Fruela (usurper)

Fruela (or Froila) was briefly the king of Asturias in 866 after usurping the throne from Alfonso III.

Events

Prior to seizing the throne, Fruela was a count in or of Galicia. There he presided over a legal hearing in Lugo on 5 June 861. The hearing took place "in the presence of the lord count Fruela [and he] adjudicated it". He later got into a legal dispute over the villa of Carcacía with the diocese of Iria Flavia. After assuming power, he confiscated the land in question.

When Ordoño I died on 27 May 866, his son Alfonso, either fourteen or eighteen years old, succeeded him. A charter issued by Alfonso on 18 June 866 attests to his succession. Sometime after that date, Fruela seized the throne and forced Alfonso into exile in Castile or Álava. Within a few months, the usurper had been assassinated in Oviedo. Alfonso's restoration had taken place by 20 January 867, when he restored to Iria Flavia the land that Fruela had confiscated. This charter was confirmed by Count Rodrigo of Castile, who had evidently returned with Alfonso to Oviedo. He may have had a role in defeating Fruela.
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