Bermudo II of León

Bermudo II in the Libro de las Estampas
Spouse(s)	Velasquita Ramírez Elvira García of Castile
Father	Ordoño III of León
Born	956
Died	999

Bermudo (or Vermudo) II (956–999), called the Gouty (Spanish: el Gotoso), was the King of Galicia (982–999) and León (984–999). His reign is summed up by Justo Pérez de Urbel's description of him as "the poor king tormented in life by the sword of Almanzor and in death by the vengeful pen of a bishop," Pelagius of Oviedo (died 1153), half of whose Chronicon covers the reign of Bermudo and is highly critical of the king.^[1] He accusses Bermudo of imprisoning Bishop Gudesteus of Oviedo in the 990s and blames the attacks of Almanzor on Bermudo's sins.^[2]

In 982 the Galician nobility proclaimed Bermudo, a son of Ordoño III, king in opposition to Ramiro III, a son of Sancho I. This usurpation is usually seen as the extension of ongoing succession crises begun in the 950s. At the time of the usurpation Bermudo II's faction was led by Gonzalo Menéndez and that of Ramiro III by Rodrigo Velázquez. Bermudo was crowned in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela on 15 October 982. It is probable that two episcopal opponents of his coronation—Rodrigo's son Pelayo, then bishop of Santiago, and Arias Peláez, bishop of Mondoñedo—were exiled from their sees to the monasteries of Celanova and San Martín de Lalín, respectively, at this time.^[3]

Because his support was limited and regional Bermudo required the protection of the Caliphate of Córdoba. There was much unrest in Castile in his early years and the Cordoban armies of Almanzor came, not as allies, but as conquerors.^[4] Between November 991 and September 992 Vermudo was expelled from the kingdom by a revolt led by the magnates Gonzalo Vermúdez, Munio Fernández, and count Pelayo Rodríguez. He was soon restored and reconciled to the discontents.^[5] On 8 August 994 Bermudo gave the village of Veiga to the monastery of Celanova, the village having been built by Suario Gundemárez on land illegally appropriated from the monastery. Suario took refuge there during his later rebellion.^[6] On 23 August that year the village of Morella was granted to abbot Salvato of Celanova after it was confiscated because the murder of Fortún Velázquez had taken place there.

Bermudo eventually succeeded in recovering Zamora from the Muslims, but did not succeed in expelling them totally until 987. This brought on the reprisals of Almanzor, who set out to destroy Coimbra. After the latter besieged and razed the city of León, Bermudo took refuge in Zamora. The Muslims continued their conquests, taking Astorga (996) and sacking Santiago de Compostela (997).

In 999, the gout from which he suffered was aggravated and it became impossible for him to ride a horse. Military leader of Christians of northwestern Spain, he subsequently travelled by litter. Later that same year he died in Villanueva del Bierzo and was buried in the Monastery of Carracedo. Later, his remains were transferred to the Cathedral of León.

By his first wife, Velasquita Ramírez, he left a daughter, Cristina, who married Ordoño Ramírez, son of his rival Ramiro III. Vermudo married secondly Elvira García, daughter of the Castilian count García Fernández, with whom he had three children: Alfonso, who succeeded him; Theresa; and Sancha. He also had three bastards: Elvira, Pelayo, and Ordoño, who married Fronilde, daughter of the aforementioned count Pelayo.

References

Further readings

• M. Calleja Puerta (1999), "Una genealogía leonesa del siglo XII: la descendencia de Vermudo II en la obra cronística de Pelayo de Oviedo", La nobleza peninsular en la Edad Media (León).