Monday 22 August 2005

Asturias: Spain's Royal Past, Present and Future

Spain’s Prince and Princess of Asturias couldn’t have asked for a more propitious date for the birth of their first child, due in November, for it was in that month in 1975 that the House of Bourbon was restored - for the third time - to the Spanish throne. Today, still in its first generation under the reign of King Juan Carlos I, the royal family of Spain is undoubtedly eagerly anticipating the peace-of-mind brought by a secure succession through the heir to the throne. But while the Prince and Princess of Asturias and their unborn child certainly hold the key to the future of the Spanish monarchy, few outside Spain understand the historical significance of what is known today as the Principality of Asturias, even though it was there that the foundation of today’s Spanish monarchy was laid.

Unlike in Britain, where the title given to the heir to the throne, "Prince of Wales," was secured through the military conquest of Wales, the title "Prince of Asturias" harkens back to the time when the northwestern Spanish province of Asturias was the only Christian kingdom in Muslim-ruled Iberia. The early history of the Iberian Peninsula following the fall of the Roman Empire was dominated by the Visigoths - people of Germanic origin who ruled over most of Iberia and parts of modern-day France by the 5th century. Although the Visigoths’ had started out as so-called pagans, the Visigothic kings were predominantly Christian by the early 7th century. Barely a century later, the Visigothic kingdom was under serious threat from the Moors - Muslims from North Africa - and in the year 711, the last Visigothic king was killed by Muslim forces at the Battle of Guadalete.

By this critical point in history, one of the few parts of Iberia not under total Muslim domination was Asturias. It was here that a Visigothic nobleman known as Pelayo, who had fought at and escaped the Battle of Guadalete, prepared to carve out a Christian kingdom. In 718, he achieved his first victory against the Moors and was elected king of Asturias. The vulnerable kingdom won the ultimate test of its strength in 722 when Pelayo and his Christian troops won a major victory over the Moorish army at the Battle of Covadonga, considered the first Christian victory of the Reconquista, or Reconquest, of Iberia. (The photograph at right is of the statue of Pelayo in the village of Covadonga in Asturias.)

Although the Reconquista was not completed until 1492 when, during the reign of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, the last Moorish ruler in Iberia was conquered in Granada, Pelayo’s relatively modest beginnings in Asturias had long since made a tremendous impact in Iberia. The foothold of Asturias soon allowed Pelayo’s successors to gather enough strength and support to wrest Galicia and Le�n from the Moors. Over time, Le�n became of such strategic importance that Alfonso III (r. 866 - abt. 910), known as "the Great," moved the seat of Asturian government from the capital of Asturias, Oviedo, south to the city of Le�n. Following this change, the Kingdom of Asturias eventually became known instead as the Kingdom of Le�n, which merged with the Kingdom of Castile in 1231, thus uniting a significant portion of what we know today as Spain.

This combined kingdom produced the first heir to the throne to be known as Prince of Asturias when Henry (Enrique), son of John (Juan) I of Castile and Le�n, was given the title around 1385, designating him as heir apparent. The tradition continued through the centuries and was reaffirmed in modern times by the Spanish Constitution of 1978, which states "The Crown Prince, from the time of his birth or the event conferring this position upon him, shall hold the title of Prince of Asturias and the other titles traditionally held by the heir to the Crown of Spain." This titular tie to Asturias is reinforced by the fact that the Spanish royal family can still trace its lineage back to Pelayo and the earliest foundations of Christian monarchy in Spain.

The modern personification of the Asturian royal tradition is, of course, the current Prince of Asturias, Prince Felipe, who has officially held the title since 1977. But, as most modern observers of the Spanish royal family are well aware, a more direct (and eerily coincidental) tie to Asturias lies with the Princess of Asturias, former journalist Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, who just happens to have been born in Oviedo, the capital of Asturias, in 1972. As it were, Letizia grew up in the same city where her husband has annually honored worthy individuals with the Prince of Asturias Awards since 1981. This year, she returned to her childhood home with her husband to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the award. (On the left is a photograph of the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo, which was begun in the 14th century and completed in the 16th century.)

Another part of Asturias that lays claim to Letizia is Ribadesella (seen below right), a charming fishing village not far from Oviedo on the Cantabrian Sea (Mar Cant�brico). The home of her paternal grandmother and late grandfather, Letizia has naturally spent a good deal of time visiting the area, and for some time now has been accompanied by the Prince of Asturias. Ribadesella was apparently so proud of this connection that, in September 2004, the local government announced that Letizia was being made an adoptive daughter of the town and the quayside promenade renamed in her honor.

These days, many of the sites in Asturias related to Letizia - from the church where her parents were married to her favorite local pub - can easily be found simply by following a route called "La Ruta de Letizia," mapped out by an Asturias tourist association, La Asociaci�n de Gu�as Tur�sticos de Asturias.* Naturally, the sites on the route represent present-day "royal" Asturias, as opposed to historical royal Asturias, but there’s a very good chance that increased interest in the former will perpetuate a deeper understanding of the latter. After all, the present and future of the Spanish monarchy may be closely tied with Asturias, but well over a millennium ago, Asturias laid the groundwork for making Spain and the monarchy what they are today.

Come November, the birth of the Prince and Princess of Asturias’ child will bring the Asturias connection full circle, as the child’s double-barreled Asturian heritage may one day make him or her the first hereditary Prince or Princess of Asturias in goodness-knows-how-long actually to be born of a native Asturian. Perhaps, but with all due respect to the Visigothic king, let’s just hope Felipe and Letizia don’t name the child Pelayo.

Until next time, 

- Tori Van Orden Mart�nez

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*More on "La Ruta de Letizia" (in Spanish) can be found at http://www.vivirasturias.com/asturias/turismo-rural/38030/76365/0/la-ruta-de-letizia.

All photos included in this column were taken by and are copyright of Tori V. Mart�nez and may not be reproduced without her consent.