Mozarabic Chant - Terminology

Terminology

Dissatisfaction with the term "Mozarabic chant" has led to the use of several competing names for the music to which it refers. The term Mozarabic refers to the Mozarabs, that is, the Christians of Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal) living under Muslim rule. However, the chant existed before the Muslim occupation began in 711. Visigothic refers to the Visigoths who dominated the Iberian peninsula in the centuries prior to the Muslim invasion and converted from Arian Christianity to Roman Catholic Christianity in 587. However, this Catholic rite existed in Hispania prior to their conversion, and the chant was not limited to the Visigoths, so Old Spanish has been used as an inaccurate alternative. Because the chant was found in Portugal as well as Spain, the terms Hispanic and Old Hispanic have also been used by scholars. Because of the ambiguity and vagueness of the term "Hispanic", "Mozarabic" is preferred despite its inaccuracy and the confusion it can cause.