Bermudo III (1010–4 September 1037), king of León (1028–4 September 1037), son of
Alfonso V of LeónAlfonso V , called the Noble was King of León from 999 to 1028. He was the son of Bermudo II by his second wife Elvira García of Castile. The Abbot Oliva called him "Emperor of all Hispania"....
by his wife
Elvira MendesElvira Mendes, sometimes called Elvira or Geloria Menéndez of Portugal or Galicia, , was Queen of León ....
, was the last
scion of Peter of CantabriaThe Beni Alfons or Banu Alfonso were the family of kings which ruled in Asturias, Galicia, and León from the succession of Alfonso the Catholic, son of Peter of Cantabria in 740. For the next century, rule shifted between Alfonso's descendants and those of his brother Fruela...
to rule in the
Leonese kingdomKingdom of León was an independent country situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 AD when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their main seat from Oviedo to the city of León...
.
In 1029, Count García Sánchez of Castile was about to be married to
Sancha of LeónSancha of León was a daughter of Alfonso V of Leon by Elvira Mendes and Queen consort of Castile. She married Ferdinand I of León in 1032. She was a devout Catholic.-Children:She had five children:...
, the sister of Bermudo, an arrangement apparently sanctioned by the king of Navarre, when the count was murdered in the city of León.
Sancho III of NavarreSancho III Garcés , called the Great , was King of Navarre from 1004 until his death and claimed the overlordship of the County of Castile from 1017 to his death, appearing in a charter as "king in Castile"...
then claimed the county of Castile in his wife's name and installed in it their son,
FerdinandFerdinand I , called the Great , was the son of Sancho III of Navarre and Mayor of Castile, and became Count of Castile from his uncle's death in 1029. Having acquired the Kingdom of León after defeating his brother-in-law in 1037, he became King of León and Castile...
, as the new count of Castile.
Bermudo III (1010–4 September 1037), king of León (1028–4 September 1037), son of
Alfonso V of LeónAlfonso V , called the Noble was King of León from 999 to 1028. He was the son of Bermudo II by his second wife Elvira García of Castile. The Abbot Oliva called him "Emperor of all Hispania"....
by his wife
Elvira MendesElvira Mendes, sometimes called Elvira or Geloria Menéndez of Portugal or Galicia, , was Queen of León ....
, was the last
scion of Peter of CantabriaThe Beni Alfons or Banu Alfonso were the family of kings which ruled in Asturias, Galicia, and León from the succession of Alfonso the Catholic, son of Peter of Cantabria in 740. For the next century, rule shifted between Alfonso's descendants and those of his brother Fruela...
to rule in the
Leonese kingdomKingdom of León was an independent country situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 AD when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their main seat from Oviedo to the city of León...
.
In 1029, Count García Sánchez of Castile was about to be married to
Sancha of LeónSancha of León was a daughter of Alfonso V of Leon by Elvira Mendes and Queen consort of Castile. She married Ferdinand I of León in 1032. She was a devout Catholic.-Children:She had five children:...
, the sister of Bermudo, an arrangement apparently sanctioned by the king of Navarre, when the count was murdered in the city of León.
Sancho III of NavarreSancho III Garcés , called the Great , was King of Navarre from 1004 until his death and claimed the overlordship of the County of Castile from 1017 to his death, appearing in a charter as "king in Castile"...
then claimed the county of Castile in his wife's name and installed in it their son,
FerdinandFerdinand I , called the Great , was the son of Sancho III of Navarre and Mayor of Castile, and became Count of Castile from his uncle's death in 1029. Having acquired the Kingdom of León after defeating his brother-in-law in 1037, he became King of León and Castile...
, as the new count of Castile. The Navarrese king's policy turned to pure aggrandisement—sometimes ostensibly on behalf of his son and at other times simply on his own behalf. He seized the (linguistic) borderlands between the
CeaCea may refer to:People:* Francisco Cea Bermúdez, Spanish politician of the 19th century* José Pedro Cea , Uruguayan footballer* José Roberto Cea , Salvadoran novelist and poet...
and the Pisuerga rivers,right above Leon capital, long a bone of contention between León and Castile. After he had forced the marriage between Fernando and Sancha in 1032, those lands went to Castile as part of her also forced
dowryA dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband in marriage. Compare bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both dowry...
. In 1034, he wrested the city of León itself from Bermudo, who retreated into Galicia, and began to style himself
Imperator totius HispaniaeThe title of Imperator Hispaniae was borne, traditionally, by the monarchs of León, from at least the tenth century...
on his coinage, the ancient style of the Leonese kings. By the time Sancho died in 1035, the
mesetaMeseta can refer to the following geographic features in Spanish-speaking countries, for is from the Spanish for table :*Meseta Central refers to the high plains of central Spain...
north of the Duero was dominated by the
PyreneanThe term Pyrenean refers to things of or from the Pyrenees mountain range. See:*Pyrenees, the mountain range*Pyrenean Shepherd or Pyrenean Mountain Dog, dog breeds sometimes shortened to Pyrenean...
pocket kingdom of
NavarreNavarre is a region in northern Spain, constituting one of its autonomous communities - the "Chartered Community of Navarre" .-History:...
.
However, for all of Sancho's diplomatic and military skill, one cannot help but think that such a situation was essentially the fortuitous result of having youthful opponents. Certainly the brute facts of geography and demography militated against its continuance. After his death, Bermudo III was immediately received back into León and soon began a campaign to recover from Castile and his brother-in-law the disputed territory between the Cea and Pisuerga. But Ferdinand defeated and personally killed Bermudo III at the
Battle of TamarónThe Battle of Tamarón took place on 4 September 1037 between Ferdinand, Count of Castile, and Vermudo III, King of León. Ferdinand, who had married Vermudo's sister Sancha, defeated and killed his brother-in-law near Tamarón after a brief war...
on September 4, 1037. Autopsy of his remains shows that he may have suffered death from infantry spears or pikes, after falling from his horse.
Since the latter died without an heir, the kingdom of León now recognized Sancha and her husband as its rulers, and Ferdinand was anointed king in the royal city on June 22, 1038. The
dynasty of NavarreThe Jiménez or Ximenes were a Spanish ruling family from the 10th century to the 13th century. They were the first Europeanisers of Spain and brought her back within the wider European political scene while also giving her the political character and division that persisted until the end of the...
had triumphed perhaps, but the united realm of
LeónKingdom of León was an independent country situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 AD when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their main seat from Oviedo to the city of León...
and Castile with its rimlands of
AsturiasThe Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community within the kingdom of Spain, former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
and Galicia, had become the political center of the north Iberian
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
society.
External links
- Justo Pérez de Urbel and Ricardo Del Arco y Garay, Historia de España, vol. 6, España cristiana, comienzo de la reconquista (711-I038), 2d ed. (Madrid, 1964)
- Bernard F. Reilly, The Kingdom of León-Castilla under King Alfonso VI, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 1998