Bermudo II of León

Bermudo II, el gotoso ( the paralytic ) (* 956, † 999 in El Bierzo ), was King of Galicia 982-999 and King of León from 984 to 999 He was the son of Ordoño III.

He stood up against the king of León Ramiro III. and again united the two kingdoms. In his first marriage he was with Velasquita, daughter of Ordoño IV, married. With her he had a daughter, Cristina. After the death of his wife he married Elvira, daughter of the Count of Castile García Fernández, with whom he had three children: Alfonso V, Teresa and Sancha. In addition, he had two illegitimate children, Elvira and Pelayo.

He won power in León thanks to the support of the Portuguese and Galician. However, he was forced to face after his proclamation under the protection of the Caliphate of Córdoba, as it made ​​him uprisings inside and the pressure from Castile impossible to deal with all these problems alone. Although protecting it through Córdoba, he managed to regain Zamora, he had to accept the fact that the Moors remained as occupation forces in the country. It was not until 987, he succeeded to expel them from the country. However, this had the consequence that Almansor ( the de facto sole ruler of Córdoba ) Coimbra destroyed. Bermudo II then barricaded himself in Zamora, but was driven from there to Lugo, which led to the destruction of both cities result. In addition conquered Moorish troops Gormaz and, 994, Cluni (Coruña del Conde ), Astorga (996) and sacked the fortress Begidum (El Bierzo ) and Santiago de Compostela (997 ). 999 his gout worsened to the extent that it was impossible for him to ride and he had to be transported on a stretcher. He died the same year at Villa Buena monastery in El Bierzo. He was buried in the monastery of Carracedelo. Later his remains were transferred to the Cathedral of León.