Castellans of Cartelle & Lords of the Arnoia Valley

One of the oldest noble lineages of the region. Their tower rises 13 metres from a granite outcrop at 506m elevation. First documented in 1141 when Alfonso VII donated the Castle of Sande to the Monastery of Celanova. Arms: a black eagle crowned in gold.

Templars, Hospitallers & the Benveniste

The Knights Templar held Santa María de Cartelle from the 12th century. Nearby, Fernando II of León donated Castrelo de Miño directly to the Knights Hospitaller in 1172 — two rival orders side by side in the same river valley, sustained by Jewish tax farmers of the Benveniste family.

Counts of Ribadavia & Adelantados Mayores of Galicia

The dominant feudal power of the Ribeiro. Pedro Ruiz Sarmiento received the lordship from Enrique II in 1375. Their castle overlooks the confluence of the Avia and Miño. Arms: thirteen gold bezants on a red field.

Counts of Lemos & Lords of the Galician Interior

Centered at Monforte de Lemos, the Castros extended their influence into the Ribeiro through marriage alliances. Their arms — six azure bezants on silver — appear quartered with the Sarmiento at the Casa da Señora in Lapela.

Counts of Monterrey & Lords of the Northern Border

Diego de Zúñiga married Elvira Biedma, heiress of lands near the Portuguese border. Their escutcheon — a black diagonal band with gold chain border — crowns the Baroque church of San Miguel de Espiñoso in Cartelle.

Tower Lords & Knights of the Ribeiro

The three hidalgo houses of the Ribeiro valley — Armada in Castrelo de Miño, Puga in Toen, Mosquera in Ribadavia — whose towers, military-order crosses, and intermarriages shaped rural Galicia for three centuries.

Wine Nobles & Quartered Arms of the Ribeiro

Four interlocking hidalgo houses whose quartered arms and compound surnames — from the Pazo dos Feixóo in Arenteiro to the Fortress of Vilamarín, from the Castle of Maceda to the Pazo da Cavadina — bound the Ribeiro's lesser nobility into one system.