It would be a mistake to view government in the dark or middle ages in the way we do today. It was a time where communication and cohesion of groups was difficult. Kingdoms were intertwined with religion and were often hungry to take over land from their neighbors how ever violently. The fall of the Roman empire ensued chaos as different groups vied for political control of different geographical regions. In these early kingdoms there were things such as courts and laws, but they were still monarchies and autocracies where the king had little care for his subjects and religion. These different Iberian kingdoms were united and motivated primarily by their “ possession of a common origin and a common destiny” (Madden, 183). Religion was used as a political tool to regulate tensions or political motivation to overtake certain people groups. Muslim kingdoms and Christian kingdoms and pagan kingdoms were always at odds with one another. This is a complicated time that is difficult to create a cohesive, overarching picture for, especially when it comes to the structure of government. However, the following pages will highlight kings, qualities, and notions of several kingdoms of the Middle, Dark, and Early Medieval ages from the area of the Iberian Peninsula, which is modern day Spain and Portugal.

 

 

Click the links below to learn about several different kingdoms that occupied the Iberian Peninsula during the Dark Ages: