Alfonso IV (s933), called the Monk ( es, el Monje), was

King of León In the reign of Ordoño I of Asturias (850–866), the kingdom began to be known as that of León. In 910, an independent Kingdom of León was founded when the king of Asturias divided his territory amongst his three sons. Below follows a ...

from 925 (or 926) and

King of Galicia Galicia is an autonomous community and historical nationality in modern-day northwestern Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, which was a major part of the Roman province known as Gallaecia prior to 409. It consists of the provinces of A Coruña, ...

from 929, until he

abdicated Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

in 931.

When Ordoño II died in 924 it was not one of his sons who ascended to the throne of León but rather his brother

Fruela II of Asturias 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 port ...

. The exact circumstances of the succession upon Fruela's death one year later are unclear, but the son of Fruela,

Alfonso Fróilaz Alfonso Fróilaz, called the Hunchback (Spanish ''el Jorobado''), was briefly the king of the unified kingdom of Asturias, Galicia and León in 925. He succeeded his father, King Fruela II, in July 925 but was driven from the throne within the yea ...

, became king in at least part of the kingdom when his father passed.

Sancho Ordóñez Sancho Ordóñez ( 895 – 929) was King of Galicia from 926 and until his death in 929, and may briefly have been King of León in 925–26. He was the eldest son of Ordoño II, who inherited Galicia in a partition of the Kingdom of Asturias wit ...

, Alfonso, and Ramiro, the sons of Ordoño II, claimed to be the rightful heirs and rebelled against their cousin. With the support of king

Jimeno Garcés of Pamplona Jimeno Garcés,, ''Garsianes'' or ''Garcianes'', or ''Semeno'' (''Xemeno'') ''Garsiez''. sometimes Jimeno II (died 932/3), was the King of Pamplona from 925 until his death. He was the brother of King Sancho I Garcés and son of García Jiménez ...

, they drove Alfonso Fróilaz to the eastern

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

of Asturias, and divided the kingdom among themselves with Alfonso Ordóñez receiving the crown of León and his elder brother Sancho being acclaimed king in Galicia. Alfonso IV resigned the crown to his brother Ramiro in 931 and went into a religious house. One year later he took up arms with Fruela's sons Ordoño and Ramiro against his own brother Ramiro, having repented of his renunciation of the world. He was defeated, blinded, and sent back to die in the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

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 ...

. Alfonso had married Onneca Sánchez of Pamplona, niece of his ally Jimeno Garcés and daughter of

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 ...

Toda of Navarre Toda Aznárez ( Basque: ''Tota Aznar''; d. 15 October 958), known as Toda of Pamplona, was queen of Pamplona by her marriage to Sancho I. She ruled the kingdom as regent during the minority of her son García Sánchez I from 931. She was hersel ...

. He had two children: Ordoño IV of León, and perhaps another son, Fruela, who was involved in a land dispute during the reign of

Ramiro III of León Ramiro III (c. 961 – 26 June 985), king of León (966–984), was the son of Sancho the Fat and his successor at the age of only five.Reinhart Dozy, ''Histoire des Musulmans d'espagne'' (1932). Family During his minority, the regency was in the ...

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alfonso 04 of Leon 890s births 933 deaths Year of birth uncertain 10th-century Leonese monarchs 10th-century Galician monarchs Beni Alfons Burials in the Royal Pantheon at the Basilica of San Isidoro Sons of emperors