Every time I've encountered a reference to the origin of the name Andalusia, it has been stated that it is derived from the Arabic Al-Andalus and means Land of the Vandals. The Vandals, as we remember, were a Germanic tribe who, besides "vandalizing" Rome, worked their way into the south of what was left of Roman Spain and set up shop. Then, in the mid-400s AD, they crossed the Straits of Gibralter into North Africa, to annoy and then crush the remnants of the Romans there. They evidently all crossed, and left Spain open for the Visigoths, who replaced them as overlords of Spain.

But it turns out that here are several expanations of the origin of the name Andalusia. I'm reading a book, God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215 by David Levering Lewis. Lewis tells us that Andalusia is a corruption of a Gothic phrase, landa-hlauts or "land lots", referring to the various landholdings of the Visigoth nobility.

I decided to check this out on Wikipedia, and there found also reference to Al-Andalus being proposed to mean Atlantis, and thus having nothing to do with the Vandals. Also, it turns out that there are several places in Spain that predate the Arab-Moorish invasions named either Andaluz, or having Anda or Luz as part of their names. And considering that the Arab-Moorish invasion of Spain occurred centuries after the Vandals had packed up and left, and been replaced by the Visigoths in what is now Andalusia, why would the Arabs have called the region Al-Andalus and not Al-Visigothia?

Wikipedia makes it clear that there is now no definitive consensus on the original source of the word Andalusia. Interesting. Right up there with speculations on the origin of the word "flamenco".

Carlos

I confess I haven't read the book but read a long description/review in The New York Review of Books.It struck me as not consistent with other Islam/Spain histories I have read.
I am actually in the midst of reading "Historia de Sevilla" This book claims that "Andalucia" derives from Gothic "Vandalen-haus" -House of the Vandals. The athor says that got changed to Vandalaus then Andalhaus ...
I can't vouch or this book.
I do know that either the Goth or Visigoths (I think the Visigoths) were already Christian, and brought the so-called "Arian Heresy" (Nothing to do with "the word "Aryan") to Spain which was just hardly Roman-Christianized.The Arian heresy held that Jesus couldn't have been a human being and crucified. The Roman Catholic view (The Trinity, transubstantiation,etc) won out after many battles.
Jacinto

Jacinto, your Vandalen-haus reference now raises the tally of theories to (at least) 5. But at least we're back to the Vandals again. You're correct about the arianism of the Visigoths being yet another example of the weakness of the Christian West in its ability to unite against first the Persian, then the Islamic threat. All histories of the early years of Christendom are replete with endless, vicious, destructive, senseless and almost unfathomable feuds amongst the various factions--Nestorians, Copts/Monophysites, Chalcedonians, Arians, to name just a few (the list is long). Often Persian or Arab/Muslim armies would be allowed to win easy victories as one group of Christians fought another in order to defeat or overthrow adherents of a rival theology, intra-religious heresy being regarded as more onerous than the dangers of a truly foreign faith.

I can highly recommend Lewis' book to anyone interested in learning more about this historical period. Spain gets a lot of attention.

Carlos

Carlos
Yes, and the history of Islamic presence was no better. Thee was factional sectarian fighting from the very beginning of the Conquest (The Berbers were the first to conquer in Spain)
Philosophers like to talk about the "convivencia" in Spain-When (having gotten the manuscripts of Aristotle from the Coptic Christians in Egypt) Islam brought a developed form of scientific Aristotle to Spain (European religion was neoPlatonic at this point, and Plato had disdain for science.Unlike him,his pupil Aristotle studied everything-from sea animals to politics to the Universe) The convivencia was the time in Spain when Jews, Christians and Muslims all got together and shared the writings of Aristotle - The Arab, Averroes, the Jew, Maimonaides, and indirectly, the Catholic St Thomas Aquinas . Aristotles' writings transformed all three religions (The present Roman Catholic position against abortion, for example, is derived from their intepretation of Aristotle)
And,it is said that in this period, kings of areas in Spain would invite a Rabbi, a Priest and an Iman to dinner to argue about whose religion was best.The king would then convert to the best argued-for religion
But sadly, that period was very short- Fundamentalist Muslims took over and Maimonaides, for example, had to flee to Syria-where he became personal physician to Saladin!. There was continual fighting in Spain- Muslim against Muslim Christian against Christian and al combinations thereof.
I was just reminded of the story of El Cid which now makes sense to me.
Often Muslim held places-like Sevilla- were "taifas'- they paid "protection" money to Christian kings who had strong armies in return for those armies fighting for them in case they were invaded
El Cid was in Sevilla to collect the yearly pay-off to bring back to his Christian king
While in Sevilla, Sevilla was attacked by another Christian king
El Cid, honoring the contract of the taifa, fought alongside of the Muslims against the Christian attack

I have heard-and maybe someone can confirm or deny this-that Muslims still pray for the return of the Kingdom of Granada which they believe belongs to them. (The Kingdom of Granada was much larger than the city of Granada alone)
Of course they are wrong-as we know from teh story of the Islamic king Boabidilla who lost Granada to the Christains.
Supposedly , sobbing about his loss while standing on a mountain overlooking Granada, his mom told him "If you had cried less like a woman and fought more like a man. you wouldn't have lost the kingdom"

Whoops -sorry .The king was "Boabdil" (which I think means "The Unfortunate")
Boabidilla is a town (I assume named after the king)- once an awful required long rail stay to change tracks on the way from Madrid to Sevilla. Not a problem now with rerouting
I gather there a super posh and expensive resort for rich foreigners there now. I wouldn't know-The best I could afford was a bocadillo from bar in the train station

As another PS, I am thinking now of "degrees of separation"
Saladin, the great Muslim military leader, as one the Muslims who introduced the beginnings of "chivalry" to Europe.One way he did this by being pals for a bit with the Crusader Richard the Lion Hearted. If we remember, legendary-or-real Robin Hood was waiting for Richard (who was captured and was being held for ransom) to be returned to England get rid of evil King John and the narsty Sheriff of Nottingham. (Now Richard was no sweetie-sometimes brutal in slaying captured Muslims
So now we are back to the important Jewish theologian, physician, etc, Moses Maimonaides who-as I posted before-had to flee once liberal Cordoba when fundamentalist Muslims got control and got rid of all Muslim, Jewish and Christian intellectuals So he fled to Syria and became personal physician to Saladin. I don't know the years, but maybe Maimomaides met Richard Coer d Leon- friend of the perhaps legendary Robin Hood
To me that is very very strange- But then I didn't think that the US would ever elect a black man to be president of the US in my lifetime