THE CHRISTIAN REALMS 235mysterious. It has been argued that this is the result of the translation
of relics of the saint from Merida, as certainly occurred in the case of
Eulalia.^19 However, the Meridan evidence consists only of the dedica-
tion inscription of a late sixth-century church, recording the relics
that were deposited under its altar, a normal part of consecration.^20
Although the name of St James is found there it occurs seventh out
of twelve in the list. Nothing as important as the whole body of an
Apostle, which is what the Galicians claim to have, could have been
referred to in this way. The origin of the Galician relic thus remains
unknown.
It is certain, though, that before its development in the eleventh
and twelth centuries, which was to lead to its pre-eminence in Span-
ish Christianity, the cult of Santiago was an essentially Galician affair.
The Asturian kings, who often had difficulties in retaining the loyal-
ties of the Galicians, obviously found it prudent to associate them-
selves with the cult by such acts of patronage as church-building and
doubtless the giving of votive offerings, such as the jewelled cross
presented by Alfonso III in 874. However, it was Oviedo that re-
mained the centre of their realm and there they began to build up
a powerful collection of relics of their own, some of which may still
be seen in the camara sancta in the Cathedral. More interest in San-
tiago was evinced in the succeeding Leonese kingdom in the tenth
century, in which settlers from Galicia probably played a prominent
part. However it remained only one of a number of cults that at-
tracted royal support, while in Castille at this time veneration of the
sixth-century hermit Aemilian came into prominence.^21 This cult
doubtless articulated the growing Castillian sense of identity in the
way that of Santiago did for the Galicians.
The transference of power from Alfonso III to his sons in 910
marks the end of royal residence in the Asturias, and the final re-
moval of the centre of government from the former heartland of the
kingdom into the recently settled frontier regions to the south. Out-
grown, the Asturias were thenceforth left behind in the continuing
development of the Spanish Christian kingdoms, and it is customary
to refer to the state ruled by the sons and heirs of Alfonso III as the
Kingdom of Leon, its new centre of administration and the court.
The details of the movements of population from the old settlements
to the new and migration from the increasingly Islamicised south are
poorly recorded beyond the brief details of foundations recorded in
charters, but the transportation of the royal government from behind