Diego Gonçalves

The armourer of Archbishop Lope de Mendoza. His is a very specialised occupation, within the wide range of handicraft trades in the Late Middle Ages in Santiago. He lived in the city, at the archbishop’s residence, unequivocal evidence of the military condition of the prelates of that time.

His surname, Gonçalves, indicates foreign origin (Galician González), an origin that should not come as a surprise in the case of a highly specialised artisan in charge of the making of armours, helmets or swords. Not surprising either is the fact that he was a Portuguese given the artistic and economic relationship between Galicia and Portugal by late Middle Ages.