Sampiro (''c''. 956 – 1041) was a Leonese cleric, politician, and intellectual, one of the earliest

chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

rs of post-conquest Spain known by name. He was also the

Bishop of Astorga The Roman Catholic Diocese of Astorga ( la, Asturicensis) is a diocese whose seat is in the city of Astorga, in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain.Iglesia del Campo in the

Bierzo El Bierzo (; ; gl, O Bierzo) is a ''comarca'' in the province of León, Spain. Its capital is the town of Ponferrada. Other major towns are Bembibre and Villafranca del Bierzo, the historical capital. The territory of El Bierzo includes m ...

, near

Cacabelos Cacabelos () is a village and municipality located in the region of El Bierzo (province of León, Castile and León, Spain). According to the 2020 census ( INE), Cacabelos has a population of 4,996 inhabitants. It is well known for its wines. It ...

, at times confused with Sorribas because at the time it lay within the latter. According to other sources he was born at Zamora.Brief biography in Spanish.
/ref> Further, it is uncertain whether all contemporary references to persons named Sampiro refer to the same individual or multiple ones. As a young man Sampiro entered a monastery, either

Sahagún Sahagún () is a town and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León and the province of León. It is the main populated place in the Leonese part of the Tierra de Campos natural region. Sahagún contains some ...

or San Miguel de Camarzana. Later he fled to Zamora in light of raids from Muslim territory, and eventually found himself in the royal court at León. He served as a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

Vermudo II Bermudo or Vermudo, from Latin Veremundus, is a given name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: *Veremund (fl. c. 500), Suevic king of Galicia *Bermudo I of Asturias (r. 788–91), king, called "the Deacon" (''el Diácono'') *Bermudo II of León (r. ...

(984–999) and held the highest office at court, that of

majordomo A majordomo is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a large ...

, under Alfonso V (999–1028). He was appointed bishop of Astorga round 1034. Sampiro's chronicle was composed as a continuation of the '' Chronicle of Alfonso III'' and as such relates events between the years 866 and 982, when it abruptly stops, though it was evidently written in the early eleventh century. It forms part of the ''Corpus Pelagianum'', a series of histories each continuing the last stretching back to

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...

's '' Historia Gothorum''. A redaction of the chronicle of Sampiro was incorporated into the '' Historia Silense''. Sampiro praises his master, King Vermudo, as "quite prudent ecausehe confirmed the laws dictated by Wamba, ordered the opening and studying of the collection of canons, loved mercy and justice, and tried to reprove evil and choose the good." The statement about the laws of Wamba (''leges a Vambano principe conditas firmavit''), otherwise unknown for his legislative action, is probably an error for

Egica Egica, Ergica, or Egicca (''c''. 610 – 701/703), was the Visigoth King of Hispania and Septimania from 687 until his death. He was the son of Ariberga and the brother-in-law of Wamba. Accession He was married (''c''. 670) to Cixilo (also kn ...

, who made a major revision of the ''

Lex Visigothorum The ''Visigothic Code'' ( la, Forum Iudicum, Liber Iudiciorum; es, Fuero Juzgo, ''Book of the Judgements''), also called ''Lex Visigothorum'' (English: ''Law of the Visigoths''), is a set of laws first promulgated by king Chindasuinth (642–653 ...

'' and who was held by Leonese writers of the time to have been related to Wamba.

Roger Collins Roger J. H. Collins (born September 2, 1949) is an English medievalist, currently an honorary fellow in history at the University of Edinburgh. Collins studied at the University of Oxford ( Queen's and Saint Cross Colleges) under Peter Brown ...

(1985), "'Sicut lex Gothorum continet': Law and Charters in Ninth- and Tenth-Century León and Catalonia," ''

English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and ...

'', 100(396), 509. The later historian

Pelayo of Oviedo Pelayo is the Spanish form of the Latin name Pelagius. It may refer to: * Pelagius of Asturias, founder of the Kingdom of Asturias and beginner of the ''Reconquista'' * Pelagius of Córdoba, tenth-century Christian martyr * Pelagius of Oviedo, bish ...

, who continued Sampiro's chronicle down to his own age, replaced this laudatory section with an attack on the king, bequeathing to historiography the nickname by which Vermudo II is always known: "the Gouty" (''el Gotoso'').

Notes

Bibliography

*Alonso, Hernán (1999). ''El Bierzo, todos los pueblos, rutas y caminos''. Ponferrada: H. Alonso. . *Carriedo Tejedo, Manuel (1993). "Claves cronológicas de la crónica de Sampiro," ''Archivos Leoneses: revista de estudios y documentación de los Reinos Hispano-Occidentales'', 93–94, 233–276. *Casado, Mar (1994). ''Historia de El Bierzo (Algunos personajes bercianos. Sampiro.)''. Instituto de Estudios Bercianos. . *Cavestany Pardo-Valcarce, Juan Antonio (1975). "Nota a la crónica de Sampiro," ''Archivos Leoneses: revista de estudios y documentación de los Reinos Hispano-Occidentales'', 57–58, 203–208. *Durany Castrillo, Mercedes and María del Carmen Rodríguez González (2004). "El obispado de Astorga en el primer tercio del siglo XI: de Jimeno a Sampiro," ''Semata: Ciencias sociais e humanidades'', 15, 187–222. *Durany Castrillo, Mercedes and María del Carmen Rodríguez González (2004). "Puntualizaciones sobre la dotación de algunos documentos de la Catedral de Astorga del Primer Tercio del Siglo XI: De Jimeno a Sampiro," ''Estudios humanísticos: Historia'', 3, 275–302. *Fernandez Vallina, Emiliano (1978). "Sampiro y el llamado Silense," ''Helmantica: Revista de filología clásica y hebrea'', 29(88), 51–60. *Grassotti, Hilda (1966). "Simancas: problemas e hipótesis," ''Anuario de estudios medievales'', 3, 425–440. *Isla Frez, Amancio (1997). "La monarquía leonesa según Sampiro," ''Historia social, pensamiento historiográfico y Edad Media: homenaje al Prof. Abilio Barbero de Aguilera'', ed. María Isabel Loring García, 33–57. . *López Valle, Melchor (2004). ''Castro Bergidum. El Mayor Asentamiento Castreño Berciano''. Imprenta Grama (Ponferrada). . *Martínez Angel, Lorenzo (2000). "Sobre un posible error en la fecha de la muerte del Obispo Sampiro de Astorga en los Obituarios de la Catedral de León," ''Astórica: revista de estudios, documentación, creación y divulgación de temas astorganos'', 17(19), 245–250. *Martínez Angel, Lorenzo (2006). "Dos notas sobre los obituarios medievales de la Catedral de León: una posible influencia de la crónica de Sampiro y la presencia en los mismos de la palabra 'luna'," ''Iacobus: revista de estudios jacobeos y medievales'', 21–22, 157–168. *Monsalve Figueiredo, Alejandro (2008). "Sampiro: un cronista y una época de la monarquía astur-leonesa," ''Historia Abierta'', 41, 28–30. * Pérez de Urbel, Justo (1951). "Pelayo de Oviedo y Sampiro de Astorga," ''Hispania'', 11(44), 387–412. *Pérez de Urbel, Justo (1952). ''Sampiro: su crónica y la monarquía leonesa en el siglo X''. Madrid: Diana artes gráficas. *Quintana Prieto, Augusto (1968). "San Miguel de Camarzana y su 'scriptorium'," ''Anuario de estudios medievales'', 5, 65–95. *Quintana Prieto, Augusto (1978). "Sampiro, Alón y Arnaldo: Tres obispos de Astorga, cronistas del reino de León," ''León medieval: doce estudios: ponencias y comunicaciones presentadas al coloquio "El reino de León en la Edad Media"'', 57–68. . *Ruiz Asencio, José Manuel (1973). "La inclusión del ''Chronicon'' de Sampiro en la ''Historia Silense''," ''Archivos Leoneses: revista de estudios y documentación de los Reinos Hispano-Occidentales'', 54, 279–286. *Tomé, Javier et al. (2007). ''Las Edades del Bierzo. El Diario de León''. *Velho, Martín (1980). "Exegese da terceira parte do 14 do cronicon de Sampiro," ''Boletín del Real Instituto de Estudios Asturianos'', 34(99), 267–278.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampiro 1041 deaths People from El Bierzo Bishops of Astorga 11th-century Spanish historians Spanish male writers Spanish politicians Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain 11th-century Latin writers