Pelayo (690-737), was the first King of Asturias (718-737) and the first Christian hero of the Spanish
Reconquista. Pelayo is not today considered part of the history of the
Visigothic Kingdom, which had been all but destroyed by the Moors by the time he
came on the scene. However, his contemporaries didn't see it that way, and his
son and successor Favila was actually recognized as Rex Gothorum (King of
the Goths) by the Pope.
A nobleman of high birth in the Kingdom of the Visigoths that held
power in Spain until its defeat by the Muslims at the Battle of
Guadalete in 711, Pelayo refused to accept Islamic overlordship of his
homeland. He escaped capture at Guadalete, where he may have been a
member of the Visigoth King
Roderic's bodyguard, and returned to his native Asturias in the
northern part of Spain. He soon became the leader of a rebellion
against Munuza, the Moorish governor of the area.
He was captured in 717 and imprisoned by the Moors, but soon escaped
and returned to Asturias, where he defeated Munuza and established the
Kingdom of Asturias in 718, with its capital at Cangas de Onis. In
accordance with Visigothic custom, he was elected as the his nation's
first king by a vote of his countrymen.
For a few years after that, Pelayo's "kingdom" was more illusory than
actual, as he was facing forces much stronger than his own. It wasn't
until 722 that his kingdom was secured, when a powerful Muslim force
sent to conquer Asturias once and for all was defeated by Pelayo at the
Battle of
Covadonga. This victory, for which we have only sketchy historical
records
today, is what made Pelayo a national hero of Spain to this day.
Covadonga
The Battle of Covadonga
was the first major victory by a Christian military force in Spain
following the Moors' conquest of that country. Taking place most likely
in the summer of 722,
Pelayo's victory at Covadonga assured the survival of a Christian
stronghold in northern Spain, and today is regarded as the beginning of
the
Reconquista.
During 718 and 719, Pelayo and his followers managed to expel
Munuza's forces from Asturias. He held the territory against a number
of attempts to re-establish Islamic
control. Pelayo was unable to keep the Muslims from raiding villages in
Asturias, but
when they met Pelayo's men, they never could defeat them. As soon as
they would leave Asturias,
Pelayo would re-establish control.
Pelayo didn't attempt to force the issue, and it was a Moorish defeat
elsewhere that probably set the stage for Covadonga. On July 9, 721, an
Islamic force that crossed the Pyrenees and invaded the Kingdom of the
Franks was defeated by them near Toulouse, in modern France. The Moors
returned to Spain and decided to consolidate their holdings there
before taking on the Franks again. One of the key tasks in achieving
that would be to destroy Pelayo's rebel stronghold.
In the late summer of 721, a Moorish general named Alqama led his men
into Pelayo's territory and overran much of it, forcing Pelayo to
retreat deep into the mountains of Asturias. Pelayo retired into a
narrow valley flanked by mountains, from which it was impossible to
attack on a broad front, and thus easy to defend. Pelayo may have had
no more than 300 men with him at this point.
Alqama eventually arrived at Covadonga (Cueva honga, or
"deep
cave") and sent forward an envoy to convince Pelayo to surrender. He
refused, so Alqama ordered his best troops into the valley to fight.
The Asturians opened
up on the Moors from the slopes of the mountains, throwing spears and
rocks.
While the stunned Moors were trying to avoid the flying projectiles,
Pelayo personally led some of his soldiers out into the valley. They
had been hiding in a cave, unseen by the Moors.
Alqama, who had foolishly marched into the valley, was now surrounded
by
Pelayo's army. The Christian accounts of the battle claim that the
slaughter among the Moors was great, a claim that in this case is
probably true. Alqama himself fell in the battle, and
what few men survived the assault fled from the battlefield.
After Covadonga
In the aftermath of Pelayo's victory, the people of the conquered
villages of Asturias now emerged with their weapons and killed hundreds
of Alqama's fleeing troops. Munuza, learning of the defeat, organized
another force and gathered what was left of the survivors of Covadonga.
At some later date, he confronted Pelayo and his now greatly augmented
force near the modern town of Proaza. Again Pelayo won, and Munuza was
killed in the fighting.
Although the Muslims in their own histories called Pelayo and his men
"thirty wild donkeys", they never again seriously challenged the
independence of the Kingdom of
Asturias.
Pelayo died in 737, legend has it that he was killed while fighting a
bear. His son Favila succeeded him as king, and the kings of Asturias,
Leon, Castile and Spain itself could trace their lineage back to him in
some manner for hundreds of years. However, attempts to link him to the
royal house of the Visigoths (some sources claim he is the grandson of
the Visigothic King Chindaswinth
(563-653)) are probably without foundation.
In the photograph: A statue of Don Pelayo, Rey de Asturias,
overlooking his capital city of Cangas de Onis. The Asturians regard him as the
first king of Spain, often saying that "Asturias is Spain...the rest is
just conquered land."
Note: Some of you will notice this text is very similar to that
in the Pelayo and Covadonga articles on the Wikipedia.
Before you accuse me of stealing from them, please be advised that 1) the
Wikipedia is an open-source project; and 2) I wrote both the original articles
on that site myself.
Note2: The life of Pelayo is filled with legends and tales of apocryphal
origin; he is perhaps modern Spain's greatest national hero. In this account, I
have tried to sift through the legends and give what appear to be the facts of
his life, his victory over the Moors and his reign as king. I have a great
personal admiration for this man, who overcame tremendous odds and became the
first Western leader to defeat the forces of Islam. But I have tried to be
objective in telling his tale.
A nobleman of high birth in the Kingdom of the Visigoths that held
power in Spain until its defeat by the Muslims at the Battle of
Guadalete in 711, Pelayo refused to accept Islamic overlordship of his
homeland. He escaped capture at Guadalete, where he may have been a
member of the Visigoth King
Roderic's bodyguard, and returned to his native Asturias in the
northern part of Spain. He soon became the leader of a rebellion
against Munuza, the Moorish governor of the area. 
