Alfonso Fróilaz, called the Hunchback (Spanish ''el Jorobado''), was briefly the king of the unified kingdom of
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...
,
Galicia and
León in 925. He succeeded his father, King
Fruela II
Fruela II (Froila II) (c. 875–July 925) was the King of Asturias from the death of his father, Alfonso III of Asturias, in 910 to his own death. When his father died, the kingdom was divided, with the third son, Fruela, taking the original porti ...
, in July 925 but was driven from the throne within the year by his cousins
Sancho
The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...
,
Alfonso IV and
Ramiro II, the sons of his uncle,
Ordoño II. He was restored to a royal position in part of the kingdom after Alfonso IV took power in 926, but was violently deposed and forced into a monastery in 932.
![Cantabria Santoña Santa Maria Puerto 02 lou](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Cantabria_Santo%C3%B1a_Santa_Maria_Puerto_02_lou.JPG)
Alfonso was the eldest son of Fruela II and had at least two younger brothers, Ordoño and Ramiro. Alfonso's short reign is poorly known. He is mentioned in the king list ''
Names of the Catholic Kings of León'', which appears in some manuscripts alongside the ''
Chronicle of Albelda
The ''Codex Vigilanus'' or ''Codex Albeldensis'' (Spanish: ''Códice Vigilano'' or ''Albeldense'') is an illuminated compilation of various historical documents accounting for a period extending from antiquity to the 10th century in Hispania. ...
''. A cryptic statement by the Asturian historian
Sampiro
Sampiro (''c''. 956 – 1041) was a Leonese cleric, politician, and intellectual, one of the earliest chroniclers of post-conquest Spain known by name. He was also the Bishop of Astorga from 1034 or 1035 until his death.
According to some sourc ...
that he "seemed to control the sceptre of his father" is the only other piece of evidence that he succeeded to the whole kingdom after his father.
The deposition of Alfonso Fróilaz precipitated a civil war. Sancho took control of León and was challenged by his brother Alfonso IV, who was assisted by his father-in-law, King
Sancho I of Pamplona
Sancho Garcés I (Basque: ''Antso Ia. Gartzez''; c. 860 – 10 December 925), also known as Sancho I, was king of Pamplona from 905 until 925. He was the son of García Jiménez and was the first king of Pamplona of the Jiménez dynasty. Sancho I ...
(died December 925). Alfonso IV was defeated in battle and fled to
Astorga in the Asturias, where he made an alliance with Alfonso Fróilaz, who had been forced out of the capital but not the kingdom. The alliance defeated Sancho and forced him to flee to Galicia, leaving Alfonso IV in control of León. The brothers had made peace by 927, with Sancho continuing to rule in Galicia.
In the mountainous northeast of the kingdom, Alfonso Fróilaz seems to have been recognised as king, presumably as part of the arrangement whereby he supported Alfonso IV. A charter dated 16 March 927 in the archives of the
monastery of Santa María del Puerto in the port of
Santoña
Santoña is a town in the eastern coast of the autonomous community of Cantabria, on the north coast of Spain. It is situated by the bay of the same name. It is from the capital Santander. Santoña is divided into two zones, an urban plain, and a ...
records that at that time
Nuño Fernández
Nuño Fernández (''fl''. 920–27) was a nobleman of the Kingdom of León. He held both the counties of Burgos (from c. 920) and Castile (from before 926) in the east of the kingdom.
Nuño was probably the brother of Gonzalo Fernández, who wa ...
was
count of Castile
This is a list of counts of Castile.
The County of Castile had its origin in a fortified march on the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias. The earliest counts were not hereditary, being appointed as representatives of the Asturian king. Fr ...
and the reigning king was Alfonso Fróilaz. A document of April records that Alfonso was in his second year, probably counting from the death of his father.
In early 932, Alfonso IV abdicated in favour of his younger brother, Ramiro II, possibly under compulsion. He later attempted to return to power in a ''coup d'état'', but was defeated by Ramiro. To secure his hold on the throne, Ramiro ordered the two Alfonsos—Alfonso IV and Alfonso Fróilaz—along with the other sons of Fruela II and some nameless other cousins "blinded in a single day", according to both Sampiro and the Muslim historian
Ibn Hayyan
Abū Marwān Ḥayyān ibn Khalaf ibn Ḥusayn ibn Ḥayyān al-Qurṭubī () (987–1075), usually known as Ibn Hayyan, was a Muslim historian from Al-Andalus.
Born at Córdoba, his father was an important official at the court of the Andalusi ...
. The mutilated cousins were then placed in the
monastery of Ruiforco in León.
The date of Alfonso's death is unknown. It has been argued that Alfonso Fróilaz was the "king Alfonso whose brothers were blinded" that Sampiro names as the father of
Ordoño IV, but it is generally accepted that the latter's father was Alfonso IV. The genealogies of the ''
Códice de Roda
The ''Códice de Roda'' or ''Códice de Meyá'' (Roda or Meyá codex) is a medieval manuscript that represents a unique source for details of the 9th and early 10th century Kingdom of Navarre and neighbouring principalities. It is currently held ...
'' name Ordoño's mother as Ónega, the wife of Alfonso IV. The twelfth-century ''
Chronica Naierensis
The ''Chronica Naierensis'' or ''Crónica najerense'' (originally edited under the title ''Crónica leonesa'') was a late twelfth-century chronicle of universal history composed at the Benedictine monastery of Monastery of Santa María la Real of N ...
'' confuses the two Alfonsos, combining elements of both. Alfonso Fróilaz did have a son named Fruela who was still living on 29 August 975 when his dispute with the
monastery of San Xulián de Samos in Galicia was heard by the king.
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfonso Froilaz
10th-century Asturian monarchs
10th-century Leonese monarchs
10th-century Galician monarchs
Blind royalty and nobility
10th-century people from the Kingdom of León
Dethroned monarchs