Editing Silo of Asturias (section)

===Accession to the throne===
In Silo's time, monarchs were apparently elected by the nobility as in the earlier [[Visigothic Kingdom]]. Monarchs were chosen from among a small number of dynasties. Preference tended to go to the son of a king or, where that was not possible, to the husband of a king's daughter, as had happened in the case of Alfonso and of Silo himself, or, failing that, to another male of royal lineage thought capable of governing.<ref>{{in lang|es}} José Antonio Escudero (ed.), Javier Alvarado Planas, José Mª de Francisco Olmos. (2008) ''El Rey. Historia de la Monarquía. Vol 1.'' Ed. Planeta. {{ISBN|978-84-08-07696-4}}. p. 22-25.</ref>

Nevertheless, there is academic controversy about the mode of succession: election after the Visigothic style, matrilineal succession according to indigenous practice, and hereditary in royal lineages.<ref>{{in lang|es}} Election after the Visigothic style: Claudio Sánchez Albornoz. ''Viejos y nuevos estudios sobre las instituciones medievales españolas. Vol II'' (1983). Matrilineal: A. Barbero y M. Vigil. ''La formación del feudalismo en la península ibérica'' (1978). Hereditary in royal lineages: A. Besga Marroquín. ''Orígenes hispano-godos del reino de Asturias'' (2000). All of these are cited in José Antonio Escudero (ed.), Javier Alvarado Planas, José Mª de Francisco Olmos. (2008) ''El Rey. Historia de la Monarquía. Vol 1.'' Ed. Planeta. {{ISBN|978-84-08-07696-4}}.</ref> Each of these theories leads to a somewhat different account of Silo's accession  to the throne.