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Gonçalo Mendes da Maia | |
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Born | c. 1079 |
Died | 1170 |
Nationality | Portuguese |
Occupation(s) | Knight, military commander |
Gonçalo Mendes da Maia (1079? in Maia? – 1170 in Alentejo), also known as O Lidador (The Toiler), so named for his fearlessness in the struggle against the Saracens, was a Portuguese knight of the time of Afonso Henriques, about whom tradition relates important achievements in the events preceding the independence of Portugal. He had a military post as a fronteiro in the border town of Beja, where he died in 1170, while fighting against a Muslim army. [1] According to some documents, he was at the time ninety years old. [2] Traditionally, Gonçalo Mendes da Maia is considered a hero of both the city of Maia, the homeland of the Mendes da Maia family, and Beja.