THIS CHAPTER ANALYSES the view that medieval Spanish-Christian historiography provided on the effects caused by the Arab-Berber conquest in the Iberian Peninsula of the regnum Gothorum (in terms of its end or its transfer northwards) and the regnum Hispaniae (its exclusive continuation in al-Andalus, its partial possession by Christians to be fully recovered later, or its continued existence limited to Christian territory). The two terms are not identical, since in all medieval chronicles consulted the regnum Gothorum refers to the rule, government, and the authority of the Visigoths, while the regnum Hispaniae, or simply regnum, designates the political and public institution established on Spanish territory, that is, the Kingdom of Spain.

I shall examine preserved medieval chronicles dealing with these historiographical issues that were written by Christians in territories of the former Visigothic Kingdom, which also included Septimania in today's southern France. Later sequels (Chronicle of Sampiro and Chronicle of Bishop Pelagius) and specific narratives of famous kings (Chronica Adephonsi imperatoris or the Catalan late-medieval chronicles about the Aragonese kings) are not considered. I also exclude annals, deeds, and chronicles of kingdoms and counties that do not attempt to explain their origins in the uprising against Andalusian rule (Chronica latina regum Castellae and Crónica de los estados peninsulares) or that look for other ways of legitimization, such as through the Carolingian Empire (Gesta Comitum Barchinonensium and the diverse annals and genealogies from the Pyrenean regions). Therefore, the chapter focuses on the following historiographical texts: the Arab-Byzantine Chronicle of 741, Mozarabic Chronicle of 754, Chronologia regum Gothorum, Chronicon Moissiacense, Chronicle of Albelda, Chronicle of Alfonso III, Annales Portugalenses Veteres, Chronicon Compostellanum, Chronicon Iriense, Historia Legionensis, Chronica Naierensis, Liber regum, Chronicon Mundi, De rebus Hispaniae, Historia Arabum, Estoria de España general, Chronicle of San Juan de la Peña, Crónica d’Espayña, Chronicle of Garci López de Roncesvalles, Crónica de los reyes de Navarra, and Anacefaleosis o Genealogía de los reyes de España. I shall deal with them chronologically.

Andalusian-Christian Chronicles

The earliest surviving evidence on the course of the regnum Gothorum and the regnum Hispaniae are the Arab-Byzantine Chronicle of 741 and the Mozarabic Chronicle of 754. Both come from al-Andalus, particularly the south-eastern quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula, and were written by Mozarabs a few decades after the Arab conquest.