| Ramiro I | |
|---|---|
 Ramiro'smark on theCeleiro, an 8th-century document confirmed by several subsequent kings | |
| King ofAsturias | |
| Reign | 842–850 |
| Predecessor | Nepotian |
| Successor | Ordoño I |
| Born | c. 790 Oviedo |
| Died | 1 February 850 (aged 59–60) Oviedo |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Paterna |
| Issue | Ordoño I |
| Dynasty | Astur-Leonese dynasty |
| Father | Bermudo I of Asturias |
| Religion | Chalcedonian Christianity |
.jpg)
Ramiro I (c. 790 – 1 February 850) was king ofAsturias from 842 until his death in 850. Son of KingBermudo I, he became king following a succession struggle after his predecessor,Alfonso II, died without children. During his turbulent reign, he fended off attacks from bothVikings and the forces ofal-Andalus.[1] Architecturally, his recreational palaceSanta María del Naranco and other buildings used theramirense style that prefiguredRomanesque architecture.He was a contemporary ofAbd ar-Rahman II,UmayyadEmir of Córdoba.
The death of KingAlfonso II brought about a succession crisis in theKingdom of Asturias. According to theChronicle of Alfonso III, credited to Ramiro's grandson, the childless Alfonso II chose as his successor Ramiro, his distant kinsman and son of Alfonso's predecessor Bermudo I.[2] At the time of King Alfonso's death, Ramiro was outside of Asturias inCastile (orBardulia according to theChronicle of Alfonso III), where he was attending his own marriage ceremonies.
Nepocian,comes palatii and the late king's kinsman, challenged Ramiro's succession in his absence, being supported byAstures andVascones who had been loyal to Alfonso II. Ramiro sought support inGalicia, where he formed an army and advanced towardOviedo.[1] Nepotian awaited Ramiro's advance atCornellana, by the riverNarcea where Ramiro defeated him in theBattle of the Bridge of Cornellana.[1] Nepotian fled, but was pursued and captured by Counts Scipion and Sonna. After his capture, Nepotian was blinded and interned in a monastery.[citation needed]
By the time of Ramiro's reign,Vikings were frequenting the waters of Europe's coastal regions. In 844, a fleet disembarked atCorunna and began to raid the countryside, burning and pillaging. Ramiro marched against them with an army of considerable strength and managed to rout the invaders. He took some of them as prisoners and burned a large part of their fleet. Ramiro's reception dissuaded the Vikings such that they no longer raided the coastlines of Asturias.[3]
According to legend, in 834, Ramiro defeated the Moors in theBattle of Clavijo. The date was later changed to 844 in order to accommodate the contradictions inherent to the story (Ramiro was not ruling in 834). The account of the battle came to the spotlight on a spurious charter forged in Santiago de Compostela in the early 12th century.[4] Neither Asturian nor Arab chronicles of the period make any mention of such a battle. It is first mentioned in the chronicles ofRodrigo Jiménez de Rada, 13th-centuryarchbishop of Toledo.
The account of the battle appears to be a mythification of the historical 859Second Battle of Albelda, in which Ramiro's son and successor,Ordoño I along withGarcía Íñiguez of Pamplona crushed the forces ofMusa ibn Musa al-Qasawi.[5][6] According to the legend, during the battle,Saint James the Greater, the Moor-slayer, is said to have appeared riding a white horse and bearing a white standard, and aided Asturian troops to defeat the Moors. This gave rise to the cult of Saint James in Iberia (seeWay of St. James).[7][8]
In thanks for the intervention of the Apostle, Ramiro is said to have instituted a forged grant calledVoto de Santiago actually dating from the 12th century, a tax for the benefit of the Church that was only repealed by theCortes of Cádiz in 1812.[9]
Ramiro's most important confrontation with the Muslim kingdoms of Iberia was not a success. Emir Abd ar-Rahman II of Córdoba likewise had to face Viking invaders, as well as internal rebellions led byMusa ibn Musa of theBanu Qasi family. Ramiro took advantage of the temporary respite torepopulate the city ofLeón. This particular attempt at repopulation was short-lived. Abd ar-Rahman II dispatched both the Vikings and the rebels, and in 846 sent an army led by his son (laterMuhammad I of Córdoba), forcing the Catholics to again evacuate León, which the Muslims then burned. The city was not reoccupied until 856, under Ordoño I.
While Asturias under Ramiro was relatively free of foreign confrontations, the latter portion of the reign saw much internal conflict. As mentioned above, his ascent to the throne had been problematic, and he continued to encounter discontented and rebellious nobles. TheChronica Albeldense makes mention of two of these rebels in particular. After defeating the rebelprócer (grandee or high-ranking noble) Piniolo, Ramiro condemned him to death along with his seven sons. The leader of the second rebellion, thecomes palatii Aldroito, he condemned to be blinded.[2]
Ramiro acted with severity againstlatrones (thieves) whose number nonetheless increased the civil discord of his reign, and againstmagos, presumably thepagans still rooted amongst the more isolated settlements. TheChronica Albeldense praises Ramiro asUirga iustitiae, that is, "the Rod of Justice".
All that is known of Ramiro's first marriage is that it must have occurred early enough for his son to have already been an adult at the time of Ramiro's succession.[10] Ramiro's son Ordoño succeeded his father as king of Asturias upon the former's death.
Ramiro contracted his second marriage, to Paterna, around 842, the year of the death of his predecessor Alfonso II. The chronicle of his grandson asserts that when Alfonso II died, Ramiro was in the Castilian lands for his wedding, suggesting that his wife was Castilian. It is presumed that the bride in this marriage was the Paterna who appeared later as his widow.
There is no solid evidence of children other than Ordoño. Traditionally, CountRodrigo of Castile (died 873) has been named as son of Ramiro and Paterna. The medievalistJusto Pérez de Urbel says that Rodrigo was named count of Castile because of his link to the Asturian royal family, and that it is possible that this link existed through Queen Paterna, but not necessarily through being her son.
Ramiro may have been the father ofGatón, Count ofAstorga and ofEl Bierzo, since the 14th centuryAl-Bayan al-Mughrib ofIbn Idhari, states that Gatón was the 'brother' of Ordoño I de Asturias.[11]
Ramiro died 1 February 850, in his palace atSanta María del Naranco, located onMount Naranco, near the city ofOviedo. He was buried in thePantheon of Asturian Kings in theCathedral of San Salvador, Oviedo, alongside his second wife, Paterna. His remains were deposited in a stone sepulchre, no longer extant, next to a similar sepulchre for his predecessor, Alfonso II el Casto. His sepulchre was inscribed:
"OBIIT DIVAE MEMORIAE RANIMIRUS REX DIE KAL. FEBRUARII. ERA DCCCLXXXVIII. OBTESTOR VOS OMNES QUI HAEC LECTURI ESTIS. UT PRO REQUIE ILLIUS ORARE NON DESINETIS".[12]
The inscription gives the date of his death as being February 888AD.
The art and architecture of Ramiro's reign forms thePre-RomanesqueRamirense phase ofAsturian art. His court was the center of great splendor, of which the palace and church ofSanta María del Naranco andSan Miguel de Lillo are testimony. On the southern slopes of Mount Naranco, near the city of Oviedo, Ramiro I ordered the construction of the palace of Santa María del Naranco and a church known as San Miguel de Lillo or Liño. The church collapsed in the thirteenth century, and today only about a third of the original survives. Related service buildings did not survive even as ruins. Another example of Ramirense architecture is the church of Santa Cristina de Lena, near the municipality ofLena, some 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Oviedo. The palace and the two churches have been designatedWorld Heritage Sites byUNESCO.
Ramirense architecture introducedbarrel vaults made oftufa (a relatively lightweight limestone). These were novel not only with respect to earlier architecture of the region but in terms of the European architecture of the period, including that of Muslim Spain, which used wooden roofs.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Ramiro I of Asturias Born: circa 790 Died: 1 February 850 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of Asturias 842–850 | Succeeded by |
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
