JOHN OF BICLARO

Bishop of Gerona, historian; b. Scallabis, Lusitania, Portugal, c. 540, of Catholic Visigothic nobility; d. Gerona?, after 621. He was a contemporary of isidore of se ville (Vir. ill., 44). On his return to Spain c. 576, after 16 years of study in Constantinople, he was exiled to Arian Barcelona because of his faith. After the death of Leovigild (569–586) John founded the monastery of Biclaro (location unknown). As its abbot, he also wrote a rule, no longer extant. He attended councils in Saragossa in 592, Toledo in 597 and 610, Barcelona in 599, and Egara in 614. His chronicle (567–590) continued that of victor of tunnuna, whose erroneous chronology he adopted until 583. On firsthand information John described the politically active reign of Leovigild, to whom he was loyal despite religious differences. In his work John reported on the rebels exiled to far parts of Spain; the rebellion of Leovigild's Catholic son hermenegild in Seville (579–584) ; the conversion to Catholicism of King Reccared and the Visigoths in 587; attacks by the Franks in Visigothic Gaul; and Byzantine, Lombard, and North African history. He gave the regnal years for both Byzantine and Visigothic rulers but did not use the Spanish Era. Isidore's comprehensive work supplanted John's chronicle.

Bibliography: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores antiquissimi (Berlin 1826—) 11:207–220. Juan de Biclaro, ed. j. campos (Madrid 1960). o. bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur, 5 v. (Freiburg 1913–32) 5:396–398. b. sÁnchez alonso, Historia de la historiografía española (2d ed. Madrid 1947–) v. 1. h. braunert, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed Freiburg 1957–65) 5:1010.

[e. p. colbert]