigothic  Kingdom  of Toledo, which existed  from the middle of the 6th  to the beginning  of the 8th  centuries in the territory of the former Spanish  provinces  of the  Late  Roman  Empire,  as well as the  province of Narbonne  Gaule. The so-called “Gothic” or “Mozarabic” liturgical  tradition was basically formed in the period of Late Antiquity and was further  developed in the time of the Toledo kingdom. The main sources in the article  are the late (VII century) editions of a number of Spanish liturgical  texts – the service book (“Liber ordinum”), the Leon antiphonary and hymnal (“Hymnodia Gothica”). The author also drawn the information contained in the resolutions of the Toledo councils and the “History  of King Wamba”, written by an outstanding political and religious leader Julian of Toledo (circa 642–690). It is concluded  that  in the situation of utmost  instability of the political system of the Kingdom of Toledo during the great part of its history the role of political propaganda increased significantly. It became an important mean to support the royal power authority. The fundamental part of the Church in that  sphere was determined not only because of the political  theory  innovations elaborated by the most educated persons of the clergy, but by the significance of liturgy  as a mean to inculcate  some important political ideas in the minds of the broad masses of believers, representing the Christian society as a whole. The main consequence of that  Church activity  was the preservation of a positive image of royal power to a certain extent compensating for the weakness of the political system.