<P> Spanish Catholic religion also coalesced during this time . The period of rule by the Visigothic Kingdom saw the spread of Arianism briefly in Spain . The Councils of Toledo debated creed and liturgy in orthodox Catholicism, and the Council of Lerida in 546 constrained the clergy and extended the power of law over them under the blessings of Rome . In 587, the Visigothic king at Toledo, Reccared, converted to Catholicism and launched a movement in Spain to unify the various religious doctrines that existed in the land . This put an end to dissension on the question of Arianism . (For additional information about this period, see the History of Roman Catholicism in Spain .) </P> <P> The Visigoths inherited from Late Antiquity a sort of feudal system in Spain, based in the south on the Roman villa system and in the north drawing on their vassals to supply troops in exchange for protection . The bulk of the Visigothic army was composed of slaves, raised from the countryside . The loose council of nobles that advised Spain's Visigothic kings and legitimized their rule was responsible for raising the army, and only upon its consent was the king able to summon soldiers . </P> <P> The impact of Visigothic rule was not widely felt on society at large, and certainly not compared to the vast bureaucracy of the Roman Empire; they tended to rule as barbarians of a mild sort, uninterested in the events of the nation and economy, working for personal benefit, and little literature remains to us from the period . They did not, until the period of Muslim rule, merge with the Spanish population, preferring to remain separate, and indeed the Visigothic language left only the faintest mark on the modern languages of Iberia . </P> <P> The most visible effect was the depopulation of the cities as they moved to the countryside . Even while the country enjoyed a degree of prosperity when compared to the famines of France and Germany in this period, the Visigoths felt little reason to contribute to the welfare, permanency, and infrastructure of their people and state . This contributed to their downfall, as they could not count on the loyalty of their subjects when the Moors arrived in the 8th century . </P>

Who controlled spain during the mid 13 century