Gonzalo Bernaldo de Quirós
1st Señor de Valdecarzana
(c. 1326– 75)

Biographical

Señor de Valdecarzana 1372–75†
Señor de la Casa de Quirós
Señor de Villoria
Knight of the Band
Governor of Oviedo 1369
Grand Commander of the Cathedral of Oviedo 1348
Ambassador to England
Ricohombre

One of the powerful men in Asturias in the 14th century, Gonzalo was in the service of King Pedro I before switching his allegiance to his brother, Enrique de Trastámara, later Enrique II of Castile. He assisted the king and his wife after they fled King Peter for Asturias in 1350 and also fought at the Battle of Cigales in 1353. After peace was made, Gonzalo was sent to King Peter as one of seven hostage-knights to guarantee Henry's fulfilment of part of the peace agreement. He supported the cause of Doña Blanca, Pedro I's wife whom he had abandoned, at the Meeting of Tejadillo in 1353. He continued to support Enrique by accompanying him into exile in France and Aragon and later fighting beside him with the Knights of the Band at the Battle of Nájera in 1367. Gonzalo was also a vassal of the Bishop of Oviedo and, as Grand Commander, served as the bishop's representative in all military affairs. In recognition of these services, he received the abbey of San Antolín estates. After the death of Pedro I in 1369, Pedro's followers caused unrest in Asturias, and the Bishop of Oviedo tasked Gonzalo with restoring order. Once the region had been pacified, Gonzalo delivered the city to Enrique. In reward for his loyalty, Enrique granted him the lordship of Valdecarzana in 1372. That same year, the Bishop of Oviedo confirmed his stewardship of Quirós and other lands. In his later years, Gonzalo retired to the Franciscan convent in Oviedo, where he took the habit of a friar and spent the remainder of his life. He replaced the Crosses of Saint Andrew on his coat of arms with the cordon of St Francis to reflect this.

Although Gonzalo has been referred to as 'Conde de San Antolín de Sotillo', he was in fact granted only the territory, not a noble title, as the original grant of 1354 states: “the county and all the estates and dues and llantares and church patronages and rights which belong and ought to belong to the county and to the abbey of San Antolín de Sotillo”. In 1379, Juan I confirmed this grant to Gonzalo's sons. Neither Gonzalo nor any of his descendants were ever styled conde before the twentieth century. In 1922, the title was granted to one of his descendants as a revival, although some have regarded it more correctly as a new creation.

His epitaph was destroyed during renovations at the Monastery of San Francisco. The inscription on a newer one installed in 1610 read as follows: