Hydatius and the Bagaudae

Abstract

In this article I analyze in detail the data provided by Hydatius on the performance of the bagaudas, the sources he had to write his narration and other historiographic problems, such as the manipulation of the text by Isidore of Sevilla or the absence of data on the performance of the Bagaudae Gauls. The most plausible hypothesis,although without conclusive evidence, is that for Hydatius the Bagaudae of the Tarraconense province are peasants facing the imperial power for an unknown reason and we cannot, according to the data provided by the Galician bishop, include them in any Bagaudae movement, whether prior or contemporary.