Gomes (João)
Entry on João Gomes 'da Ilha' or 'o Trovador', an early Madeiran settler and poet represented in the Cancioneiro de Resende, who gave his name to the Ribeira de João Gomes; he died in 1495.
It has not been established whether he came to this archipelago as one of its early settlers or was born on this island. In various places he is cited as João Gomes da Ilha and also as João Gomes o Trovador (the Troubadour), for he cultivated poetry with distinction, and thirteen of his compositions are found in the Cancioneiro of Garcia de Resende. In Funchal he married Dona Guiomar Ferreira, daughter of Gonçalo Aires Ferreira, the well-known companion of Gonçalves Zarco. He held land as a sesmaria (royal land grant to settlers on condition of cultivation) on the banks of the stream that took, and still bears today, the name of João Gomes. He was a page of Prince Henry the Navigator and died in 1495. He was one of the first in this archipelago to use a surname.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 01Place
Places mentioned · 02
- Funchal
Where João Gomes married.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Ribeira de João Gomes
Funchal. Stream on whose banks he held sesmaria land and which bears his name.
The Ribeira de João Gomes is a stream in Funchal that rises in the Serra do Poiso, receives the Ribeira das Cales and was once called Ribeira de Nossa Senhora do Calhau. It marked the eastern limit of the planned city walls and of the parish of Santa Luzia, and the Calhau church stood beside it. The 1941 municipal slaughterhouse stands on its right bank.
People
People mentioned · 06-
Compiler of the Cancioneiro containing thirteen poems by João Gomes.
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Companion of Zarco and father-in-law of João Gomes.
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Wife of João Gomes, daughter of Gonçalo Aires Ferreira.
- Henry the Navigator1394–1460
Prince Henry the Navigator, whom João Gomes served as page.
- João Gomes de Abreu da Ilhad. 1495
Early Madeiran settler and troubadour poet, page of Prince Henry, with thirteen poems in the Cancioneiro de Resende.
- João Gonçalves Zarcod. 1467
Discoverer of Madeira, mentioned as the companion of Gonçalo Aires Ferreira.