Munia of Álava (fl. 760s) was Queen Consort of Aturias as the wife of

Fruela I of Asturias Fruela I ( – 14 January 768), also referred to as Froila I and nicknamed "the Cruel," was the King of Asturias from 757 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of Alfonso I and continued his father's war against the Moors. Pelayo, the ...

Biography

Munia of Álava was born in

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

. The early tenth century

Chronicle of Alfonso III The ''Chronicle of Alfonso III'' () is a chronicle composed in the early tenth century on the order of King Alfonso III of León with the goal of showing the continuity between Visigothic Spain and the later Christian medieval Spain. Intended as ...

in its first Rotense version records that after a rebellion against Fruela I of Asturias by the

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

was suppressed, the Asturian King "took from among them his wife, named Munia, with whom he fathered his son Alfonso.” When she was taken to Asturias, she was "quandam adulescentulam," meaning a "young girl." Spanish scholar

Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz y Menduiña (; April 7, 1893, in Madrid – July 8, 1984, in Ávila) was a Spanish scholar, politician and orator. He served as Prime Minister of the Spanish Republican government in exile during the dictatorship of Fr ...

suggested that the royal couple would have resided in

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) 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 th ...

, where their son

Alfonso II of Asturias Alfonso II of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias (842), nicknamed the Chaste (), was the king of Asturias during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, Nepotian of Asturias, Nepotian ...

was born in 759 or 760. According to legends in 13th-century chronicles, Munia of Álava was also the mother of a daughter Jimena (or Ximena), who secretly married Sancho Díaz, count of Saldaña and became the mother of

Bernardo del Carpio Bernardo del Carpio (also spelled Bernaldo del Carpio) is a legendary hero of the medieval Spain. Until the end of the nineteenth century and the labors of Ramón Menéndez Pidal, he, not El Cid, was considered to have been the chief hero of mediev ...

Munia of Álava's husband was assassinated in 768 in

Cangas de Onís Cangas de Onís ( Asturian: ''Cangues d'Onís'' "valleys of Onís"'' Canga'' (plural ''cangues'') is an Asturian word for "valley, canyon".) is a municipality in the eastern part of the province and autonomous community of Asturias in the north ...

and she fled with her children to the

Monastery of San Xulián de Samos The Monastery of San Xulián de Samos ( Galician: ''Mosteiro de San Xulián de Samos''; Spanish: ''Monasterio de San Julián de Samos'') is an active Benedictine monastery in Samos, Galicia, Spain. It was founded in the sixth century. The monas ...

. Her husband was succeeded by his cousin,

Aurelius of Asturias Aurelius () ( 740 – 774) was the King of Asturias from 768 to his death. Born in León, he was the son of Fruela of Cantabria (son of Peter of Cantabria); nephew of Alfonso I of Asturias; and a cousin of his predecessor, Fruela I. His b ...

(rather than her son) who reigned three years. During the reign of Alfonso II's aunt

Adosinda Adosinda was the queen of Asturias during the reign of her husband, Silo, from 774 to 783. She was a daughter of Alfonso I and Ermesinda, daughter of the first Asturian king, Pelayo. She was a sister of Fruela I. Her husband probably succeede ...

's husband

Silo of Asturias Silo (died 783) was the king of Asturias from 774 to 783, succeeding Aurelius. He came to the throne upon his marriage to Adosinda, daughter of Alfonso I ("Alfonso the Catholic"). He moved the capital of the Kingdom of Asturias from Cangas de ...

, Alfonso was the governor of the royal palace. On Silo's death, Alfonso was elected king by Adosinda's allies, but the

magnates The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

raised his uncle

Mauregatus Mauregatus the Usurper () was the king of Asturias from 783 to 788 or 789. He was an illegitimate son of Alfonso I, supposedly by a Moorish serf. He usurped the throne on the death of Silo, the husband of his half sister Adosinda, earning himse ...

to the throne instead. Alfonso fled to

where he "took refuge among his mother's relatives." He later became King of Asturias in 791. Álava's date of death is unknown, but she and her husband are buried together in

Oviedo Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Saviour or Cathedral of San Salvador (, ) is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the centre of Oviedo, in the Asturias region of northern Spain. The Cathedral of San Salvador of Oviedo to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Álava, Munia of Date of death unknown 8th-century Asturian monarchs Queens consort of Asturia