In recent years, scholars have made significant progress in understanding the transition from a Roman world to a medieval world in Spain. New archaeological excavations have added to our knowledge of the early medieval landscape, and increasingly analytical discussions of the labels used to describe people and objects have brought new depth to both historical and archaeological studies. In place of black and white visions of Goth vs. Roman and continuity vs. discontinuity, it has become more common to see Visigothic Spain as a complex mix of elements on their own terms. What it was like be a Roman in ancient Spain, and a Visigoth in medieval Spain, is far clearer now than it was twenty years ago. However, one area that has been underexplored is the mental landscape: how did Hispano-Romans come to think of themselves, and be thought of by others, as Goths? How did the mental transition from identifying as Roman to identifying as Gothic happen
