Saint Gonzalo
Encyclopedia
Saint Gonzalo (c. 1040 – c. 1108), a medieval Galician
nobleman and clergyman, was the long-serving Bishop of Mondoñedo from 1071. According to one modern source he was a brother of Pedro Fróilaz de Traba
. If he was elected at the canonical age of thirty, he would have been born in 1040 or 1041, which would in turn support the contemporary contention that he was old in 1104–5, but cast doubt on his relationship with Pedro Fróilaz. Perhaps he was a more distant relative of the same family, the budding House of Traba.
The diocese of Mondoñedo during the time of Gonzalo's episcopate has been described as "economically unremunerative and exposed to attack from the sea; the endowments ... were meagre; and the bishops were overshadowed in wealth and influence by the great monastery of Lourenzá
." Gonzalo's tenure was spent fighting to sustain the integrity of his diocese, generally unsuccessfully. He lost territory to Diego Gelmírez
and the Diocese of Santiago de Compostela and he lost his enclaves in the Diocese of Braga. He tried but failed to secure from Alfonso VI
a royal grant of large estates belonging to Lorenzana. In 1102 Diego Gelmírez began to dispute the archipresbyterates of Bezoucos, Trasancos
, and Seaya with Gonzalo, to whose diocese they de facto pertained. The matter was brought before the council of Carrión de los Condes
and on 4 February 1103 Bernard de Sedirac, Archbishop of Toledo, ordered Gonzalo to turn them over. (Already in 1087 Bernard had been made a judgement against Gonzalo in favour of Lorenzana.) Then, in April, Pope Paschal II
sent a letter to Gonzalo and his fellow bishops of Santiago de Compostela, Astorga, and Coimbra, admonishing them to respect the metropolitancy of Braga, after the pope had received a complaint from the Archbishop Gerald. On 1 May a second letter from Paschal arrived at Mondoñedo ordering Gonzalo to comply with Bernard's judgement. Gonzalo then appealed the archbishop's decision to the Roman curia. In 1104 representative of both bishops pled their cases before the pope in Rome. Gonzalo lost in 1105, but the debates would continue, outlasting Gonzalo, being resolved only in 1122. Probably the acts of defiance of the metropolitan of Toledo, who laid claim to the primacy of Spain, were encouraged by Count Raymond of Galicia.
Gonzalo died early in 1108, and the brief vacancy that followed his death allowed Diego Gelmírez to push his claims more successfully at Mondoñedo's expense.
Galician people
The Galicians are an ethnic group, a nationality whose historical homeland is Galicia in north-western Spain. Most Galicians are bilingual, speaking both their historic language, Galician, and Castilian Spanish.-Political and administrative divisions:...
nobleman and clergyman, was the long-serving Bishop of Mondoñedo from 1071. According to one modern source he was a brother of Pedro Fróilaz de Traba
Pedro Fróilaz de Traba
Pedro Fróilaz de Traba was the most powerful secular magnate in the Kingdom of Galicia during the first quarter of the twelfth century. According to the Historia compostelana, he was "spirited ... warlike ... of great power .....
. If he was elected at the canonical age of thirty, he would have been born in 1040 or 1041, which would in turn support the contemporary contention that he was old in 1104–5, but cast doubt on his relationship with Pedro Fróilaz. Perhaps he was a more distant relative of the same family, the budding House of Traba.
The diocese of Mondoñedo during the time of Gonzalo's episcopate has been described as "economically unremunerative and exposed to attack from the sea; the endowments ... were meagre; and the bishops were overshadowed in wealth and influence by the great monastery of Lourenzá
Lourenzá
Lourenzá is a municipality in Lugo province in Galicia in northwest Spain....
." Gonzalo's tenure was spent fighting to sustain the integrity of his diocese, generally unsuccessfully. He lost territory to Diego Gelmírez
Diego Gelmírez
Diego Gelmírez was the second bishop and first archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. He is a prominent figure in the history of Galicia and an important historiographer of the Spain of his day...
and the Diocese of Santiago de Compostela and he lost his enclaves in the Diocese of Braga. He tried but failed to secure from Alfonso VI
Alfonso VI of Castile
Alfonso VI , nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was King of León from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, and self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain". After the conquest of Toledo he was also self-proclaimed victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia...
a royal grant of large estates belonging to Lorenzana. In 1102 Diego Gelmírez began to dispute the archipresbyterates of Bezoucos, Trasancos
Trasancos
Trasancos or Trasanquos was the name of a historic Galician county in northern Galicia. The Transanqui was a Gallaeci people in Pre-Roman and Roman times, and it is documented as county since the 6th century in the Suebic Kingdom of Galicia until the 20th century....
, and Seaya with Gonzalo, to whose diocese they de facto pertained. The matter was brought before the council of Carrión de los Condes
Carrión de los Condes
Carrión de los Condes is a municipality in the province of Palencia, part of the Autonomous Community of Castile and León, Spain.It is 40 kilometers from Palencia, on the Way of Saint James.-History:...
and on 4 February 1103 Bernard de Sedirac, Archbishop of Toledo, ordered Gonzalo to turn them over. (Already in 1087 Bernard had been made a judgement against Gonzalo in favour of Lorenzana.) Then, in April, Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
sent a letter to Gonzalo and his fellow bishops of Santiago de Compostela, Astorga, and Coimbra, admonishing them to respect the metropolitancy of Braga, after the pope had received a complaint from the Archbishop Gerald. On 1 May a second letter from Paschal arrived at Mondoñedo ordering Gonzalo to comply with Bernard's judgement. Gonzalo then appealed the archbishop's decision to the Roman curia. In 1104 representative of both bishops pled their cases before the pope in Rome. Gonzalo lost in 1105, but the debates would continue, outlasting Gonzalo, being resolved only in 1122. Probably the acts of defiance of the metropolitan of Toledo, who laid claim to the primacy of Spain, were encouraged by Count Raymond of Galicia.
Gonzalo died early in 1108, and the brief vacancy that followed his death allowed Diego Gelmírez to push his claims more successfully at Mondoñedo's expense.