Modelling the Visigothic Church: Quantitative and Network-Based Approaches to the Councils

Abstract

The seventh-century Visigothic kingdom in Iberia was ruled by a compact between Church and crown, and the key sources for this relationship are the councils, over thirty of which took place in the sixth and seventh centuries. These records of canon law have long been studied by theologians, ecclesiastical historians and liturgists for their content, but the subscription lists that are appended to the majority of them have not been the subject of systematic study. Around 700 individuals subscribed to the councils, making them a potentially rich resource for analysing the sociology of the churches of Iberia in this period. My paper outlines some of the ways that I have approached the subscription lists in order to model – sometimes quantifiably, sometimes impressionistically, and sometimes speculatively – the social worlds of the councils. I will discuss how social network analysis based on the subscriptions can allow us to foreground the pivotal roles that subordinate individuals played in the functioning of the councils. I will demonstrate how reading conciliar rulings through the lens of the canons can reveal the scale of communication and personnel – none of which (or whom) is attested historically that must have been necessary to call together a council. Finally, I will explore how comparative evidence can enable us to model the numbers of people who could have accompanied attendees at the councils, helping to provide a sense of the scope and scale of the gatherings. My aim is to show through these examples how the subscriptions are an untapped repository that can reveal much about the functioning of the Church as a social organism.