Fernão Gonçalves de Seabra
Trovador medieval

Biographical Note:

Troubadour that may have belonged to a lineage of leonese origin (from the region of Senabria, in the frontier between Galicia and Portugal), as Carolina Michaelis supposed1, but that would have moved to Portugal, eventually becoming vassals to the Lord of Bragança, Dom Fernão Fernandes. Resende de Oliveira2 located, in fact, a lineage of knights bearing this family name in Trás-os Montes region, one of whom, Fernão Gonçalves de Seabra, perhaps our troubadour, had possessions in Vinhais. He may have lived in the second half of the 13th century, and it is equally possible that he was related to Teresa Fernandes de Seabra, a lady that, after being King Afonso III’s lover, married the alcaide of Santarém, Martim Dade.

References

1 Vasconcelos, Carolina Michaëlis de (1990), Cancioneiro da Ajuda, vol. II, Lisboa, Imprensa nacional - Casa da Moeda (reimpressão da edição de Halle, 1904), p. 393.

2 Oliveira, António Resende de (1994), Depois do espectáculo trovadoresco. A estrutura dos cancioneiros peninsulares e as recolhas dos séculos XIII e XIV, Lisboa, Edições Colibri.