Isidore of Seville and Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada

Isidore of Seville (c. 570–636) and Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada (1170–1247) mark the beginning and end point of a type of historiography in Iberia that is still very dependent on late antique models. Isidore’s Chronicon (CPL 1205) and Historiae (CPL 1204) were considered canonical models of what “writing history” should mean, forming the backbone of all major texts and compilations written in Iberia until the thirteenth century. In this paper, I analyze how Ximénez de Rada used Isidore’s Historiae at two levels: in structuring his own work and as a source. In terms of structure, I will show how the Historiae was the main model for Ximénez de Rada’s historiographical project. Concerning the use of Isidore’s text as a source, I will identify which versions of the Historiae were used by Ximénez de Rada, and analyze how, concretely, he adapted Isidore’s text. I will argue that Ximénez de Rada did not just copy the Historiae, but took both Isidore’s structure and text, rethought them, and made a completely new work of his own.