Bermudo III Of León
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Bermudo III or Vermudo III ( 1015– 4 September 1037) was the
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 1028 until his death. He was a son of
Alfonso V of León Alfonso V (c. 9947 August 1028), called the Noble, was King of León from 999 to 1028. Like other kings of León, he used the title emperor () to assert his standing among the Christian rulers of Spain. He succeeded his father, Bermudo II, in 9 ...
by his first wife Elvira Menéndez, and was the last scion of Peter of Cantabria to rule in the Leonese kingdom. Like several of his predecessors, he sometimes carried the imperial title: in 1030 he appears as ''regni imperii Ueremundo principis''; in 1029/1032 as ''imperator domnus Veremudius in Gallecia''; and in 1034 as ''regni imperii Veremundus rex Legionensis''. He was a child when he succeeded his father. In 1034 he was chased from his throne by King
Sancho III of Pamplona Sancho Garcés III ( 992–996 – 18 October 1035), also known as Sancho the Great (, ), was the Kingdom of Pamplona, King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage the counties of County o ...
and forced to take refuge in Galicia. He returned to power, but was defeated and killed fighting against his brother-in-law, Ferdinand of Castile, in the
battle of Tamarón The 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, Spain, after ...
.


History

Bermudo III was the son of Alfonso V of León by his first wife Elvira Menéndez. He succeeded to the throne of León in 1027. Bermudo married Jimena Sánchez, who was a daughter of King
Sancho III of Pamplona Sancho Garcés III ( 992–996 – 18 October 1035), also known as Sancho the Great (, ), was the Kingdom of Pamplona, King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage the counties of County o ...
. In 1029, Count
García Sánchez of Castile García Sánchez (died 1029) was the last independent count of Castile from 1017 to his death. Son of Sancho García and his wife Urraca, he succeeded his father when he was only a boy. During his minority the post of regent was held by several ...
was about to be married to
Sancha of León Sancha of León (8 November 1067) was ''infanta'' and queen of León. She was married to Ferdinand I, the Count of Castile who later became King of León after having killed Sancha's brother in battle. She and her husband commissioned the Cru ...
, the elder sister of Bermudo, an arrangement apparently sanctioned by the
king of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of kingdom of Pamplona, Pamplona, later kingdom of Navarre, Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Kingdom of Aragon, Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial desig ...
, when the count was murdered in the city of León by the Velas, a party of Castilian nobles exiled from their own country, who had taken refuge in León. León and Navarre disputed the succession to the Countship of Castile thus left vacant.Amadó, Ramón Ruiz. "León." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 20 May 2015
Sancho III of Pamplona was married to Muniadona, daughter of Sancho García of Castile, and sister to the murdered count. Sancho claimed the county of Castile in his wife's name and installed in it their son,
Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
, as the new
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. F ...
. He seized the borderlands between the Cea and the
Pisuerga The Pisuerga is a river in northern Spain, the Duero's second largest tributary. It rises in the Cantabrian Mountains in the province of Palencia, autonomous region of Castile and León. Its traditional source is called Fuente Cobre, but it has ...
rivers, right above León's capital, long a bone of contention between León and Castile. In 1032 Sancho of Pamplona forced a marriage between his son, Fernando of Castile, and Sancha of León, and those lands went to Castile as part of her
dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...
. In 1034, Sancho wrested the city of León itself from his son-in-law, Bermudo, who retreated into Galicia. By the time Sancho died in 1035, the '' meseta'' north of the
Duero The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta ...
was dominated by the Pyrenean pocket kingdom of
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
. After Sancho's death, Bermudo III was immediately received back into León and soon began a campaign to recover the disputed territory between the Cea and Pisuerga from Castile and his brother-in-law Ferdinand. Bermudo III was killed at the
Battle of Tamarón The 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, Spain, after ...
on 4 September 1037.Bernard F. Reilly, ''The Contest of Christian and Muslim Spain, 1031-1157'', (Blackwell, 1995), 27. 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 22 June 1038. The united realm of León and Castile, with its rimlands of
Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
and Galicia, would become the political center of the north Iberian
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
society.


Marriage

By his wife
Jimena Jimena or is the Spanish female version of the given name Jimeno. The French rendering of the name is Chimène. It has come to be viewed as a form of the name Simone, though their origins are distinct. A variant is Ximena. People with the nam ...
, daughter of
Sancho III of Pamplona Sancho Garcés III ( 992–996 – 18 October 1035), also known as Sancho the Great (, ), was the Kingdom of Pamplona, King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage the counties of County o ...
, Bermudo had one child, a son named Alfonso, who was born and died in 1030.


See also

* Labio Castle


References


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bermudo 03 of León 11th-century Leonese monarchs 1010s births 1037 deaths Spanish military personnel killed in action Astur-Leonese dynasty Monarchs killed in action Burials in the Royal Pantheon at the Basilica of San Isidoro Sons of emperors