This law was issued by King Wamba in November 673, only a year after his accession to the throne. Wamba's election was followed by the conspiracy of the count Ilderic of Nimes, Bishop Gumild of Maguelonne and Abbot Ranimir in the province of Narbo. They probably wanted to transfer their allegiance to the Frankish kings. At the same time the Ebro valley was troubled by raids by Basques. In 673 Wamba sent the count Paul to suppress the revolt in Nimes, but he revolted against Wamba and decided to become king himself (he was unctioned in Barcelona). He managed to recruit followers in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula, but Wamba, having suppressed the Basques, defeated him and regained Gerona, Barcelona, and Narbonne. Paul was humiliated and decalvated in Toledo, then sent into exile. These events are primarily known from the Historia Wambae of Julian of Toledo (Collins 2004: 92-95).
A thiufadus was a military official and judge. In the hierarchy he was below a comes and a vicarius. According to Wiener (1915: 31-32) the name derived from the Latin devotus, the honorific title of the executive officer of the king. A gardingus probably did not belong to the military or judicial hierarchy. It seems that gardingi were persons close to the king, and, as the etymology suggests, they may have served as royal guards (Wiener 1915: 64-65).