Recceswinth, d. 672, Visigothic king of Spain (653-72). He was the son of Chindaswinth, who in 649 admitted him to joint rule. Recceswinth succeeded to the throne without election, thereby violating the Visigothic tradition enjoining election of the king by the nobility. Almost immediately he was faced by an insurrection. Although he conquered the rebellious nobles, he nevertheless compromised by rejecting the principle of hereditary succession at the Eighth Council of Toledo. Like his father, he advocated a policy of assimilation between his Visigothic and Spanish-Roman subjects. Considered one of the greatest Visigothic lawmakers, Recceswinth completed and promulgated (c.654) the law code begun by his father to replace the Breviary of Alaric of 506. Known as the Liber iudiciorum and later as the Liber or Forum iudicum, its 12 books fused Roman and Germanic law and were binding on both populations. The compilation was the basis of Spanish medieval law and served for centuries as a widely used legal handbook.

Recceswinth , or Reccesuinth, Recceswint, Reccaswinth, Recdeswinth, Recesvinto (Spanish and Portuguese), Reccesvinthus (Latin); was the Visigothic King of Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) from 649–672: jointly with his father from 649 and as sole king from 653.

Beginning in 654 Recceswinth was responsible for the promulgation of a law code to replace the Breviary of Alaric; he placed a Visigothic common law over both Goths and Hispano-Romans in the kingdom. However, this Liber Judiciorum showed little Germanic influence, adhering more closely to the old Roman laws.

Moreover, the church councils in the capital became the most powerful force in the government and the bishops the primary support of the monarchy. Will Durant writes in The Age of Faith: "By their superior education and organization they dominated the nobles who sat with them in the ruling councils of Toledo; and though the king's authority was theoretically absolute, and he chose the bishops, these councils elected him, and exacted pledges of policy in advance."

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