Geraldo Geraldes, known among his contemporaries as No Fear Giraldo “for the valour with which he spurned fear and danger” (Father Francisco da Fonseca, “Évora Gloriosa,” Rome, 1728), led the reconquest of Évora from the Moors, an event that may be placed in September/beginning of October 1165 (Prof. José Mattoso, História de Portugal).

According to tradition, Giraldo would have been a Christian nobleman from the Court of King D. Afonso Henriques, who, upon killing a man in a duel to which he had been challenged, fled, coming to settle close to the city of Yeborah, in what is still known today as the “Giraldo Castle.” There, he headed a small army of outlaws and adventurers some “five hundred of infantry, and five hundred and twenty six of cavalry, all veteran, resolute and determined” (Father Francisco da Fonseca).

From that strategic point, Giraldo Sem-Pavor studied Yeborah’s defense system and laid out an astute plan of conquest. After the victory, he had the five city keys delivered to King D. Afonso Henriques, who readily ordered their return to Giraldo, and his appointment as city Mayor, reckoning that “only he who knew how to conquer it would know how to defend it.”

The range of Giraldo’s exploits, however, far exceeds the reconquest of Évora. By consulting both Portuguese and Moorish written texts of the period, modern historians have determined that Giraldo was, in fact, the key to the Christian reconquest of the Alentejo, through a series of victories “with more ambicious, even carefully programmed military goals” (Prof. José Mattoso, História de Portugal). Between 1165 and 1167, Giraldo and his men conquered Trujillo (15 April 1165), Évora, Cáceres (December 116), Montánchez (2 months after), Serpa (March 1166), Jurumenha, and possibly Moura and Alconchel.

These victories combine with others which include Santarém, Beja, Elvas, even Mourão, Arronches, Crato, Marvão, Alvito and Barrancos, which Giraldo seized en route.

Évora would never fall back into moorish hands after these conquests, in spite of its isolation. The city then went through an important economic development, to the benefit not only of Christians, but also of the Muslims who were active in across-border trade. Évora then became an important centre for Andalusian merchandise, which the Portuguese would buy with gold from the spoils of the previous years’ wars.