João Lobeira
Trovador medieval

Biographical Note:

A portuguese knight active in the second half of the 13th century, João Peres de Lobeira belonged to a gentry lineage from the region of Guimarães, thus his surname may come from the village of Lobeira, in that town’s vicinity. He was the bastard son of Dom Pero Soares de Alvim and, maybe, of a Galician lady. He was, therefore, the half-brother of the troubadour Martim Peres Alvim, and also nephew of king Afonso III’s councelor, Mem Soares de Melo. This latter fact, together with his apparent proximity to the magnate and troubadour Dom João Peres de Aboim1, would explain his presence in the Portuguese royal court, where he bears witness to several documents from 1261 to 1285 (this last one already in Dom Dinis’s reign). The first document where his name appears is, however, the will of the bishop of Lisbon, Dom Airas Vasques (equally of Galician origin) dated 1258, in which he’s benefited with income from the churches of Almada. We equally know that his father recognizes him in 1272, so as to make him an heir to his assets. Carolina de Michaëlis finds this odd2, since Dom Pero de Alvim’s legitimate son, Martim de Alvim, was still (and would be for many years) alive at this time. But maybe this recognition was related to the fact that João Lobeira raised one of Afonso III’s illegitimate sons, Martim Afonso Chichorro3.
Although 1285 was the last year in which his presence at the court is attested, he was still alive in 1299, since he’s mentioned as such in the will of Martim Anes do Vinhal. He should, however, have died shortly thereafter4.

References

1 Ferrari, Anna (1993), "Johan Lobeira", in Dicionário da Literatura Medieval Galega e Portuguesa, Lanciani, Giulia e Tavani, Giuseppe (org.), Lisboa, Editorial Caminho.

2 Vasconcelos, Carolina Michaëlis de (1990), Cancioneiro da Ajuda, vol. II, Lisboa, Imprensa nacional - Casa da Moeda (reimpressão da edição de Halle, 1904), p. 524.

3 Pizarro, José Augusto (2005), D. Dinis, Lisboa, Círculo de Leitores, p. 222.

4 Pizarro, José Augusto (1999), Linhagens medievais portuguesas: genealogias e estratégias 1279-1325, vol. I, Porto, Centro de Estudos de Genealogia, Heráldica e História da Família da Universidade Moderna, p. 577.
      Go to web page