Alfonso II of Asturias

Alfonso II (c. 760–842), called the Chaste, was the son of Fruela I. After his father's murder in 768, he was elected king in 783, but magnates raised his uncle Mauregatus instead. Alfonso fled to his mother's relatives in Álava and became king in 791 after Bermudo I abdicated.

He made Oviedo his capital and built several churches. After Cordoban raids in 794 he sent embassies to Charlemagne, who recognized him, and his troops sacked Lisbon in 798.

In 814 the tomb of Saint James was found at Compostela and he became its first pilgrim. His victories of 825 opened the repopulation of Galicia and León. He died in 842 after a fifty-year reign.