Vermudo II

Bermudo II
Bermudo II in the Libro de las Estampas
King of León
Reign	984–999
Predecessor	Ramiro III
Successor	Alfonso V
King of Galicia
Reign	982–999
Predecessor	Ramiro III
Successor	Alfonso V
Born	c. 953
Died	c. 999
Burial	Monastery of Carracedo later Basilica of San Isidoro
Consort	Velasquita Ramírez Elvira García
Issue	Alfonso V
Dynasty	Astur-Leonese dynasty
Father	Ordoño III of León
Mother	Urraca Fernández (?)
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Bermudo (or Vermudo) II (c. 953 – September 999), called the Gouty (Spanish: el Gotoso), 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 (died 1153), 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.

In 982 the Galician nobility proclaimed Bermudo, a son of former king Ordoño III of León, as king in opposition to his cousin Ramiro III. This usurpation is usually seen as the extension of ongoing succession crises begun in the 950s. At the time of the usurpation Bermudo II's faction was led by Gonzalo Menéndez and that of Ramiro III by Rodrigo Velázquez. Bermudo was crowned in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela on 15 October 982. It is probable that two episcopal opponents of his coronation—Rodrigo's son Pelayo, then bishop of Santiago, and Arias Peláez, bishop of Mondoñedo—were exiled from their sees to the monasteries of Celanova and San Martín de Lalín, respectively, at this time.