Person:Diego Gil (1)

was a squire in the service of Peter de Meneses, Count of Vila Real, fighting in north Africa in 1425, and the Diego Gil who in 1444 was a servant of Prince Henry, serving as administrator of ports. In 1447, Diego Gil, squire, who "had been of good service against the Moors, both on sea and land", was in command of a caravel which sailed to the Rio del Oro, on the west coast of Africa. In 1449, Prince Henry gave Diego Gil goods that had been confiscated from John de Azambuja and Peter de Azambuja, holders of lands at Montemor Velho, who had fought with Prince Peter against the king at Alfarrobeira. Diego Gil was apparently living at the time when ! the 1469 agreement concerning the Moniz burials in the Chapel of Piety was drawn up, and was probably the Diego Gil whose sentence of exile for an unspecified offence was pardoned by King Alfonso in April of 1470, in exchange for the payment of a sizable fine. In August of 1470, Diego Gil, a vassal of the king, was residing in Evora. (Christovao Rodrigues Acenhiero, Coronyqua dos Senhores Reis de Portugal, Academia Real das Sciencias, Lisbon, 1821, pp. 412, 432, 493, 526-7; Sao Payo; Vol. I, p. 153; Maria Gonzalves Viana, Nuno Alvares, Editoria Educacao Nacional, Porto, 1938; Gomes Eannes de Zurara, Cronica de Guine, Vol. III, pp. 215, 219, 526)

Diego seems the son of Gil Ayres most likely to have formed a marriage alliance with the Corte Real family, and the name Diego is often used in this branch of the family.