Study of Visigothic Spain prior to 589 is hampered the paucity of contemporary texts. Some of our key sources for events of this time were written between 620 and 640 – early enough that their authors might have witnessed some events and be able to interview other witnesses, but possibly using language current to the time of writing rather than that of events. However, their language can shed light on how this earlier period was viewed in the decades that followed and reflect early seventh-century perceptions of the changes that took place. They also cover many of the same events as the earlier sources and can help us to better piece together a picture of sixth-century Iberia.

Two main observations can be made of the language in these texts. First, that religious divisions were expected to map closely onto ancestral ones. Historically, the Goths were followers of the Arian variety of Christianity, with many of them originally converted by Ulfila. Sources for sixth-century Spain therefore tend to assume that all people identifying as of Gothic descent followed Arian doctrine. This is not just because the authors whose works survive were themselves Catholics, or because later authors may have generalized for ease or out of ignorance – council records show that even the kings framed their visions of the Gothic community as Arian (and after conversion, as Catholic). Of course, there were exceptions that did not match the assumed stereotype, and their existence could cause problems for kings trying to promote a specific narrative of who and what their people were, as we will see. Secondly, the texts of this period clearly demonstrate that the conversion of ‘the entire people of the Goths’ was both intended and viewed as a conscious attempt at unifying the diverse populations of Iberia. The close association between Arianism and Gothic identity – and between Catholicism and Roman identity – that pervaded the common contemporary discourse was a barrier to imagining all subjects as a single people. Conversion of one group to the other's faith was an important strategy to encourage social cohesion.

There are four main sources that help us understand the available repertoires of identification in this period. Two are contemporary: John of Biclar's Chronicle and the records of the Third Council of Toledo. The other two were written in the 620s-630s: the History of the Goths of Isidore of Seville and the hagiographical Lives of the Fathers of Mérida.