Peter I (SpanishPedro) was thebishop of León from about 1087 until his deposition around 1111.[1]
During his episcopate, the city ofLeón declined in importance relative to the city ofToledo. Peter had to contend with the claim of thearchbishops of Toledo that the diocese of León lay within their province, a claim approved byPope Urban II in 1099. In 1104, Peter successfully convinced Urban's successor,Paschal II, to grant León an exemption from metropolitan control on the basis of a forged document, the so-calledDivision of Wamba. Significantly, the dioceses of León and Oviedo had common interests at this time. The only copies of theDivision that support the Leonese claims emanate from the scriptorium of thecathedral of Oviedo under BishopPelagius, a notorious forger. The original of the papal bull of exemption still survives in thecathedral of León.[1]
When DukeRaymond of Galicia died on 20 September 1107 in his castle ofGrajal in the diocese of León, Bishop Peter gave permission for his body to be brought back toSantiago de Compostela for burial.[2]
Peter was present at the marriage of QueenUrraca of León and KingAlfonso I of Aragon inMonzón in October 1109, for he witnessed the queen's grant of afuero to the men of the land of León andCarrión on 29 September, while she was on her way to meet her groom.[3] He was with the royal court atSahagún when it celebrated Christmas that year, for he signed a private document there on 21 December.[4] Civil war broke out in the new year between the partisans of Urraca and those of Alfonso. After receiving a papal letter condemning her marriage on grounds of consanguinity, the queen sought the advice of some bishops, Peter among them. They advised her to separate from her husband.[5] After the king of Aragon's victory in thebattle of Candespina on 26 October 1111, Peter's advice to Urraca cost him his see; the partisans of Alfonso had him removed from office. The diocese was briefly usurped by ArchbishopMaurice of Braga, before Peter's nephewDiego was elected bishop. Peter himself went into exile inGalicia, where he was still alive as of 13 June 1112.[1]
