Bermudo I of Asturias
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Bermudo I (also Vermudo or Veremund), called the Deacon or the Monk (c. 750 – 797), was the
King of Asturias This is a list of the rulers of the Kingdom of Asturias, a kingdom in the Iberian peninsula during the Early Middle Ages. It originated as a refuge for Visigothic nobles following the conquest of Iberia by the Umayyad Caliphate. Following the for ...
from 788 or 789 until his
abdication 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 791. He was a son of Fruela of Cantabria, a nephew of Alfonso I, and a brother of
Aurelius The gens Aurelia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, which flourished from the third century BC to the latest period of the Empire. The first of the Aurelian gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Aurelius Cotta in 252 BC. From then to ...
. The nature of the end of his reign ushered in a new period in Asturian-Arab relations. Bermudo was elected by the palatine officials (the nobility of the royal palace) to replace Mauregatus, who had died of natural causes in 788. Since Mauregatus had ascended the throne in a ''
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
'' with regional support in 783 and the succession of Bermudo proceeded without incident, it is probable that Mauregatus had procured a change in the ranks of the palatine nobility and that Bermudo was thus put forward as the candidate to, like Mauregatus, prevent the succession of Alfonso II, the son and heir of Fruela I. Though the '' Chronicle of Alfonso III'' in both its extant versions makes Bermudo out to be a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
at his succession, this fact would only reinforce the notion that his election was a determined move to oppose Alfonso. In any case, he did not reign long. He was forced to defend against an
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
- Berber invasion of
Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see. Its c ...
and Galicia and was defeated at the Battle of the Burbia River, probably the Bierzo, in 791. Though the closest Christian sources do not name his opponents, the battle can be linked with the first major engagement of a series of aggressive campaigns launched against the Asturian kingdom in the 790s. The Muslim commander at Burbia is named in
Ibn al-Athir Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, better known as ʿAlī ʿIzz ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī ( ar, علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) lived 1160–1233) was an Arab or Kurdish historian a ...
as Yūsuf ibn Bukht and the battle is likewise recorded in
al-Maqqarī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Maqqarī al-Tilmisānī (or al-Maḳḳarī) (), (1577-1632) was an Algerian scholar, biographer and historian who is best known for his , a compendium of the history of Al-Andalus which provided a basis for the scholar ...
. Bermudo abdicated his throne after his defeat, though whether volitionally (as the ''Chronicle of Alfonso III'' states, "because he was r remembered he wasa deacon") or under duress is unknown. Historically in Spain under the
Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
, a king of proven military inadequacy was often forced to abdicate. Nevertheless, he was considered a generous and illustrious man in his time, "merciful and pious" in the words of 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. ...
''. Bermudo was succeeded by Alfonso II and he left behind a son, who later reigned as Ramiro I, by an anonymous wife. He reportedly lived for a long time after his abdication, perhaps as a
monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
, and on good terms with his successor.


References

*Collins, Roger (1989). ''The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–97''. London: Blackwell, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Bermudo 01 Of Asturias Beni Alfons 750s births 790s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 8th-century Asturian monarchs 8th-century Visigothic people