De rebelde a mártir del catolicismoEl tratamiento del príncipe Hermenegildo en la tradición occidental (siglos VI-XVI)

Abstract

The purpose of this doctoral thesis is to analyze and study the historiographical and literary testimonies that, from the 6th century to the 16th century, had Prince Hermenegildo as their protagonist. With this extensive research, we aim to identify the main variations in the portrayal of the character and explain the reasons behind these changes in different writing contexts. The goal is to demonstrate how the image of a historical figure, who transitioned from a traitor to a saint of the Catholic Church and patron of the Spanish monarchy, was shaped as a result of a process of fictionalization—or rather, an interested recovery of Visigothic memory in medieval times—that ultimately, in the era of Philip II, transformed him into an icon for the visual arts and a literary figure that served as a source of inspiration for numerous theatrical works of the Spanish Golden Age. Indeed, during the reign of the Prudent King (1556-1598), the Visigothic prince was declared a saint of the Catholic Church and named the patron of the Spanish monarchy a thousand years after his tragic death. However, when we turn to the Hispano-Gothic chronicles written in the heat of the events, that is, in the 6th century, we find that the treatment of Hermenegildo was radically different at first. Thus, at first glance, a radical shift in the perception of his figure is evident, as he transitioned from rebel to martyr over the course of medieval chronistic tradition