AURELIO, King of Asturias

• Son of Fruela Duque de Cantabria and [Menina Gundersíndez (Perez)] (unproven)
• Born in León, he was the son of Fruela of Cantabria (son of Peter of Cantabria); nephew of Alfonso I of Asturias; and a cousin of his predecessor, Fruela the Cruel. His brother, Bermudo I, later reigned as king 789 – 791
• Family tree of the Astur-Leonese dynasty - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astur-Leonese_dynasty
• Aurelius (Spanish: Aurelio) (c. 740 – 774) was the King of Asturias from 768 to his death.
• Place of Burial: Church of San Martín de Tours in San Martín del Rey Aurelio, Spain

Project MedLands, ASTURIAS LEON

PEDRO , son of [ERVIGIO King of the Visigoths & his wife Liubigotona]. Salazar y Castro, in his genealogical table of the Visigothic kings, shows "Veremundo Duque de Cantabria" and "Pedro Duque de Cantabria" as the sons of King Ervigio[58]. The primary sources on which these statements are based are not specified. The table includes numerous errors and the information should therefore be viewed with caution. The Chronicle of Alfonso III describes Pedro´s son, Alfonso I King of Asturias, as "of the royal line" without specifying his ancestry[59]. The Historia Silense names "Petrus ex Recaredi…Gotorum principis progenie"[60], although Pedro's descent from King Recaredo I cannot be established. When recording the succession of "roi Alphonse, fils de Pedro", Ibn-Khaldun states that, according to Ibn-Haiyan, he descended "des Goths" but that "à mon avis cette opinion est erronée"[61]. It is possible that this alleged family relationship with the Visigoths was an invention by later genealogists wishing to fill information gaps left by the primary sources. His name suggests Greek, and by extension Roman, origin. [Duque de Cantabria]: the Chronica Albeldense records him as “Petri Cantabriæ ducis”[62]. The historical basis for supposing that there was a "Dukedom of Cantabria" under the Visigoths is unclear (see the document SPAIN, VANDALS, SUEVI & VISIGOTHS, Chapter 3.B, Visigoth Duces, for a discussion of territorial jurisdiction of duces in the Visigothic kingdom).
married ?. The name of Pedro's wife is not known. An indication of her family is provided by the charter dated 11 Nov 741 under which [her son] “Aldefonsus rex et uxor mea Hermesendis regina” donated various churches to “Adulfo abbati...domino meo et avunculo meo...qui in monasterio Beatæ Mariæ de Covadonga”[63], although this charter is classified as “faux” by Barrau-Dihigo[64]. The family origin of Abbot Adaulf has not otherwise been traced.

[Duque] Pedro & his wife had [two] children:

• 1. ALFONSO ([705/10]-[757], bur Santa María). The Chronicle of Alfonso III names "Alfonso the son of Peter, who was the leader of the Cantabrians and was of the royal line" when recording his arrival in Asturias[65]. The Historia Silense records that "Petrus ex Recaredi…Gotorum principis progenie" had "duos filios…Adefonsum…et Froylam"[66]. His birth date range is estimated based on his having fought alongside his father-in-law, therefore before 737, according to the Chronicle of Alfonso III[67]. [Duque de Cantabria.] The Chronicle of Alfonso III states that, after the death of Fáfila (his brother-in-law, in 739), he was elected to succeed as ALFONSO I "el Católico" King of Asturias[68]. He took advantage of instability in the Muslim Government of al-Andalus following the Berber rebellion of 741, and of a severe famine in 750, to expand the area of Christian settlements to the north of the Duero river, a list of the towns he conquered being set out in the Chronicle of Alfonso III[69]. Ibn Idhari´s Al-Bayan Al-Moghrib records 748-753 as years of drought and famine, that in 750 “les habitants de la Galice se soulevèrent” and that many campaigns were directed against them, and that as a result of the famine “la majeure partie de la population [musulmane] émigra à Tanger, à Zawila et sur le littoral africain” departing from “la rivière de Sidona, connu sous le nom de Barbat”[70]. King Alfonso established fortifications along the central Cordillera at Coimbra, Coria, Talavera, Madrid, Guadalajara and Medinaceli, fixing the northern frontier of the Muslim occupation for the next three centuries. On the other hand, King Alfonso was less successful along his eastern frontier, where the Muslims established settlements as far as the Pyrenees, including Pamplona, Tudela, Huesca, Girona and even Narbonne until it was captured by Pépin King of the Franks in [759][71]. The Chronicle of Alfonso III states that King Alfonso "lived as king for eighteen years and died a natural death"[72]. The Chronicon Compostellani records that “Alfonsus” reigned 19 years, one month and one day[73]. Ibn-Khaldun states that "Alphonse fils de Pedro" died "en 142" ([4 May 759/22 Apr 760]) after reigning 18 years[74]. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Adefonsus…cum uxore sua Regina Ermesinda" was buried "in territorio Cangas in Monasterio S. Mariæ"[75]. married (before 737) ERMESINDA de Asturias, daughter of PELAYO King of Asturias & his wife Gaudiosa ---. The Chronicon Albeldense records that “Bermisindam, Pelagii filiam” married “Adefonsus…Petri, Cantabriæ ducis filius” who succeeded King Fáfila[76]. The Chronicle of Alfonso III names "the daughter of Pelayo Ermesinda" when recording her marriage to "Alfonso the son of Peter"[77]. Her birth date range is estimated from the birth of her first known child in [740]. Her marriage date is deduced from the Chronicle of Alfonso III recording that Alfonso "enjoyed many victories alongside his father-in-law"[78]. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Adefonsus…cum uxore sua Regina Ermesinda" was buried "in territorio Cangas in Monasterio S. Mariæ"[79]. Mistress (1): ---. The name of King Alfonso's mistress is unknown. She is named Sisalda by Fernández de Béthencourt[80]. The primary source on which this is based has not been identified: according to Barrau-Dihigo, she is not named in any near contemporary source[81].

King Alfonso I & his wife had three children:

• a) FRUELA ([740]-murdered Cangas de Onís 768). The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that "his son Fruela" succeeded his father as king "in the era 795 (757)"[82]. He succeeded his father in 757 as FRUELA I King of Asturias. The Chronicle of Alfonso III states that he "won many victories", including against the Cordobans at Pontubio in Galicia, that he conquered the Basque country, and "overcame the peoples of Galicia who were rebelling against him and violently laid waste the entire province"[83]. He imposed the celibacy of priests in Galicia. Ibn al-Athir records that Fruela I King of Asturias took control of “Lugo, Portucale, Salamanca, Zamora, Ávila, Segovia y Castilla”[84]. The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that King Fruela was killed by his own men after ruling "eleven years, three months, era 806 (768)"[85]. The Chronicon Albeldense records that “Froila filius eius [Adefonsi]” was killed “in Canicas…æra 806”[86]. The Chronicon Compostellani records that “Froila” reigned 11 years, five months and 20 days[87]. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Froila…cum uxore sua Munia Oveti" was buried in 768[88]. married MUNIA Ovéquiz, daughter of OVECO --- & his wife --- [de Asturias] ([745/50]-[768]). The Chronicle of Alfonso III states that Fruela "overcame the rebellious Basques and took for himself a wife from their territory named Munia"[89]. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Froila…cum uxore sua Munia Oveti" were buried in 768[90]. Her geographical origin is confirmed more precisely by the Chronicle of Alfonso III which records that [her son] Alfonso, after he was displaced by Maugerato, fled to Álava where he was received by his mother's relatives[91].
  

King Fruela I & his wife had [three] children:

• i) ALFONSO ([765]-Oviedo 20 Mar 842, bur Oviedo). The Historia Silense records that "Froyla…[et] uxorem…Monniam" had "filium…Adefonsum"[92]. The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that "Alfonso the son of Fruela and grandson of the older Alfonso governed the palace" during the reign of Silo[93]. The same source states that his aunt Adosinda engineered his election to succeed on the death of her husband King Silo, but that Alfonso was displaced by Maugerato and fled to Álava where he was received by his mother's relatives[94]. He finally succeeded in 791, on the abdication of King Vermudo I[95], as ALFONSO II "el Casto" King of Asturias, anointed 14 Sep 791. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "subrinum suum Adefonsum", who had been exiled by Maugerato, succeeded when King Vermudo I was deposed[96]. King Alfonso II transferred the royal residence to Oviedo, maybe as early as 791[97]. Intense attacks by the Muslims continued, the region of Álava was sacked in 791 and Oviedo threatened, although King Alfonso's forces succeeding in routing the attackers at Llamas de Mouro[98]. The Annales Laurissenses Continuatio records that "Hadefonsi regis Gallæciæ et Asturiæ" sent "Frola" [not yet traced, maybe a relative] as legate to Charles I King of the Franks in 798[99]. King Alfonso was deposed in Sep 801 and placed in the monastery of Ablaña, but restored as king in Sep 802[100]. King Alfonso II defeated the Muslims in the valley of Pisuerga in 805 and at Lodos, near Oviedo in 816, reinforcing the impenetrability felt by the new nation. A truce was negotiated with the Muslims in 823, which lasted 15 years[101]. King Alfonso started constructing a series of fortified villages and castles in the mountains above the upper Ebro to guard against Muslim attacks, which ultimately gave the name to the area of Castile[102]. The discovery between 818 and 842 of a tomb attributed to St James the Apostle, at the place later known as Santiago de Compostela, created a focus for the new nation. The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that King Alfonso died "after ruling for fifty-two years" and was buried at Oviedo[103]. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Adefonsum" was buried in "ecclesia S. Mariæ" which he had founded[104]. The Chronicon Compostellani records that “Adefonsus” reigned 52 years, five months and 13 days[105].
  
• ii) [daughter . The primary source which confirms her parentage and marriage has not yet been identified, although the Chronicon Albeldense names “Nepotianus cognatus regis Adefonsi” as successor of King Alfonso[106]. Her existence is therefore presumably speculative, on the assumption that “cognatus” in that source indicates brother-in-law (certainly one of the possible translations, although this meaning appears only to have become generally established in Latin language sources in later centuries). married NEPOCIANO, son of ---. The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that "Nepotianus, count of the palace, rebelled and seized power" after the death of King Alfonso I, but was defeated at the River Narcea by King Ramiro I who had been elected to succeed. The same source records that he fled the battlefield, was captured in the province of Primorias "by the two counts Scipio and Sonna", blinded, and confined to a monastery for the rest of his life[107].]
  
• iii) ROMÁN . Barrau-Dihigo asserts that Román, alleged son of King Fruela and supposed ancestor of the Traba family, was an entirely fictitious invention[108]. He is, for example, named in the Nobiliario of Pedro Conde de Barcelos "Conde D. Roman hermano del Rey D. Alonso el Casto" as father of "D. Iuana Romanes" who married "Conde D. Mendo"[109].]
  

• b) VIMERANO (-murdered [767]). The Chronicle of Alfonso III states that King Fruela "killed his brother…Vimerano with his own hands", the event being dated from the passage stating that the king was killed "not long after"[110].
  
• c) ADOSINDA (-bur Pravia San Juan). The Chronicle of Alfonso III records the marriage of "Adosinda, daughter of Alfonso" and Silo "after Aurelio's death", commenting that they "had no son"[111]. After her husband died, Adosinda engineered the election of her nephew Alfonso as king, but he was deposed by her half-brother Maugerato who forced Adosinda to become a nun at San Juan Bautista de Pravia[112]. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Silo…cum uxore sua Regina Adosinda" was buried "in ecclesia S. Joannis Apostoli et Evang. in Pravia"[113]. married (773) SILO, son of --- (-783, bur Pravia San Juan). He succeeded on his marriage in 773 as SILO King of Asturias. The Chronicon Albeldense records that “Silo” maintained peace “cum Spania ob causam matris”[114], which suggests that his mother may have been Muslim. “Domnus Silo” donated “locum...Lucis” to found a monastery by charter dated 23 Aug 775, confirmed by “Ranimirus, Adefonsus, Hordoneus”, witnessed by “Nepotianus”[115]. He transferred the royal residence from Cangas de Onís to Pravia, on the Nalón mountain[116]. The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that he suppressed a rebellion in Galicia[117]. The Chronicle of Alfonso III states that Silo died "after the ninth year of his rule…as a result of a natural death, in the era 821 (783)"[118]. The Chronicon Compostellani records that “Silo” reigned 9 years, one month and one day[119]. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Silo…cum uxore sua Regina Adosinda" was buried "in ecclesia S. Joannis Apostoli et Evang. in Pravia"[120].
  

Silo & his wife ADOSINDA had one child:

• i) ADELGASTER (-after 17 Jan 780). “Addelgaster filius Silonis Regis…cum coniuge mea Brunildi” founded the monastery of Santa María de Obona by charter dated 17 Jan 780, the dating clause stating “regnante principe nostro Silone cum uxore sua Odisinda”[121]. If the dating relating to Adosinda´s family is accurate as shown above, Adelgaster must have been a young adult at the date of this charter, unless he was born from an earlier otherwise unrecorded marriage of his father. m BRUNILDE, daughter of --- (-after 17 Jan 780). “Addelgaster filius Silonis Regis…cum coniuge mea Brunildi” founded the monastery of Santa María de Obona by charter dated 17 Jan 780[122].
  

King Alfonso I had one illegitimate son by Mistress (1):

• d) MAUGERATO (-788, bur Pravia San Juan). The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Maurecati, tii sui, filii Adefonsi majoris, de serva tamen nati" seized the throne after the death of King Silo, adding that he had been expelled from the kingdom and found refuge "apud propinquos matris suæ in Alava"[123]. The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that "his uncle Maugerato, son of the older prince Alfonso, though born of a slave" deposed King Alfonso II and ruled for six years, dying "a natural death in the era 826 (788)"[124]. He usurped the throne in 783 as MAUGERATO I King of Asturias. The Chronicon Compostellani records that “Mauregatus” reigned five years and six months[125]. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Maurecatus" was buried "in ecclesia S. Joannis Apostoli et Evang. in Pravia"[126]. married [CREUSA, daughter of --- (bur San Pedro). Flórez quotes a donation by Bishop Gladila to the church of Santa Maria, S. Pedro y S. Pablo de Trubia, dated 30 Oct 863, which refers to property donated by "Domnus Hermegildus filius domni Mauregati" to "ecclesia Sancti Petri" where "mater sua Domna Creusa" was buried[127]. Barrau-Dihigo acknowledges that this document survives in part (only in a 12th century copy) but adds “lo que sabemos de él incita a la prudencia”[128]. On the basis of this charter only, the existence of Creusa should be treated with caution.]
  

• i) [HERMENEGILDO . Flórez quotes a donation by Bishop Gladila to the church of Santa Maria, S. Pedro y S. Pablo de Trubia, dated 30 Oct 863, which refers to property donated by "Domnus Hermegildus filius domni Mauregati" to "ecclesia Sancti Petri" where "mater sua Domna Creusa" was buried[129]. Barrau-Dihigo acknowledges that this document survives in part (only in a 12th century copy) but adds “lo que sabemos de él incita a la prudencia”[130]. On the basis of this charter only, the existence of Hermenegildo (a Visigoth name atypical of the family of the kings of Asturias) should be treated with caution.]
  

• 2. FRUELA (-[765]). The Historia Silense records that "Petrus ex Recaredi…Gotorum principis progenie" had "duos filios…Adefonsum…et Froylam"[131]. The Chronicle of Alfonso III names "Fruela" as brother of Alfonso, when recording that they "took many cities in battle"[132]. married? The name of Fruela's wife is not known.

Fruela & his wife had [three] children:

• a) [daughter ([730/35]-). Her parentage and second marriage are confirmed by Ibn Hayyan who records a campaign in 816 led by “[el] hayib Abd al-Karim ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Mugit” against “Balask al-Yalasqi señor de Pamplona”, during the course of which [her son by her second marriage] “Garsiya ibn Lubb, hijo de la hermana de Barmud, el tío materno de Idfuns...” was killed[133]. This assumes that the phrase “el tío materno de Idfuns” applies to “Garsiya ibn Lubb” not to “Barmud”. Martínez Díez assumes that “Barmud” was Vermudo I King of Asturias[134]. Her first marriage is confirmed by reading the same text of Ibn Hayyan together with the Sebastiani Chronicon which records the burial of [her daughter by her first marriage and her son-in-law] "Froila…cum uxore sua Munia Oveti" [therefore recording Munia´s patronymic)][135]. This assumes that “Idfuns” in Ibn Hayyan refers to Alfonso II King of Asturias. It does not necessarily follow from this logic that this person was the daughter of Fruela, father of King Vermudo I: she could alternatively have been the daughter of Fruela´s wife by an earlier marriage. If she was the daughter of Fruela, she must have been one of his older children, considerably older than King Vermudo I. The dates associated with her two children strongly suggest that Overo was her first husband and Lope her second. married firstly OVECO ---, son of ---. married secondly LOPE ---, son of ---.]
  
• b) AURELIO (-773, bur San Martín). The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that King Fruela was succeeded by "his cousin Aurelio", without giving details of Aurelio's parentage[136]. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Aurelius filius Froilani fratris Adefonsi" succeeded King Fruela[137]. According to Ibn-Khaldun, "son fils Aurelio" succeeded King Fruela in [15 Jan 769/4 Jan 770]), reigned six years and died in [11 Nov 774/31 Oct 775][138], but this passage appears to confuse King Fruela with his paternal uncle Fruela. He succeeded his first cousin in 768 as AURELIO King of Asturias. In contrast to his predecessor, he maintained peaceful relations with Abd al-Rahman I Emir of Córdoba. The Chronicle of Alfonso III states that he suppressed a rebellion of slaves, "remained at peace with the Chaldeans", ruled for six years and "in the seventh year" died "of a natural illness, in the era 811 (773)"[139]. The Chronicon Compostellani records that “Aurelius” reigned six years and six months[140]. The Sebastiani Chronicon records that "Aurelius" was buried "in ecclesia sancti Martini episcopi"[141].
  
• c) VERMUDO ([750]-797). The Chronicle of Alfonso III records that "Vermudo the son of Fruela" was elected king after the death of Mauregato, and ruled for three years when "he voluntarily gave up his rule because he was a deacon" and installed "his nephew Alfonso as his successor and lived with him most lovingly for many years" before dying "a natural death…in the era 829 (791)"[142], although this date appears to refer to Vermudo's abdication not his death. He was elected in 788 to succeed King Maugerato as VERMUDO I “el Diácono” King of Asturias.
  

Aurelius of Asturias,by Wikipedia

Aurelius was chosen as king by the Asturian nobility after Fruela assassinated his brother and was in turn assassinated. He is believed to have been crowned in Sama. His seems to have been a relatively quiet and peaceful reign, attested by the near-absence of mention of his reign in the medieval chronicles. The only event of his reign narrated in the chronicles was a rebellion of serfs, which Aurelius put down. The location of the uprising is unknown, but it is the first recorded instance of anti-seignorial revolt in the history of the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed that, according to the custom of the times, he negotiated peace with the Muslims who dominated the lands to his south by an exchange of brides, which according to legend led to the place-name El Entrego, nowadays the heart of the municipality of San Martín del Rey Aurelio.

It would appear that his principal residence and the effective capital of Asturias during his reign was the municipality of San Martín del Rey Aurelio, then part of Langreo. Having reigned six years, Aurelius died there of natural causes in the year 774. The chronicles of the era make no mention of Aurelius having a wife or children. He was succeeded by his cousin-in-law, Silo, husband of Alfonso I's daughter Adosinda.

Burial Place

Historians disagree about the disposition of Aurelius's remains. The medieval Asturian Chronicles disagree with one another. Some say that he was entombed near where he lived in the Valley of Langreo, in the Church of San Martín de Tours in San Martín del Rey Aurelio, where there is a tomb engraved "Rey Aurelio". The Estoria de España or Primera Crónica General, written in the 13th century during the reign of Alfonso X of Castile, says that Aurelius' remains were entombed in the municipality of Cangas de Onís.[1] Nonetheless, historian Esteban de Garibay states that Aurelius was entombed next to his father Fruela of Cantabria, in the no-longer-existent church of San Miguel in Yanguas, a municipality of the Province of Soria.

Links

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asturian_monarchs

Sources

• (in Spanish) Ricardo del Arco y Garay, Sepulcros de la Casa Real de Castilla (1954), Instituto Jerónimo Zurita, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid. OCLC 11366237. p. 132.
• Anguiano Nieva, Mateo (1704). Compendio historial de la provincia de La Rioja, de sus santos y milagrosos santuarios (in Spanish). pp. 582–586.
• Gran Enciclopedia Asturiana (1981) Editor: Silverio Cañada ISBN 84-7286-130-9