Kingdom of Galicia

The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. In the early 10th century, the Kingdom of Galicia was formed following the division of the Kingdom of Asturias after the death of Alfonso III in 910. His sons split the kingdom, with Ordoño II inheriting Galicia. While Galicia became a distinct political entity, it remained closely tied to the Leonese and Asturian realms through dynastic connections. Later, Ordoño II would integrate Galicia into the Kingdom of León when he inherited the latter. Though the Kingdom of Galicia had moments of semi-independence, it was typically seen as part of the Kingdom of León. Compostela became the capital of Galicia in the 11th century, while the independence of Portugal (1128) determined its southern boundary. The accession of Castilian King Ferdinand III to the Leonese kingdom in 1230 brought Galicia under the control of the Crown of Castile.

Galicia resisted central control and supported a series of alternative claimants, including John of León, Galicia and Seville (1296), Ferdinand I of Portugal (1369) and John of Gaunt (1386) and was not brought firmly into submission until the Catholic Monarchs imposed the Santa Hermandad in Galicia. The Kingdom of Galicia was then administered within the Crown of Castile (1490–1715) and later the Crown of Spain (1715–1833) by an ''Audiencia Real'' directed by a Governor which also held the office of Captain General and President. The representative assembly of the Kingdom was then the Junta or Cortes of the Kingdom of Galicia, which briefly declared itself sovereign when Galicia alone remained free of Napoleonic occupation (1808–1809). The kingdom and its ''Junta'' were dissolved by Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Regent of Spain, in 1834.

Origin and foundation (409)

The origin of the kingdom lies in the 5th century, when the Suebi settled permanently in the former Roman province of Gallaecia. Their king, Hermeric, probably signed a ''foedus'', or pact, with the Roman Emperor Honorius, which conceded them lands in Galicia. The Suebi set their capital in the former Bracara Augusta and set the foundations of a kingdom, which was first acknowledged as ''Regnum Suevorum'' (Kingdom of the Suebi) but later as ''Regnum Galliciense'' (Kingdom of Galicia).

A century later, the differences between Gallaeci and Suebi people had faded, which led to the systematic use of terms like ''Galliciense Regnum'' (Galician Kingdom), ''Regem Galliciae'' (King of Galicia), ''Rege Suevorum'' (King of Suebi), and ''Galleciae totius provinciae rex'' (king of all Galician provinces), while bishops, such as Martin of Braga, were recognized as ''episcopi Gallaecia'' (Bishop of Galicia).

Suebic Kingdom (409–585)

The independent Suebic kingdom of Galicia lasted from 409 to 585, having remained relatively stable for most of that time.

5th century

In 409 Gallaecia was divided, ''ad habitandum'', between two Germanic people, the Hasdingi Vandals, who settled the eastern lands, and the Suebi, who established themselves in the coastal areas. As with most Germanic invasions, the number of the original Suebi is estimated to be relatively low, generally fewer than 100,000, and most often around 30,000 people. They settled mainly in the regions around modern northern Portugal and Western Galicia, in the towns of Braga (''Bracara Augusta'') and Porto, and later in Lugo (''Lucus Augusta'') and Astorga (''Asturica Augusta''). The valley of the Limia (or Lima) River is thought to have received the largest concentration of Germanic settlers, and Bracara Augusta—the modern city of Braga—became the capital of the Suebi, as it had previously been the capital of Gallaecia.

In 419 a war broke out between the Vandal king Gunderic and the Suebi's Hermeric. After a blockade alongside the Nervasian Mountains, the Suebi obtained Roman help, forcing the Vandals to flee into the Baetica. In the absence of competitors, the Suebi began a period of expansion, first inside Gallaecia, and later into other Roman provinces. In 438 Hermeric ratified a peace treaty with the ''Gallaeci'', the native and partially Romanized people.

Illness led Hermeric to abdicate in favor of his son, Rechila, who moved his troops to the south and the east, conquering Mérida and Seville, the capitals of the Roman provinces of Lusitania and Betica. In 448 Rechila died, leaving the expanding state to his son Rechiar, who in 449 became the first Germanic kings of post-Roman Europe to convert to Nicene Christianity. Rechiar married a Visigothic princess, and was also the first Germanic king to mint coins in ancient Roman territories. Rechiar led further expansions to the east, marauding through the ''Provincia Tarraconensis'', which was still held by Rome. The Roman emperor Avitus sent a large army of , under the direction of the Visigoth Theoderic II, who defeated the Suebi army by the river Órbigo, near modern-day Astorga. Rechiar fled, but he was pursued and captured, then executed in 457.

In the aftermath of Rechiar's death, multiple candidates for the throne appeared, finally grouping into two allegiances. The division between the two groups was marked by the Minius River (now Minho River), probably as a consequence of the localities of the Quadi and Marcomanni tribes, who constituted the Suebi nation on the Iberian Peninsula. The Suebi in the north conquered Lugo, proceeding to use that city as their co-capital, while the Suebi in the south expanded into Lisbon and Conimbriga, which were assaulted, and abandoned after their Roman inhabitants were banished. By 465 Remismund, who established a policy of friendship with the Goths and promoted the conversion of his own people into Arianism, was recognized by his people as the only king of the Suebi.

6th century

After a period of obscurity, with very little remaining information on the history of this area, or in fact Western Europe in general, the Suebi Kingdom reappears in European politics and history during the second half of the 6th century. This is following the arrival of Saint Martin of Braga, a Pannonian monk dedicated to converting the Suebi to Nicene Christianity and consequently into allegiance with the other Nicene Christian regional powers, the Franks and the Eastern Roman Empire.

Under King Ariamir, who called for the First Council of Braga, the conversion of the Suebi to Nicene Christianity was apparent; while this same council condemned Priscillianism, it made no similar statement on Arianism. Later, King Theodemar ordered an administrative and ecclesiastical division of his kingdom, with the creation of new bishoprics and the promotion of Lugo, which possessed a large Suebi community, to the level of Metropolitan Bishop along with Braga.

Theodemar's son and successor, King Miro, called for the Second Council of Braga, which was attended by all the bishops of the kingdom, from the Briton bishopric of Britonia in the Bay of Biscay, to Astorga in the east, and Coimbra and Idanha in the south. Five of the attendant bishops used Germanic names, showing the integration of the different communities of the country. King Miro also promoted contention with the Arian Visigoths, who under the leadership of King Leovigild were rebuilding their fragmented kingdom which had been ruled mostly by Ostrogoths since the beginning of the 6th century, following the defeat and expulsion of Aquitania by the Franks. After clashing in frontier lands, Miro and Leovigild agreed upon a temporary peace.

The Suebi maintained their independence until 585, when Leovigild, on the pretext of conflict over the succession, invaded the Suebic kingdom and finally defeated it. Audeca, the last king of the Suebi, who had deposed his brother-in-law Eboric, held out for a year before being captured in 585. This same year a nobleman named Malaric rebelled against the Goths, but he was defeated.

As with the Visigothic language, there are only traces of the Suebi tongue remaining, as they quickly adopted the local vulgar Latin. Some words of plausible Suebi origin are the modern Galician and Portuguese words ''laverca'' (lark), ''meixengra'' or ''mejengra'' (titmouse), ''lobio'' (vine), ''escá'' (a measure, formerly "cup"), ''groba'' (ravine), and others. Much more significant was their contribution to names of the local toponymy and onomastics.

The historiography of the Suebi, and of Galicia in general, was long marginalized in Spanish culture, with the first connected history of the Suebi in Galicia being written by a German scholar.

Visigothic monarchy (585–711)

In 585, Liuvigild, the Visigothic king of Hispania and Septimania, annexed the Kingdom of Galicia, after defeating King Audeca, and later the pretender to the throne, Malaric. Thus the kingdom of the Suebi, which incorporated large territories of the ancient Roman provinces of Gallaecia and Lusitania, became the sixth province of the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo.

The government of the Visigoths in Galicia did not totally disrupt the society, and the Suevi Catholic dioceses of Bracara, Dumio, Portus Cale or Magneto, Tude, Iria, Britonia, Lucus, Auria, Asturica, Conimbria, Lameco, Viseu, and Egitania continued to operate normally. During the reign of Liuvigild, new Arian bishops were raised among the Suebi in cities such as Lugo, Porto, Tui, and Viseu, alongside the cities' Catholic bishops. These Arian bishops returned to Catholicism in 589, when King Reccared himself converted to Catholicism, along with the Goths and Suebi, at the Third Council of Toledo.

The territorial and administrative organization inherited from the Suevi was incorporated into the new Provincial status, although Lugo was reduced again to the category of bishopric, and subjected to Braga. Meanwhile, the Suevi, Roman, and Galician cultural, religious, and aristocratic elite accepted new monarchs. The peasants maintained a collective formed mostly by freemen and serfs of Celtic, Roman and Suebi extraction, as no major Visigoth immigration occurred during the 6th and 7th centuries.

This continuity led to the persistence of Galicia as a differentiated province within the realm, as indicated by the acts of several Councils of Toledo, chronicles such as that of John of Biclar, and in military laws such as the one extolled by Wamba which was incorporated into the '' Liber Iudicum'', the Visigothic legal code. It was not until the administrative reformation produced during the reign of Recceswinth that the Lusitanian dioceses annexed by the Suevi to Galicia (Coimbra, Idanha, Lamego, Viseu, and parts of Salamanca) were restored to Lusitania. This same reform reduced the number of mints in Galicia from a few dozen to just three, those in the cities of Lugo, Braga, and Tui.

The most notable person of 7th century Galicia was Saint Fructuosus of Braga. Fructuosus was the son of a provincial Visigoth ''dux'' (military provincial governor), and was known for the many foundations he established throughout the west of the Iberian Peninsula, generally in places with difficult access, such as mountain valleys or islands. He also wrote two monastic rulebooks, characterized by their pact-like nature, with the monastic communities ruled by an abbot, under the remote authority of a bishop (''episcopus sub regula''), and each integrant of the congregation having signed a written pact with him. Fructuosus was later consecrated as abbot-bishop of Dumio, the most important monastery of Gallaecia—founded by Martin of Braga in the 6th century—under Suebi rule. In 656 he was appointed bishop of Braga and metropolitan of Galicia, ostensibly against his own will.

During his later years the Visigothic monarchy suffered a pronounced decline, due in large part to a decrease in trade and therefore a sharp reduction in monetary circulation, largely as a result of the Muslim occupations in the early 8th century in the south Mediterranean. The Gallaecia were also affected, and Fructuosus of Braga denounced the general cultural decline and loss of the momentum from previous periods, causing some discontent in the Galician high clergy. At the tenth Council of Toledo in 656, Fructuosus was appointed to the Metropolitan seat of Potamio after the renunciation of its previous occupier. At the same time the Will of the Bishop of Dume Recimiro was declared void after he donated the wealth of the diocese convent to the poor.

The crisis at the end of the Visigoth era dates to the reign of Egica. The monarch appointed his son Wittiza as his heir, and despite the fact that the Visigothic monarchy had been traditionally elective rather than hereditary Egica associated Wittiza during his lifetime to the throne (for example, Egica and Wittiza are known to have issued coinage with the confronted effigies of both monarchs). In 701 an outbreak of plague spread westward from Greece to Spain, reaching Toledo, the Visigothic capital, in the same year, and having such impact that the royal family, including Egica and Wittiza, fled. It has been suggested that this provided the occasion for sending Wittiza to rule the Kingdom of the Suevi from Tui, which is recorded as his capital. The possibility has also been raised that the 13th-century chronicler, Lucas of Tuy, when he records that Wittiza relieved the oppression of the Jews (a fact unknown from his reign at Toledo after his father), may in fact refer to his reign at Lucas' hometown of Tui, where an oral tradition may have been preserved of the events of his Galician reign.

In 702, with the death of Egica, Wittiza as sole king moved his capital to Toledo. In 710, part of the Visigothic aristocracy violently raised Roderic to the throne, triggering a civil war with the supporters of Wittiza and his sons. In 711, the enemies of Roderic got a Muslim army to cross the Straits of Gibraltar and face him at the Battle of Guadalete. The defeat was the end of Roderic and of the Visigothic rule, with profound consequences for the whole of the Iberian peninsula.

Early and High Middle Ages

For several centuries after the defeat of the Goths, Galicia was united with other neighboring regions under the same monarchs, with only brief periods of separation under different kings. Along with the rest of the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it was free of Arab presence from the mid-8th century, being gradually incorporated into a growing Christian state. This is usually called the Kingdom of Asturias in traditional and modern sources, although the precise historical details of these events have been obscured by the national myths leading to the construction of modern Spanish identity.

The 9th century saw this state expand southward, with Castilian and Asturian noblemen acquiring most of the northern Meseta, while in Galicia, a similar impulse led to the conquest and re-population of the regions of Astorga, southern Galicia, and northern Portugal down to Coimbra, by noblemen mostly proceeding from northern Galicia. Also significant was the discovery of the tomb of Saint James the Great at what would become Santiago de Compostela; the shrine constructed there became the religious center of the nation, as well as being the destination of a major international pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James. This increased the political and military relevance of Galicia, and its noble families aspired to positions of power within the kingdom through either military force or by matrimonial alliance with the royal family. To the east, this southern expansion led the capital of the Christian kingdom to be moved to the city of León, from which time the state is usually called the Kingdom of León. This same kingdom was frequently known as either Gallaecia or Galicia (''Yillīqiya'' and ''Galīsiya'') in Al-Andalus Muslim sources up to the 14th century, as well as by many European Christian contemporaries.

Society

During the Iron Age, and later during Roman and Germanic rule, Southern Gallaecia—today north Portugal and south Galicia—was the more dynamic, urbanized, and richest area of Gallaecia. This role was assumed by the rural north during the Early and High Middle Ages, as a consequence not only of the Islamic invasion, but as the final result of a continent-wide urban crisis.

The old bishoprics of Braga, Ourense, Tui, Lamego, and others, were either discontinued, or re-established in the north, under the protection of Lugo—which was now a stronghold due to its Roman walls—and Iria Flavia. Dumio was re-established by the Bay of Biscay in Mondoñedo, Lugo assumed the role of Braga, and the bishops of Lamego and Tui sought refuge in Iria, where they received generous territorial grants. During the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries most of these bishoprics were re-established in their historical sees, but at this time the bishops of Lugo, Mondoñedo, and Iria became major political players—not just as religious figures, but also as wealthy, and sometimes mighty, secular powers. In particular, the bishops of Iria and Compostela were notorious warlords, due to the many fortresses and military resources they controlled as heads of a military Norman mark, as well as due to the wealth that the pilgrimages and royal grants brought to their lands.

Each bishopric was divided into a number of territories or counties, named , or in local charters, which in the north were true continuations of the Suebic dioceses which frequently preserved old tribal divisions and denominations, such as ''Lemabos, Celticos, Postamarcos, Bregantinos, and Cavarcos''. Rights to the tax collection and government of each territory was granted by the titular ruler—usually the king—to a count, bishopric, or large monastery, although there existed some singularities. The bishopric of Lugo was divided into counties, each one under the government of an ''infanzon'' (a lesser nobleman) as a concession of the bishop, while in the south, large and mighty territories such as the ''Portucalense'' became hereditary, passed down to the descendants of the 9th century's conquerors. In the ''Terra de Santiago'' (Land of Saint James, the fief of the bishops of Iria-Compostela) each territory was administered by a bishop's vicar, while justice was administered by a council composed of representatives of the local churchmen, knights, and peasants.

Each territory or county could be further divided into and . The basic territorial division was the ''villa'', centered on a church, and composed of one or more hamlets or villages, together with all its facilities, lands, and possessions. The ''villas'' perpetuated ancient Roman and Suevic foundations, and they were the base for the ecclesiastical organization, and for the economic production of the country, later evolving into the modern ''parroquias'' and ''freguesias'' (rural parishes). The local economy was subsistence, based mainly on the production of grain and beans, and notably in cattle breeding. Other valuable—though geographically restricted—products included fruits, salt, wine, honey, olive oil, horses, iron for the production of weapons and tools, and exotic oriental fabrics introduced from ''Spania''. There were also specialized artisans who worked on demand, such as masons and goldsmiths.

While local commerce was common, long range interchanges—generally maintained by Hebrew merchants—were rare and appreciated. Monetary circulation was scarce, composed mainly of old Suebi and Visigothic coinage known locally as ''solidos gallicianos''. War and pillaging against the thriving Al-Andalus was also a very important source for the acquisition of riches, exotic items, and Muslim serfs. Later, pilgrimage of Christians from all over Europe to Santiago de Compostela brought not only riches, but also a range of continental innovations and trends, from shipbuilding, to new architectural styles such as Romanesque art.

The elites were composed of counts, dukes, ''senatores'', and other high noblemen, who were frequently related by marriage with the monarch, and who usually claimed the most powerful positions in society, either as governors, bishops, or as palatine officials or companions of the king or queen. The Galician nobility, however, were also frequently found as rebels, either as supporters of a different candidate to the throne, or aspiring to it themselves, or simply as disobedient to the king's orders and will. At the service of the noblemen were ''miles'' (knights) and ''infanzones''; they were often found marching to war with their subalterns on behalf of a patron, or as vicars and administrators.

A sizable section of the society were churchmen—presbyters, deacons, clergymen, ''lectors'', ''confessos'', monks, and nuns—who frequently lived in religious communities, some of which were composed of both men and women living under vows of chastity and poverty. Most of these monasteries were directed by an abbot or abbess, ruled under a pactual tradition heavily influenced by Germanic legal traditions, with a bishop ''sub regula'' as the highest authority of the community. Other monasteries used different, sometimes antagonistic rules. The Benedictine and Augustine rules were uncommon until the 11th century. As in most of Europe, the chartulary and chronicle proceedings of monasteries and bishoprics are the most important sources for the study of local history.

By the 12th century the only known bourgeois were the multinational inhabitants of Compostela, by this stage a fortified and strong city. Meanwhile, the City Council of Santiago for centuries had struggled against their bishops for the recognition of a number of liberties. In the country, most people were freemen, peasants, artisans, or infantrymen, who could freely choose a patron, or buy and sell properties, although they frequently fell prey to the greed of the big owners, leading many of them to a life of servitude. Finally, ''servos'', ''libertos'', and ''pueros'' (servants, freedmen, and children), either obtained in war with the Moors or through trial, constituted a visible part of the society; they were employed as household workers ( and ), shepherds, and farmhands. Local charters also show that, in time, they were freed.

In terms of religion, most were Roman Catholics, although the local rites—known today as Mozarabic rites—were notably different from those used in most of Western Europe. No Arian, Priscillianist, or Pagan organizations are known to have survived during the High Middle Ages. However, there were still pagans and pagan shrines in the Bierzo region during the 7th century, whilst Arian or Priscillianist tonsure—seen as long hair, with only a partial tonsure atop the head—was in use in Galicia up to 681, when it was forbidden at a council in Toledo. There were no known Muslim communities in Galicia and northern Portugal, other than Moor serfs. Records of Hebrew people are also uncommon in local charters until the 12th century, except as travelers and merchants.

Personal names in Galicia and northern Portugal were chiefly of Germanic origin, although Christian, Roman, and Greek names were also common. Names were usually composed just of a single surname, although noblemen frequently also used a patronymic. Muslim names and patronymics were rare amongst Galicians, as even serfs were frequently given a Germanic or Roman name, which is in contrast with the relative popularity of Muslim names amongst the Leonese.

File:Cathedral of Ourense (Spain).jpg, Romanesque façade in the Cathedral of Ourense (1160); founded in the 6th century, its construction is attributed to King Chararic
File:Absida igrexa de San Miguel de Eiré, Eiré, Pantón.jpg, Monastical church of San Miguel de Eiré, Pantón (12th century)
File:Capela de San Miguel de Celanova, Celanova.jpg, Oratory of San Miguel de Celanova (first quarter of the 10th century)
File:Apóstoles del Pórtico de la Gloria.jpg, ''Pórtico da Gloria'', Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (12th–13th centuries), summum of the local Romanesque sculpture

Interludes of independence: 10th and 11th centuries

When Alfonso III of León was forced by his sons to abdicate in 910, his lands were partitioned, bringing about the first episode of a short-lived distinct kingdom of Galicia. García I obtained the ''Terra de Fora'' or León, consisting of the southeastern portion of their father's realm, while Ordoño II held the western lands, ''i.e.'', Galicia (including the recently acquired lands of Coimbra) where he had already been serving as governor, and was now recognized as king in an assembly of magnates held in Lugo. The youngest brother, Fruela II, received the Asturian heartland in the northeast, with Oviedo as its capital.

From Galicia, Ordoño launched several successful raids on the Islamic south, returning with riches and Muslim serfs, and confirming himself as an able commander. At the death of García in 914, Ordoño also acquired León, and on his death in 924 his younger brother, Fruela, reunited Alfonso's realm. Fruela's death a year later initiated a period of chaos, with several claimants to the crown. Fruela's son, Alfonso Fróilaz, received support from Asturias, but was captured and blinded by Sancho, Alfonso IV, and Ramiro II, sons of Ordoño, with the aid of the Basque troops of Jimeno Garcés of Pamplona. Vague and conflicting historical records make it uncertain whether Alfonso Fróilaz reigned briefly as king of the entire kingdom, or simply held a remote part of Asturias. In Galicia, Sancho succeeded, being crowned in Santiago de Compostela and marrying a Galician noblewoman. After reigning for just three years he died childless. Alfonso IV then took control of an again-reunited Kingdom of León in 929; however, he was forced into a monastery by their youngest brother, Ramiro, two years later.

Ramiro II had ties with the Galician nobility through kinship, marriage and patronage, and he and his son, Ordoño III, whose mother was Galician, reigned with their support. This was not the case when Ordoño was succeeded by his half-brother Sancho I of León in 956. Sancho proved unpopular and ineffectual and the Galician nobles grew fractious, forming a coalition with Fernán González of Castile to overthrow Sancho in favor of Ordoño IV, who was enthroned in Santiago de Compostela in 958. However, Sancho reclaimed the crown in 960 with support from his mother's Kingdom of Pamplona, the Leonese nobility, and Muslim assistance. His son, Ramiro III, grew increasingly absolutist, alienating the Galician nobility who also resented the lack of Leonese help when the Normans raided Galicia from 968 through 970.

The Galician nobility again rose in rebellion, in 982 crowning and anointing Bermudo, son of Ordoño III, as king in Santiago de Compostela. With their support, he first repelled the army of Ramiro in the battle of ''Portela de Areas'' and eventually made himself undisputed ruler of the Leonese kingdom. Once in control, Bermudo lost many of his Galician and Portuguese supporters by repudiating his Galician wife in favor of a new marriage alliance with Castile. His later reign was marked by the ascension of a strong military leader, Almanzor, who led a brief resurgence of the Cordoban Caliphate, reconquering Coimbra or Viseu, and even raiding Santiago de Compostela.

In the 1030s, Galicia became the sole holdout to the Leonese conquests of Sancho III of Pamplona. When the Count of Castile—nominally a Leonese vassal, but ''de facto'' independent—was assassinated in León in 1029, Sancho claimed the right to name the successor, giving it to his own son Ferdinand. Taking advantage of the youth of Leonese king Bermudo III, Sancho seized disputed border regions, formalizing the arrangement by including the lands in the dowry of Bermudo's sister, who was married to Ferdinand in 1032. Two years later, in 1034, Sancho took Bermudo's capital, becoming ''de facto'' ruler of most of the kingdom, whilst leaving Bermudo to rule from his refuge in Galicia. Sancho's death the next year allowed Bermudo to regain not only the entire kingdom, but to briefly become overlord of Ferdinand's Castile. However, in 1037, the Castilian count killed Bermudo in battle, and Galicia passed with the Kingdom of León into the hands of Ferdinand, who then had himself crowned king.

Ferdinand's death in 1065 led to another short-lived Galician state. In 1063 he had opted to partition his realm,Portela Silva (2001) pp. 47–48. giving the eastern Kingdom of Castile to his eldest son, Sancho II, along with the right to the '' paria'' (tribute) from the Taifa of Zaragoza. His second son Alfonso VI was given the Kingdom of León, representing the central portion of the old realm, with the '' paria'' from Toledo. His youngest son, García II, who had been educated in Galicia under the tutelage of bishop Cresconius of Compostela, received the western half of Bermudo's old kingdom as King of Galicia, along with the right to ''parias'' from the Taifas of Badajoz and Seville.

As king, Garcia aimed to restore the old episcopal sees of Tui, Lamego, and Braga, which had been dissolved due to Arab and Viking assaults. The death of two of his most notable supporters, bishops Cresconius of Compostela and Uistrarius of Lugo, left the young king in a weaker position, and in 1071 the Count of Portugal, Nuno Mendes, rose in rebellion. García defeated and killed him in the same year at the Battle of Pedroso, and in recognition of his solidified control adopted the title King of Galicia and Portugal. However, his brothers, Alfonso and Sancho, immediately turned on the victor, forcing García to flee, first to central Portugal and later—after defeating him near Santarém—into exile in Seville in 1072. García's realm was divided, with Alfonso joining the county of Portugal to his Kingdom of León, while Sancho held the north.

This situation was inherently unstable, with Sancho's lands separated by Alfonso's León, and the two soon fought a war in which Sancho proved victorious, forcing Alfonso into exile and reuniting all of Ferdinand's kingdom except the autonomous city of Zamora, held by his sister Urraca. While besieging this town in 1072, Sancho was assassinated, inducing Alfonso to return and claim the entire realm. García also returned in 1073 from his exile, either with the hope of re-establishing himself in Galicia, or simply having been misled by promises of safety from Alfonso, however, he was imprisoned by Alfonso for the rest of his life, dying in 1091. As an aftermath to these events, before 1088 Alfonso deposed the bishop of Compostela, Diego Peláez, who was charged "on trying to deliver the Kingdom of Galicia ">/nowiki>"Galleciae Regnum"/nowiki> to the king of the English and of the Normans /nowiki>William the Conqueror">William_the_Conqueror.html" ;"title="/nowiki>William the Conqueror">/nowiki>William the Conqueror/nowiki>, while taking it away from the kings of the Spaniards". This reunion with the Kingdom of León would prove permanent, although both kingdoms maintained their separate personality.

Raymond of Burgundy

In 1091 the daughter of King Alfonso VI, ''infanta'' Urraca, married a Burgundy (region)">Burgundian nobleman, Raymond of Burgundy">Burgundy_(region).html" ;"title="Urraca of León and Castile">Urraca, married a Burgundy (region)">Burgundian nobleman, Raymond of Burgundy, who had participated in the Crusades against the Almoravids. His military victories as well as his Anscarids, Anscarid lineage justified this union, and Alfonso bestowed on him the government of Galicia between Cape Ortegal and Coimbra, as a personal fief. This union gave rise to the House of Burgundy, which would rule in Galicia, León, and Castile until the death of King Peter.

Two years after Raymond's marriage, in 1093, another French crusader, his cousin Henry, the grandson of Duke Robert I of Burgundy and nephew of Alfonso's queen, was given the hand of the Alfonso's illegitimate daughter Theresa, receiving lands in Castille. Both Burgundians were close allies in the affairs of the realm, ratifying a pact of friendship where Raymond promised his cousin the Kingdom of Toledo or the Kingdom of Galicia, together with a third of his treasure, in return for Henry's aid in acquiring the crown as successor of King Alfonso. However, by 1097 King Alfonso granted Henry the counties of Portugal and Coimbra, from the river Minho to the Tagus,Reilly (1982) p. 29. thus limiting the powers of Raymond, who by this time was securing an important nucleus of partisans in Galicia, including Count Pedro Fróilaz de Traba, whilst appointing his own notary, Diego Gelmírez, as bishop of Compostela. In successive years he also obtained the government of Zamora, Salamanca, and Ávila, but he died in 1107, two years before King Alfonso, who was now in his seventies. The government of Galicia and their other possessions was retained by Alfonso's widow, Urraca, who styled herself Mistress and Empress of Galicia. King Alfonso, in a council held in León, asked the magnates of Galicia to swear an oath on the defense of the rights of his grandson, Alfonso Raimúndez, to the kingdom of Galicia, in case his mother Urraca remarried.

On June 30, 1109, King Alfonso VI died. He was succeeded by Queen Urraca, who was remarried in 1109 to the king of Aragon, Alfonso the Battler, a soldier by nature who was immediately received as king in Castille and León, but not in Galicia. As part of the marriage settlement, any children born to the union were to have priority over Raymond's son Alfonso in the succession. In Galicia this union was rejected by the old party of count Raymond, now led by count Pedro Fróilaz, tutor of young Alfonso, although the partisans of Urraca also joined forces. With Leon and Castille quiet and under control, Alfonso moved on Galicia in 1110, and while he did not suffer any major defeat, he had little success, returning three months later to León. Probably as a consequence of this development, Pedro Froila drew Diego Gelmirez to his party. In 1111, the young Alfonso Raimúndez was crowned and anointed king in Compostela.

Separation of the County of Portugal (1128)

On the death of Henry in 1112, his widow Theresa succeeded him as head of the two Counties of Portugal and Coimbra, during the minority of her son, Afonso Henriques. Two trends emerged at this time, firstly a policy of rapprochement with the new King Alfonso VII, and secondly the maintenance of their power with the aim that the heir to the county would be proclaimed king. The increasing importance of Santiago de Compostela—now metropolitan church of Lusitania, which was in open competition with Braga, metropolitan church of Galicia—and the support for Theresa's rule north of the Minho brought about by her romantic union with Fernando Pérez de Traba altered the ''status quo''. The Archbishop of Braga, who had suffered the nocturnal theft of several relics, including the body of Saint Fructuosus of Braga, by Diego Gelmirez in 1102, and the major Portuguese aristocrats who were pursuing a larger territorial authority, gave support to the royal pretensions of Afonso Henriques. Given this situation, King Alfonso VII marched on Portugal, taking first Tui and other territories north of the river Minho, later besieging Guimarães and obtaining the submission of the Portuguese.

Several months later, in 1128, inspired by the shortcomings of Afonso Henriques, the Galician and Portuguese troops of Theresa and Fernando Perez de Trava entered Portugal, but the men of Afonso scored a decisive victory at the Battle of São Mamede. The later death of Theresa, and Afonso's success against the Moors at the Battle of Ourique, led to him being proclaimed King of the Portuguese in 1139, this independence being recognized at the Treaty of Zamora in 1143. Still, the status of frontier lands such as Toroño and Limia in southern Galicia led to frequent border conflicts during most of the Lower Middle Ages.

Compostelan era (1111–1230)

At Santiago de Compostela on September 17, 1111 the Galician high nobility crowned Alfonso VII, the son of Raymond and Urraca, as king of Galicia, and he was anointed by bishop Diego Gelmírez; the coronation was led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba, who had been Alfonso's mentor throughout his childhood. The coronation was intended to preserve the rights of the son of Raymond of Burgundy in Galicia, at a time when Urraca effectively delivered the kingdoms of Castile and León to her new husband, Alfonso the Battler of Aragon and Navarre.

The ceremony in Compostela was more symbolic than effective, and Diego Gelmírez, Pedro Fróilaz, and other Galician nobles headed first to Lugo, and later to the royal seat in León to enthrone Alfonso VII there. However, they were intercepted at Viadangos, near León, by the troops of Alfonso the Battler. The Galician knights charged, but they were outnumbered and surrounded by the Aragonese infantry, who defeated the Galicians and frustrated their plans. Pedro Fróilaz was taken prisoner, whilst other nobles were killed, but bishop Gelmírez managed to escape, delivering his protégé, the young king, to his mother, who began acting against her new husband. From then until Alfonso VII came of age and Urraca died, the entire realm lived under a constant state of civil war, experiencing frequent seizures and shifting alliances between mother and child, and between Urraca and her Aragonese husband. This same civil war was evident in the kingdom of Galicia, where partisans of Diego Gelmirez, of Pedro Fróilaz, and of other nobles and warlords, found themselves battling each other as defenders of either Queen Urraca or King Alfonso VII, or under their own agenda, whilst Alfonso of Aragón and Theresa of Portugal also had their own supporters.
With Calixtus II, uncle of Alfonso VII, becoming Pope, Diego Gelmírez secured the elevation of Compostela into an archdiocese in 1120 through a steady flow of generous donations sent to Rome. Bishop Diego attempted to gain recognition for Compostela by becoming primate of Spain, but lost the title to Toledo, the old Visigoth capital. Later, however, he sought to have Compostela recognized as the metropolitan church of the Kingdom of Galicia, in opposition to the church of Braga, which had been the metropolitan since at least the days of Martin of Dumio. Calixtus II did not grant Gelmirez's claims, but finally decided to enlarge Compostela's jurisdiction in an anomalous fashion: instead of Galicia, Compostela was granted control over the old jurisdiction of Mérida, the former metropolitan church of Lusitania, which was then under Muslim control without a bishop. Consequently, the bishops of Coimbra, Lamego, Viseu, or Salamanca, among others, were subjected to the rule of Compostela. Braga, metropolitan of the cities of Galicia other than Compostela, found itself limited by the jurisdiction of the latter, and became the centre of the movement for the independence of Portugal. In 1128 the leader of the Galician nobility, Fernando Peres de Trava, together with his lover Countess Theresa of Portugal, who were acting with absolute liberty in most of Galicia and Portugal, were defeated by Afonso Henriques, Theresa's son. This was the foundation of the future kingdom of Portugal.
On his death in 1156, Alfonso VII divided his domains under pressure from the Castilian and Galician nobles, bequeathing León and Galicia to his second son, Ferdinand II. Ferdinand, who had been using the title of ''King of Galicia'' at least since 1152, had been as a child ward of the influential Count Fernando Peres de Trava, heir and son of Count Pedro Fróilaz, who in turn had been tutor of Alfonso VII. In 1158 the death of his brother Sancho III of Castile permitted him to intervene the Castilian internal affairs, which led him to use the title ''Rex Hispaniarum''. In his own realm, he continued his father's policies by granting ''Cartas Póvoa'' or ''Foros'' (constitutional charters) to towns such as Padrón, Ribadavia, Noia, Pontevedra and Ribadeo, most of them possessing important harbors or sited in rich valleys. Thus he promoted the growth of the bourgeoisie and improved the local economy through the expansion of commerce. He also contributed to the economic and artistic development of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, at least after the death of bishop Martin in 1168, and under the rule of two of his closest subjects, bishops Pedro Gudestéiz and Pedro Suárez de Deza. Ferdinand died in 1188, in Benavente, leaving two main claimants to the throne: his sons Sancho, born of a Castilian noblewoman, and Alfonso, from Ferdinand's first marriage, to Urraca of Portugal. Alfonso, supported by the Galician nobility and by the archbishop of Compostela Pedro Suárez de Deza, hastened to Santiago de Compostela carrying the remains of his father and proclaiming himself King there. Unlike his father, he dropped the title of "King of the Spains", preferring the use of "King of León" and "King of León and Galicia".
Alfonso IX's long reign was characterized by his rivalry with Castile and Portugal, and by the promotion of the royal power at the expense of the church and nobility, whilst maintaining his father's urban development policies. He was one of the first European monarchs to call for a general council, summoning not only the nobility and the Church, but also the inhabitants of the towns and cities, presaging modern representative parliaments. The last years of his reign were also marked by the conquest of large areas of what is now Extremadura (including the cities of Cáceres, Mérida and Badajoz) then in the hands of the Almohad Caliphate, a territory also wanted by the Portuguese.

Alfonso granted constitutional charters to the towns of Betanzos, A Coruña, Baiona, Salvaterra de Miño, Verín, Monforte de Lemos, O Valadouro, Milmanda, Bo Burgo de Castro Caldelas, Melide, Sarria and Triacastela, sited in good harbors along the Galician coastline, by the Miño river, or at major crossroads in the country. These new ''reguengo'' villages (royal villages under direct royal political and economical control, and administered by their autonomous city councils), each one usually known as a ''burgo'' due to its walled circuits, attracted peasants, who could find better living conditions under the direct protection of the king than abroad under the authority of a bishop, a monastery or a nobleman; they also attracted foreigners, most notably artisans and merchants, who brought new trends and knowledge. These burgs effected a revolution in the social structure of the time, leading to economic diversification, removing the dominant autarky of the previous centuries, and facilitating the development of fishing and pre-industrial mass production of some resources, especially salted and dried fish, fish oil, and wine, marketed through the seaports to England and the Mediterranean.

In these cities and villages the emergence of an associative movement led to the creation of permanent city councils, and the organization of artisan guilds or ''confrarías'', which would in time acquire a religious hue just to avoid being banned or punished in their patrimonies. These new burgs also allowed a number of minor noble houses to consolidate power by occupying the new administrative and political offices, in open competition with the new classes: mayors, aldermen (''regedores'', ''alcaldes'', ''justiças''), agents and other officials (''procuradores'', ''notarios'', ''avogados'') and judges () of the town council; or ''mordomos'' and (leader and deputies) of the diverse guilds.

Throughout this century there was also a rapid growth of the rural population, resulting in a larger force of farm labor which consequently allowed the great monasteries to develop new agricultural lands. This, coupled with the improvement of farming equipment and techniques, such as the introduction of the heavy wheeled plough, resulted in an increase in productivity that impacted the people's lifestyles. The distribution of this increased productivity between peasants and lords was regulated by the establishment of ''foros'' or lifelong contracts, frequently spanning several generations or ''vozes''. The economic and social transformations led to profound changes in mindset. In the towns, it initiated a religious and intellectual renewal under the mendicant orders, most notably the Franciscans, who instituted social reforms.

Compostela, "capital and looking glass" of the Kingdom of Galicia, became a showcase of this thriving era, reflected in Master Matthew's work in the granite of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela—especially in the ''Portico da Gloria'' and in Prateria's façade—demonstrating a prosperity also witnessed through the numerous surviving Romanesque buildings in Galicia. This period is also responsible for Latin literary creations such as the '' Codex Calixtinus'' and the '' Historia Compostellana''. The ''Historia'' is an extensive chronicle of the deeds of the bishop of Compostela, Diego Gelmirez, and, though partisan, it is a source of great significance for the understanding of contemporary events and Galician society in the first half of the 12th century.

Union under the Crown of Castile (1230)

In the early Medieval era, a fluid pattern of union and division was observed among the states of Christian Iberia. While marriage of royals had resulted in the union of some of these states—for example between Navarre and Aragon, and Castile and León—subsequent divisions amongst heirs created a dynamic pattern of union and separation. However, the 12th century initiated a series of unions that would prove permanent.

Alfonso IX married twice. From his first marriage to Teresa of Portugal he had a son, Ferdinand, and two daughters, Sancha and Aldonza. From his second marriage to Berengaria of Castile, he had five children: Eleanor, who died as a child, a second Ferdinand, Alfonso, Berengaria, and Constance. The death of Alfonso IX's son from his first marriage, Ferdinand, in 1214 left the younger Ferdinand, from his second marriage, as heir to his father. When the Castilian king, Henry I, died in 1217 and Berengaria ceded her rights to her son, Ferdinand became King of Castile, against the will of his father.

To preserve the independence of his realm, Alfonso IX applied Galician-Leonese inheritance customs to nominate Aldonza as future queen of Galicia and Sancha as queen of León, enlisting their uncle Afonso II of Portugal to support their succession. Alfonso died in 1230 in Sarria, while on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela to thank the apostle for his help in the conquest of Extremadura, and his body was taken there for burial. Most of the Leonese nobility cleaved to Ferdinand, who also gained the support of the new Portuguese king, Sancho II. After clashes in León and Galicia, Alfonso IX's two former wives, Berengaria and Theresa, reached an agreement whereby Theresa induced Aldonza and Sancha to abandon their regal claims in exchange for an annuity. As a result, Ferdinand III became successor to Alfonso's kingdoms of León and Galicia, bringing about a permanent union into what would come to be called the Crown of Castile, wherein the kingdoms continued as administrative entities under the unified rule of a single monarch.

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela