Ramiro I of Asturias
Ramiro I | |
---|---|
Cathedral of San Salvador, Oviedo | |
Spouse | Paterna |
Issue | Ordoño I |
Dynasty | Astur-Leonese dynasty |
Father | Bermudo I of Asturias |
Religion | Chalcedonian Christianity |
Ramiro I (c. 790 – 1 February 850) was king of Asturias (modern-day Spain) from 842 until his death in 850. Son of King Bermudo I, he became king following a succession struggle after his predecessor, Alfonso II, died without children. During his turbulent reign, he fended off attacks from both Vikings and the forces of al-Andalus.[1] Architecturally, his recreational palace Santa María del Naranco and other buildings used the ramirense style that prefigured Romanesque architecture. He was a contemporary of
Reign
Gaining the throne
The death of King 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.[2] At the time of King Alfonso's death, Ramiro was outside of Asturias in Castile (or Bardulia according to the Chronicle of Alfonso III), where he was attending his own marriage ceremonies.
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 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.[3]
The legend of the Battle of Clavijo
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.[4] 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 archbishop of Toledo.
The account of the battle appears to be a mythification of the historical 859
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.[9]
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
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
Ramiro acted with severity against latrones (thieves) whose number nonetheless increased the civil discord of his reign, and against magos, presumably the pagans still rooted amongst the more isolated settlements. The Chronica Albeldense praises Ramiro as Uirga iustitiae, that is, "the Rod of Justice".
Marriages, descendants, and succession
All that is known of Ramiro's first marriage is that it must have occurred early enough for his son to have already been an adult at the time of Ramiro's succession.[10] Ramiro's son Ordoño succeeded his father as king of Asturias upon the former's death.
Ramiro contracted his second marriage, to Paterna, around 842, the year of the death of his predecessor Alfonso II. The chronicle of his grandson asserts that when Alfonso II died, Ramiro was in the Castilian lands for his wedding, suggesting that his wife was Castilian. It is presumed that the bride in this marriage was the Paterna who appeared later as his widow.
There is no solid evidence of children other than Ordoño. Traditionally, Count Rodrigo of Castile (died 873) has been named as son of Ramiro and Paterna. The medievalist Justo Pérez de Urbel says that Rodrigo was named count of Castile because of his link to the Asturian royal family, and that it is possible that this link existed through Queen Paterna, but not necessarily through being her son.
Ramiro may have been the father of
Death and burial
Ramiro died 1 February 850, in his palace at
"OBIIT DIVAE MEMORIAE RANIMIRUS REX DIE KAL. FEBRUARII. ERA DCCCLXXXVIII. OBTESTOR VOS OMNES QUI HAEC LECTURI ESTIS. UT PRO REQUIE ILLIUS ORARE NON DESINETIS".[12]
The Ramirense style in architecture
The art and architecture of Ramiro's reign forms the
Ramirense architecture introduced barrel vaults made of tufa (a relatively lightweight limestone). These were novel not only with respect to earlier architecture of the region but in terms of the European architecture of the period, including that of Muslim Spain, which used wooden roofs.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-118-27399-9. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-84-7291-739-2.
- ^ An Universal History, from the Earliest Account of Time, Volume 19. 1760.
- ISBN 0-312-22464-8.
- ^ (in Spanish) Martínez Díez (2005:Tomo 1, p. 143)
- ^ (in Spanish) 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.
- ISBN 978-84-87204-76-0. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
- ^ "Clavijo: El Voto de Santiago". Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - La Rioja, Spain).
- ^ Note: A charter of dubious authenticity dating from 834 gives him a wife Urraca, but this has been dismissed as a likely forgery, combining genealogical details of Ramiro I with those of his great-grandson, infante Ramiro Alfonso.
- ISBN 978-84-95379-94-8.
- ^ (in Spanish) Ricardo del Arco y Garay, Sepulcros de la Casa Real de Castilla (1954), Madrid:Instituto Jerónimo Zurita. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. The year appearing on the sepulcre, 888 in the Spanish era, is equivalent to 850 by Anno Domini/Common Era dating.
Further reading
- Asturianos universales 5: Armando Palacio Valdés, Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, Francisco Martínez Marina, Rodrigo Álvarez de Asturias, Ramiro I, Ediciones Páramo, 1996. ISBN 978-84-87253-24-9.