The Chronicle of Bishop Pelagius of Oviedo

Translation and Overview

The chronicle of Bishop Pelagius of Oviedo, who served as bishop of Oviedo in northwestern Spain in the first half of the twelfth century CE, spans a period of just under 125 years, covering the rulers of the kingdom of León in northwestern Spain. Written in a rather rudimentary Latin with grammatical mistakes, the chronicle begins with the accession of Bermudo II in 985 CE and ends with the death of Alfonso VI in 1109 CE. In this regard, it is very much a chronicle of contrasts, highlighting Bermudo II’s supposed wickedness in contrast with the piety and glory of Alfonso VI.

Whatever the issues of the reliability of this chronicle, it is notable that some of the stories and anecdotes related here later found their way into the monumental Latin ‘history of Spain’ by Lucas of Tuy in his Chronicon Mundi. These stories and anecdotes include:

. The story of the bull that Bermudo II set loose to attack Bishop Adulfus following a false accusation made by three servants of the church of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela. The bull deposits its horns in the bishop’s hand and leaves him unharmed, returning to the woods from which it came.

. The story of the Muslim ruler of Toledo being struck by an angel of God after Alfonso V’s sister Tharasia had been married off to him against her will and had warned the Muslim ruler not to touch her, since she was a Christian and he was a ‘pagan.’ He disregarded her warnings and was thus punished, and sensing his death was near, he sent her back to León with gifts.

. How Alfonso VI’s kingdom enjoyed such great internal stability, peace and law and order, that a woman could travel alone carrying gold or silver and would not face harassment from anyone.

. The portent of the weeping rocks in the church of Saint Isidore, heralding the coming of tribulations and disasters that would befall Christian Spain after Alfonso VI’s death.

. The comparison of the dead Alfonso VI to a shepherd who has abandoned his flock.

It is also worth noting the political outlook of Pelagius of Oviedo as can be discerned from this chronicle. As Francisco Javier Fernández Conde (who produced a recent edition of the chronicle in 2020, and on which edition I rely for my translation) suggests, Pelagius of Oviedo “relies in great measure on Isidorian political philosophy” (i.e. traced to the famous Archbishop Isidore of Seville of the seventh century CE), including his conceptions of the divine origin of sovereign power and the pre-eminent role of the church in the social and political order.

These conceptions become clearest in the juxtaposition of Bermudo II and Alfonso VI. The former is wicked principally because of his transgressions against bishops. On account of his sins and the sins of his people, God ultimately punishes him and his realm in three ways: (i) bringing drought upon the kingdom because of the transgression against the bishop of Oviedo, (ii) allowing the Muslim general al-Manṣūr to ravage the kingdom of León, before eventually remembering His mercy for His people and thus bringing mass death upon the Muslim forces, and (iii) afflicting Bermudo II with gout for the remainder of his life. In contrast, Alfonso VI is upheld as the defender and patron of all of Spain’s churches, and his kingdom enjoyed internal peace and security, despite the losses he suffered in battles against the Almoravids.

Besides these points on the relationship between regal power and the church, there is also the familiar glorification of waging war to recover Iberian lands from Muslim control, as well as the suggestion of a continuity between the Visigothic kingdom of Spain that existed prior to the Muslim conquest and the Christian rulers of Iberia following the conquest. This idea, which goes as far back as the eighth century CE, was given notable emphasis in Chronicon Mundi and Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada’s Gothic History.

I would like to dedicate this translation and overview to the younger daughter of my friend Rachel Kantz Feder. One night, I tried to read her some stories recorded in Pelagius’ chronicle, but we were unable to get past the first 20 lines or so of the first page. Besides pausing the reading to focus on manuscript annotations in the Latin edition of the text, she repeatedly said that the notion of Bermudo II’s transgression against the bishop of Oviedo and God’s withholding of rain as punishment could not be true, and expressed her view that Bermudo II was not a tyrant who lacked discretion as portrayed by Pelagius but was in fact a good king! I do not know whether her views derive from scholarly analysis of the disdain some historians have had for Pelagius as a fabricator and falsifier of history or from simply trolling and being oppositional, but the experience proved to be a great evening full of hilarity and delight.

Below is the text translated by me with annotations. On this note, I wish all of you the best for 2024 CE.

Bermudo II[i]

After Ramiro died, Ordoño’s son Bermudo entered León and peacefully took control of the kingdom. King Bermudo lacked discretion and was tyrannical in all respects. Without reason, he captured Lord Gudesteus- the bishop of Oviedo- at the fort called Pinna Regine in the territory of Galicia, and held the latter in chains for three years. Meanwhile, the Saviour of the World brought such dryness upon the land, that no man could plough or sow. Hence great hunger arose in all of Spain. Then God-fearing men said to the king: “Lord king, some servants of God saw a vision and told us that you sinned against God when you took the bishop of Oviedo captive, and that there will be no rain and hunger will not leave your kingdom until you release the bishop and let him go in peace.” Once he heard this, the king sent messengers to Lord Xemenus (the bishop of Astorga),[ii] to whom he had entrusted the church of Oviedo. He ordered for the bishop of Oviedo to be released, and he restored the bishop of Oviedo to his own church. Thus, from that day, the Lord Jesus brought lain upon the land’s surface and the land gave its fruit and hunger was driven out from his kingdom.

Then the tyrannical king did something worse. Three servants of the church of Saint James the Apostle[iii]- called Zado, Cado and Ensio- falsely accused their lord Bishop Adulfus of a very evil crime, doing so in the king’s presence. Since the king lacked discretion, he easily lent his ears to the very false accusation, believed it, and quickly sent messengers to tell the bishop of Saint James that he should leave Compostela on Palm Sunday after consecrating the chrism and come to Oviedo (where the king was) on the day of the Lord’s Supper. In the meantime, the king ordered for very many untamed bulls to be brought. From them he chose one very fierce bull, which he kept hold of until the bishop should come. The bishop came to Oviedo on the appointed day. The king’s soldiers told him to come to the king before entering the church. Strengthened in the Lord, the bishop said: “I will go to the King of Kings and our Saviour first, and then I will come to your tyrannical king.”

He then entered the church of our Saviour, put on his sacred pontifical garments, and celebrated the divine mystery. Keeping on his pontifical garments, he thus left the church and came to the place where the bull was- this was before doors of the king’s palace. Almost all the Asturians had gathered there to watch the spectacle. Then the king ordered for the bull to be set loose. The bull ran quickly, left its horns in the bishop’s hand, and headed back and killed many people who were deriding the sight. The bull subsequently made for the woods from which it had come. And so the bishop returned to the church and threw the horns he had in his hands before our Saviour’s altar. He excommunicated Cado, Zado and Ensio, and he prayed, saying that he wished that from among the three men’s descendants until the end of the world, some of them should be lepers, others should be blind, others should be lame, and others should be infirm, on account of the false charge the three men had brought against him. The bishop also cursed the king and said that he wished that in the presence of all the living, this crime should arise among his offspring. Then the bishop took off his sacred garments and no longer wanted to see the tyrant, but he remained at the same seat for four days, and on Easter Monday, he left Oviedo with his men and came and stayed at the church of Saint Eulalia[iv] in the valley of Prámaro. In this place, he was struck by an illness, took the body and blood of the Lord and handed his spirit to the Lord at dawn on Wednesday. Then his men who had come with him immediately made a bier, on which they wanted to carry him to the church where he had been bishop. But our heavenly King made him so immovable that he could not be moved a little by 100 hands of men. Then, after holding counsel, they buried him in an excellent stone tomb in the sacristy that is beside the aforementioned church of the Virgin Eulalia. Then each of them returned to his own abode.

The very wicked leader committed another wicked deed. He had two noble sisters in his company: from one of them he begat the infante[v] Lord Ordoño, and from the other he begat the infanta Mistress Geloyra. The infante Ordoño begat several children from the infanta Fronilde Pelagius. Their names are as follows: Alfonso Ordoño, Pelagius Ordoño, Bermudo Ordoño, Sancho Ordoño, Xemena Ordoño. From Count Munio Roderic, Xemena gave birth to Count Roderic Munio, who later died in the battle of Sacralias.[vi]

The earlier mentioned leader begat the infanta Mistress Christina from a rustic woman called Velasquita, who was daughter of Manetllus and Ballalla de Mieres (Mieres[vii] being next to Mount Copian). From the infante Ordoño the Blind (the son of the infante Ramiro), Christina gave birth to multiple sons and daughters: namely, Alfonso Ordoño, Sancha Ordoño and Countess Eldoncia. Eldoncia was the wife of Pelagius Froila (who was a deacon), and from the count, she gave birth to Peter Pelagius, Ordoño Pelagius, Pelagius Pelagius, Munio Pelagius, the mother of Count Suarius and his brothers, and Countess Tharasia of Carrión, who built the church of Saint Zoilus.

The earlier mentioned leader also had two legitimate wives. The first was called Velasquita, whom he repudiated while she was still alive. He then married another woman called Geloyra, and from her he begat two children: Alfonso and Tharasia. After their father died, Tharasia’s brother Alfonso gave her in marriage (against her will) to a pagan[viii] king of Toledo for the sake of peace. Since Tharasia was Christian, she said to the pagan king: “Do not touch me, for you are pagan. If you touch me, the Lord’s angel will kill you.” Then the king mocked her and slept with her. Immediately after this (as she had predicted), he was struck by the Lord’s angel. When he sensed that death was approaching him, he summoned his chamberlains and counsellors, and ordered them to load camels with gold, silver, jewels and precious garments, and to bring Tharasia to León with all those gifts. Having adopted the monastic habit, she remained in León for a long time. She subsequently passed away at Oviedo and was buried in the monastery of Saint Pelagius.

So because of the sins of the leader Bermudo and the people, the Hagarene[ix] king who was called al-Manṣūr,[x] his son ʿAbd al-Malik and the exiled Christian counts made plans to come and destroy and raid the kingdom of León. When the Leonese and Asturian citizens heard and found out that this affliction would come upon them, they took the bones of the kings that had been buried in León and Astorga as well as the body of the martyr Saint Pelagius.[xi] Then they entered Asturias and gave the bones a very worthy burial in the church of Saint Mary in Oviedo. They placed Saint Pelagius’ body over the altar of Saint John the Baptist. Some of the citizens of León removed Saint Froilán the Bishop’s body that was in the valley of Caesar within the Pyrenees Mountains. They placed this body over the altar of Saint John the Baptist. As he had planned, the earlier mentioned king of the Saracens came with a large army. He destroyed León, Astorga and Coyanca,[xii] while ravaging the surrounding regions. He did not enter Asturias, Galicia and Berizo. He could not capture some forts: namely, Luna, Alva and Gordon. The bodies of the kings, about which we have spoken, were interred in front of the tombs of prior kings. In the first case that is in the middle, they interred the bodies of King Alfonso[xiii] and his wife Queen Xemena. In the second case that is to the right, they placed the bodies of King Ordoño[xiv] (the son of Alfonso and Xemena) and his wives Mummadonna and Sancha. In the third case, they buried the bodies of King Ramiro[xv] (the son of Ordoño and Mummadonna) and his children: King Ordoño and his wife Geloyra and King Sancho[xvi] and his wife Tharasia. In the second case to the left, they interred the bodies of King Froila (the son of Alfonso and Xemena) and his wife Queen Mummadonna. Next to this one, they buried Queen Geloyra, who was called the Chaste and was the daughter of Ramiro and Tharasia. In the fourth case that is elevated, they buried Queen Tharasia, the wife of the aforementioned King Ramiro. At the end of King Alfonso the Chaste’s mausoleum and to the side of it, they buried the bones of the sons and daughters of the aforementioned kings. Era 1035.[xvii]

With His usual compassion, the heavenly King[xviii] remembered His mercy and brought revenge upon His enemies in the form of sudden death and being killed by the sword. The Hagarenes began to perish continually and be annihilated every day. In addition, the Lord afflicted King Bermudo with the infirmity of gout as punishment for the such great crimes he committed, such that from then on, Bermudo could not climb onto any vehicle but was rather carried on the shoulders of humble men from place to place as long as he lived. He came to the end of his life in Berizo[xix] and was buried in Villabona. Some years later, he was brought over to León. He ruled for 17 years.

Alfonso V[xx]

After Bermudo died, his son Alfonso, who was five years old at the time, became ruler in era 1037. Alfonso was raised by Count Menendus Gundisalvus and his wife Countess Mistress Mayor in Galicia. They gave him their daughter called Geloyra to be his wife. From Geloyra, Alfonso begat two children: Bermudo and Sancha. In those days, King Ferdinand (the son of King Sancho the Fat) married a wife called Sancha. She was the daughter of the aforementioned King Alfonso.

King Alfonso came to León and held a council there with all the bishops, counts and potestates, and he repopulated the city of León that had been depopulated by the earlier mentioned al-Manṣūr, king of the Hagarenes. Alfonso gave León precepts and laws that are to be preserved until the end of this world, and they have been written at the end of the History of the Kings of the Goths and the Aragonese. Alfonso ruled for 26 years and was killed with an arrow at the town of Viseo[xxi] in Portugal. He was buried in León with his wife Geloyra, whom we have already mentioned.

Bermudo III[xxii]

After Alfonso died, his son Bermudo succeeded his father in rule. Then King Ferdinand assembled a large army and fought with his relative King Bermudo in the valley of Tamarón.[xxiii] King Bermudo died there and was buried in León. He ruled for ten years.

Ferdinand I[xxiv]

Era 1065[xxv]: After these events happened, the earlier mentioned King Ferdinand came and besieged León. He captured it a few days later and entered with a very large multitude of soldiers. There he received his crown and became king in the realm of León and Castile. Then he confirmed the laws that his father-in-law King Alfonso gave to León. He also added other laws to be preserved. This King Ferdinand was a good and God-fearing man. From the earlier mentioned Queen Sancha, he begat five children: Urraca, Sancho, Alfonso, García and Geloyra.

He carried out a great massacre against the Saracens and each year he received set amounts of tribute from their kings. Through waging war, he captured Lamego, Viseo, Coimbria, Pena and many other cities and forts of the Hagarenes. By waging battle in Atapuerca,[xxvi] he killed his brother King García[xxvii] and took control of the latter’s kingdom. This was in era 1065.[xxviii]

This Ferdinand brought the body of Saint Isidore the Bishop from the metropolis of Seville to León, doing so through the hands of the bishops Aloytus of León and Ordoño of Astorga. This was in era 1066.[xxix]

This Ferdinand had the holy martyrs Vincent, Sabina and Christeta[xxx] brought from Avila, transferring Vincent to León, Sabina to Palencia and Christeta to Saint Peter de Arlanza.[xxxi] Ferdinand lived in peace. He ruled for 48 years and died and was buried in the city of León, together with his earlier mentioned wife Queen Sancha. This was in era 1103.[xxxii]

Before he died, Ferdinand thus divided his kingdom for his sons: he gave Lord Sancho all of Castile along the river Pisuerga,[xxxiii] as well as Nájara, Pamplona and all the royal possessions belonging to these places. To Lord Alfonso, he gave León along the river Pisuerga, all of Asturias from Transmera to the river Eo,[xxxiv] Astorga, Campos, Zamora, Campo de Tauro, Berizo up to Villaux on Mount Cebreiro. He gave Lord García the entirety of Galicia, together with the entirety of Portugal.

Sancho II[xxxv]

After this, King Sancho began to fight against his brother King Alfonso with the aim of seizing the latter’s kingdom. They set a designated day and place in Plantata so that they could fight each other, whereby whoever emerged victorious would also take control of his brother’s kingdom. They came on the appointed day and fought each other. There, King Alfonso was defeated and he returned to León. They again decided to fight in Golpejera,[xxxvi] and there King Alfonso was captured in battle and sent in chains and brought to Burgos. Then Alfonso went to Toledo in exile, staying with King al-Maʾmūn[xxxvii] until the death of his brother King Sancho. King Sancho captured his brother Alfonso’s kingdom and imposed the crown on himself at León. Sancho was a very handsome man and a strenuous soldier. He traversed Asturias, Galicia and Portugal. He reigned for six years and was killed outside the walls of Zamora when he besieged it. This was an act of betrayal committed by a soldier called Vellido Adolfo. Sancho was buried in the monastery of the Holy Saviour of Oña[xxxviii] in Castile.

Alfonso VI[xxxix]

Once King Alfonso heard of this, he quickly came and took control of his brother King Sancho’s kingdom as well as his own kingdom that he had lost. Not many days later, he wanted to capture his brother García’s kingdom, and in an act of deep ingenuity King García was captured without a fight. García was sent away in chains for more than 20 years. During his capture, García wanted to drain himself of blood, and after he drained his blood, he fell on a couch and died. He was buried in León.

So the earlier mentioned King Alfonso captured his brothers’ kingdoms. Then King Alfonso quickly sent messengers to Pope Hildebrand (named Gregory VII) in Rome.[xl] Alfonso did this because he wanted to have the Roman rite in all of his kingdom. And so the Pope sent his cardinal Ricardo (the abbot of Marseilles) to Spain. Richard convened a council at the city of Burgos and confirmed the Roman rite in all of King Alfonso’s kingdom. This was in era 1114.[xli]

Since King Alfonso had many columns of soldiers, he passed through all the cities and forts of the Saracens, and as long as he lived, he received set amounts of tribute from them each year. He depopulated, ravaged and plundered many of their cities, besieged cities of the Saracens and similarly captured their cities and forts. He captured Toledo, Talavera, Saint Eulalia, Maqueda, Alfaro, Arganza, Madrid, Olmos, Canales, Calatalifa, Talamanca, Uceda, Guadalajars, Fita, Ribas, Caraquel, Mora, Alarcón, Albendea, Consuegra, Uclés, Motrico, Coyanca, Almodovar, Alaet and Valencia. In another region, he captured Coria, Lisbon, Sintria and Santarem. He populated the entirety of Extremadura in terms of its forts and cities, as well as Salamanca, Avila, Coyanca, Arevalo, Olmedo, Medina, Segovia, Iscar and Cuellar.

After this, Alfonso reached a state of such great exaltation because of his such great successes, that via King Ibn ʿAbbād, he brought the foreign peoples (called the Almoravids) from Africa to Spain.[xlii] Alfonso waged many battles with them, and as long as he lived, he received many blows from them. In era 1124 there was the battle on the plain of Sacralias with King Yūsuf.[xliii]

This Alfonso was the father and defender of all the Spanish churches. He did these things because he was Catholic in all respects. He was so frightening that none of the evil-doers dared to ever appear in his sight. None of the potestates, nobles and ignobles, rich and poor who were in his kingdom dared to bring quarrels against each other or commit any act of evil. There was such great peace in the days in which Alfonso ruled, that a woman carrying gold or silver in her hand and travelling alone through the entire land of Spain (both habitable and inhabitable, in the mountains or the plains) did not find anyone who would touch her or do her any evil. Businessmen and pilgrims traversing his kingdom would fear nothing. For there was no one who would even dare to take an obol from their possessions. In addition to all this, Alfonso was keen to construct all the bridges that exist from Logroño to Saint James, so that no period of his life would be devoid of good works. When the time of his death was imminent, he fell on a couch and remained ill for one year and seven months. Despite the fact that he was ill, on the order of his doctors he would ride his horse for a little while on a daily basis, so that he could have some bodily relief.

But eight days before he migrated from this world, God brought about a great portent in the church of Saint Isidore the Bishop in the city of León. On the birthday of Saint John the Baptist,[xliv] at the sixth hour, on the stones that are in front of Saint Isidore’s altar and where the priest supports his feet when he celebrates Mass, water began to emanate, not through the junctures of the stones but through the middle of the stones. This occurred in the sight of all the citizens (both noble and ignoble) and the bishops Pelagius of Oviedo and Peter of Leon. This took place for three days: on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.[xlv] On the fourth day that was a Sunday, the aforementioned bishops put on their pontifical garments and likewise the members of each ecclesiastical order put on their own sacred garments. Holding wax candles in their hands, they held a procession from the church of Saint Mary to the altar of Saint Isidore. Together with all the citizens (both men and women), they entered the church of Saint Isidore the Bishop, issuing cries with tears and praising the wondrous works of our Saviour. After a sermon was given by the aforementioned Bishop of Oviedo and mass was held, the bishops approached the place where the water was, and the bishops and many other men drank from it. They placed the remaining water in a glass vessel, and the water remained in the vessel for a long time as a testimony of the sign. This sign portended nothing but the griefs and tribulations that came upon Spain after King Alfonso’s death. For this reason, the stones wept and emanated water.

This Alfonso had five legitimate wives. The first of them was Agnes. The second was Queen Constance, from whom Alfonso begat Queen Urraca, who was the wife of Count Raymond. From her, Raymond begat Sancha and King Alfonso. Alfonso’s third wife was Berta, who originated from Tusica. The fourth wife was Elizabeth, from whom Alfonso begat Sancha (the wife of Count Roderic) and Geloyra, whom Duke Roger of Sicily married. The fifth wife was Beatriz, who, following Alfonso’s death, returned to her homeland.

Alfonso had two concubines, who were nonetheless very noble. The first was Xemena Munio, from whom Alfonso begat Geloyra, the wife of Count Raymond of Toulouse, who was the father of Alfonso Jordan via her. Alfonso also begat Tharasia from Xemena. Tharasia was the wife of Count Henric, who was the father of Urraca, Geloyra and Alfonso via her. The subsequent concubine was called Zayda. She was the daughter of King Ibn ʿAbbād of Seville. After being baptised, she was called Elizabeth. From her, Alfonso begat Sancho, who died in the battle of Uclés.[xlvi]

The glorious king lived for 79 years. Of this period, he ruled for 43 years and six months. He died on the Kalends of July in Toledo, in era 1147,[xlvii] at dawn on Thursday. All the citizens wept and said: “Why, oh pastor, do you abandon your sheep? For the Saracens and malevolent men will attack the flock that had been entrusted to you as well as your kingdom.” Then the counts, soldiers, nobles and ignobles and citizens had their heads shaved and their garments cut. The women’s faces were torn. Ash was scattered with great wailing and pain at heart. The people issued cries to the heavens. After 20 days, they brought Alfonso to the territory of Ceia, and all the bishops and archbishops, and both the ecclesiastical and secular orders, buried the aforementioned king in the church of Saints Facundus and Primitivus with praises and hymns.

May he rest in peace.

Amen.

Here ends the history of the aforementioned kings of the Goths.

Notes

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[i] King of León in the period 985-999 CE.

[ii] A town in the province of León, northwest Spain.

[iii] The church of Saint James at Santiago de Compostela.

[iv] A virgin Christian martyr of Spain, killed during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian, who persecuted the Christians.

[v] Infante/infanta can be seen as roughly equivalent to prince/princess.

[vi] The battle of al-Zallaqa in 1086 CE, in which the Almoravids inflicted a notable defeat on Alfonso VI. The battle is positively commemorated in the history of al-Andalus.

[vii] A locality in the Asturias region, south of the city of Oviedo.

[viii] Used to refer to a Muslim, despite Islam being a monotheistic religion.

[ix] i.e. Arab/Muslim, being derived from the reputed descent of the Arabs from Ishmael and his mother Hagar. In the context of medieval Latin discourse, the term Hagarene has a negative connotation.

[x] He was not “king of the Hagarenes” as the author claims but rather the ḥājib (lit. “chamberlain”) of Hišām II, a weak Umayyad caliph at Cordoba. According to the Historia Arabum and Arabic sources, al-Manṣūr was the real figure of power in the state even though he did not depose Hišām, and he earned his title of al-Manṣūr (“the one supported” [by God]) because of his numerous victories in campaigns against the Christians.

[xi] Referring to a tenth century martyr who was killed while in captivity at the hands of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III.

[xii] Now corresponding to Valencia de Don Juan in the province of León.

[xiii] King Alfonso III of Asturias (d. 910 CE). Note that the kingdom of León was the successor to the kingdom of Asturias.

[xiv] King Ordoño II of León (d. 924 CE).

[xv] King Ramiro II of León (d. 951 CE).

[xvi] King Sancho I of León (also known as Sancho the Fat, d. 966 CE).

[xvii] i.e. 997 CE.

[xviii] i.e. God.

[xix] Now corresponding to El Bierzo in the province of León.

[xx] King of León in the period 999-1028 CE.

[xxi] A town in central northern Portugal.

[xxii] King of León in the period 1028=1037 CE.

[xxiii] Located in the province of Burgos in northern Spain.

[xxiv] Ruler of Castile and León in the period 1037-1065 CE.

[xxv] 1027 CE. This is an error.

[xxvi] A locality in the province of Burgos.

[xxvii] García Sánchez III, king of Nájera-Pamplona in the period 1035-1054 CE.

[xxviii] This is also an error. The battle took place in 1054 CE.

[xxix] i.e. 1028 CE, another chronological error.

[xxx] Siblings and Christian martyrs from the time of Diocletian’s persecution of the Christians. Their feast day is 28 October.

[xxxi] A monastery located southeast of the city of Burgos.

[xxxii] 1065 CE. Here the author reverts to correct chronology.

[xxxiii] A river that most notably runs through the city of Valladolid.

[xxxiv] A river that marks the border between Galicia and Asturias.

[xxxv] King of Castile in the period 1065-1072 CE.

[xxxvi] A battle fought in 1072 CE.

[xxxvii] Ruler of the ṭāʾifa of Toledo in the period 1043-1075 CE.

[xxxviii] Located in the province of Burgos.

[xxxix] King of León in the period 1065-1109 CE.

[xl] Pope in the period 1073-1085 CE.

[xli] 1076 CE.

[xlii] In the sense that Alfonso’s actions caused King Ibn ʿAbbād (ruler of the ṭāʾifa of Seville in the period 1069-1091 CE) to summon the Almoravids from North Africa to assist the Muslims in Spain.

[xliii] Yūsuf bin Tāšfīn, ruler of the Almoravids.

[xliv] 24 June 1109 CE.

[xlv] i.e. 24-26 June.

[xlvi] This battle was fought between the Almoravids and Alfonso’s forces in 1108 CE. It was a victory for the Almoravids.

[xlvii] 1 July 1109 CE.