Magnates and their honours · Kingdom of Portugal · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Maia

The Maia were the first great house of the kingdom's founding generation, lords of the coastal Terra da Maia north of Porto; Pedro Pais da Maia carried Afonso Henriques's standard.

By 1200 the line is represented by Martim Pires da Maia, but the royal tenência of the Maia district has passed through other hands (Rodrigo Mendes de Sousa held it at a date not pinned). A fading house.

Who he is

Name
Martim Pires da Maia
Title
Lord of Maia (head of the kindred)
Since
about 1170 (genealogical estimate)
Born
not pinned
Family
Of the house of Maia, descended from Gonçalo Trastamires; successor of Pedro Pais da Maia, alferes of Afonso Henriques (1147-1169). Married Teresa Martins, daughter of Martim Fernandes de Riba de Vizela (date not pinned).
Confidence
low

The English Wikipedia list of the lords of Maia gives him for about 1170 to about 1220; no charter evidence checked.

Overlord

Sancho I of Portugal

What it holds

  • Family honras in the Terra da Maia (not bounded)
  • The royal tenência of Maia: holder on 1 January 1200 not pinned

How it was acquired

Inherited.

Allies and rivals

Linked by marriage to the Riba de Vizela; overshadowed by the Sousa.

How things stand that morning

Holds family honras.

Wealth

Coastal farmland north of Porto; fisheries.

Military

Household knights. No figures.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Genealogical lists only; not pinned by charters in the sources checked.

On the map: Drawn as the modern concelho of Maia.

Primary sources for Portugal

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

5 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.

Sources and studies

  1. House of Maia (en.wikipedia)
  2. Martim Fernandes de Riba de Vizela (pt.wikipedia)
  3. Mendo Gonçalves I de Sousa (pt.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.