Asturian Queen. Gaudiosa Ferrández was born in Cosgaya but her parents identities are not confirmed. Speculation has her the daughter of Trasamundo, Count of Galicia. She was purported to be of Spanish and Visigoth descent. She met her future husband, Pelayo, at a horse fair in Cosgaya. He and his family had fled Toledo after the fall of the city to Moorish forces. Pelayo, and according to many sources, Gaudiosa, became involved in several rebellions, and by 722, Pelayo was king of Asturias, his reign marking the beginning of resistance to the Moorish conquerors. While he met the Moors in the mountains of Covadonga, Gaudiosa rallied the town of Liébana, and as the Moorish army met defeat in Covadonga, the survivors fled in Gaudiosa’s direction. As they neared Liébana, the people routed them, and they fell victim to a landslide, reportedly instigated by Gaudiosa. The destruction of the Moorish forces gave rise to the area's name; Campos de la Reina, the Field of the Queen. Gaudiosa and Pelayo are credited with initiating the Reconquista of the Iberian peninsula. Gaudiosa had two surviving children; a son, Favila, who would briefly succeed Pelayo, and a daughter, Ermesinda, would marry Alfonso I. After Pelayo's death, Gaudiosa, purportedly entered a convent at Santa Cruz and was said to have succumbed to the plague within a short time. She was entombed with her husband. Her name has also been recorded as Caudiosa.
Asturian Queen. Gaudiosa Ferrández was born in Cosgaya but her parents identities are not confirmed. Speculation has her the daughter of Trasamundo, Count of Galicia. She was purported to be of Spanish and Visigoth descent. She met her future husband, Pelayo, at a horse fair in Cosgaya. He and his family had fled Toledo after the fall of the city to Moorish forces. Pelayo, and according to many sources, Gaudiosa, became involved in several rebellions, and by 722, Pelayo was king of Asturias, his reign marking the beginning of resistance to the Moorish conquerors. While he met the Moors in the mountains of Covadonga, Gaudiosa rallied the town of Liébana, and as the Moorish army met defeat in Covadonga, the survivors fled in Gaudiosa’s direction. As they neared Liébana, the people routed them, and they fell victim to a landslide, reportedly instigated by Gaudiosa. The destruction of the Moorish forces gave rise to the area's name; Campos de la Reina, the Field of the Queen. Gaudiosa and Pelayo are credited with initiating the Reconquista of the Iberian peninsula. Gaudiosa had two surviving children; a son, Favila, who would briefly succeed Pelayo, and a daughter, Ermesinda, would marry Alfonso I. After Pelayo's death, Gaudiosa, purportedly entered a convent at Santa Cruz and was said to have succumbed to the plague within a short time. She was entombed with her husband. Her name has also been recorded as Caudiosa.
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