Gaula is a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

, in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Santa Cruz in the island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

. The population in 2011 was 4,028, in an area of 6.95 km².Eurostat
It is located northeast of the island capital of

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of ...

History

Gaula's history is tied to universe of local history, popular culture, literature, traditions and customs; it was originally referred to as the ''terra do amadis de Gaula'' (''Land of Amadis de Gaula''), ''terra de adelos'' (''Land of the wandering salesmen''), ''terras de doutores'' (''Lands of the Doctors''), ''terra de padres'' (''Land of Priests''), ''terra das amoras'' (''Land of the Blackberries'') and ''terras de malvasias'' (''Land of the

Malvasia Malvasia (, also known as Malvazia) is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. I ...

''), among others, that served to identify it from other regions of the island. Many of these names arose of tradition and legend, when Gaulês were interrogated about the birthplace, they would respond with merry comments, such as ''I am from Gaula, what do you have with that'', or outside the blackberry harvest, ''I am from Gaul for my sins''. The oldest documented references referring to Gaula extend to 1509, when King

Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: *Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was ...

conceded this location the right to construct a small chapel to ''Santa Maria da Luz''. Its toponymy was influenced by chivalrous romances of the medieval era, namely, the historical romanance ''Amadis de Gaula'' from the 14th century. During this era the lands were homes to signeurial families, such as the horseman Lançarote Teixeira de Gaula and Helena de Góis, children of Lançarote Teixeira, who was the son of

Tristão Vaz Teixeira Tristão Vaz Teixeira (c. 1395–1480) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who, together with João Gonçalves Zarco and Bartolomeu Perestrelo, was the official discoverer and one of the first settlers of the archipelago of Madeira (1419–142 ...

, first Captain-donatário of Machico. The parish included the two ecclesiastical parishes: ''Nossa Senhora da Luz'' in the south, and ''Achada de Gaula'', in the a north. From the 15th century, the region that would become known as Gaula, became inhabited by settlers from northern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Gaula was elevated to the status of civil parish in 1558.

Geography

The parish of Gaula consists of the localities Achada de Baixo, Achada de Cima, Achada da Rocha, Aldonça, Beatas, Contenda, Farrobo, Fazenda, Fazendinha, Fonte, Fonte do Lopo, Furtados, Lajes, Levadas, Lobas, Lombadinha, Salão, São João, Pico, Porto Novo and Povo.

References

{{authority control Freguesias of Santa Cruz, Madeira