The actual text of the Seventh century document is quite short. The real treasure is the 150 pages of introduction, both from the strictly literary and the historical perspectives. The collection of four documents is left in its original order, and reveals the type of sources available in period for an historical enquiry. Thus it's valuable for professionals looking for material to treat a question in this time period. The quality of the documents varies, and the translation tries to remain clear, no matter which text we are dealing with.
All in all, a good read, with less interest, except for professionals in the literary criticism section. ( )

The Historia Wambae regis, written by Julian of Toledo, recounts a fairly unremarkable event in the history of Visigothic Spain. In the late 7th century a Duke and military commander, Paul, betrayed King Wamba when he is sent to curb an insurrection and instead first joins it, then takes over its leadership. The History covers the accession of Wamba to the throne, the insurrection less than a year into his reign, the defeat of the insurrection and the penalties imposed on the leaders of the rebellion.

This is more than a simple translation with an introduction and annotations. The translation is a minor part of this work, taking up just over 40 pages. The wealth of this is in the translator’s analysis. What Pizarro has done is place the History in context from a historical and literary perspective. Historically he analyzes the text to discuss where it is true, where it is an exaggeration, and where it is demonstrably false - a creation of its author. He examines where it is a true history, where it is a panegyric and where it is a composite of literary topoi.

In a literary sense he provides insights into what the text tells us about the level of literacy of Visigothic society. He discusses the classical Latin used in the text and how Julian extensively utilizes Sallust, Pliny, Vergil, Orosius and other ancient and late antique authors. For this section knowledge of Latin will be useful as Pizarro examines the details of Latin usage in some depth.

While it is nice to have an English language translation of the text, the true value of this is in how Pizarro uses it to demonstrate the values and beliefs of Visigothic culture and how what was written reflects the relationship between secular and religious interests of the time.

This is quite good – much better than I expected when I bought it. Pizarro’s analysis is excellent and provides a great deal of insight. This shouldn’t be someone’s first book on Visigothic Spain. For example, the interactions between church and state which Pizarro examines will be difficult to understand without some background knowledge. For those with an interest and some background in this area, I strongly recommend it. ( )