Saint Gonzalo (or Gundisalvus) (''c''. 1040 – ''c''. 1108), a medieval Galician nobleman and clergyman, was the long-serving

Bishop of Mondoñedo A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

from 1071. According to one modern source he was a brother of

Pedro Fróilaz de Traba Pedro Fróilaz de Traba ('' fl.'' 1086–1126) was the most powerful secular magnate in the Kingdom of Galicia during the first quarter of the twelfth century. According to the ''Historia compostelana'', he was "spirited ... warlike ... of great p ...

. If he was elected at the canonical age of thirty, he would have been born in 1040 or 1041, which would in turn support the contemporary contention that he was old in 1104–5, but cast doubt on his relationship with Pedro Fróilaz. Perhaps he was a more distant relative of the same family, the budding

House of Traba The House of Traba (or Trava), sometimes called the Fróilaz-Traba, was a Galician noble family of the high Middle Ages. The family can be traced back to the eleventh century. They are associated with a castle named Traba, probably in the county o ...

. The diocese of Mondoñedo during the time of Gonzalo's episcopate has been described as "economically unremunerative and exposed to attack from the sea; the endowments ... were meagre; and the bishops were overshadowed in wealth and influence by the great monastery of Lourenzá." Gonzalo's tenure was spent fighting to sustain the integrity of his diocese, generally without success. He lost territory to

Diego Gelmírez Diego Gelmírez or Xelmírez ( la, Didacus Gelmirici; c. 1069 – c. 1140) was the second bishop (from 1100) and first archbishop (from 1120) of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela, Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compost ...

and the Diocese of Santiago de Compostela and he lost his enclaves in the Diocese of Braga. He tried but failed to secure from

Alfonso VI Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

a royal grant of large estates belonging to Lorenzana. In 1102 Diego Gelmírez began to dispute the archipresbyterates of Bezoucos, Trasancos, and Seaya with Gonzalo, to whose diocese they ''de facto'' pertained. The matter was brought before the council of

Carrión de los Condes Carrión de los Condes () is a municipality in the province of Palencia, part of the Autonomous Community of Castile and León, Spain. It is 40 kilometers from Palencia, on the French Way of the Way of Saint James. History Carrión de los Condes ...

and on 4 February 1103

Bernard de Sedirac Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French language, French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" an ...

Archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

, ordered Gonzalo to turn them over. (Already in 1087 Bernard had been made a judgement against Gonzalo in favour of Lorenzana.) Then, in April,

Pope Paschal II Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...

sent a letter to Gonzalo and his fellow bishops of Santiago de Compostela, Astorga, and

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...

, admonishing them to respect Braga as their metropolitan see, after the pope had received a complaint from the Archbishop Gerald. On 1 May a second letter from Paschal arrived at Mondoñedo ordering Gonzalo to comply with Bernard's judgement. Gonzalo then appealed the archbishop's decision to the Roman Curia. In 1104 representative of both bishops pleaded their cases before the pope in Rome. Gonzalo lost in 1105, but the debates continued beyond Gonzalo's lifetime and were only resolved in 1122. Probably the acts of defiance on the part of the metropolitan of Toledo, who laid claim to the primacy of Spain, were encouraged by Count

Raymond of Galicia Raymond of Burgundy (c. 1070 – 24 May 1107) was the ruler of Galicia as vassal of Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the Emperor of All Spain, from about 1090 until his death. He was the fourth son of Count William I of Burgundy and Stephanie. He ...

. Gonzalo died early in 1108, and the brief vacancy that followed his death allowed Diego Gelmírez to assert his claims more successfully at Mondoñedo's expense.Reilly (1982), 62. On p. 292 Reilly states that Gonzalo died in 1109.

Notes

References

Enrique Cal Pardo Enrique Cal Pardo (November 8, 1922 – April 28, 2016) was a Spanish Galician priest, teacher and writer. He was born in Galdo, Viveiro, ( Galicia). Activity Cal Pardo was Professor of Theology at the Major Seminary of Mondoñedo ( Lugo) between ...

. 2003. ''Episcopologio Mindoniense''. . *

Richard A. Fletcher Richard Alexander Fletcher (28 March 1944, in York, England – 28 February 2005, in Nunnington, England) was a historian who specialised in the medieval period. Early years Richard Fletcher was the eldest child and only son of Alexander Kendal ...

. 1978
''The Episcopate in the Kingdom of León in the Twelfth Century''.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. *

. 1984
''Saint James's Catapult: The Life and Times of Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela''.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Bernard F. Reilly. 1982

Princeton: Princeton University Press. *Bernard F. Reilly. 1988

Princeton: Princeton University Press.

External links

Official web site of the Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalo Clergy from Galicia (Spain) Bishops of Mondoñedo 1108 deaths Year of birth unknown