230 EARLY MEDIEVAL SPAINreign suggests that information on the church reforms being imple-
mented in Francia was sent to the Asturias by the medium of Bishop
Theodulf of Orleans, himself of Gothic descent.^12 No trust should be
placed in this tradition, nor in the existence of a Council of Oviedo
being held in this reign.
Alfonso, who seemingly deserved his nickname 'the Chaste', died
without heirs, and was buried in Oviedo in the church of Santa Maria,
his own foundation. Alfonso's designated heir seems to have been
Nepotian, probably a nephew of the late king and Count of the Pal-
ace, the chief officer of the royal court (see Table I). However, he was
immediately opposed by Ramiro, son of the former king Vermudo I,
who was absent from court getting married at the time of Alfonso II's
death. His support came from Galicia -and it is interesting to note
that his name is Suevic - whilst that of his rival was Asturian and
Basque. However, the latter appears to have been half-hearted, and
Nepotian's followers deserted him when he marched against Ramiro.
He was captured in flight by Counts Scipio and Sonna, and blinded
on the victor's orders. Interestingly two tenth-or eleventh-century
regnal lists include Nepotian as a legitimate king.^13 The appearance
of names like Scipio, drawn from a very distant Roman past, may
indicate something of a classicising tendency in the court circles of
Alfonso II.
The short reign of Ramiro I (842-850), probably already elderly at
his accession, continued to be plagued by disaffection and conspiracy.
Two subsequent Counts of the Palace, Aldoratus and Piniolus, were
executed for treason, the latter together with his seven sons. No other
Asturian king is known to have had so much trouble with his court
nobility, and this may reflect the hostility of the Palatine aristocracy
towards a ruler whose strength lay in Galicia. Ramiro, perhaps delib-
erately avoiding the constructions of Alfonso II, built a new palace
complex, comprising throne-room, chapel and baths, some of which
still survives, on Monte Naranco to the north of Oviedo. Interestingly
the decorative styles displayed on the extant hall (now a church) and
chapel are notably different from those to be seen in Alfonsine Oviedo
and may perhaps be Galician. Ramiro I died peacefully on 1 February
850 and was succeeded by his son OrdOIio I (850-866).
Over a century after the depopulation of the Duero valley by Alfonso
I, the Asturian kingdom was at last able to expand itself south of the
Cantabrian mountains into the Meseta, and under Ordono I a number
of towns in the north of the region, including Leon and Astorga,