LEOVIGILDO, king of the VISIGOTHS. — Brother of the kings Atanagildo and Liuva I, he was associated with the throne by the latter in 568, becoming sole ruler upon his death (573). By his Ermenegildo (v.) and Recaredo. When Ermenegildo converted to Catholicism, L. was driven by his second wife Goswinda into a long and painful struggle against his son, who was murdered in 585. At a Council convened at Toledo in 580, L. attempted to attract the Catholics of his kingdom to Arianism; but, having failed, he began to persecute them, exiling the leaders of the opposition, including Leandro of Seville, Fulgenzio of Astigi, and Giovanni of Biclaro.
During his reign L. accomplished glorious feats against the Suebi, the Cantabri, and the Basques, and secured hereditary succession to the throne for his descendants, whereas it had until then been elective. He was also responsible for the revision of the Eurician Code promulgated a century earlier by King Eurico. When he died, in 586, he seems to have commended to the bishop Leandro, recalled from exile, his son Recaredo, who succeeded him.