Gonzalo Peláez

Who is Gonzalo Peláez?

Gonzalo Peláez was the ruler of the Asturias from 1110 to 1132, during the reigns of Queen Urraca and her son, Alfonso VII. He held high military posts under the latter, but in 1132 he began a five-year rebellion against Alfonso, punctuated by three brief reconciliations. He died in exile in Portugal.

Of uncertain origins, Gonzalo may have been the son of Pelayo Peláez and Mumadonna González. The only link is a charter of 1097 by which a certain Mummadonna cognomento domna Maiore Gundesaluiz made a donation to the Diocese of Oviedo for the good of her soul and that of her husband, Pelayo Peláez, making reference to their son named Gonzalo. On 18 November 1118 a Gonzalo Peláez, perhaps not the same man, received lands in the Araduey valley in the province of León from Queen Urraca along with his wife Mayor Muñoz. If it is the same man he may have been Leonese rather than Asturian, as usually assumed.