Ramiro I. (Asturias)

Ramiros statue (1750–53, Madrid )

Ramiro I (* around 790 ; † February 1, 850 in Oviedo ) was King of Asturias from 842 to 850 . He was a son of King Bermudo I , who abdicated in 791 in favor of Alfonso II . After the death of the childless Alfons, Ramiro was elected king. It is possible that he had already been made co-regent by Alfons. When Alfons died, Ramiro was just far from the capital Oviedo. A relative of the late king named Nepotianus took advantage of this fact to have himself elevated to the position of the opposite king. Ramiro gathered his troops in Galicia and then went on the offensive. While Ramiro apparently had the support of the Galicians, Nepotianus relied on Asturian and Basque troops. Nepotianus was defeated in the battle of the Río Narcea , taken prisoner while fleeing, blinded and then put in a monastery. Later there were repeated conspiracies or uprisings against Ramiro. A raid by Normans was repulsed in 844. Twice there were fights with the troops of the emir Abd ar-Rahman II , about the course of which there are contradicting reports.

Legend has it that Ramiro won a victory over the Muslims at the Battle of Clavijo , but this report is considered unreliable by research. Either the "Battle of Clavijo" is fictitious or it is confused with a battle that only took place after Ramiro's death. The legend that Ramiro refused to pay the Muslims a traditional tribute and that war broke out is a fictitious legend. The levy of Voto de Santiago allegedly introduced by him to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela , which had to be paid in Spain for centuries, cannot be traced back to Ramiro. A document claiming that the king, as a thank you to the Apostle James (Santiago) for the victory at Clavijo, ordered the annual donation in favor of Clavijo's church, is forged .

Not far from Oviedo, on Mount Naranco , Ramiro built the church of San Miguel de Lillo and a palatium suitable for holding court meetings. Ramiro died in Oviedo and was buried there.

Ramiro's wife was called Paterna. Since he did not marry her until 842, his son and successor Ordoño I , who was already alive at that time, cannot come from this marriage.

Source editions

• Yves Bonnaz (Ed.): Chroniques asturiennes . Éditions du CNRS, Paris 1987, ISBN 2-222-03516-3 (Latin text of the main sources with French translation and detailed commentary)
• Juan Gil Fernández (Ed.): Crónicas asturianas . Oviedo 1985, ISBN 84-600-4405-X (Latin text and Spanish translation)

literature

• Paulino García Toraño: Historia de el Reino de Asturias . Oviedo 1986, ISBN 84-398-6586-4 , pp. 237-257
• Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz: Orígenes de la nación española , Volume 3, Instituto de Estudios Asturianos, Oviedo 1975, ISBN 84-00-04168-2 , pp. 29–125

Web links

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predecessor	Office	successor
Alfonso II	King of Asturias 842–850	Ordoño I.