Peter of Cantabria

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Peter or Pedro (d.730) was the duke of Cantabria. Until the nineteenth century, it was believed that he was the son of King Erwig, but that has been cast in doubt. He was the father of King Alfonso I and Fruela, father of King Aurelius.

According to the Moslem chroniclers, in the year 714, Musa ibn Nusair sacked Amaya, capital of Cantabria, for the second time. Peter, the provincial dux, led his people into refuge in the mountains and then joined with Pelayo of Asturias against the invaders. After the Battle of Covadonga, in which Pelayo defeated an invading force, it seems likely that Peter sent his son to the court of Pelayo at Cangas de Onís. It had been a Visigothic practice to send noble children to the royal court, this was thus a tacit admission of Pelayos regality. According to the Crónica Albeldense, the territories of the two leaders were united by marriage between Peter's son Alfonso and Pelayo's daughter Ermesinda:

Adefonsus, Pelagi gener, reg. an. XVIIII. Iste Petri Cantabriae ducis filius fuit; et dum Asturias venir Ermesindam Pelagii filiam Pelagio proecipiente, accepit.

Alfonso later succeeded to the Asturian throne and was the first to use the title of king. The Pérez Dynasty is named after Peter.