Gonçalo Mendes da Maia (1079? in

Maia Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; la, Maia), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus. Family Maia is the daugh ...

? – 1170 in

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...

), also known as ''O Lidador'' (The Toiler), so named for his fearlessness in the struggle against the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

, was 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 ...

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the time of

Afonso Henriques Afonso I of PortugalOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' (Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French inf ...

, about whom tradition relates important achievements in the events preceding the

independence of Portugal The kingdom of Portugal was established from the county of Portugal in the 1130s, ruled by the Portuguese House of Burgundy. During most of the 12th and 13th centuries, its history is chiefly that of the gradual reconquest of territory from the ...

. He had a military post as a ''fronteiro'' in the border town of Beja, where he died in 1170, while fighting against a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

army. According to some documents, he was at the time ninety years old.Ribeiro, p.77 Traditionally, Gonçalo Mendes da Maia is considered a hero of both the city of

, the homeland of the Mendes da Maia family, and Beja.

Bibliology

Grande Enciclopédia Portuguesa e Brasileira ''Grande Enciclopédia Portuguesa e Brasileira'' (''Great Portuguese and Brazilian Encyclopaedia'') is a Portuguese 40-volume encyclopedia, published between 1936 and 1960 by Editorial Enciclopédia. It is both a dictionary, focusing on the stud ...

- 50 vols. , Vários, Editorial Enciclopédia, Lisboa. vol. 16-pg. 887. * D. António Caetano de Sousa, História Genealógica da Casa Real Portuguesa, Atlântida-Livraria Editora, Lda, 2ª Edição, Coimbra, 1946, Tomo XII-P-pg. 147 *Mattoso, José (1981). A nobreza medieval portuguesa: a família e o poder. Lisboa: Editorial Estampa. OCLC 8242615 *Sottomayor-Pizarro, José Augusto (1997). Linhagens Medievais Portuguesas: Genealogias e Estratégias (1279-1325). I. Porto: Universidade do Porto * Gayo, Manuel José da Costa Felgueiras, ''Nobiliário das Famílias de Portugal'', 2ª Edição, Braga, 1989.

Notes

References

*Ângelo Ribeiro, ''História de Portugal - A Formação do Território - Da Lusitânia ao alargamento do País'' (2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Maia, Goncalo Mendes da 11th-century births 1170 deaths People of the Reconquista Portuguese knights People from Maia, Portugal People from Beja, Portugal 11th-century Portuguese people 12th-century Portuguese people Portuguese military personnel killed in action