Editing Alfonso II of Asturias

{{Short description|King of Asturias (c. 760 – 842)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Expand Spanish|topic=bio|date=June 2012}}
{{Infobox royalty
| type         = Monarch
| name         = Alfonso II
| image        = Alfonso II el Casto, rey de Asturias (Museo del Prado).jpg
| caption      = Mariano de la Roca y Delgado, ''Alfonso II of Asturias'', 1852
| succession   = [[List of Asturian monarchs|King]] of [[Kingdom of Asturias|Asturias]]
| reign        = 791 – 842
| predecessor  = [[Bermudo I of Asturias|Bermudo I]]
| successor    = [[Ramiro I of Asturias|Ramiro I]]
| issue        = 
| full name    = 
| house        = [[Astur-Leonese dynasty]]
| father       = [[Fruela I of Asturias]]
| mother       = [[Munia of Álava]]
| birth_date   = {{circa|760}}
| death_date   = 842
}}

[[File:Alfonsobig.jpg|thumb|Alfonso II in the twelfth-century ''[[Libro de los Testamentos]]''.]]

'''Alfonso II''' of [[Kingdom of Asturias|Asturias]] ({{circa|760}}{{snd}}842), nicknamed '''the Chaste''' ({{langx|es|el Casto}}), was the [[king of Asturias]] during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, [[Nepotian of Asturias|Nepotian]], a family member of undetermined relation, attempted to usurp the crown in place of the future [[Ramiro I of Asturias|Ramiro I]].

During his reign, which covered a span of 51 years, Alfonso discovered the supposed tomb of [[St. James the Great]] (called {{Lang|es|Santiago}} in Spanish) in the town of Compostela, which later became known as the city of [[Santiago de Compostela]]. He was the son of [[Fruela I of Asturias|Fruela I]] and Munia, a [[Basque people|Basque]] woman captured and brought back to Asturias by the former following a military campaign.

== Early life ==
He was born in [[Oviedo]] in 759 or 760. He was put under the guardianship of his aunt [[Adosinda]] after his father's death, but one tradition relates his being put in the [[Monastery of San Xulián de Samos]]. He was the governor of the palace during the reign of Adosinda's husband [[Silo of Asturias|Silo]]. On Silo's death, he was elected king by Adosinda's allies, but the [[magnate]]s raised his uncle [[Mauregatus of Asturias|Mauregatus]] to the throne instead. Alfonso fled to [[Álava]] where he found shelter with his maternal relatives. Mauregatus was succeeded by [[Bermudo I of Asturias|Bermudo I]], Alfonso's cousin, who abdicated after his defeat at the [[Battle of the Burbia River]].

== Alfonso proclaimed king ==
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 son [[Bernardo del Carpio]]. Bernardo is the hero of a ''{{Lang|es|[[cantar de gesta]]}}'' written to please the anarchical spirit of the nobles.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Alphonso|display=Alphonso s.v. Alphonso II.|volume=1|page=734}}</ref>

Alfonso moved the capital from [[Pravia]], where Silo had located it, to [[Oviedo]], the city of his father's founding and his birth. There he constructed churches and a palace. He built the churches of [[San Tirso, Oviedo|San Tirso]],<ref name=castro>García de Castro Valdés, César (2008). «San Tirso (Oviedo)». Arte Prerrománico en Asturias. Ménsula Ediciones, S. L. pp. 28-30. ISBN 978-84-612-4085-2.</ref> where he is buried, and of [[San Julián de los Prados]] (aka Santullano), high above overlooking the nascent city.

== Andalusian raids into Asturias ==
On accession to the throne, [[Hisham I of Córdoba|Hisham I]], son of [[Abd 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 the [[Kingdom of Asturias]] (Cantabria and Castile). The Asturian king asked for the assistance of the Basque [[Franks|Frankish]] [[vassal]] 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.

== Relations with Charlemagne and the Papacy ==
Under pressure from his enemies, Alfonso II reached out to [[Charlemagne]],<ref name="brit1">{{cite news |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Anglo-Saxon |title=Anglo-Saxon &#124; Definition, History, Language, Countries, Culture, & Facts &#124; Britannica |date=23 January 2024 }}</ref> sending delegations to [[Toulouse]] and [[Aix-la-Chapelle]] in 796, 797, and 798.<ref name="va1">{{cite news |url=https://www.lavozdeasturias.es/noticia/asturias/2021/09/07/historico-primer-contacto-asturias-imperio-cambio-mundo/00031631027440163499787.htm |title=El histórico primer contacto de Asturias con un imperio que cambió el mundo |date=8 September 2021 }}</ref> 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.<ref>Martínez Díez, Gonzalo (2002). «Articulación político-administrativa y las relaciones exteriores en el reinado de Alfonso II». Poder y Sociedad en la Baja Edad Media hispánica: Estudios y homenaje al profesor Luis Vicente Díaz Martín II. Coordinador, Carlos Manuel Reglero de la Fuente. Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid. pp. 724-725. ISBN 84-8448-172-7.</ref>

Alfonso was acknowledged as a king by Charlemagne and the [[Pope]], and Asturias as a kingdom for the first time in the [[Royal Frankish Annals]]. The king showed an interest in the Frankish cult of [[Martin of Tours|Saint Martin of Tours]], and he encouraged [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian]] Church influence in Asturias.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Alfonso's envoys to Charlemagne's courts may have also dealt with the [[Spanish Adoptionism|adoptionist 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 to [[Lisbon]], which was [[Sack of Lisbon (798)|captured and sacked]] by his troops in 798.

== Later events ==
[[File:Péninsule ibérique en 850.png|thumb|right|Asturias in 850]]
Also, during Alfonso's reign, the alleged resting place of St. James was revealed.<ref name=ar1>Rucquoi, Adeline (2017). «Los reyes de Asturias y los orígenes del culto a la tumba del apóstol Santiago». Los reyes de Asturias y los orígenes del culto a la tumba del apóstol Santiago. Francisco Javier Fernández Conde, Raquel Alonso Álvarez (coord.). Oviedo: Trea. pp. 17-36. ISBN 978-84-17140-03-8.</ref> Tradition relates that in 814, the body of [[Saint James the Greater|Saint James]] was discovered in [[Santiago de Compostela|Compostela]] and that Alfonso was the first [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrim]] to the shrine at [[Libredón]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Portela Silva, E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-e9_EDt4aVMC |title=Historia de la ciudad de Santiago de Compostela |publisher=Universidad de Santiago de Compostela |year=2003 |isbn=8497501373 |page=54}}</ref>

In 825, he defeated Saracen forces at [[Narón]] (near [[Ferrol, Spain|Ferrol]]) and also in year 825 [[Anceo]] (in the hills equidistant from [[Pontevedra]] and [[Vigo]]),<ref>Aramburu y Zuloaga, Félix (1996). «Alfonso II, el Casto». Asturianos Universales. Tomo VII. Madrid: Ediciones Páramo, S.A. ISBN 84-87253-26-1.</ref> and, thanks to these victories, the "repopulation" of parts of [[Gallaecia|Galicia]], [[León (province)|León]], and [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]] was started— with charters confirming the possession of the territories.

The ''Crónica Sebastianense'' records his death in 842, saying:

:''tras haber llevado por 52 años casta, sobria, inmaculada, piadosa y gloriosamente el gobierno del reino''

:[after having held for 52 years chastely, soberly, immaculately, piously, and gloriously the government of the realm]

== References ==
{{Commons category|Alfonso II of Asturias}}
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bermudo I of Asturias|Bermudo I]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Asturian monarchs|King of Asturias]]|years=791–842}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Nepocian of Asturias|Nepocian]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Monarchs of Asturias}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:8th-century births]]
[[Category:842 deaths]]
[[Category:Astur-Leonese dynasty]]
[[Category:8th-century Asturian monarchs]]
[[Category:9th-century Asturian monarchs]]