Fifth Council of Toledo facts for kids
The Fifth Council of Toledo was an important meeting held in the city of Toledo. It was called by King Chintila and started on June 30, 636. The meeting took place in the church of Saint Leocadia.
Twenty-two bishops and two representatives from other bishops attended this council. Some bishops from a region called Narbonensis were not there because of political issues at the time. The main purpose of this council was to discuss and decide on political matters.
Protecting the King and His Family
One of the first things the council did was to offer special protection to King Chintila and his family. They made several rules about this and about how new kings would be chosen.
- Who could choose a king? Only important nobles (who had military jobs) and high-ranking officials from the Visigothic palace could take part in choosing a new king.
- Family property: The king's children and grandchildren had the right to keep any property that the king had fairly gained and wanted to give to them. Also, the king's closest advisors were protected in keeping any property the king had given them.
- Punishments for plotting: The council said that anyone who tried to find out the king's future using fortune-tellers, or who spoke badly about the king, or who secretly planned to put someone else on the throne, would be kicked out of the church. Anyone who tried to become king without being properly chosen was also strongly condemned.
- Special prayers: The council also decided that there would be three days of special prayers, called litanies, every year between December 13 and 15.
Why the Council Was Held
Even with all these new rules, the council did not fully achieve its main goal. It wanted to make the king's position safer and stop secret plots and disagreements within the kingdom. King Chintila still had to deal with people who disagreed with him, even though Spain was peaceful with other countries. Because of these ongoing problems, King Chintila had to call another meeting, the Sixth Council of Toledo, in 638.
Sources
- Thompson, E. A. (1969) The Goths in Spain. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Concilium Toletanum quintum, minutes from the Collectio Hispana Gallica Augustodunensis (Vat. lat. 1341)
See also
