Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy. The Historiography of Hispania in Late Antiquity

One of the characteristics of Christian historiography in Late Roman Hispania was the triumph of Christianity over every form of pagan tradition. The construction of a solid ideology aiming at establishing a clear demarcation between orthodoxy and heterodoxy was the necessary condition to check and neutralise expressions of religious dissent. This phenomenon becomes particularly evident not only when one examines norms and decrees issued by the ecclesiastical hierarchy, but also when considering a series of imperial constitutions directed against heretics and pagans. This contribution emphasises the importance of some aspects of Christian historiography in Late Roman Hispania, paying special attention to the increased number of ecclesiastical documentary sources which modern scholarship has analysed over the past few decades.