Bermudo I “the Deacon” (789-791) and Hisham I.
In al-Andalus, Abd al-Rahman I had died in 788 and was succeeded by his son Hisham I (788–796), who had to fight and defeat his brothers to secure the emirate throne . Unlike his father, he faced almost no internal rebellions, which allowed him to concentrate on attacking the Asturian kingdom and the Franks in Hispania and southern France. In 791, he sent two military expeditions against Bermudo I: one focused on attacking Álava and al- Qila (“The Castles,” i.e., Castile), which were devastated, and the other was directed against Yilliqiyya ( Gallaecia ). The latter, according to the chronicle of Ibn Idari , defeated Barmud al-Kabir (Bermud “the Great” or “the Elder”), who was forced to flee and abandon his camp. The Albendense Chronicle states that this ignominious defeat took place near the Burbia River in El Bierzo, and led Bermudo I to reconsider his role, abdicating on September 14th in favor of Alfonso II, the son of Fruela I, who had so often been excluded from the throne. Their relationship must have been good, because Bermudo, despite returning to the priesthood, continued to live at court until his death six years later.
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| Bermudo I |
Alfonso II “the Chaste” (791-842)
Hisham I's commanded to launch another double attack against the Asturian kingdom in 795: one army ravaged Álava, but the one that interests us most is the one that attacked Gallaecia. Led by Abd al-Karim, according to Ibn Idari, it
"reached Medina Asturiqa (the city of Astorga) in the interior of Yilliqiyya, where he received news that Adfuns (Alfonso II) was gathering the people of his country and requesting aid from the Basques and the people of those neighboring regions, from the Magos and others, and that he had encamped his army with them in the area between the slope of Yilliqiyya and the mountains, ordering the inhabitants of the plain to retreat to the high mountains on the coastal side."
The reference to the “al-Magos” as allies of Alfonso II is striking, since, as we will see, this is the term that Muslim chroniclers reserved for Vikings. Some historians speculate that Vikings may have been established on the northern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, since, for example, the Egyptian historian al- Nuwayri (1279-1333) states in his encyclopedic work “Nihāyat al-arab fī funūn al-adab” ("Everything You Need to Know About Fine Letters") states that the Vikings who raided Muslim cities "inhabit the most distant lands of al-Andalus", al-Andalus being understood as the Iberian Peninsula.
Furthermore, there are accounts that at the beginning of the 11th century, Olaf Haroldson destroyed a Danish Viking enclave in the Cantabrian region when he himself was on his way to attack Santiago de Compostela, which reinforces the possibility of the existence of ancient enclaves of Norsemen in Hispania, possibly in what is now the Basque Country. The historian Sánchez-Albornoz arbitrarily placed this battle near Peña Ubiña, when the text clearly indicates it was near Astorga. In any case, Alfonso II and his soldiers were defeated, and the Muslims engaged in pillaging, "scattering their horsemen through the farmsteads, uprooting all the cultivated seeds they found, and ruining everything they took the lead”.
These fragments, in addition to the military information, demonstrate two things: that Astorga was still considered part of Gallaecia, and that, as we saw, the strategic desert of the Duero did not exist as such, since the plain was populated with its farmsteads, crops, etc. The Islamic army showed no mercy and executed all the prisoners. Afterward, they defeated another Christian troop commanded by Gundemar, near the Cortia or Kuziyya River, which, although many historians place it in Asturias, according to the text seems to be in the northern sub-plateau. The invaders crossed the Cantabrian Mountains in pursuit of Alfonso II, and although they did not manage to capture him, they destroyed several royal fortresses. The following year, in 796, Emir Hisham I died, which seemed to grant a respite to the Asturian kingdom. He was succeeded by his son al- Hakam I (796-822).
But there was also bad news: according to the chronicles, Alfonso II was the victim of an internal rebellion around the year 801, which ended with him being imprisoned in the Asturian monastery of Ablaña. However, some loyal nobles, led by a man named Teudano, freed him and restored him to the throne, though we don't even know the identity of the failed usurper.
Alfonso II initiated a whole cycle of construction, building numerous and beautiful churches, such as San Salvador and Santa María. Furthermore, the Chronicle of Alfonso III states that he “built the royal palaces, the baths, the archives, the courts, with all kinds of royal furnishings and of great refinement”.
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| Alfonso II |
These buildings were often constructed with clear Carolingian influences, as was the so-called "Cruz de los Ángeles" (“Cross of the Angels”), made in the Lombard style. This cross would eventually become the quintessential symbol of Asturias, although this would not happen until the 19th century.
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| Cruz de los Ángeles (Wikipedia) |
The Albeldense Chronicle says that Alfonso “omnemque Gotorum ordinem, sicuti Toleto fuerat , tam in ecclesia quam palatio in Ouetao cuncta “statuit”: “And he instituted in Oviedo, in everything, both in the Church and in the Palace, the order or system that the Goths had in Toledo” .This is the first record we have of an attempt to reinstate or imitate the administration of the Visigothic kings, although we do not know its extent, because it seems that the influences in the palace were more Carolingian than Gothic. The concept that the Asturian kingdom was recovering what the Muslims had invaded in 711, making it a matter of historical justice, was emerging
The "Liber Iudiciorum" became the kingdom's basic legal corpus once again (if it had ever ceased to be so), and it continued to function as such until the Ordinances of Alcalá in the mid-14th century. We also have evidence that a bishopric existed in Oviedo at least by the end of Alfonso II's reign, indicating an ecclesiastical restructuring of the new kingdom: previously, only the diocese of Astorga, and perhaps León, existed—cities more vulnerable to enemy attacks. In any case, it was from this point onward that the Asturian-Leonese kings began to consider themselves the true successors of the Visigothic monarchs, a position that may have been aided by the possible arrival of Visigothic nobles after the initial stages of the Muslim invasion.
The discovery of the tomb of Saint James
During the reign of Alfonso II, the first documents referring to the discovery of the hypothetical tomb of the apostle James were written. The first of these, dated 829 and copied into the Tumbo A of Santiago de Compostela, states that the remains of this saint were “revealed” during the episcopate of Theodomir of Iria (“corpus reuelatum est in nostro tempore”) on a date clearly earlier than that of the document itself. The year 813 has traditionally been proposed to coincide with the reign of Charlemagne († 814), to whom, according to some legends, the apostle appeared to announce the location of his tomb, and who even made a pilgrimage there. This date is not possible, since Theodomir was not appointed Bishop of Iria until 819, so it must have been sometime between 819 and 829.
Who was this James, and how did his body arrive from Judea to Galicia? James's original name was Ya'akov, meaning Jacob, which in Hebrew means "held by the heel." It is a proper name that has given rise to many variations, such as Yago, Diego, Jaime... and even Santiago himself (Sant Yago). Because of this origin, the term "Jacobean" is often applied to anything related to the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) or to the figure of the Apostle.
James the Greater was the brother of John, the supposed author of the last of the Gospels and of Revelation. Both were sons of Zebedee and Salome, and must have had very strong personalities, because Jesus himself gave them the nickname "Bnéy" (meaning "sons of God") and "Ré'em" (“Sons of Thunder”), which for some reason has become “Boanerges” in Spanish translations. According to the four Gospels, the brothers were part of Jesus' inner circle. The Book of Acts recounts that James was beheaded by order of Herod in 43 or 44 AD, but no book of the New Testament says that James traveled to Hispania before his death to evangelize it: this is a detail provided by Catholic tradition, which states that James came to the Iberian Peninsula immediately after Jesus' resurrection, around 33 AD, and that he spent several years traveling through it before returning to Jerusalem and being executed. Another tradition says that the Virgin Mary, before her Assumption, asked to see all the apostles, and that God granted her the possibility of appearing to each of them regardless of their location. Mary (still alive in that times) appeared to James and his disciples in Zaragoza, on a column, and from this comes the famous Virgin of the Pilar.
According to tradition, after his martyrdom, the body of Saint James was transported in a stone boat (!) from Judea to the coast of present-day Galicia, where it was finally buried by his disciples in Compostela. From that hypothetical moment, there is no further information about the Apostle until the 8th century, when a liturgical hymn entitled “Oh Dei Verbum ore proditum" appears, which, among other things, says the following:
...The great sons of Thunder remain
who, at the request of his generous mother,
They have rightfully earned the highest honor
to rule all of Asia by John alone
and his brother to seize Hispania
(…)
O most holy and praiseworthy apostle,
resplendent and golden head of Hispania,
Our defender and national patron,
Be our heavenly salvation against the plague
And keep all sickness, sores, and evil away from us!
(Translation to English from the translation to Spanish by Manuel C. Vivancos Gómez, OSB, prior of Montserrat)
We know that this hymn was composed during the reign of the Asturian king Mauregato (783-788), since the verses are acrostic and the initial letters form the phrase "King of kings, listen to the pious King Mauregato and graciously grant him with your love what he asks of you". This makes it the first evidence of Saint James's patronage over Hispania, and it is especially valuable because it was written before the discovery of the tomb, although this does not guarantee its authenticity.
Returning to the legend, an anchorite monk named Paio or Pelayo observed a meteor shower over several nights and had the impression that they were all falling in the same place. It is said that the name Compostela ("Campus Stellae ," "Field of the Star") comes from this phenomenon, although this etymology is false, since the toponym actually derives from * Compositella , that is, from the Latin " composita " (composed, well-made) and the Latin diminutive -ella, which in Galician was reduced to -ela . There are two other Compostelas in Galicia that clearly have nothing to do with meteor showers, and in the province of León there is Compostilla , which has exactly the same etymological origin. In any case, Pelayo went to the area, and in the thick of a forest he discovered a stone sarcophagus flanked by two smaller ones, identifying them as the tomb of Saint James and those of his disciples Theodore and Athanasius. He sought out the aforementioned Theodomir, Bishop of Iria Flavia, who, after several days of fasting and prayer, confirmed the fortunate discovery. According to the account of the discovery transmitted by the Historia Compostelana (12th century), “people of great authority” informed the bishop that “luminaries” had often been seen there and that angels had frequently appeared to them at the site. Theodomir then informed King Alfonso II, who promptly went to the tomb, thus becoming the first pilgrim.
Legend has it that during the nights of his journey, Alfonso (or Charlemagne, as some versions differ) followed the route marked in the sky by the Milky Way, which is why from that moment on it has also been popularly known as the "Way of St. James". The king ordered the construction of the church of Antealtares on the site, a single-nave brick basilica, which was consecrated in 834. Six years later, the first group of pilgrims arrived from Asturias. By the year 860, its fame had spread beyond the Pyrenees, and we find the first mentions of Compostela in French martyrologies. Even so, during the first decades, the arrival of pilgrims was slow and gradual, although over time it would become a focal point for people from all over Europe, with the consequent cultural exchange in both directions.
Relations with the Carolingian Empire. Al- Hakam I
Under Alfonso II, despite the attacks and devastation wrought by the Muslims, it became clear that the Asturian kingdom was viable and could survive. Therefore, it is not surprising that the fame of the Asturians reached beyond the Pyrenees: sometime between 794 and 817, the Bishop of Orléans Teodulf wrote a poem in which he mentions the "most powerful Astur, glory of Hispania and skilled soldier in the use of weapons," as well as the fertility of the lands of Gallaecia :
“Cumque bonis propriis veniat fortissimus Astur,
Qui est decus Hesperidum, miles in arma vigens .
Galliciique soli veniat si cultor opimus ”.
Theodulf was of Hispanic origin and was one of Charlemagne's favorite advisors. Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, was crowned Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day in the year 800. It is suspected that Theodulf was at the court of Oviedo to introduce Carolingian customs and practices. This would not be surprising, because it was during this period that international relations between the two states began: we know that in 795 Alfonso II sent an embassy to Toulouse laden with gifts for Louis "the Pious" (Louis Pius), Charlemagne's son who ruled Aquitaine in his name and was therefore in charge of relations with Hispania. The purpose of the embassy was to forge an alliance with the Carolingian Empire against the Muslims, as both were suffering attacks from them. Unfortunately, we do not know the terms of this alliance, nor whether it entailed any degree of dependence of the Asturian kingdom on the Empire.
In 796, coinciding with the beginning of al-Hakam I's reign, Muslims raided and plundered La Rioja and Cantabria, although they had to retreat to al-Andalus hastily as the locals reorganized. This was the new emir's first campaign against the Christians, although he then had to focus on quelling internal rebellions and suppressing uprisings by Christians and Muladi (converts to Islam).
At Easter the following year, Alfonso II sent another embassy to the Carolingian Empire, headed by a man named Fruela. This time, they were received by Charlemagne himself, who accepted as a gift the sumptuous tent of an Andalusian general.
Alfonso II capitalized on the internal divisions within al-Andalus and launched his own raids against Muslim lands, even sacking Lisbon in 798. That same year, he sent another delegation to Charlemagne in Aachen, led by Fruela and Basilisco, laden with gifts from recent conquests. The movement of people and goods between the Empire and the Asturian kingdom became frequent, and in 799, Jonas of Orleans arrived in Oviedo as the Carolingian ambassador.
Einhard, Charlemagne's biographer, points out in his Vita Karoli Magni that
“adeo namque Hadefonsum Galletiae atque Asturiae regem sibi societate devinxit, tu is, cum ad eum vel litteras vel legatos mitteret, non aliter se apud illum quam proprium suum appelari iuberet”.
That is to say, “in fact, the alliance that he [Charlemagne] forged with Alfonso, king of Gallaecia and Asturias, was so close that the latter, when sending letters or ambassadors to Charlemagne, invariably called himself his servant.” It cannot be said that it was a vassal-lord relationship, because feudal-vassal relationships as such did not yet exist, but this testimony does reveal the recognition of a superior authority by the Asturian monarch, although once again we do not know the true extent of these relations due to a lack of data. In any case, Carolingian coins were adopted in Gallaecia (which never minted its own currency until many centuries later), and some Frankish customs and practices were introduced. Much later, in the 12th century, Book IV of the famous Codex Calixtinus, of purely French origin, would cheerfully claim that it was Charlemagne who began the Reconquista in Hispania, found the tomb of the Apostle James, and created the eponymous road, and he founded the basilica of Sahagún dedicated to Saints Facundus and Primitive, among many other things, in what constitutes a display of anachronisms and alternate histories. If we are to believe that every legend has a kernel of truth, this would be the aforementioned relationship between Alfonso II and Charlemagne, distorted over the centuries until the Frankish emperor became the absolute protagonist of the struggles against the Muslims. His prestige was enormous throughout the Middle Ages, especially after his coronation as Emperor, so it is no wonder that his figure reached mythical heights after his death in 814.
Al- Hakam had to continue crushing rebellions, and in 801 he lost Barcelona to Charlemagne. That same year he sent his brother at the head of an army to attack Álava and al- Qila (Castile), which failed decisively against the Christians. The expedition of 803 was also defeated, after a battle on the banks of the Pisuerga River (a river that would have been in the heart of the supposed Duero Desert). He was victorious in 808 in a march on Galicia, although it does not appear to have been a spectacular victory. He had to make considerable efforts to halt the Carolingian advances on Tortosa and Huesca, and meanwhile Alfonso II continued raiding as far afield as the Guadalajara region.
In 812, Louis the Pious crossed the Pyrenees and conquered Pamplona in his father's name, definitively establishing the "Hispanic March", which stretched from Navarre to Barcelona and formed the southern border of the Empire against al-Andalus. At the head of the March was the Marquis, who was usually a count or duke of Frankish or native origin. Inside the March there were several counties, served by counts depending on the Carolingian throne.
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| Wikipedia |
Alarmed by these Carolingian advances, in 816 al- Hakam I attacked the Miranda del Ebro valley, that is, the border region between the March and the Asturian kingdom. The confrontation ended in a stalemate, and the previous situation remained unchanged. As we have said, this emir had to suppress a large number of internal rebellions throughout his reign, which undoubtedly explains his weakness in the face of external enemies.
In the “ Ajbar Machmua", a poem attributed to al- Hakham is preserved , in which he says the following:
“I united the divisions of the country with my sword, as one joins embroidery with a needle; and I gathered the various tribes from my early youth.
Ask if there is any place on my borders open to the enemy, and I will rush to close it, drawing my sword and wearing my breastplate.(...)
I defended my rights and trampled on theirs: humiliation and affront befall those who do not defend them.(...)
Look now at the country, which I have left free of dissension, as flat as a bed.”
This fragment reflects internal instability, but also shows a defensive stance towards external enemies, which contrasts greatly with the unstoppable offensives of times past.
After 26 years as emirate, al-Hakham I died in 822 and chose Abderramán II as his successor from among his 19 sons.
Abderramán II and the last years of Alfonso II
Emir Abd al-Rahman II (822-852) was a poet and a great lover of luxury and pleasure, but also of culture and science. He founded the cities of Murcia and Calatrava and substantially improved the emirate's finances. He also suffered from continuous internal unrest, which seemed to be an endemic problem that al-Andalus had inherited from the previous Visigothic kingdom. Despite this, he strove to lead campaigns against the Christians, attacking Gallaecia, the newly formed and tiny kingdom of Pamplona, and even the Frankish kingdom and its Hispanic March, reaching as far as Narbonne (France).
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| Abderraman II |
Two years into his reign, his troops stormed the Asturian kingdom, attacking from Álava and repeating the strategy of his ancestors. However, they found that the inhabitants of the area had fled, abandoning their homes and farmsteads. In 828, he ravaged the regions of Barcelona and Girona, returning to Zaragoza before the arrival of a Frankish army. After at least a decade of enforced peace (due to renewed internal rebellions), he led new expeditions against Yiliqiyya. The chronicler Ibn Idari states that he "penetrated its plains and emerged with plunder," another clear indication that the Asturian kingdom now extended across the northern plateau. Abd al-Rahman II personally led some of these incursions, but he was unaccustomed to the harsh life of campaigning and tired easily, also suffering from insomnia. Consequently, he never again frequented the battlefields of the northern Iberian Peninsula.
The Chronicle of Alfonso III says that in the year 840:
"Muhammad came to Asturias from Hispania [Muslim territory], with his men, a fugitive from the king of Córdoba. He was welcomed by the king [Alfonso II]. But later, with treachery, he rebelled in the castle of Santa Cristina in Galicia. The king took the castle and its defenses and had him killed.”
In other words, we have a Muslim rebel who, with his troops, defected to the Christian ranks, although he ultimately decided to be a double traitor and rose up in Galicia against his new lord. This must have caused serious problems for Alfonso II, but he finally managed to prevail.
Alfonso II still had to face another Muslim attack before his death in 842, although the details are unknown. His reign lasted just over half a century, and he left a very positive legacy in the chronicles and documents of his successors. He had no children, despite being married to a woman named Berta (possibly of Frankish origin), as some accounts suggest he chose chastity, although it is more likely that he suffered from some sexual dysfunction, was simply sterile, or (why not?) homosexual. It is truly unusual for a king to leave neither legitimate nor illegitimate children, although, as we shall see, this would happen again with Alfonso I of Aragon, "the Battler."
Ramiro I (842-850). The first Viking raids. The Vow of Santiago
Alfonso II designated his first cousin Ramiro, the son of his uncle Bermudo I "the Deacon," as his successor, which is not surprising given the good relationship between them. Ramiro I, like his father, did not have a long reign, dying in 850. Immediately after Alfonso II's death, Ramiro left for Bardulia (Castile) to marry, a situation that a certain Nepociano took advantage of to rebel and proclaim himself king. Nepociano was a high-ranking royal official and Alfonso II's brother-in-law, so he assembled a sizable army and intended to confront the legitimate king. However, at the decisive moment, his troops refused to fight, and he had to flee in dishonorable fashion. Nepociano was captured, blinded, and imprisoned in a monastery, but despite his status as a usurper, his name was sometimes included in the lists of Asturian-Leonese kings.
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| Ramiro I |
Reaffirmed on the throne, Ramiro I soon had to face a new enemy when the Vikings arrived on his shores in 844. These were a Scandinavian people accustomed to raiding and invading throughout northern Europe, where they came to rule vast territories, such as northern Great Britain, the northern Atlantic coast of France, and large areas of Russia and the Baltic. They were possibly descendants of the Heruli who attacked the Galician and Cantabrian coasts of the Iberian Peninsula in 456, as we saw, since their tactics and geographical origins were very similar. The Vikings may have maintained some contact with the Asturian-Leonese kings, since, as we saw at the end of the 8th century, they are mentioned in Muslim sources as allies of Alfonso II in the Battle of Astorga in 795. In the mid-9th century, Vikings ravaged the western regions of present-day France, venturing upriver in their shallow-draft vessels and sacking major cities such as Paris (845) and Bordeaux (847). For two centuries, they became a nightmare for Western Europe. Vikings of Norwegian origin settled in the far north of present-day France, recognizing the French king and founding the Duchy of Normandy, which would become very famous over time, hence their name, "Normans". Muslims called them "al- Magus", "Madjus", or "Mayus" (fire worshippers), although they were also known as "the Gentils" in some Irish sources, referring to their pagan beliefs. Other names they received were "Norsemen", “Normans”, “Lordomanis”, “Lormans”, “Leodomannis”, “Lordomanis”, “Varangians”, “Rus”, “the foreigners”...
These Vikings (or "Lordomanos" as the Albeldense Chronicle calls them) landed in Gijón in the aforementioned year 844, but either because the town was reasonably well defended, or because there was nothing of interest there, they returned to their ships and continued their journey towards Galicia. There they attacked the area of "Farum Brigantium”, that is, the lighthouse of the Tower of Hercules (A Coruña), ravaging the monasteries and surrounding towns. Ramiro I assembled an army and fought them, defeating them and burning several of their ships (some say as many as 70). It was such a significant victory that news reached distant Brittany, France: the Chronicle of Nantes recounts how the Viking ships that sailed from the Garonne after plundering the Toulouse area were driven by the wind “ad Galliciam” (towards Galicia), and the “Gallicii” (Galicians), bravely defending themselves, destroyed all but thirty of their ships, which tells us of the scale of the raid (ships of the “ drakkar ” or “langskip” type carried about 40 men, and “ snekker ” 30). The news also appears in the French Annals of Saint Bertin.
The Chronicle of Alfonso III states that after this defeat, the Vikings continued south and attacked Seville. Muslim sources describe this significant Viking raid into al-Andalus (“Spanland” in the Norse sagas) in great detail, and they agree with the Christian chronicles in placing it in the year 844. Ibn Idari says that the “al-Magos” (Vikings) appeared with “eighty ships that filled the sea with white birds as they filled hearts with anguish and sorrow”. The number of ships and the ferocity of the attack suggest that this was not the remnant of the fleet that attacked Gijón and Galicia, but a completely different one. This is not surprising, because their expeditions were usually divided into several fleets to attack different targets.
Whether it was a new fleet or the remnants of the one that attacked Asturias and Galicia, the Vikings managed to capture and plunder several towns for weeks on end, including Lisbon and Cádiz, and even the vitally important city of Seville. Abd al-Rahman II sailed from Córdoba with a large army and siege engines, and after some defeats, he finally managed to defeat them after many battles and much effort. A group of Vikings surrendered, and after converting to Islam, they settled on Isla Menor, near Seville, where they and their descendants dedicated themselves to cheesemaking for many years. Others fled in their ships, and there are accounts that years later they sold the Muslims they had taken prisoner into slavery in Ireland.
Following these events, Abd al-Rahman II sent an ambassador named al- Ghazal to the Viking king in Denmark or Ireland. They likely discussed matters related to the invasion of that same year, and peace between the two peoples was probably agreed upon. The Andalusian ambassador was treated cordially, and even publicly flirted with Queen Nud during his stay in those lands. He won her favor, and perhaps something more, as she always wanted him by her side to listen to his poems and gallantries. Al- Ghazal was surprised by this liberal attitude, but Nud told him that jealousy did not exist in her culture, and that among the Vikings, "women are not with their husbands except as long as they please", which seems to align with what we know of the customs of this Nordic people. After such a pleasant stay, the Andalusian ambassador returned to the Iberian Peninsula on a ship carrying Christian Vikings who wished to make a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Upon his arrival, he delivered a letter from the Viking king to Ramiro I as a gesture of goodwill, although, as we shall see, the peace between the Iberian people and the Vikings did not last many years. Two months later, the Viking pilgrims returned to their homeland, and the Muslim ambassador crossed the Asturian kingdom with a safe-conduct pass.
In the year 845 Abd al-Rahman II sent an army, led by his son Muhammad, to attack Yiliqiyya. As we have already seen, he laid siege to the city of Liyun (León), employing siege engines called almajaneques. This is the first time in a long time that the city appears in Muslim chronicles, which continue to place it in Gallaecia. These sources also demonstrate that al-Andalus no longer remembered it, since when they finally captured the city, they expressed surprise upon measuring the thickness or height of its walls. All of this occurred several years before the official repopulation, which shows that León was still inhabited, although its population must not have been very large. In any case, Muhammad razed the place, even though he was unable to destroy its defenses.
According to the chronicle of Alfonso III, Ramiro I defeated the Muslims on at least two occasions. One of these victories may have served as the basis for the legend of the Battle of Clavijo, a mythical victory of the Christian king around the year 844 against the Muslims, in which the Apostle James himself is said to have participated, riding the famous white horse. However, no contemporary accounts survive, and the first reliable reference to this battle dates from the 13th century, some four hundred years later. According to this legend, the Battle of Clavijo led to the abolition of the equally legendary Tribute of the Hundred Maidens, established during the reign of King Mauregato, which would give rise to the famous Las Cantaderas festival in the city of León.
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| "Las Cantaderas" |
In gratitude to the Apostle for his intervention, the various Christian territories decided that from that moment on, the Church of Santiago would receive a share of the military spoils, as if it were another knight. Over time, this became a tax consisting of a tithe on grain that all the peasants of northern Spain had to pay to the Archbishopric of Compostela: this was the so-called "Vow of Santiago", which was not abolished until 1812. There are reports of a 12th-century parchment that copied the text of the original Vow, but unfortunately, this document has not been preserved (if it ever existed). In any case, this myth is also at the origin of the devotion to "Santiago Matamoros" (Saint James the Moor-slayer), in which the saint appears on horseback, dressed as a pilgrim, and trampling one or more Muslims. This warrior aspect of the apostle, which astonished foreigners (not surprisingly, since James's profession was that of a fisherman), already appears in 12th-century chronicles, but the same cannot be said of the aforementioned Vow. This and other taxes were not paid with money, since coins were not yet minted in Christian Hispania, with barter being the predominant method. Some documents mention "silver solidi" or silver coins, which could have been Roman denarii, Andalusian dirhams, or Frankish dinars. Occasionally, gold coins are mentioned, which were most likely Visigothic or Suebian tremisses.
Ramiro I died in 850, having faced several rebellions from nobles, which he always defeated. Like his predecessor, he built numerous beautiful churches, such as Santa María del Naranco, San Miguel de Lillo, and Santa Cristina de Lena, which is why art historians refer to this entire artistic period as "Ramirense art." He was succeeded by his son Ordoño I, who was crowned without any dispute.
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| Ramiro I and Santa María del Naranco |
Abd al-Rahman II outlived him by only two years. Towards the end of his reign, he initiated religious persecutions against the Mozarabs (Christians residing in al-Andalus), shattering the illusion of religious tolerance that the Muslims had employed at the beginning of their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. These and other persecutions led to the flight of Mozarabs to the north, where they were welcomed with open arms. Abd al-Rahman was succeeded by his son Muhammad I (852-886), who had led several expeditions against the Kingdom of Gallaecia.
Ordoño I (850-866) and the repopulation of León. The second Viking wave
No one opposed Ordoño's coronation as successor to his father Ramiro, although he soon had to quell a Basque uprising and a Muslim incursion. Internal problems in al-Andalus following the death of Abd al-Rahman II granted him peace within his kingdom for a time, although Islamic raids against the Álava region became frequent. In 854, Ordoño attempted to aid the rebel faction that arose against Muhammad I in Toledo, but the military venture ended in failure.
During his reign, the second Viking raid against the Iberian Peninsula occurred in 858, possibly after the death of the Viking king who had made peace with Abd al-Rahman II and Ramiro I. This campaign was led by the brothers Hastein and Björn Ragnarsson, adopted sons of the legendary Ragnar Lodbrog. They ravaged Iria and even laid siege to Santiago de Compostela, although the invasion was repelled by Count Pedro. The defeated Vikings, repeating their previous strategy, proceeded to attack al-Andalus and distant Mediterranean territories with considerable success. The Viking hordes sailed up the Ebro River, penetrating deep into the interior of the peninsula, and captured García Íñiguez, the second monarch of the small kingdom of Pamplona. This king had to pay a hefty ransom and leave several of his sons as hostages.
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| Ordoño I |
Ordoño also had to deal with Musa ibn Musa, the Muslim governor of the Upper March (the border of al-Andalus with the Carolingian Hispanic March): this governor, from the Banu family The Qasi clan (descendants of the Visigothic Count Cassius) acted quite independently of the emir, earning him the title of "the third king of Hispania" (in contrast to Ramiro and Muhammad). Musa founded and fortified several border towns, prompting the intervention of Ordoño I, who in 859 besieged, captured, and razed the town of Albelda (La Rioja). This Asturian victory, besides eliminating a potential threat, also facilitated the expansion of the Kingdom of Gallaecia towards the upper Ebro River. The chronicle of Alfonso III states that Ordoño also conquered Coria and Salamanca, capturing their Andalusian governors and taking their inhabitants as slaves, although he withdrew from the region after these victories. According to the Albelda Chronicle, he also confronted and defeated an Andalusian fleet on an unknown date.
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| The Banu Qasi |
From 860 onwards, Muslim incursions against Christian territories were continuous. That same year, they ravaged the Kingdom of Pamplona (already badly damaged by the Vikings) and captured Prince Fontún Garcés, who was held prisoner in Córdoba for twenty years. The Andalusians periodically attacked the Álava region, defeating the Asturian-Leonese troops. In 865, Muhammad I won the decisive Battle of La Morcuera (near Miranda de Ebro), which caused the Christian frontier to retreat several kilometers to the north. The raids against Álava continued until the death of Ordoño I in 866, so we must assume that the region was left devastated and impoverished.
The “repopulations”
Ordoño I undertook a major repopulation effort, entrusting it primarily to his brother, Count Gatón of El Bierzo. A 9th-century document states that “in the time of Don Ordoño (…) inhabitants of El Bierzo, along with their Count Gatón, set out to populate Astorga”. Some historians point to this wave of repopulation as the origin of the numerous place names referring to people from El Bierzo, both in the provinces of León and Zamora (Bercianos del Real Camino, Bercianos del Páramo, Bercianos de Vidriales, Bercianos de Aliste, etc.). Unfortunately, we have no further historical record of Count Gatón's work apart from the aforementioned document.
The chronicles do, however, record that the king repopulated the cities of León and Astorga, “which Alfonso the Great [Alfonso I] had conquered from the Chaldeans, and which remained deserted”. As we have seen, Muslim sources described an attack on the city of León in 845, during the reign of Ramiro I. Therefore, the assertion that the city "remained deserted" should not be taken literally prior to that attack (an attack which, incidentally, may have led to a brief abandonment of the city). Before the repopulation by Ordoño I (856), there are already documents mentioning a bishop of León named Frunimio or Fruminio, indicating the continued existence of the diocese and its faithful in the city. In fact, there are vague references to the existence of several bishops from León during the reign of Alfonso II (late 8th to early 9th century), although the lack of documents prevents confirmation, or clarification as to whether they resided in their Leonese see or at the king's court, as was the case with bishops of other cities occupied by Muslims or seemingly abandoned. In any case, neither León nor Astorga could have been heavily populated since the Visigothic period, although, as we see, there are indications that they did have some inhabitants. The Rotense Chronicle states that Ordoño surrounded these and other cities with walls, built high gates, and filled them with people, some of them his own, some of those who had arrived from Hispania [al-Andalus, that is, Mozarabs]. The claim that he provided walls for León and Astorga is strange, since they already had them from ancient times, and we have seen that they inspired awe in the Muslims, who were unable to demolish them. Their repopulation by Ordoño I would refer to the arrival of new settlers, but above all to the restoration of both cities within the kingdom's organizational structure, as centers of power for controlling the territory.
What is beyond doubt is that rural areas remained inhabited after the invasion of 711, and that for many centuries they would concentrate the majority of the population. Early medieval Leonese documents mention towns founded no later than the second half of the 9th century, but even then they displayed such vitality that the medievalist Sánchez Badiola suggests a pre-existing indigenous population: “the enormous complexity they exhibit even in those early stages regarding land ownership and terraced farming indicates the consequence of processes that were hardly initiated by the official repopulation of Ordoño I".These settlements, before the “official” repopulation, were organized into “valleys,” although this term was not limited to mountainous areas, but also included places on the plateau that are hardly perceived as such today: from this would arise many of the Leonese place names with the prefix “valde-”, such as Valdesogo, Valdelafuente, Valderas, etc. These “valleys” do not describe a mere geographical feature, but rather, according to Sánchez Badiola, in the High Middle Ages they designated “a clearly defined socio-spatial unit, a physical and socio-economic framework through which property could be distributed and delimited and settlements organized”. Each valley would have a kind of territorial center, which would be the most populated village, and which almost always coincided with a hill fort dating from the Asturian or Roman periods.
The absence of nobles and lords since the Muslim invasion would favor neighborly solidarity, which would be best reflected in the council, heir to the Visigothic period's term “conventus public vicinorum" (or "rusticorum"). The councils, assembled in assemblies of residents, would manage the communal lands and property so characteristic of subsistence economies. The Asturian-Leonese kings would take advantage of this pre-existing social organization of valleys and councils to impose their own: the traditional thesis that portrays the monarchs, nobles, and clergy creating hundreds of population centers out of thin air, relocating people from other areas, and creating the false impression of gigantic forced migrations more typical of Stalin's Russia, does not seem very logical.
When kings, nobles, or clergymen wanted to seize new territory, they did so through "presura", which consisted of appropriating land by clearing it. In other words, the mere act of plowing the land for a period of time granted them ownership. Sometimes this presura was carried out by free peasants, who, if they worked virgin land for thirty years, were considered its legal and legitimate owners. Once the image of the "strategic desert" is discarded, it is easy to imagine that through this mechanism the local population was integrated into the sociopolitical structures of the Asturian-Leonese kingdom, often subjecting them to secular and ecclesiastical lords and to royal authority. The undeniable arrival of new settlers from Mozarabic, Asturian, Bierzo, and Galician communities in the villages would produce mixed communities as they blended with the native inhabitants. The newcomers, as bearers of royal legitimacy, would seize the best lands and impose their demonym as place names: this would be the origin of the numerous towns called "Gallegos," "Asturianos," and the aforementioned "Bercianos," but also those with names of Mozarabic origin, such as Toldanos (from Toledanos), Coreses (from Coria), Mazarife , Armunia , Villacete , Puente Almuhey , Almanza, etc. However, local customs and traditions were maintained, and the patron saints of the villages and towns were not changed either, continuing to preserve those from the Visigothic era, as Luis López Santos demonstrated previously.
The territory between the Duero River and the Cantabrian Mountains was called “Foris Montis" ("The Outside Land") or "Terra de Foras", and its inhabitants were called "foramontanos" ("inhabitants of the lands outside"), referring to the fact that they lived "outside" or further south of the mountains. In the case of León, this area roughly corresponded to Asturia Augustana, during the Asturian period, included El Bierzo. Further west lay Tierra de Campos, known as "the Gothic Fields". Transmontane Asturia would retain its name, albeit in the plural, giving rise to the current "Asturias", as we have already seen. This was aided by the fact that the river that gave its name to the Astures changed its name: the Ástura River (present-day Esla) appears as "Éstora" in the Albeldense Chronicle, which evolved into "Éstola in 10th-century documents. Castile and Álava formed the southeastern border of the kingdom: the former, bristling with castles that gave it its name, was not yet a unified entity, but was divided into several different counties, as was the case with Catalonia.
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