Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada

Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada or Rodericus Ximénez de Rada (* 1170 in Puente la Reina, † June 10, 1247 in Lyon) was a Spanish cleric, general and historian, he was archbishop of Toledo and primate of Spain.

Life and work

Jiménez de Rada comes from a Navarrese noble family and was initially trained by his uncle Martín de la Finojosa, the abbot of the monastery of Santa Maria de Huerta and Bishop of Siguenza. He studied in Bologna and Paris law and theology and gained a profound education. He was returned to Spain in 1208 Bishop of Osma, 1209 Archbishop of Toledo. As such, he had to defend the primacy of the bishop of Toledo seat against the claims of other cities such as Santiago de Compostela. He laid the foundation stone of the Gothic building of the Cathedral of Toledo.

From Toledo, he influenced both Alfonso VIII and Ferdinand III. Government and worked, among others, the diplomatic preparations for the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 against the Almohads with. He took part in the battle personally and reported it as a chronicler. 1214 gave him the king the Castillo del Milagro and the adjoining land. These areas Jimenez de Rada added in November added the village of Villar de Pulgar.

In 1217 he received from the hands of Pope Honorius III. the task of organizing the crusade of all Christian kingdoms against the Moors, and was appointed to the papal legate. However, in his campaigns against Cáceres ( 1217 ) and Requena ( 1218 ), he suffered defeats.

1231 he conquered as a vassal of Ferdinand III. of Castile with his troops Quesada and Cazorla in the present province of Jaén. After the conquest of Valencia by James I ( 1238 ) he claimed jurisdiction over the city of Toledo.

Jiménez de Rada died in Lyon on the return from a visit with Pope Innocent IV

Historiography work

Beyond his work as a cleric and commander Jiménez de Rada was historian. His most famous work is De rebus Hispaniae, also known as Cronicón de las cosas sucedidas en España, Historia gótica or Crónica del toledano, in which he writes down to 1243 or summarizing the history of the Iberian Peninsula. He mentioned there the battle of Clavijo. He also wrote the Historia Arabum that stood out at that time by their interest in the Arab- Islamic culture.

De rebus Hispaniae that najerense essentially follows the Crónica, was first to the source rank for the Chronicle Estoria de España by Alfonso the Wise, and later for the study of the history of Spain.

Jiménez de Rada's fundamental earnings resulted from the use of a critical method as a historian. He questioned sources, referring to Arab sources, and presented them to his statements against. Therefore, this approach alone is invaluable, because at this time only the Arab historiography lectured also economic and social issues.

Works

• De Rebus Hispaniae
• Hunnorum, Vandalorum Silingorum et Historia
• Ostrogothorum Historia
• Historia Romanorum
• Historia Arabum