Gonçalo Mendes da Maia

Who is Gonçalo Mendes da Maia?

Gonçalo Mendes da Maia, also known as O Lidador, 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, and it is believed that he died there in 1170, while fighting against Muslim armies. According to some documents, he was at the time ninety years old. 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.