Bermudo II of León

Bermudo II, called the Gouty ( _es. el Gotoso) (956-999), king of Galicia (982-999) and León (984-999), was the son of Ordoño III of León. He was raised by the nobility against the king Ramiro III in Galicia in 982. He married firstly Velasquita Ramirez, with whom he had a daughter, Cristina. He married secondly Elvira García of Castile, daughter of the Castilian count García Fernández, with whom he had three children: Alfonso, Theresa, and Sancha. He also had two bastards: Elvira and Pelayo.

He was brought to power only through the support of the Galician and Portuguese nobilities and required the protection of the Caliphate of Córdoba. There was much unrest in Castile in his early years and the Cordoban armies of Almanzor came, not as allies, but as conquerors. He recuperated Zamora, but did not succeed in expelling the Moors, through force of arms, until 987.

For this, Almanzor set out to destroy Coimbra. After advancing on León, he besieged it and razed it. Bermudo took refuge in Zamora. The Moslems continued rampaging. Troops conquered Astorga (996) and sacked Santiago de Compostela (997).

In 999, the gout from which he suffered was aggravated and this made it impossible for him to ride any longer. He travelled by litter. That year, he died in Villanueva del Bierzo and was buried in the monastery of Carracedo. Later, his remains were transferred to the Cathedral of León.