(Redirected from Fruela II of Leon)'Fruela II' ('Froila II') (c.
875–
925) was the
King of Asturias from the death of his father,
Alfonso III of Asturias, in
910 to his own death. When his father died, the kingdom was divided, with the third son, Fruela, taking the original portion (Asturias); the second,
Ordoño, taking
Galicia; and the eldest,
García, taking
León. As king of Asturias, he had the job of consolidating the region later called
Castile and keeping its counts in check.
Fruela's mother was Jimena, daughter of
García I of Pamplona. He himself married a
Basque from
Navarre, but not of the
Íñiguez dynasty, but the
Jiménez. In
911, he married Nomilia Ximenes (Nunilo Jimena), called Nunila or Nunilona, daughter of
Jimeno II of Pamplona.
Fruela maintained good relations with his brother Ordoño, who had the hegemony. They cooperated in the
Reconquista and Fruela undersigned Ordoño's diplomas as ''Froila rex'' with his second wife, ''Urraca regina''. According to
Ibn Khaldun, Urraca was the daughter of the
Banu Qasi governor of
Tudela. They were married by
917.
When Ordoño died in
924, the magnates ignored his heirs and elected Fruela king. Fruela had never been popular with the nobles and his subjects and his election has been doubted by some, who see it as a likely usurpation. He assassinated Gebuldo and Aresindo, sons of Olmundo, who claimed descent from King
Witiza, and thus further alienated the nobility. For this, one chronicler relates, he was condemned to a reign of only fourteen months. According to
Ramón Menéndez Pidal, he exiled the bishop Frunimio of León, a relation of Olmundo. Whatever the case, he did reign for a mere fourteen more months and died in early summer 925, some say after having contracted
leprosy. The immediate state of Fruela's realm after his death is unknown, but it soon sorted itself out.
According to the Bishop Pelayo, he left three sons by Nunila:
Alfonso, Ordoño, and Ramiro. Ibn Khaldun gives Ordoño and Ramiro to Urraca and leaves open the possibility of other children by either wife.
References
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Genealogy
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''Ni obtuvo gloria ni venció enemigo'' (Spanish)
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