Isidore begins his history with a prologue, Laus Spaniae, praising the virtues of Spain.For an analysis of the Laus Spaniae, see Andrew H. Merrills, History and Geography in Late Antiquity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 185–96. Note that before the union of Aragon and Castile in 1479, the Latin word Hispania, in any of the Iberian Romance languages, either in singular or plural forms (in English: Spain or Spains), was often used to refer to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, and not exclusively, as in modern usage, to the country of Spain, which excludes Andorra, Gibraltar and Portugal. It is here that he invents the phrase mater Spania (mother Spain). The rest of the work elaborates and defends the Gothic identity of a unified Spain. Isidore uses the Spanish era for dating throughout. The main source for his early history was Jerome's continuation of Eusebius to the year 378. From there he used primarily Orosius (to 417) and, for Spain, Hydatius (to 469). For his later history he relies on Prosper Tiro's continuation of Jerome (405–53). Victor of Tununa is his primary African witness for the years 444 to 566 and John of Biclar for recent Spanish history (565–90). Isidore also made use of a partially lost chronicle of Maximus of Zaragoza. For events in Spain between 590 and 624 Isidore is the modern historian's primary source.
