Recciberga, Visigoth queen consort

Parents unknown. Seen as daughter of Euagees

Recciberga, queen consort of the Visigothic Kingdom

• Predecessor Theodora
• Successor Liubigoton
• Died between 18 October 646 and 13 November 657
• Burial: San Roman de Ornija
• Spouse: Chindasuinth
• Children: 1) Recceswinth 2) Theodofred

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Biography

Recciberga (also spelled: Reciberga or Reciverga, Latin: Rekiverga; died between October 18, 646 and November 13, 657) was Queen of the Visigoths (not later than 646 - not later than 657) by marriage to Chindasuinth or Recceswinth.

Her existence is confirmed by two sources. The first is a royal charter.[1] dated 646, and the second is her epitaph[2][3].

Recciberga's lineage is not mentioned in any of the documents. She could have been from an important Visigoth noble family, and she could have been possibly related to Rikimir.

On October 18, 646 King Chindasuinth issued a charter to the abbot of a monastery near El Bierzo, mentioning Recciberga as a queen.[1] There is still some dispute between medievalists as to the authenticity of this document, though. The charter appears as follows:

“Domnis sanctis gloriosissimis mihique post Deum fortissimis patronis sanctorum martyrum Iusti et Pastoris sive sancte Marie et sancti Martini episcopi, quorum basilica, vel monasterium situm est juxta rivulum quod dicitur Molina, sub monte Irago, in confinio Vergidensi, et est fundamentum ipsum monasterium a tibi Fructuoso Abbate , ego Chindasvintux rex and Reciverga regina"

Her epitaph, written by Archbishop Eugene of Toledo, records her as having been married to the king for seven years.

There is no current consensus among historians about which of the rulers of the Visigothic kingdom was married to Recciberga. Some medievalists consider her the wife of King Chindasuinth,[2] who ruled the Visigoths in 642-653, and suggest that Recciberga was the mother of his eldest son and heir, Recceswinth. Other historians call her the wife of Recceswinth. They believe that the first mention of her as a queen dates back to the time when her husband was co-ruler with his father, and also had a royal title. In this case, Recciberga should have died long before her husband, who died on September 1, 672. There is no evidence of the married life of King Recceswinth in medieval sources, and as so it is assumed he died childless.

She died abruptly at the age of twenty-two years and eight months,[2][4] according to her epitaph. The exact date of her death is unknown,[5] but it is assumed that she should have died no earlier than 646, when she was mentioned in the charter, and no later than November 13, 657, the date of the death of Eugene of Toledo.[4]

She was buried in the monastery of San Roman de Ornija, located in the village of the same name . Later, King Chindasuinth was also buried there, his epitaph written by the same Archbishop.

Family

"SPAIN: VANDALS, SUEVI & VISIGOTHS". fmg.ac. Retrieved 2023-01-12

CHINDASVINTO (-Toledo 1 Oct 653). He was elected to succeed in 642 as CHINDASVINTO King of the Visigoths after deposing King Tulga … m REKIBERGA, daughter of --- (-after 18 Oct 646). "Chindasvintux rex et Reciverga regina" donated property to "monasterium…iuxta rivulum…Molina sub monte Irago" by charter dated 18 Oct 646[296]. Nothing is known about the family origin of King Chindasvinto´s wife, or whether this named wife was the mother of both his children who are named below. The estimated birth date of the king´s son Theodefredo suggests that he may have been the son of Rekiberga.

King Chindasvinto and [his wife] had two children:

• a) RECESVINTO (-Villa of Gérticos [Wamba, Valladolid][297] 1 Sep 672, bur [Gerticos], transferred 13th century to Toledo[298]). Fredegar names "Chyntasindus…filium suum Richysindum"[299]. His father associated him as joint king, and abdicated in his favour in 649 whereupon he was elected to succeed as RECESVINTO King of the Visigoths.
• b) THEODOFREDO ([645/53]-after 702). The Chronicle of Alfonso III names "Theodefred…the son of King Chindasuinth, his father abandoning him at a young age", adding that King Egica ordered him to be blinded when he reached maturity[306], presumably aiming to exclude him from the succession in line with the practice in the Eastern Empire, where blindness was considered an impediment to ruling and therefore constituted an effective way of disempowering an opponent short of killing him (although many did succumb as a result of the treatment). It is not recorded whether the punishment was carried out. The same source records that Theodofredo settled in Córdoba. The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that he was murdered by Witiza King of the Visigoths[307]. m (after 687) RICILO, daughter of ---. The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that Theodefredo "chose a wife…Ricilo, from a noble family" during his exile[308]. Theodofredo & his wife had [four] children: …

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References

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recciberga (retrieved 2023-01-11) cites

1. Jump up to: a b Canellas López (1979). Revista de Historia Jerónimo Zurita (in Spanish). Zaragosa: Institución Fernando el Católico. pp. 333–335.
2. Jump up to: a b c Remie Constable, Olivia; Zurro, Damien (2012). Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 27–29. ISBN 978-0-8122-2168-8.
3. Hartmann, Martina (2009). Die Königin im frühen Mittelalter. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. ISBN 978-3-17-018473-2. OCLC 319077347.
4. Jump up to: a b Earenfight, Theresa (2013). Queenship in Medieval Europe. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-30392-9. OCLC 965708758.
5. "SPAIN: VANDALS, SUEVI & VISIGOTHS". fmg.ac. Retrieved 2022-01-27.

• FUENTES: -http://www.abcgenealogia.com/Godos00.html (dead link)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Visigothic_queens