Recared (Recared I) [key], d. 601, Visigothic king in Spain (586–601), son and successor of Leovigild. Although before his accession he had greatly distinguished himself in warfare with the Franks, he did not pursue his father's policy of conquest. He did make war on the Basques and repulsed Frankish invasions, but in general he was pacific. He made peace with the Byzantine Empire, and he seems to have sought to conciliate his Roman subjects. The most important event of his reign was his conversion (c.587–589) to Roman Catholicism; this meant the conversion of the Visigoths, but only after the suppression of a number of Arian revolts and conspiracies. There is good reason for believing that Recared modified the Visigothic law even more than Euric or Leovigild. His work is, however, a matter of conjecture. His name is also spelled Reccared.
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