Theodosius Gonzalo Bravo
(The Sphere Books, 2010)
Rigor and amenity are two words that attach to the backs all the books that speak. It's the Holy Grail of writing history books. In this case, I regret to say that much of the former, but little of the latter.
The theme of the book is very interesting. It's one of those many moments in which history might have followed a different course, and the world since then has changed. During his sixteen years as a Roman emperor, Theodosius gave a big boost to Christianity that its growing importance of earlier centuries became definitively irreversible. What was not so clear, however, is what interpretation of Christian doctrine was to succeed among several that were bidding for supremacy, and if it was going to do the exclusion of others or living with them, in the same way that several gods had traditionally lived in the Roman Empire. Well, we Theodosius, for better or worse, a definite contribution to what is now called Catholicism. Had to be Hispanic. Cauca (Coca, Segovia), specifically.
The problem with this book is not just being well-organized. To begin with, in addition to speaking of Theodosius (346-395 AD), speaks around the fourth century and much of the V, which is no problem, but rather the opposite, as it takes context for understanding a government, and also good to know what happened next, but that fades fairly central figure of Theodosius, which is supposed to be the main focus of the text, which appears and disappears constantly. There is little chronological organization, skip forward and back constantly, and there is little cohesion between the chapters, so that there is information that is repeated several times (up to six or seven, and I'm not exaggerating) as the debate about whether Teodosio surrounded himself with or without a "Hispanic circle" of officials, and information not mentioned at all, like to briefly explain what these various heresies that faced each the councils themselves, palaces, streets and churches. Never tells us what were the different interpretations of Christian doctrine proposed by the Arians, the Priscillianism or Manichaeism, or why had such bitter confrontations among themselves and with the Catholics. Only mention the names of these ideologies and who won what battle. And the religious question is of paramount importance in this decade and a half, because the cover sells Theodosius as "the last emperor of Rome, the first Catholic emperor." So just giving the impression that the book is the typical collection of cards, where you always have a few repeated several times, but nunca te salen otros, que dejan grandes huecos en el álbum.
En la introducción, el autor dice que "La historia, entendida como ciencia, no consiste en conocer todo sobre todo, ni siquiera algo sobre todo, sino más bien en saber mucho sobre algo". Y con ese espíritu parece estar recopilado, más que escrito, el libro, donde cada apartado es un mucho sobre algo que no acaba de fluir del todo, a pesar de continuos "vid. supra" y "vid. infra". Esta sensación se acentúa al ver que las 130 últimas páginas del libro están dedicadas a 36 fichas biográficas de personajes relacionados con Teodosio, ordenados alfabéticamente, dos cuadros genealógicos, cinco páginas de cronología between 284 and 428, 26 pages of Latin and Greek technical terms ('Princeps': officer who led one of the degrees of the imperial chancery. Vid. "scrinia'), eight pages of place names ('Veleia': Pamplona, Vitoria), five pages of non-Roman emperors and leaders, four of abbreviations, two maps and 31 references. Certainly it is a "much about something," and these raw data and organized into lists would delight of role players, but the narrative of the foregoing pages it does not exploits. It seems to be the reader who must do all the work to rebuild the puzzle with the pieces that are given at the end.
Similarly, is quite curious the dedication with which the book begins: "To those who already have realized that history-even ancient-is more than a series of" stories ", even well told." This phrase has all the earmarks of a dig at those who turn to history in a spirit of seeking entertainment or exotic, rather than rigor and study, those who prefer to "stories" or historical accounts to hang out rather than acknowledge the dedication, perseverance and attention to detail sometimes boring has to have a career history as the author himself, who is Professor of Ancient History at the Complutense. Besides, what's wrong with a story well told? Rigor does not have to be at odds with the amenity and good hilazón a pure history book, which can be as exciting as a novel. It is not chew everything the reader, but to have him in mind when shaping the accumulated knowledge.
Nevertheless, it is grateful for the publication of a book on this historic occasion, and who come armed with enough patience may be rewarded.
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