Asturian Monarch. The actual facts of his life are far sketchier than his legend, but as far as can be determined, he was possibly a member of the royal bodyguard of the Spanish Visigothic king, Roderick, and he may have been of royal blood. He survived the 711 defeat of the Visigoths by the Moors at the Battle of Guadalete near Medina Sidonia. He escaped capture and returned to his native Asturias where he set himself up as the leader of a rebellion against the Moorish governor of the area. He was captured in 717 and imprisoned. He escaped, however, and returned to Asturias, where he defeated the Moors, and established the Kingdom of Asturias in 718, and in accordance with Visigoth custom, he was elected as the his nation's first king. During 718 and 719, Pelayo and his followers managed to expel Moorish forces from Asturias. He held the territory against a number of attempts to re-establish control. He, and sources indicate his wife, Gaudiosa, defeated a powerful Moorish force sent to reconquer Asturias at the Battle of Covadonga circa 722. Moorish chronicles of the event derisively described Pelayo and his force as "thirty wild donkeys," but the Moors never again seriously threatened the independence of the Asturians. This victory, has been credited with igniting the spark that led to the Reconquista. He and his wife had two surviving children, his son, Favila, succeeded him as king, and his daughter, Ermesinda, married the future king, Alfonso I. After his death, he was entombed in the church of Santa Eulalia de Abamia, which was located near the village of Corao, near his capital, Cangas de Onís. His remains were later transferred by King Alfonso X to Cavadonga, as were those of his wife.