Pero Gonçalves de Portocarreiro
Trovador medieval

Biographical Note:

Portuguese troubadour, about whom the Books of Lineages tell us that “foi mui bom cavaleiro e morreu sem semel” (LL43B5) (he was a very good knight and died without descendancy). Son of Gonçalo Viegas de Portocarreiro, the Alfeirão, and Sancha Pires da Veiga, he was nephew of João Viegas de Portocarreiro, archbishop of Braga, and one of the central agents in the obtainment of the Papal bull deposing King Sancho II. Another uncle of his, Reimondo Viegas (possibly father of the troubadour Estêvão Raimundo, that would be his cousin) was the leading figure in one of the most famous episodes of the civil war, the kidnapping of Queen Mecia Lopes Haro (1246).
Not being documented in Portugal, it is possible that he passed to Castile, where he served in the royal court, as other members of his family (namely his successful cousin Fernão Anes de Portocarreiro, notary and private counselor to Alfonso X1). It should be noted, however, that the female voice in one of his cantigas de amigo explicitly speaks from outside of Castille, thus appearing to be in Portugal, where she longs for her friend’s return. Be that as it may, the troubadour’s period of activity would be the last quarter of the 13th century.

References

1 Pizarro, José Augusto (1999), Linhagens medievais portuguesas: genealogias e estratégias 1279-1325, vol. II, Porto, Centro de Estudos de Genealogia, Heráldica e História da Família da Universidade Moderna, p. 923.
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