Gómez González de Traba

Who is Gómez González de Traba?

Gómez González de Traba was a Galician nobleman, a count from 1169, and a wealthy and influential figure in the Kingdom of León. He was the second son of Gonzalo Fernández de Traba and his first wife, Elvira Rodríguez. His elder brother, Fernando González, died prematurely in 1166 and Gómez became the head of the House of Traba.

Throughout his career Gómez was the tenant of Trastámara, a traditional Traba stronghold. He received it on the death of his brother in 1166 and ruled it probably until his death. He only held Traba, his family's namesake, briefly in 1168, the same year he received the tenancy of A Coruña, which he held into 1169. His power at this stage was still mainly in Galicia, where he received Montenegro in 1169 and Monterroso in 1170. He held onto the latter until 1173, when he was replaced by Gómez González of Castile until 1179. Thereafter he continued to hold it until 1200, and then once more in 1204. He lost Montenegro until 1183, but held thereafter until 1200 with two brief interruptions.

In 1173 Gómez was granted the tenancy of Cervantes in Galicia and also the vast borderland of the Extremadura in the south of the realm. In 1175 he held the tenancies of the Bierzo, Ulver, and Villabuena. Between 1176 and 1177 he held Salamanca, the rising second city of the kingdom. In 1178 King Ferdinand II ceded all his rights in the town of Guitiriz to Gómez. In 1181 he was granted the rule of the Galician centres of San Pelayo de Lodo, Toroño, and Túy. In 1182 he was back governing the Extremadura for a second term and also received Ribadeo. On the death of Ferdinand II and the succession of his son Alfonso IX in 1188, Gómez was transferred to the tenancies of Monforte de Lemos and the Limia. In 1189 he was transferred to Sarria, where he remained until 1200, along with his other Galician fiefs of Montenegro and Monterroso. In 1193 Alfonso IX appointed him majordomo, the highest office in the kingdom. In 1200, for reasons unknown, he fell from favour at Alfonso's court and can only be traced there on one occasion between then and the summer of 1204, when he was restored to favour.