Bermudo Ovéquiz (''
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
'' 1044–1092) (also known as Vermudo) was a member of the highest ranks of the nobility 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 community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensi ...
,
León, and
Galicia
Galicia may refer to:
Geographic regions
* Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain
** Gallaecia, a Roman province
** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia
** The medieval King ...
who lived in the 11th century.
Biographical sketch
Bermudo Ovéquiz was the first-born son of
Oveco Bermúdez and his wife Elvira Suárez. His paternal grandparents were
Bermudo Vela 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. ...
—a descendant of Count
Bermudo Núñez Bermudo Núñez (died 955) was a magnate from León and the first Count of Cea. He appears for the first time in 921 confirming a donation to the Monastery of San Benito in Sahagún from which it can be assumed that he was probably born near the e ...
— and Elvira Pinióliz. His mother was granddaughter of rebel Rodrigo Romániz, nephew of Count
Suero Gundemáriz, and she also descended from
Osorio Gutiérrez, known as the "holy count". Bermudo lived in Asturias where he probably inherited properties from his grandmother Elvira Pinióliz. He is first recorded in
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
charters in 1045 and appears in 1053 confirming a donation by King
Ferdinand I of León
Ferdinand I ( 1015 – 24 December 1065), called the Great (''el Magno''), was the count of Castile from his uncle's death in 1029 and the king of León after defeating his brother-in-law in 1037. According to tradition, he was the first to have ...
to the
Monastery of San Pelayo
The Monasterio de San Pelayo is a convent for women of the Benedictine order, located in the city of Oviedo, Spain. It is also known as the ''monastery of the pelayas''.
The monastery was founded by King Alfonso II of Asturias (''the chaste''), a ...
in
Oviedo
Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...
. In 1075, he and his brother
Vela Ovéquiz were engaged in a legal dispute with the
bishop of Oviedo
The Archdiocese of Oviedo ( la, Oveten(sis), links=no) is an Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain. on account of the Monastery of Tol. This monastery had been donated previously to the
Cathedral of Oviedo
The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Saviour or Cathedral of San Salvador ( es, Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Salvador, la, Sancta Ovetensis) is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the centre of Oviedo, in the Astu ...
by Gontrodo Gundemáriz, daughter of Count
Gundemaro Pinióliz. Other relatives were also involved in this dispute, including Count
Fernando Díaz and his sister
Jimena Jimena or Ximena is the female version of the given name Jimeno, derived from the Basque ''Semen''. It has come to be viewed as a form of the name Simone, though their origins are distinct. The French rendering of the name is Chimène. It may re ...
, the wife of
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El C ...
, ''El Cid''. One of his sisters, Onecca, was the wife of Count
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 ...
. Even though he did not hold the title of count, he acted as the judge in a legal proceeding in 1087 involving the abbot of the
Monastery of Lorenzana
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
and the
bishop of Mondoñedo
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop i ...
.
Marriage and issue
Married to Jimena Peláez, daughter of Count Pelayo Froilaz "the Deacon" and countess Aldonza Ordóñez, daughter of the ''
Infante
''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to t ...
s''
Ordoño Ramírez
Ordoño Ramírez, called "the Blind" ( 981–before 1024) was the son of King Ramiro III of León and Sancha Gómez, grandson of Sancho I of León and Queen Teresa Ansúrez and, on the maternal side, of Gómez Díaz, Count of Saldaña and Count ...
and
Cristina Bermúdez, the offspring of this marriage were:
*
Suero (''fl.'' 1086–12 August 1138), count and one of the most powerful and relevant figures in Asturias, a loyal vassal first of
Raymond of Burgundy
Raymond of Burgundy (c. 1070 – 24 May 1107) was the ruler of Galicia as vassal of Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the Emperor of All Spain, from about 1090 until his death. He was the fourth son of Count William I of Burgundy and Stephanie. H ...
and then of the monarchs
Alfonso VI
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century ( Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsu ...
,
Urraca Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female first name. In Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the magpie's tendency to collect ...
, and
Alfonso VII of León
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
.
* Alfonso Bermúdez (''fl.'' 1092-1129), unlike his male siblings, Alfonso did not hold the title of count nor did he serve in any relevant post. His wife was Urraca Raimúndez who could have been the daughter of ''Infante'' Raymond Garcés "the Fratricide", who participated in the murder of his brother King
Sancho IV of Pamplona
Sancho Garcés IV ( eu, Antso IV.a Gartzez; 1039 – 4 June 1076),Sancho IV, ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. nicknamed Sancho of Peñalén ( eu, Antso Peñalengoa, es, Sancho el de Peñalén) was King of Pamplona from 1054 until his death. He was ...
, ''el de Peñalén''. He and his legitimate wife were the parents of
Pedro Alfonso
''Pulcher ut Absalon, virtute potens quasi Sanson, instructisque bonis, documenta tenet Salomonis''.
" edrois handsome as Absalom, as strong as Samson, and he possesses the wisdom of Solomon."
—''Poema de Almería'', ...
, an Asturian magnate who dominated the region from 1139 until his death, Gonzalo, Gutierre, María, Ildonza, and Teresa Alfonso.
*
Gutierre Bermúdez
Gutierre is an old Spanish male given name. The surname Gutiérrez is derived from this name.
Notable people
Notable people with the name include:
* Gutierre Álvarez de Toledo, Spanish priest
* Gutierre de Cetina (1519–1554), Spanish poet an ...
(fl. 1086–1130), a count, husband of Toda Pérez de Traba and the father of Count
Vela Gutiérrez
Vela Gutiérrez (died 1160) was a Leonese nobleman. He first founded the convent of Santa María de Nogales in 1150, but it failed and was re-founded as a monastery at later date.
Vela was a son of Count Gutierre Vermúdez. Highly unusually for ...
.
* Urraca Bermúdez (died 1132/1133), who married Count Gonzalo Ansúrez, brother of Count
Pedro Ansúrez
Pedro Ansúrez (''floruit'' 1065–1117; died probably 9 September 1118) was a Castilian nobleman, count of Liébana, Saldaña and Carrión in the closing decades of the eleventh century and the opening decades of the twelfth. He is considered ...
and parents of several children, including Sancha González, the wife of
Fernando Pérez de Traba
Fernando (or Fernán) Pérez de Traba (''c''.1090–1 November 1155), also Fernão Peres de Trava ( or ) in Portuguese, was a nobleman and count of the Kingdom of León who for a time held power over all Galicia. He became the lover of Countess ...
. In 1128, King Alfonso VII gave her some properties in San Vicente in
Asturias de Santillana
Asturias de Santillana is a historical ''comarca'' whose territory in large part corresponded to the central and western part of today's autonomous community of Cantabria, as well as the extreme east of Asturias. Most of the province of Asturias ...
.
* Jimena Bermúdez, the wife of Pelayo Muñoz who had a daughter, Velasquita Peláez, married to Munio Doniz.
They could have also been the parents of Sebastián Bermúdez who does not appear in any transactions executed by his siblings but whose filiation is confirmed in Galician charters.
Notes
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ovequiz, Bermudo
1092 deaths
11th-century births
11th-century people from the Kingdom of León