The civil system of the infant monarchy was no further advanced. The exiled subjects of Roderick still retained, in some measure, the maxims and traditions of government. The people, among whom their lot was cast and who greatly outnumbered them, had, however, little knowledge of, and no reverence for, the Visigothic Code. The duchy of Cantabria, to which the latter mainly belonged, was never more than a nominal fief of the kingdom of Toledo. The fueros, or laws, by which they had been governed through successive foreign dominations of the Peninsula were of immemorial antiquity. Their long-preserved independence had nourished in their minds sentiments of arrogance and assumed superiority which were often carried to a ridiculous extreme. These influences had no small share in the subsequent formation of the Spanish constitution.
Thus, in a desolate and barren region; insignificant in numbers; destitute of resources; ignorant of the arts of civilization; without military system or civil polity; with neither court, hierarchy, nor capital; animated by the incentives of religious zeal and inherited love of freedom, a handful of barbarians laid the foundations of the renowned empire of Spain and the Indies.
The bustle which necessarily attended the warlike preparations of Pelayus was not long in attracting the attention of the government of Cordova. Information was conveyed to Anbasah-Ibn-Sohim, the representative of the Khalif, concerning the league that had been formed between the fugitive Goths and the denizens of the Asturias, as well as of the objects of the expedition which was organizing in the northern wilderness. The Emir, whose contempt for his enemies, added to a profound ignorance of the character of the country they inhabited, induced him to underestimate the difficulties to be encountered in their subjection, did not deem it worth his while to attack them in person. He naturally thought little was to be apprehended from the irregular hostilities of a few refugees who had retired with precipitation at the approach of the Moorish cavalry, united with a horde of vagabond shepherds and hunters unaccustomed to discipline and inexperienced in warfare. In his blind depreciation of the prowess of his adversaries, Anbasah-Ibn-Sohim left out of consideration many circumstances which influenced, in a marked degree, the subsequent fortunes of the Moslem domination in Spain. Their numerical inferiority was of trifling moment in a country thoroughly familiar to its inhabitants, but hitherto unexplored by the Saracens, and whose steep and tortuous pathways afforded such facilities for resisting an intruder that points might readily be selected where a score of men could, with little effort, successfully withstand a thousand. The Emir took no account of the mists which always enshrouding the sierra often entirely obscured the landscape; of the dense forests which might so effectually conceal the ambuscade; of the sudden and destructive rise of the mountain torrents; of the dangers attendant upon the landslide and the avalanche. Nor did he appreciate the feelings which must have been inspired by the desperate situation in which the Christians were placed. They were at bay in their last stronghold. Once driven from the shelter of their friendly mountains nothing remained for them but death or slavery. Their retreat into France was cut off by the Arab column now advancing into Septimania. Their brethren throughout the Peninsula had bowed before the sceptre of the Khalif, and no assistance could be expected from them. Their patriotic ardor was excited by the proud consciousness of independence and by apprehensions of the degradation of servitude; their pious frenzy was aroused by the destruction which menaced the religion of their fathers. In their camp were the sole memorials of a monarchy whose princes had dictated terms to the Mistress of the World. Around them on every side were sacred relics which had been visited from far and wide by pilgrims, whose miraculous power in the healing of disease it was sacrilege to doubt, and which had not only brought relief to the suffering but also comfort and salvation in the hour of death. God had made them the custodians of these treasures rescued from His desecrated altars; truly He would not abandon them in time of peril. By every artifice peculiar to their craft; by all the fervid appeals of eloquence; by every promise of present and prospective advantage; and by every threat of future retribution, the prelates inflamed the zeal of their fanatical hearers. They, more than any other class, understood the gravity of the situation. While not anticipating the power which the sacerdotal order was to attain over the temporal affairs of the Peninsula in coming centuries, they were not ignorant that the result of the impending conflict involved its supremacy or their own annihilation. Thus, at the very birth of the Spanish monarchy, appears predominant the ecclesiastical power which contributed more than all other causes to its eventual decay. Taking these facts into consideration, it is evident that the conquest of the Asturias would have required an ample force conducted by an experienced commander, whose talents, however respectable, could hardly have accomplished the task in a single campaign. But the Emir, who was on the point of invading France and did not deign to delay his expedition for the purpose of chastising a band of vagrant barbarians, detached a division, under an officer named Alkamah, to reduce the Asturias to subjection and exact the payment of tribute.
The Arab general, aside from the natural impediments which obstructed the march of an army through one of the most rugged localities of Europe, experienced but little trouble in his advance. The scattered collections of hovels which he encountered were deserted. No flocks were feeding on the hill-sides. All signs of cultivation were obliterated, and everything which could afford subsistence to an enemy had been removed or destroyed. The features of the entire landscape were those of a primeval waste. Through the defiles, without resistance, and almost without the sight of a human being except his own soldiers, Alkamah penetrated to the very heart of the Asturias, lured on by the wily mountaineers to a point where his superior numbers, so far from availing him, would be a positive disadvantage, and from whence retreat would be impossible.
Upon the eastern border of the wilderness, amidst a chaos of rocks, forests, ravines, and streamlets, rises the imposing peak of Auseba. The northern side of this mountain for a hundred feet from its base presents a steep and frowning precipice closing one end of a narrow valley, and whose almost perpendicular sides are only accessible to the trained and venturesome native. A cave, in whose depths three hundred men could readily be sheltered, exists in the face of the cliff, and through the gorge beneath run the troubled waters forming the source of the river Deva. A path, completely commanded by the heights upon either side, winds through the undergrowth and gives access to the cave and its environs, in former times the resort of benighted goatherds. In this spot, admirably adapted to purposes of defence, Pelayus determined to make his final stand. All non-combatants were secreted in the forest. Ambushes were posted along the only path by which an approach was practicable. In the cavern, whose name, Covadonga, is still revered by every Asturian noble and peasant, Pelayus concealed himself with a body of men selected for their courage and the superiority of their arms. Skirmishers now appeared in the front of the Moslem army, which, with a confidence born of former success, without hesitation followed its treacherous guides into the fatal valley. No sooner was the command of Alkamah within arrow-shot of the cave than the mountaineers sprang from their hiding-places. Wild cries of defiance and expectant triumph echoed from the rocky slopes of the ravine. From every hand the projectiles of the Christians poured down upon the heads of their astonished foes. When the ammunition of the bows and slings was exhausted, the sturdy peasants rolled down great stones and trunks of trees, which crushed a score of men at a single blow. Massed together, and thrown into confusion by the unexpected attack, the Saracens could not use their weapons to advantage. Their arrows rebounded harmlessly from the rocks. The agility of their enemies and the character of the ground prevented a hand-to-hand engagement, which the inferior strength of the Christians naturally prompted them to avoid. Unable to endure the storm of missiles which was rapidly depleting their ranks, the Saracens attempted to retrace their steps. The first intimation of a desire to retreat was the signal for redoubled activity on the part of the Asturians. Pelayus and his band, issuing from the cave, fell upon the rear of the enemy. The detachments upon the flanks closed in, and the unfortunate Moslems, surrounded and almost helpless, resigned themselves to their fate. The battle became a massacre. To add to the discomfiture of the invaders, a fearful tempest, which, in a latitude whose air is always charged with moisture, often comes without warning, burst upon the valley. In a few moments the little brook had swollen into a roaring torrent. A section of the mountain-side, undermined and already tottering and crowded with terror-stricken Saracens, gave way, carrying with it hundreds of victims to be engulfed in the rushing waters. A trifling number of fugitives, aided by the darkness and the storm, succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the mountaineers, but the great majority of those composing the detachment, including all of its officers, perished. The estimated loss of the Moslems varies, according to the nationality of the annalist, from three thousand to one hundred and twenty-four thousand. In this, as in all other instances where the statements of the Arab and Christian writers of that age conflict, the preference should be given to the assertions of the former. The valley of Covadonga is so restricted in extent, especially where the battle took place, that it would with difficulty afford standing room for twenty thousand combatants. The vainglorious character of the northern Spaniard, who possesses not a little of the braggadocio of his cousin, the Gascon, has incited him to grossly magnify the importance of an exploit which requires no exaggeration; and his fabulous accounts have been recorded, with extravagant additions, by the ecclesiastical historians of the Dark Ages, with whom mendacity was the rule and accuracy the exception. Absolutely controlled by the prejudices of their profession, they studiously embellished every tale which could have a tendency to promote its interests and as carefully suppressed all hostile testimony. The monkish writers, whose credulity kept pace with their love of the marvellous, conceived that the glory of the Church was in a direct ratio to the number of infidels exterminated by her champions. To this motive are to be attributed the absurd statements concerning the losses of the enemy in every victory won by the Christian arms, a pernicious habit which was confirmed by the improbability of subsequent detection arising from the universal illiteracy of the age. The thorough unreliability of these old chroniclers in this and other particulars which might directly or indirectly affect the prestige of their order is calculated to cast suspicion over their entire narratives. When we add to these gross misrepresentations their meagre and confused accounts of the most important events, their profound ignorance of the hidden motives of human actions, their superstitious prejudices, and their incapacity of appreciating, or even of understanding, the principles of historical criticism, it may readily be perceived how arduous is the task of those who attempt to bring order out of this literary chaos. To the Arab writers, however, we can turn with a much greater degree of confidence. They make no attempts to disguise the magnitude of their reverses or to diminish the glory of their enemies. No contemporaneous account of the battle of Covadonga has descended to us. It was not for a century that its paramount importance became manifest. The attention of the clergy during that turbulent period was engrossed by the doubtful fortunes of the Church, and the exactions consequent upon the changes produced by a constant succession of rulers. The affairs of the entire Mohammedan empire were in a turmoil. In the East the chiefs of desperate factions were struggling for the throne of the khalifate. Africa was the scene of perpetual insurrection, provoked and maintained by the indomitable spirit of the Berbers. The Emirs of Spain, between the intervals of civil discord, were nursing extravagant dreams of ambition,—visions of the propagation of their faith, of the acquisition of new territories, of the subjugation of infidels, of the extension of empire. The glance of the viceroys was directed beyond the bleak Asturias towards the fertile plains of Southern France. The execution of the gigantic enterprise projected by the genius of Musa occupied their thoughts, and they were ignorant or careless of the aspirations of a handful of peasants, upon the issue of whose prowess and constancy were, even now, impending the existence of their dominion and the destinies of the Peninsula.
The meagre notices of the battle of Covadonga transmitted by Moorish chroniclers indicate that it was not considered a great disaster, and that its effects upon the posterity of both Christian and Moslem could not have been dreamed of. Yet from this eventful day practically dates the beginning of the overthrow of the Arab domination, not yet firmly established in its seat of power. Then was inaugurated the consolidation of mountain tribes, soon to be followed by the union of great provinces and kingdoms under the protection of the Spanish Crown. At that time was first thoroughly demonstrated the value of harmonious co-operation among factions long arrayed against each other in mutual hostility. Thence was derived the germ of freedom, which successfully asserted its rights under the frown of royalty, and, incorporated into the constitution of Aragon, long interposed a formidable obstacle to the encroachments of arbitrary and despotic sovereigns. During that epoch, by the fusion of races, were laid the foundations of that noble and sonorous idiom, unsurpassed in simplicity of construction, in conciseness and elegance of diction, in clear and harmonious resonance. Then was manifested for the first time the adventurous and daring spirit which carried the banners of Spain beyond the Mississippi, the Andes, and the Pacific. Then was instituted the scheme of ecclesiastical policy which, perfected by a succession of able and aspiring churchmen, placed the throne of Europe’s greatest monarchy under the tutelage of the primacy of Toledo. Then originated that fierce and interminable contest—first for self-preservation, then for plunder, lastly for empire—which for a thousand years engrossed the attention of the world.
The renown acquired by Pelayus through the victory of Covadonga raised him at once from the position of general to the dignity of king. In his election the traditions of the ancient Gothic constitution were observed. The sentiments of freedom innate in the mountaineer of every land are reluctant to admit the superiority implied by the laws of hereditary descent or by the exercise of unlimited authority. The rude ceremonies by which regal prerogatives were conceded to this guerilla chieftain could not suggest to the wildest visionary the possibility of the gorgeous ceremonial of the Spanish court or of the absolute power exercised by Charles the Fifth and Philip the Second. It is not improbable that the commands of Pelayus were frequently disputed by his half-savage retainers. But it may well be doubted if among all the nations which composed the vast dominions of the House of Austria could have been found an equal number of adherents more faithful in misfortune, more intrepid in danger, than those who formed the little band of the exiled hero. The immunity granted the Christians after their triumph would seem to rather imply contempt by the princes of Cordova than their discouragement or any apprehension of further misfortune. The moral effect of the victory, if imperceptible on the Arabs, produced at once most significant results in the regions bordering on the Asturias. The threatening attitude of the fishermen necessitated the evacuation of the coast, and Othman-Ibn-Abu-Nesa, Governor of Gijon, abandoned his charge, and, by a forced march, joined his countrymen beyond the mountains. The warlike spirit spread fast through Cantabria and Galicia, and was even felt upon the borders of what is now Leon and Castile; the Saracen colonists who had established themselves in the most fertile districts were exterminated; and the religious aspect of the struggle, which seemed to identify the cause of the insurgents with that of the Almighty, crowded the squalid hovels of the hospitable Asturians with thousands of fugitives who sought protection and liberty in the society of their friends and kinsmen.
Neither history nor tradition has ascribed to Pelayus any other military achievements than the famous one which signalized his accession to supreme power. In the retirement of his little kingdom, for the remainder of his days, he employed the security, for which he was indebted to the contempt of his enemies, in consolidating his authority; in the formation of a plan of government; in the erection of churches, shrines, and monasteries; and in encouraging among his subjects the pursuit of agriculture. His extreme devotion to the interests of the Church has obtained for his memory the grateful acknowledgment of the priesthood; while the little cross borne by him, in lieu of a standard, at Covadonga, and still preserved at Oviedo, is regarded with sentiments of peculiar reverence by the peasantry as a symbol whose miraculous powers were confirmed by the hand of God, and whose virtues were transmitted to the magnificent emblems of the Catholic hierarchy, which, the successors of the Roman eagles, sanctified in distant lands the explorations and the conquests of the Christian monarchs of the Peninsula.
The reign of Pelayus lasted thirteen years. Such were the benefits resulting from its munificence to the clergy and his justice to the people that, at his death, the sentiments of loyalty and gratitude overcame the traditions of centuries and the prejudice against hereditary descent, and Favila, his son, was permitted to succeed him by the tacitly admitted right of inheritance.
Little is known of the life of Favila excepting that it was passed in peace. Without aspirations to enlarge the circuit of his dominions, and destitute of all desire for military renown, he preferred the rude society of his companions and the excitements of the chase to the perilous and doubtful honors of warfare. Two years after his accession he was torn to pieces by a wild boar, whose fury he had rashly provoked under circumstances which admitted of no escape. He was buried by the side of his father in the church of Cangas de Onis, an insignificant hamlet not far from the battle-field of Covadonga, which was already dignified by the title of capital of the Asturias, and whose church was for many generations afterwards the pantheon of its princes.