Gonzalo Salvadórez

Who was Gonzalo Salvadórez?

Gonzalo Salvadórez, "called Cuatro Manos on account of his great valour", was one of the most powerful Castilian noblemen of his era, a kinsman of the Lara family, and by tradition, descendant of the Counts of Castile. He was a son of Salvador González and brother of Álvaro Salvadórez, with whom he often figures in contemporary documentation. His family's area of influence was Bureba.

Gonzalo is first recorded as an adult when he witnessed a charter with his father and uncle, Munio González, in 1056, at the court of Ferdinand I. In the next reign, he was a frequent subscriber to the charters of—and attendee at the court of—Sancho II. He was ruling Lara in 1072/3, when Sancho granted the citizens of Lara the right to pilgrimage to San Millán de Cogolla. He witnessed donations to San Millán in 1070 and 1082. He and his uncle Munio were one of the first Castilian magnates to support Alfonso VI after the death of Sancho, and Gonzalo attained the rank of count in 1074. Gonzalo, Munio, and Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar were the only Castilian magnates to figure prominently in royal actions outside of Castile. In total, Gonzalo confirmed some nine charters of Sancho II and eleven by Alfonso.