Gonçalo Mendes da Maia - Vila Chã de Ourique
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manchanegra
N 39° 10.237 W 008° 46.050
29S E 520084 N 4335736
Gonçalo Mendes da Maia (Maia?, 1079 — Alentejo, 1170]), also known as O Lidador (the hardworking), so named for his fearlessness in the struggle against the Saracens, was a Portuguese knight of the time of Afonso Henriques (First King of Portugal).
Waymark Code: WMDXRM
Location: Santarém, Portugal
Date Posted: 03/08/2012
Views: 4
Gonçalo Mendes da Maia (Maia?, 1079 — Alentejo, 1170]), also known as O Lidador (the hardworking), so named for his fearlessness in the struggle against the Saracens, was a Portuguese knight of the time of Afonso Henriques (First King of Portugal), about whom tradition relates important achievements in the events preceding the independence of Portugal. He had a military post as a fronteiro in 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.
(From Wikipedia)
This particular statue of Gonçalo Mendes da Maia is part of a monument to the Batle of Ourique (25 July 1139: St. James Day) where the forces Afonso Henriques (with Mendes da Maia) defeated the Almoravid Moors led by Ali ibn Yusuf.
It´s lifesize, made of stone, and, shows Gonçalo Mendes da Maia in is armour, seated at the base of the monument in the company of Afonso Henriques and 2 other knights that fought at the same Batle, resting. On the top of the monument a woman holds his Afonso Henriques Coat of Arms, probably representing Portugal.
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