La monarquía visigoda en Valerio del Bierzo

Se analizan las referencias a la institución monárquica visigoda en los escritos autobiográficos de Valerio del Bierzo con el objetivo de ver hasta qué punto dichas referencias pueden contribuir a dilucidar cuál fue el grado de implantación del poder central en el entorno berciano de la segunda mitad del siglo VII. Dos de las tendencias predominantes en la historiografía actual han condicionado este trabajo. Por un lado, el protagonismo que ha cobrado el análisis de las relaciones entre centro y periferia, entre monarquía y comunidades locales, en los estudios más recientes. Por otro, la revaloración que en los últimos tiempos se ha hecho de la literatura hagiográfica hispanovisigoda por las posibilidades que aporta para conocer la realidad más inmediata y cotidiana.This article analyzes the references to the institution of the Visigothic monarchy found in the autobiographical writings of Valerio del Bierzo in order to see to what extent they can help clarify the degree to which central power was implemented in the area of El Bierzo during the second half of the 7th century. Two predominant trends in current historiography have shaped this analysis: on the one hand, the growing importance of the analysis of the relations between the centre and the periphery, between the monarchy and the local communities, in the most recent studies; and on the other hand, the recent reassessment of Hispano-Visigothic hagiographic literature for the possibilities it offers in order to approach the most direct and everyday reality of this time and place

Monarquía y tributación en la "Hispania" visigoda: el marco teórico

El análisis de las atribuciones del rey en materia tributaria desvela que en la Hispania visigoda se asimilaron los mismos principios teóricos que regían el cobro de tributos en el Imperio romano, haciendo del rey el máximo responsable y el beneficiario último del sistema tributario. Esa asimilación de concepciones políticas de carácter estatal heredadas del mundo romano también supuso que se distinguiera entre los bienes personales del rey y los de la institución monárquica. Tanto los ingresos tributarios, obtenidos en el ejercicio del poder, como los objetos que constituían el tesoro real, formarían parte del patrimonio monárquico, aunque posiblemente tendrían categorías y funciones diferentes, siendo los primeros los destinados, al menos en teoría, a sufragar los gastos ordinarios del regnum. La dificultad radica en saber hasta qué punto la monarquía visigoda fue capaz de implantar con eficacia ese sistema tributario.The analysis of the jurisdiction of the king as regards to the tax system reveals that the Visigothic Hispania assimilated the same theoretical principles ruling the collection of taxes in the Roman Empire, making the king the main responsible and the final beneficiary of the tax system. This assimilation of state political conceptions inherited from the Roman World envolved also the distinction between the personal properties of the king from those belonging to the monarchical institution. Both the tax in comes, obtained by the exertion of power, and the objects constituting the royal treasury, would be a part of the monarchical patrimony, although they would possibly have different categories and functions, being the former assigned, at least in theory, to financing the ordinary expenses of the regnum. The difficulty lies in getting to know to what extent the Visigothic monarchy was able to implant efficiently that tax system

The attack of Alaric to the Urbs Aeterna: A measure of pressure that ended in disaster for the Romans

Cuando Alarico penetró en Italia, su objetivo primordial no era apoderarse de Roma. El saqueo de la antigua capital imperial y los asedios que previamente sufrió la ciudad pueden ser equiparados como medidas de presión a las que recurrió Alarico con la intención de forzar al gobierno imperial a firmar un tratado de paz. En el mismo sentido, puede ser interpretado el matrimonio de Ataúlfo y Gala Placidia. Pero, aunque ninguno de estos “instrumentos de presión” resultaron operativos, a la larga, fueron las circunstancias que rodearon al saqueo de Roma las que aportaron mayores beneficios a los godos, tanto en el terreno material, a nivel económico y humano, como en el plano ideológico.When Alaric invaded Italy, his primordial objective was not to take Rome. The sac­king of the old imperial capital and the sieges that he city underwent previously can be seen as measures of pressure that Alaric resorted to with the idea of forcing the imperial government to sign a peace treaty. This same interpretation can be made of the marriage of Ataulf and Galla Placidia. But although none of the “instruments of pressure” turned out to be operative, in the long run it was the circumstances surrounding the sacking of Rome that brought the greatest benefits to the Goths, both in the material sense, at he economic and human level, and on an ideological plante

Interleukin 15 Levels in Serum May Predict a Severe Disease Course in Patients with Early Arthritis

Background: Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is thought to be involved in the physiopathological mechanisms of RA and it can be detected in the serum and the synovial fluid of inflamed joints in patients with RA but not in patients with osteoarthritis or other inflammatory joint diseases. Therefore, the objective of this work is to analyse whether serum IL-15 (sIL-15) levels serve as a biomarker of disease severity in patients with early arthritis (EA). Methodology and Results: Data from 190 patients in an EA register were analysed (77.2% female; median age 53 years; 6-month median disease duration at entry). Clinical and treatment information was recorded systematically, especially the prescription of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. Two multivariate longitudinal analyses were performed with different dependent variables: 1) DAS28 and 2) a variable reflecting intensive treatment. Both included sIL-15 as predictive variable and other variables associated with disease severity, including rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA). Of the 171 patients (638 visits analysed) completing the follow-up, 71% suffered rheumatoid arthritis and 29% were considered as undifferentiated arthritis. Elevated sIL-15 was detected in 29% of this population and this biomarker did not overlap extensively with RF or ACPA. High sIL-15 levels (β Coefficient [95% confidence interval]: 0.12 [0.06-0.18]; p&0.001) or ACPA (0.34 [0.01-0.67]; p = 0.044) were significantly and independently associated with a higher DAS28 during follow-up, after adjusting for confounding variables such as gender, age and treatment. In addition, those patients with elevated sIL-15 had a significantly higher risk of receiving intensive treatment (RR 1.78, 95% confidence interval 1.18-2.7; p = 0.007). Conclusions: Patients with EA displaying high baseline sIL-15 suffered a more severe disease and received more intensive treatment. Thus, sIL-15 may be a biomarker for patients that are candidates for early and more intensive treatmentThe work of Belen Díaz-Sánchez was supported by the RETICS Programme (Programa de Redes Temáticas de Investigación Colaborativa [Colaborative Research Thematic Network Programme]; RD08/0075 - RIER [Red de Inflamación y Enfermedades Reumáticas; Inflammation and Rheumatic Diseases Network]) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain (URL: www.isciii.es) within the VI National Plan for I+D+I 2008–2011 (FEDER). The work of Isidoro González-Álvaro was in part supported by a grant for the Intensification of the Research Tasks in the National Health Care System from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain. The consumables for measurements and data analysis were supported by a Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria grant (08/0754) from the Instituto de Salud Carlos II

Spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant through Europe in the summer of 2020

[EN] Following its emergence in late 2019, the spread of SARS-CoV-21,2 has been tracked by phylogenetic analysis of viral genome sequences in unprecedented detail3,4,5. Although the virus spread globally in early 2020 before borders closed, intercontinental travel has since been greatly reduced. However, travel within Europe resumed in the summer of 2020. Here we report on a SARS-CoV-2 variant, 20E (EU1), that was identified in Spain in early summer 2020 and subsequently spread across Europe. We find no evidence that this variant has increased transmissibility, but instead demonstrate how rising incidence in Spain, resumption of travel, and lack of effective screening and containment may explain the variant’s success. Despite travel restrictions, we estimate that 20E (EU1) was introduced hundreds of times to European countries by summertime travellers, which is likely to have undermined local efforts to minimize infection with SARS-CoV-2. Our results illustrate how a variant can rapidly become dominant even in the absence of a substantial transmission advantage in favourable epidemiological settings. Genomic surveillance is critical for understanding how travel can affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and thus for informing future containment strategies as travel resumes.S

The attack of Alaric to the Urbs Aeterna: a measure of pressure that ended in disaster for the romans

Cuando Alarico penetró en Italia, su objetivo primordial no era apoderarse de Roma. El saqueo de la antigua capital imperial y los asedios que previamente sufrió la ciudad pueden ser equiparados como medidas de presión a las que recurrió Alarico con la intención de forzar al gobierno imperial a firmar un trazado de paz.En el mismo sentido, puede ser interpretado el matrimonio de Ataúlfo y Gala Placidia. Pero, aunque ninguno de estos “instrumentos de presión” resultaron operativos, a la larga, fueron las circunstancias que rodearon al saqueo de Roma las que apor- taron mayores beneficios a los godos, tanto en el terreno material, a nivel económico y humano, como en el plano ideológicoWhen Alaric invaded Italy, his primordial objective was not to take Rome. The sacking of the old imperial capital and the sieges that he city underwent previously can be seen as measures of pressure that Alaric resorted to with the idea of forcing the imperial government to sign a peace treaty. This same interpretation can be made of the marriage of Ataulf and Galla Placidia. But although none of the “instruments of pressure” turned out to be operative, in the long run it was the circumstances surrounding the sacking of Rome that brought the greatest benefits to the Goths, both in the material sense, at he economic and human level, and on an ideological plan

Mujeres «viriles» en la Hispania visigoda. Los casos de Gosvinta y Benedicta

RESUMEN: El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar los juicios que se vierten en la Hispania visigoda sobre las mujeres que adoptan comportamientos considerados masculinos. Cualidades valoradas positivamente en los hombres, como la fuerte personalidad o la capacidad de decisión, eran, en principio, un defecto en las mujeres, de las que se esperaba sumisión y respeto. Ahora bien, esta premisa general no siempre se aplicó y lo que pretendemos es desvelar por qué esas «mujeres viriles» son juzgadas positiva o negativamente dependiendo de los casos.ABSTRACT: The aim of this work is to analize the judgements passed in Visigothic Hispania on women adopting behaviours regarded as mannish. Qualities positively valued in men, as a strong personality or decision capability were, in principle, judged as a defect in women, from which submissiveness and respect were expected. However, this general premise was not always applied, and the objective of this paper is to reveal why those «mannish women» are positively or negatively judged depending on the cases.</p

La monarquía visigoda y su política matrimonial: el Reino visigodo de Toledo

RESUMEN: Inscribiendo los matrimonios regios visigodos en su contexto histórico, pretendemos desvelar la relación existente entre las transformaciones de la institución monárquica visigoda y los cambios que experimentan las estrategias matrimoniales que dicha institución de poder pone en práctica durante su etapa toledana