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| Alfonso II | |
|---|---|
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| King ofAsturias | |
| Reign | 791 – 842 |
| Predecessor | Bermudo I |
| Successor | Ramiro I |
| Born | c. 760 |
| Died | 842 |
| House | Astur-Leonese dynasty |
| Father | Fruela I of Asturias |
| Mother | Munia of Álava |
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Alfonso II ofAsturias (c. 760 – 842), nicknamedthe Chaste (Spanish:el Casto), was theking 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 futureRamiro I.
During his reign, which covered a span of 51 years, Alfonso discovered the supposed tomb ofSt. James the Great (calledSantiago in Spanish) in the town of Compostela, which later became known as the city ofSantiago de Compostela. He was the son ofFruela I and Munia, aBasque woman captured and brought back to Asturias by the former following a military campaign.
He was born inOviedo in 759 or 760. He was put under the guardianship of his auntAdosinda after his father's death, but one tradition relates his being put in theMonastery of San Xulián de Samos. He was the governor of the palace during the reign of Adosinda's husbandSilo. On Silo's death, he was elected king by Adosinda's allies, but themagnates raised his uncleMauregatus to the throne instead. Alfonso fled toÁlava where he found shelter with his maternal relatives. Mauregatus was succeeded byBermudo I, Alfonso's cousin, who abdicated after his defeat at theBattle of the Burbia River.
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 sonBernardo del Carpio. Bernardo is the hero of acantar de gesta written to please the anarchical spirit of the nobles.[1]
Alfonso moved the capital fromPravia, where Silo had located it, toOviedo, the city of his father's founding and his birth. There he constructed churches and a palace. He built the churches ofSan Tirso,[2] where he is buried, and ofSan Julián de los Prados (aka Santullano), high above overlooking the nascent city.
On accession to the throne,Hisham I, son ofAbd 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 theKingdom of Asturias (Cantabria and Castile). The Asturian king asked for the assistance of the BasqueFrankishvassal 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.
Under pressure from his enemies, Alfonso II reached out toCharlemagne,[3] sending delegations toToulouse andAix-la-Chapelle in 796, 797, and 798.[4] These diplomatic efforts, proffered 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 thePope, and Asturias as a kingdom for the first time in theRoyal Frankish Annals. The king showed an interest in the Frankish cult ofSaint Martin of Tours, and he encouragedCarolingian Church influence in Asturias.[citation needed]
Alfonso's envoys to Charlemagne's courts may have also dealt with theadoptionist 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 toLisbon, which wascaptured and sacked by his troops in 798.
Also, during Alfonso's reign, the alleged resting place of St. James was revealed.[6] Tradition relates that in 814, the body ofSaint James was discovered inCompostela and that Alfonso was the firstpilgrim to the shrine atLibredón.[7]
In 825, he defeated Saracen forces atNarón (nearFerrol) and also in year 825Anceo (in the hills equidistant fromPontevedra andVigo),[8] and, thanks to these victories, the "repopulation" of parts ofGalicia,León, andCastile was started— with charters confirming the possession of the territories.
TheCrónica Sebastianense records his death in 842, saying:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alphonso s.v. Alphonso II.".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 734.| Preceded by | King of Asturias 791–842 | Succeeded by |
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