Editing Ramiro I of Asturias (section)

==Reign==
===Gaining the throne===
[[File:Royal flag of Ramiro I of Asturies.svg|left|thumb|upright=.5|Royal flag of Ramiro I]]
[[File:Péninsule ibérique en 850.png|thumb|Iberia in AD 850, with Asturias in blue.]]
The death of King [[Alfonso II of Asturias|Alfonso II]] brought about a succession crisis in the [[Kingdom of Asturias]]. According to the ''[[Chronicle 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.<ref name = "Origenes">{{cite book | last=Albornoz| first=Claudio Sánchez| authorlink=Claudio Sánchez Albornoz| title=Orígenes de la nación española: el Reino de Asturias| year=1985| publisher=Sarpe| location=Madrid| isbn=978-84-7291-739-2 | chapter=Chapter VI: Tras cuarenta años de paz interior| language=Spanish}}</ref> At the time of King Alfonso's death, Ramiro was outside of Asturias in [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]] (or ''[[Bardulia]]'' according to the ''[[Chronicle of Alfonso III]]''), where he was attending his own marriage ceremonies.

[[Nepocian of Asturias|Nepocian]], ''[[comes|comes palatii]]'' and the late king's kinsman, challenged Ramiro's succession in his absence, being supported by [[Astures]] and [[Vascones]] who had been loyal to Alfonso II. Ramiro sought support in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], where he formed an army and advanced toward [[Oviedo]].<ref name="Collins2012">{{cite book | last=Collins| first=Roger| authorlink=Roger Collins| title=Caliphs and Kings: Spain, 796-1031| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yBKno5aCvMgC&pg=PA74-IA21| accessdate=8 July 2012| year=2012| publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-27399-9| pages=70–72| chapter=Ramiro I (842-850)}}</ref> Nepotian awaited Ramiro's advance at [[Cornellana]], by the river [[Narcea]] where Ramiro defeated him in the [[Battle of the Bridge of Cornellana]].<ref name="Collins2012"/>  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|date=June 2021}}

===Fending off Vikings===
By the time of Ramiro's reign, [[Vikings]] were frequenting the waters of Europe's coastal regions. In 844, a fleet disembarked at [[A Coruña|Corunna]] 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.<ref>{{cite book | title=An Universal History, from the Earliest Account of Time, Volume 19 |year = 1760|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gGZjAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA512}}</ref>

===The legend of the Battle of Clavijo===
[[File:Ramiro I de Asturias 01.jpg|thumb|An 18th-century statue in the [[Royal Palace of Madrid]] depicting the artist's concept of Ramiro I]]

According to legend, in 834, Ramiro defeated the Moors in the [[Battle 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.<ref>{{cite book | author = Collins, Roger| year = 1983 | title = Early Medieval Spain | publisher = St. Martin's Press |location = New York|isbn= 0-312-22464-8|page = 236}}</ref> Neither Asturian nor Arab chronicles of the period make any mention of such a battle. It is first mentioned in the chronicles of [[Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada]], 13th-century [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toledo|archbishop of Toledo]].

The account of the battle appears to be a mythification of the historical 859 [[Battle of Monte Laturce|Second Battle of Albelda]], in which Ramiro's son and successor, [[Ordoño I of Asturias|Ordoño I]] along with [[García Íñiguez of Pamplona]] crushed the forces of [[Musa ibn Musa al-Qasawi]].<ref>{{in lang|es}} Martínez Díez (2005:Tomo 1, p. 143)</ref><ref>{{in lang|es}} J.J. Sayas Abengochea y L.A. García Moreno, ''Historia de España dirigida por Manuel Tuñón de Lara II. Romanismo y Germanismo: el despertar de ls pueblos hispánicos'' (1981). Labor, Madrid.</ref> 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 (''see [[Way of St. James]]'').<ref name="Hijelmo1995">{{cite book | last=Granado Hijelmo| first=Ignacio |title=Las Instituciones Nobiliarias Riojanas: Un Capítulo de la Historia Institucional de la Rioja y el Derecho Nobiliario Español| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NWmObBw8sgUC&pg=PA10| accessdate=18 July 2012| date=1 January 1995| publisher=Ediciones Hidalguia| isbn=978-84-87204-76-0| pages=10–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ayuntamientodeclavijo.org/El_Voto_de_Santiago.1815.0.html |title=Clavijo: El Voto de Santiago |accessdate=2012-07-03 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202143806/http://www.ayuntamientodeclavijo.org/El_Voto_de_Santiago.1815.0.html |archivedate=February 2, 2014 }}</ref>

In thanks for the intervention of the Apostle, Ramiro is said to have instituted a forged grant called [[Voto de Santiago]] actually dating from the 12th century, a tax for the benefit of the Church that was only repealed by the [[Cortes of Cádiz]] in 1812.<ref>{{in lang|es}}[http://www.ayuntamientodeclavijo.org/El_Voto_de_Santiago.1815.0.html El Voto de Santiago], ayuntamientodeclavijo.org (official web site of the city of [[Clavijo]] ([[La Rioja (Spain)|La Rioja]], Spain).</ref>

===Attempt to repopulate León===
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 by [[Musa ibn Musa ibn Qasi|Musa ibn Musa]] of the [[Banu Qasi]] family. Ramiro took advantage of the temporary respite to [[Repoblación|repopulate]] the city of [[León, Spain|León]]. 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 (later [[Muhammad 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.

===Internal conflict and harsh justice===
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. The ''[[Chronica Albeldense]]'' makes mention of two of these rebels in particular. After defeating the rebel ''prócer'' ([[grandee]] or high-ranking noble) Piniolo, Ramiro condemned him to death along with his seven sons. The leader of the second rebellion, the ''comes palatii'' Aldroito, he condemned to be blinded.<ref name = "Origenes"/>

Ramiro acted with severity against ''latrones'' (thieves) whose number nonetheless increased the civil discord of his reign, and against ''magos'', presumably the [[paganism|pagans]] still rooted amongst the more isolated settlements.  The ''Chronica Albeldense'' praises Ramiro as ''Uirga iustitiae'', that is, "the Rod of Justice".