This history of Spain in the period between the end of Roman rule
and the time of the Arab conquest challenges many traditional
assumptions about the history of this period.

* * Presents original theories about how the Visigothic kingdom was
governed, about law in the kingdom, about the Arab conquest, and
about the rise of Spain as an intellectual force.

* Takes account of new documentary evidence, the latest
archaeological findings, and the controversies that these have
generated.

* Combines chronological and thematic approaches to the
period.

* A historiographical introduction looks at the current state of
research on the history and archaeology of the Visigothic
kingdom.