Visigoths

The Visigoths were a branch of the Goths whose kingdoms formed within the western Roman Empire, most enduringly in Iberia from the fifth century until the Muslim conquest in the eighth.

Goths: The Goths were a Germanic people whose migrations and kingdoms shaped late Roman and early medieval Europe. The Visigoths emerged as one of the two major branches of the Goths.
Foederati: Foederati were peoples bound to Rome by treaties that exchanged military service for subsidies or settlement. Visigothic forces served Rome under changing treaty arrangements before establishing an independent kingdom.
Western Roman Empire: The western half of the Roman Empire, whose imperial government ended in 476. Visigothic kingdoms formed within its former territories and inherited many Roman structures.
Council of Toledo: A series of church councils held in Toledo that addressed religious and political affairs in Visigothic Spain. The councils helped unite royal government and the Catholic Church after the king’s conversion.
Tervingi: The Tervingi were a Gothic grouping living north of the Danube during the fourth century. Some historians connect the Tervingi with the later Visigoths, though the labels are not exact equivalents.
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains: The 451 battle in Gaul in which Roman and allied forces fought Attila’s Huns. The Visigoths fought as Roman allies, and their king Theodoric I died in the battle.
Late antiquity: Late antiquity is the period of transformation between the classical Roman world and the early Middle Ages. Visigothic history spans the political and religious changes that define this period.
Reccared I: A Visigothic king who converted from Arianism to Nicene Christianity in 589. His conversion reshaped the religious identity of the kingdom.
Battle of Adrianople: The 378 battle in which Gothic forces defeated and killed the Roman emperor Valens. Its aftermath brought Gothic groups into the Roman Empire under strained settlement terms.
Theodoric I: A Visigothic king who ruled from 418 until his death in 451. He expanded Visigothic influence in Gaul and died fighting Attila’s invasion.

Linked from 13 pages