Favila of Asturias
| Favila | |
|---|---|
 Carvings depicting Favila's last day, from the twelfth-century portal of the monastery of San Pedro de Villanueva | |
| King of Asturias | |
| Reign | 737-739 |
| Coronation | 737 |
| Predecessor | Pelagius |
| Successor | Alfonso I |
| Died |
739 Cangas de Onís, Asturias |
| Burial | Santa Cruz de Cangas de Onís |
| Consort | Froiluba |
| Dynasty | Astur-Leonese dynasty |
| Father | Pelagius |
| Mother | Gaudiosa |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Fafila, Favila, or Favilac (died 739) was the second King of Asturias from 737 until his death. He was the only son and successor of Pelagius, the first Asturian monarch, and was named after his paternal grandfather, who was the youngest son of Chindasuinth.
In 737 he founded the Church of Santa Cruz, in his capital of Cangas de Onís, but aside from this, nothing else about his reign is known.
He was said to have been killed by a bear on a hunt. The hunt was probably a political tool for fostering political ties within his court, a common medieval practice. Nonetheless, later chroniclers criticised him as given over to excessive levity.
Favila was buried with his wife Froiluba in the Church of Santa Cruz de Cangas de Onís. According to the foundation inscription of Santa Cruz, he left children, but they did not succeed him. He was succeeded by his brother-in-law Alfonso, husband of his sister Ermesinda.
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Favila of Asturias. |
- Collins, Roger. The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710–97. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1989. ISBN 0-631-15923-1.
| Preceded by Pelagius |
King of Asturias 737–739 |
Succeeded by Alfonso I |
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