Editing Pelagius of Asturias (section)

==Early life==
Pelagius was born around 685, although the exact details of his early life remain largely unknown. Traditionally, Pelagius was depicted as of Visigothic origin.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Barbero |first1=Abilio |title=La formación del feudalismo en la Península Ibérica |last2=Vigil |first2=Marcelo |date=1978 |publisher=Ed. Crítica |isbn=978-84-7423-058-1 |edition=5. |series=Historia medieval |location=Barcelona}}</ref> Recent scholarship increasingly supports that Pelagius was a nobleman of Hispano-Roman descent, linked to the local Asturian elite.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Barbero |first1=Abilio |title=La formación del feudalismo en la Península Ibérica |last2=Vigil |first2=Marcelo |date=1978 |publisher=Ed. Crítica |isbn=978-84-7423-058-1 |edition=5. |series=Historia medieval |location=Barcelona}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Bueyes |first=Luis Ramón Menéndez |date=1995 |title=Algunas notas sobre el posible origen Astur-Romano de la nobleza en el Asturorum Regnum |url=https://revistas.usal.es/uno/index.php/0213-2052/article/view/4284 |journal=Studia Historica. Historia Antigua |language=es |volume=13 |issn=2530-4100}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Torrente Fernández |first=María Isabel |title=Historia de Asturias |date=1990 |publisher=Editorial Prensa Asturiana |isbn=978-84-404-8567-0 |volume=2 |location=Oviedo [Spain] |page=309-324 |chapter=La monarquía asturiana: su realidad y los relatos históricos}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Dacosta |first=Arsenio |date=1992 |title=Notas sobre las crónicas ovetenses del siglo IX. Pelayo y el sistema sucesorio en el caudillaje astuariano |url=https://revistas.usal.es/uno/index.php/Studia_H_Historia_Medieval/article/view/4372 |journal=Studia Historica. Historia Medieval |language=es |volume=10 |issn=2445-3595}}</ref> Historical texts emphasize Pelayo's connection to the local Asturian society. He is believed to be the son of Favila. The ''[[Chronica Albeldense]]'', elaborated three centuries after his death, says that Favila was a ''dux'' of [[Gallaecia]], who was killed by [[Wittiza]].<ref name="Arab143"/> The ''Chronicle of Alfonso III'' identifies Pelagius as a grandson of [[Chindasuinth]] and says that his father was blinded in [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], at the instigation of Wittiza.<ref name="Arab144">{{harvnb|Collins|1989|p=144}}</ref> Wittiza is also said to have exiled Pelagius from [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] upon assuming the crown in 702. In the opinion of [[Roger Collins]], this is a late tradition and the account of the ''Albeldense'', which locates Pelagius's origins in the north of the peninsula, is more credible.  Both chronicles agree, however, that he was a Visigoth who was exiled from Toledo by Wittiza.<ref name="Arab144"/>

According to the later tradition, [[Munuza]], the [[Berber people|Berber]] governor of ''Iegione'' (either [[Gijón]] or [[León, Spain|León]]), became attracted to Pelagius's sister and sent word to [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]], who ordered him to capture Pelagius and send him to Córdoba.<ref name="Arab145">{{harvnb|Collins|1989|p=145}}</ref> If Munuza's seat is identified with Gijón, it may be inferred that the Arabs had established their rule in the Asturias and that Pelagius was not the leader of a local resistance to Arab conquest.<ref name="Arab148">{{harvnb|Collins|1989|p=148}}</ref> Pelagius may have come to terms with the Arab elite whereby he was permitted to govern locally in the manner of the previous Visigoths, as is known to have occurred between Arab rulers and Visigothic noblemen elsewhere, as in the case of [[Theodemir (Visigoth)|Theudimer]],<ref name="Arab149">{{harvnb|Collins|1989| p=149}}</ref> although most historians consider this unlikely.{{sfn|Reilly|1993|p=397}}