Bermudo II, called the Gouty, was first a rival king in Galicia (982–984) and then king of the entire Kingdom of León (984–999). His reign is summed up by Justo Pérez de Urbel's description of him as "the poor king tormented in life by the sword of Almanzor and in death by the vengeful pen of a bishop," Pelagius of Oviedo, half of whose Chronicon covers the reign of Bermudo and is highly critical of the king. He accuses Bermudo of imprisoning Bishop Gudesteus of Oviedo in the 990s and blames the attacks of Almanzor on Bermudo's sins.
Bermudo II in the Libro de las Estampas
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. It was founded by the Suebic king Hermeric in 409, with its capital established in Braga. It was the first kingdom that officially adopted Catholicism. In 449, it minted its own currency. In 585, it became a part of the Visigothic Kingdom. In the 8th century, Galicia became a part of the newly founded Christian Kingdom of Asturias, which later became the Kingdom of León, while occasionally achieving independence under the authority of its own kings. 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.
Arms of the Kingdom of Galicia, illustrated in L´armorial Le Blancq, Bibliothèque nationale de France, 1560
Theodemar (or Ariamir), king of Galicia with the bishops Lucrecio, Andrew, and Martin. Codex Vigilanus (or Albeldensis), Escurial library
Miro, king of Galicia, and Martin of Braga, from an 1145 manuscript of Martin's Formula Vitae Honestae, now in the Austrian National Library. The book was originally dedicated to King Miro with the header "To King Miro, the most glorious and calm, the pious, distinguished for his Catholic faith"
Monastery of San Pedro de Rocas, Galicia, founded in 575 and inhabited until the early 20th century