Álvaro Rodríguez was a Galician magnate during the reigns of Alfonso VII and Ferdinand II

Ferdinand II of Leon

Ferdinand II was King of León and Galicia from 1157 to his death.-Life:Born in Toledo, Castile, he was the son of King Alfonso VII of León and Castile and of Berenguela, of the House of Barcelona. At his father's death, he received León and Galicia, while his brother Sancho received Castile and...

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Álvaro was the son of Rodrigo Vélaz

Rodrigo Vélaz

Rodrigo Vélaz was the "count of Galicia, who held Sarria" according to the near-contemporary Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris. During his long public career he was the dominant figure in mountainous eastern Galicia while the House of Traba dominated its western seaboard. He served under three...

 and Urraca Álvarez, perhaps a daughter of Álvar Fáñez and Mayor Pérez, daughter of Pedro Ansúrez

Pedro Ansúrez

Pedro Ansúrez was a Castilian count of Liébana, Saldaña and Carrión in the closing decades of the eleventh century and the opening decades of the twelfth. He is considered the founder and first lord of Valladolid....

. He married Sancha, an illegitimate daughter of Fernando Pérez de Traba and Theresa, Countess of Portugal

Theresa, Countess of Portugal

Theresa of Portugal was the first ruler of independent Portugal...

. The earliest indication that the couple was married dates to 25 May 1150. After she was widowed, Sancha re-married to Pedro Alfonso

Pedro Alfonso

Pedro Alfonso or Alfónsez was an Asturian magnate, dominating the region from 1139 until his death. He had vast landholdings in the Asturias, the province of León, and Toledo, including in the cities of León and Toledo, the most important cities of the realm. His commercial dealings, too, were...

. She died around 1182, having left Álvaro two sons, Rodrigo

Rodrigo Álvarez

Rodrigo Álvarez was a Galician magnate in the Kingdom of León. He founded the Order of Mountjoy in 1174 and affiliated it with the Cistercian Order that he had long patronised....

 and Vermudo, and two daughters, Sancha and Teresa, who married Alfonso Ramírez

Alfonso Ramírez (count)

Alfonso Ramírez was a Spanish nobleman of the Kingdom of León, who ruled the Bierzo intermittently between 1167 and his death....

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Álvaro is first mentioned in a document of 29 January 1129 in the Tumbo de Lorenzana, the cartulary of the monastery of Lourenzá

Lourenzá

Lourenzá is a municipality in Lugo province in Galicia in northwest Spain....

. In 1147 he participated in the reconquista

Reconquista

The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...

of Almería

Almería

Almería is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.-Toponym:Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea"...

, according to the celebratory Poema de Almería, and brought along a retinue of young men who had received their education in arms under his direction. The anonymous Poema extols Álvaro's ancestry, especially his maternal grandfather and namesake:

[Álvaro] brought death to many and governed Toledo. The father is honored through the son, and the son is exalted by his own actions. Strong indeed was Rodrigo, and he is not undeserving of the glory of his son. The latter was famed through his father, but is even more distinguished through his grandfather Álvaro. It is he who is known by all and not least by his enemies. . . Having descended from such a noble family, behold Álvaro. He enrages the Moors with his virtue because he hates them.

On 13 February 1161 Álvaro was carrying the title "count" (Latin comes), the highest in the kingdom, for the first time. He held the tenencias of Ribadeo

Ribadeo

Ribadeo is a municipality in the Spanish province of Lugo in Galicia. It has a population of 9619 and an area of 106.2 km². It is the capital of the A Mariña Oriental region .- External links:*....

 (1146), Suarón (1153), Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

 (1155), Sarria

Sarria

Sarria is a municipality in the province of Lugo, northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Sarria is the most densely populate town on the French Way in Galicia, with 13 700 inhabitants...

 (1164–66), and Limia (1165). He patronised the Cistercian monastery of Meira

Meira

Meira, is a municipality in the Spanish province of Lugo and a parish of the municipality of Moaña....

, where nearby he had received a grant of property from Alfonso VII on 27 August 1151. In 1164 Álvaro came to an agreement with Peter, Bishop of Mondoñedo, whereby the Galician churches of Pineira, Vigo

Vigo

Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...

, and Villasella, which belonged to the diocese, were handed over to Álvaro in exchange for some properties.

Álvaro was dead by 20 January 1167. His son Rodrigo succeeded him at Sarria and Lemos and was granted the title of "count".