Alfonso II of Asturias: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|King of Asturias (c. 760 – 842)}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} |
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{{Expand Spanish|topic=bio|date=June 2012}} |
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{{Expand Spanish|Alfonso II de Asturias|date=June 2012}} |
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[[File:Alfonsobig.jpg|thumb|Alfonso II in the twelfth-century ''[[Libro de los Testamentos]]''.]] |
[[File:Alfonsobig.jpg|thumb|Alfonso II in the twelfth-century ''[[Libro de los Testamentos]]''.]] |
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'''Alfonso II''' of [[Kingdom of Asturias|Asturias]] ({{circa|760}}{{snd}}842), nicknamed '''the Chaste''' ({{lang-es|el Casto}}), was the [[king of Asturias]] during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, |
'''Alfonso II''' of [[Kingdom of Asturias|Asturias]] ({{circa|760}}{{snd}}842), nicknamed '''the Chaste''' ({{lang-es|el Casto}}), was the [[king of Asturias]] during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, [[Nepotian of Asturias|Nepotian]], a family member of undetermined relation, attempted to usurp the crown in place of the future [[Ramiro I of Asturias|Ramiro I]]. |
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During his reign, which covered a span of 51 years, Alfonso discovered the supposed tomb of [[St. James the Great]] |
During his reign, which covered a span of 51 years, Alfonso discovered the supposed tomb of [[St. James the Great]] (called {{Lang|es|Santiago}} in Spanish) in the town of Compostela, which later became known as the city of [[Santiago de Compostela]]. He was the son of [[Fruela I of Asturias|Fruela I]] and Munia, a [[Basque people|Basque]] woman captured and brought back to Asturias by the former following a military campaign. |
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== Early life == |
== Early life == |
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He was born in [[Oviedo]] in 759 or 760. He was put under the guardianship of his aunt [[Adosinda]] after his father's death, but one tradition relates his being put in the [[Monastery of San Xulián de Samos]]. He was the governor of the palace during the reign of Adosinda's husband [[Silo of Asturias|Silo]]. On Silo's death, he was elected king by Adosinda's allies, but the magnates raised his uncle [[Mauregatus of Asturias|Mauregatus]] to the throne instead. Alfonso fled to [[Álava]] where he found shelter with his maternal relatives. Mauregatus was succeeded by [[Bermudo I of Asturias|Bermudo]], Alfonso's cousin, who abdicated after his defeat at the [[Battle of the Burbia River]]. |
He was born in [[Oviedo]] in 759 or 760. He was put under the guardianship of his aunt [[Adosinda]] after his father's death, but one tradition relates his being put in the [[Monastery of San Xulián de Samos]]. He was the governor of the palace during the reign of Adosinda's husband [[Silo of Asturias|Silo]]. On Silo's death, he was elected king by Adosinda's allies, but the [[Magnate|magnates]] raised his uncle [[Mauregatus of Asturias|Mauregatus]] to the throne instead. Alfonso fled to [[Álava]] where he found shelter with his maternal relatives. Mauregatus was succeeded by [[Bermudo I of Asturias|Bermudo I]], Alfonso's cousin, who abdicated after his defeat at the [[Battle of the Burbia River]]. |
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== Alfonso proclaimed king == |
== Alfonso proclaimed king == |
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Alfonso was subsequently elected king on 14 September 791. Poets of a later generation invented the story of the secret marriage between his sister Ximena and Sancho, count of Saldana, and the feats of their son [[Bernardo del Carpio]]. Bernardo is the hero of a ''[[cantar de gesta]]'' |
Alfonso was subsequently elected king on 14 September 791. Poets of a later generation invented the story of the secret marriage between his sister Ximena and Sancho, count of Saldana, and the feats of their son [[Bernardo del Carpio]]. Bernardo is the hero of a ''{{Lang|es|[[cantar de gesta]]}}'' written to please the anarchical spirit of the nobles.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Alphonso|display=Alphonso s.v. Alphonso II.|volume=1|page=734}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Alfonso moved the capital from [[Pravia]], where Silo had located it, to [[Oviedo]], the city of his father's founding and his birth. There he constructed churches and a palace. He built the churches of [[San Tirso, Oviedo|San Tirso]],<ref name=castro>García de Castro Valdés, César (2008). «San Tirso (Oviedo)». Arte Prerrománico en Asturias. Ménsula Ediciones, S. L. pp. 28-30. ISBN 978-84-612-4085-2.</ref> where he is buried, and of [[San Julián de los Prados]] (aka Santullano), high above overlooking the nascent city. |
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== Andalusian raids into Asturias == |
== Andalusian raids into Asturias == |
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On accession to the throne, [[Hisham I of Córdoba|Hisham I]], son of [[Abd al-Rahman I]], commenced a string of military campaigns in the eastern Pyrenees and to the north-west. In 794, a raid spearheaded by Abd al-Karim dealt a major military blow to Alfonso II on the eastern fringes of the Kingdom of Asturias (Cantabria and Castile). The Asturian king asked for the assistance of the |
On accession to the throne, [[Hisham I of Córdoba|Hisham I]], son of [[Abd al-Rahman I]], commenced a string of military campaigns in the eastern Pyrenees and to the north-west. In 794, a raid spearheaded by Abd al-Karim dealt a major military blow to Alfonso II on the eastern fringes of the [[Kingdom of Asturias]] (Cantabria and Castile). The Asturian king asked for the assistance of the Basque [[Franks|Frankish]] [[vassal]] Belasco, master of Álava and bordering regions at the time. Abd al-Karim advanced deeper west into Asturias and pillaged the region, while his brother Abd al-Malik ventured into the western Asturian lands. |
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== Relations with Charlemagne and the Papacy == |
== Relations with Charlemagne and the Papacy == |
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Under pressure from his enemies, Alfonso II reached out to [[Charlemagne]], sending delegations to [[Toulouse]] and [[Aix-la-Chapelle]] in 796, 797, and 798. These diplomatic efforts may have aimed to strengthen his legitimacy and the Asturian government against ongoing internal unrest——''viz.'', troubles in Galicia——and external attacks of the Ibn Mugait brothers, the generals Abd al-Karim and Abd al-Malik. |
Under pressure from his enemies, Alfonso II reached out to [[Charlemagne]],<ref name="brit1">{{cite news |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Anglo-Saxon |title=Anglo-Saxon | Definition, History, Language, Countries, Culture, & Facts | Britannica |date=23 January 2024 }}</ref> sending delegations to [[Toulouse]] and [[Aix-la-Chapelle]] in 796, 797, and 798.<ref name="va1">{{cite news |url=https://www.lavozdeasturias.es/noticia/asturias/2021/09/07/historico-primer-contacto-asturias-imperio-cambio-mundo/00031631027440163499787.htm |title=El histórico primer contacto de Asturias con un imperio que cambió el mundo |date=8 September 2021 }}</ref> These diplomatic efforts, profferred by Froia and later Basiliscus, may have aimed to strengthen his legitimacy and the Asturian government against ongoing internal unrest——''viz.'', troubles in Galicia——and external attacks of the Ibn Mugait brothers, the generals Abd al-Karim and Abd al-Malik.<ref>Martínez Díez, Gonzalo (2002). «Articulación político-administrativa y las relaciones exteriores en el reinado de Alfonso II». Poder y Sociedad en la Baja Edad Media hispánica: Estudios y homenaje al profesor Luis Vicente Díaz Martín II. Coordinador, Carlos Manuel Reglero de la Fuente. Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid. pp. 724-725. ISBN 84-8448-172-7.</ref> |
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Alfonso was acknowledged as a king by Charlemagne and the [[Pope]], and Asturias as a kingdom for the first time. The king showed an interest in the Frankish cult of |
Alfonso was acknowledged as a king by Charlemagne and the [[Pope]], and Asturias as a kingdom for the first time in the [[Royal Frankish Annals]]. The king showed an interest in the Frankish cult of [[Martin of Tours|Saint Martin of Tours]], and he encouraged [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian]] Church influence in Asturias.{{cn|date=February 2024}} |
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Alfonso's envoys to Charlemagne's courts may have also dealt with the [[Spanish Adoptionism|adoptionist controversy]], which had brought Bermudo's kingdom into Charlemagne's view. It seems that Carolingian support did much to spur his raid into Andalusian territory up to [[Lisbon]], which was captured and sacked by his troops in 798. |
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== Later events == |
== Later events == |
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[[File:Péninsule ibérique en 850.png|thumb|right|Asturias in 850]] |
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| ⚫ | |||
Also, during Alfonso's reign, the alleged resting place of St. James was revealed.<ref name=ar1>Rucquoi, Adeline (2017). «Los reyes de Asturias y los orígenes del culto a la tumba del apóstol Santiago». Los reyes de Asturias y los orígenes del culto a la tumba del apóstol Santiago. Francisco Javier Fernández Conde, Raquel Alonso Álvarez (coord.). Oviedo: Trea. pp. 17-36. ISBN 978-84-17140-03-8.</ref>Tradition relates that in 814, the body of [[Saint James the Greater|Saint James]] was discovered in [[Santiago de Compostela|Compostela]] and that Alfonso was the first [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrim]] to the shrine at [[Libredón]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Portela Silva, E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-e9_EDt4aVMC |title=Historia de la ciudad de Santiago de Compostela |publisher=Universidad de Santiago de Compostela |year=2003 |isbn=8497501373 |page=54}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | In 825, he defeated Saracen forces at [[Narón]] (near [[Ferrol, Spain|Ferrol]]) and also in year 825 [[Anceo]] (in the hills equidistant from [[Pontevedra]] and [[Vigo]]),<ref>Aramburu y Zuloaga, Félix (1996). «Alfonso II, el Casto». Asturianos Universales. Tomo VII. Madrid: Ediciones Páramo, S.A. ISBN 84-87253-26-1.</ref> and, thanks to these victories, the "repopulation" of parts of [[Gallaecia|Galicia]], [[León (province)|León]], and [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]] was started— with charters confirming the possession of the territories. |
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| ⚫ | Alfonso |
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The ''Crónica Sebastianense'' records his death in 842, saying: |
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:''tras haber llevado por 52 años casta, sobria, inmaculada, piadosa y gloriosamente el gobierno del reino'' |
:''tras haber llevado por 52 años casta, sobria, inmaculada, piadosa y gloriosamente el gobierno del reino'' |
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:[after having held for 52 years chastely, soberly, immaculately, piously, and gloriously the government of the realm] |
:[after having held for 52 years chastely, soberly, immaculately, piously, and gloriously the government of the realm] |
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| ⚫ | |||
Tradition relates that in 814, the body of [[Saint James the Greater]] was discovered in [[Santiago de Compostela|Compostela]] and that Alfonso was the first [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrim]] to that famous medieval (and modern) shrine. |
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| ⚫ | |||
{{Commons category|Alfonso II of Asturias}} |
{{Commons category|Alfonso II of Asturias}} |
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{{reflist}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfonso 02 of Asturias}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfonso 02 of Asturias}} |
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[[Category:Asturian monarchs]] |
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[[Category:8th-century births]] |
[[Category:8th-century births]] |
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[[Category:842 deaths]] |
[[Category:842 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Beni Alfons]] |
[[Category:Beni Alfons]] |
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[[Category:8th-century monarchs |
[[Category:8th-century Asturian monarchs]] |
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[[Category:9th-century monarchs |
[[Category:9th-century Asturian monarchs]] |
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[[Category:8th-century Asturian people]] |
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[[Category:9th-century Asturian people]] |
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Latest revision as of 11:35, 4 April 2024
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (June 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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Alfonso II of Asturias (c. 760 – 842), nicknamed the Chaste (Spanish: el Casto), was the king of Asturias during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, Nepotian, a family member of undetermined relation, attempted to usurp the crown in place of the future Ramiro I.
During his reign, which covered a span of 51 years, Alfonso discovered the supposed tomb of St. James the Great (called Santiago in Spanish) in the town of Compostela, which later became known as the city of Santiago de Compostela. He was the son of Fruela I and Munia, a Basque woman captured and brought back to Asturias by the former following a military campaign.
Early life
[edit]He was born in Oviedo in 759 or 760. He was put under the guardianship of his aunt Adosinda after his father's death, but one tradition relates his being put in the Monastery of San Xulián de Samos. He was the governor of the palace during the reign of Adosinda's husband Silo. On Silo's death, he was elected king by Adosinda's allies, but the magnates raised his uncle Mauregatus to the throne instead. Alfonso fled to Álava where he found shelter with his maternal relatives. Mauregatus was succeeded by Bermudo I, Alfonso's cousin, who abdicated after his defeat at the Battle of the Burbia River.
Alfonso proclaimed king
[edit]Alfonso was subsequently elected king on 14 September 791. Poets of a later generation invented the story of the secret marriage between his sister Ximena and Sancho, count of Saldana, and the feats of their son Bernardo del Carpio. Bernardo is the hero of a cantar de gesta written to please the anarchical spirit of the nobles.[1]
Alfonso moved the capital from Pravia, where Silo had located it, to Oviedo, the city of his father's founding and his birth. There he constructed churches and a palace. He built the churches of San Tirso,[2] where he is buried, and of San Julián de los Prados (aka Santullano), high above overlooking the nascent city.
Andalusian raids into Asturias
[edit]On accession to the throne, Hisham I, son of Abd al-Rahman I, commenced a string of military campaigns in the eastern Pyrenees and to the north-west. In 794, a raid spearheaded by Abd al-Karim dealt a major military blow to Alfonso II on the eastern fringes of the Kingdom of Asturias (Cantabria and Castile). The Asturian king asked for the assistance of the Basque Frankish vassal Belasco, master of Álava and bordering regions at the time. Abd al-Karim advanced deeper west into Asturias and pillaged the region, while his brother Abd al-Malik ventured into the western Asturian lands.
Relations with Charlemagne and the Papacy
[edit]Under pressure from his enemies, Alfonso II reached out to Charlemagne,[3] sending delegations to Toulouse and Aix-la-Chapelle in 796, 797, and 798.[4] These diplomatic efforts, profferred by Froia and later Basiliscus, may have aimed to strengthen his legitimacy and the Asturian government against ongoing internal unrest——viz., troubles in Galicia——and external attacks of the Ibn Mugait brothers, the generals Abd al-Karim and Abd al-Malik.[5]
Alfonso was acknowledged as a king by Charlemagne and the Pope, and Asturias as a kingdom for the first time in the Royal Frankish Annals. The king showed an interest in the Frankish cult of Saint Martin of Tours, and he encouraged Carolingian Church influence in Asturias.[citation needed]
Alfonso's envoys to Charlemagne's courts may have also dealt with the adoptionist controversy, which had brought Bermudo's kingdom into Charlemagne's view. It seems that Carolingian support did much to spur his raid into Andalusian territory up to Lisbon, which was captured and sacked by his troops in 798.
Later events
[edit]
Also, during Alfonso's reign, the alleged resting place of St. James was revealed.[6]Tradition relates that in 814, the body of Saint James was discovered in Compostela and that Alfonso was the first pilgrim to the shrine at Libredón.[7]
In 825, he defeated Saracen forces at Narón (near Ferrol) and also in year 825 Anceo (in the hills equidistant from Pontevedra and Vigo),[8] and, thanks to these victories, the "repopulation" of parts of Galicia, León, and Castile was started— with charters confirming the possession of the territories.
The Crónica Sebastianense records his death in 842, saying:
- tras haber llevado por 52 años casta, sobria, inmaculada, piadosa y gloriosamente el gobierno del reino
- [after having held for 52 years chastely, soberly, immaculately, piously, and gloriously the government of the realm]
References
[edit]
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alphonso s.v. Alphonso II.". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 734.
- ^ García de Castro Valdés, César (2008). «San Tirso (Oviedo)». Arte Prerrománico en Asturias. Ménsula Ediciones, S. L. pp. 28-30. ISBN 978-84-612-4085-2.
- ^ "Anglo-Saxon | Definition, History, Language, Countries, Culture, & Facts | Britannica". 23 January 2024.
- ^ "El histórico primer contacto de Asturias con un imperio que cambió el mundo". 8 September 2021.
- ^ Martínez Díez, Gonzalo (2002). «Articulación político-administrativa y las relaciones exteriores en el reinado de Alfonso II». Poder y Sociedad en la Baja Edad Media hispánica: Estudios y homenaje al profesor Luis Vicente Díaz Martín II. Coordinador, Carlos Manuel Reglero de la Fuente. Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid. pp. 724-725. ISBN 84-8448-172-7.
- ^ Rucquoi, Adeline (2017). «Los reyes de Asturias y los orígenes del culto a la tumba del apóstol Santiago». Los reyes de Asturias y los orígenes del culto a la tumba del apóstol Santiago. Francisco Javier Fernández Conde, Raquel Alonso Álvarez (coord.). Oviedo: Trea. pp. 17-36. ISBN 978-84-17140-03-8.
- ^ Portela Silva, E. (2003). Historia de la ciudad de Santiago de Compostela. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. p. 54. ISBN 8497501373.
- ^ Aramburu y Zuloaga, Félix (1996). «Alfonso II, el Casto». Asturianos Universales. Tomo VII. Madrid: Ediciones Páramo, S.A. ISBN 84-87253-26-1.
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