Rodrigo Vélaz

Rodrigo Vélaz (died June 1144) was the "count of Galicia, who held Sarria" according to the near-contemporary Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris. During his long public career he was the dominant figure in mountainous eastern Galicia while the House of Traba dominated its western seaboard. He served under three monarchs—Alfonso VI, Urraca, and Alfonso VII—and was loyal to all of them, never figuring in any rebellion. The contemporary Historia compostellana is a valuable source for his life, since there are no aristocratic archives surviving in Spain from this period. Rodrigo's career must be pieced together from the few references in the chronicles and the (copies of) charters preserved in various ecclesiastical archives.

He was a son of Count Vela Ovéquiz and Aldonza Muñoz, daughter of Count Muño Fernández and Elvira. Rodrigo married Urraca Álvarez, daughter of Álvar Fáñez and Mayor Pérez, a daughter of Pedro Ansúrez. Rodrigo and his wife were descended on all sides from the highest ranks of the nobility of León and Castile. The couple had three daughters—Aldonza, Berenguela, and Elvira—and one son, Álvaro Rodríguez, who was later a count like his father. On 6 August 1130 Rodrigo and Urraca made a donation to the Cathedral of Lugo, their first recorded act as husband and wife.