Count Gormaz of Oviedo (died 1080) was the champion of King Fernando I of Leon.
Biography[]
Gormaz was born in Castile to a noble Spanish family, and he became the Count of Oviedo in Asturias under King Fernando I of Leon. Gormaz became Fernando's champion due to his great skills in war, but his only heir was his daughter Ximena, and he had no wife. He was bitter about not having a son, and he told his daughter that she could not wed Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar after Garcia Ordonez informed him that he was a traitor for letting five captured Moorish emirs live. When Rodrigo's father Diego Lainez called Ordonez a liar in front of the royal assembly, Ordonez challenged Diego to a duel on behalf of the King, and Rodrigo represented his father while Gormaz represented the king. In the ensuing duel, Gormaz was slain by the tougher El Cid, leading to a heartbroken Ximena attempting to have El Cid killed before finally marrying him.