Background
He was the second son of Gonzalo Fernández de Traba and his first wife, Elvira Rodríguez.
clergy of Caabeiro head of the House of Traba
He was the second son of Gonzalo Fernández de Traba and his first wife, Elvira Rodríguez.
Throughout his career Gómez was the tenant (tenente, ruler on behalf of the king) of Trastámara, a traditional Traba stronghold. He only held Traba, his family"s namesake, briefly in 1168, the same year he received the tenancy of A Coruña (then called Faro), which he held into 1169. His power at this stage was still mainly in Galicia, where he received Montenegro in 1169 and Monterroso in 1170.
He held onto the latter until 1173, when he was replaced by Gómez González of Castile until 1179.
Thereafter he continued to hold it until 1200, and then once more in 1204. He lost Montenegro until 1183, but held thereafter until 1200 with two brief interruptions (1188-1189, 1190-1192).
In 1173 Gómez was granted the tenancy of Cervantes in Galicia and also the vast borderland of the Extremadura in the south of the realm. In 1175 he held the tenancies of the Bierzo, Ulver, and Villabuena.
Between 1176 and 1177 he held Salamanca, the rising second city of the kingdom.
In 1178 King Ferdinand II ceded all his rights in the town of Guitiriz to Gómez. In 1181 he was granted the rule of the Galician centres of San Pelayo de Lodo, Toroño (which he retained until 1185), and Túy. In 1182 he was back governing the Extremadura for a second term and also received Ribadeo.
In 1189 he was transferred to Sarria, where he remained until 1200, along with his other Galician fiefs of Montenegro and Monterroso.
In 1193 Alfonso IX appointed him majordomo, the highest office in the kingdom. In 1200, for reasons unknown, he fell from favour at Alfonso"s court and can only be traced there on one occasion (in 1201) between then and the summer of 1204, when he was restored to favour.
The charter is probably mis-dated, but the correct date is unknown. She is last recorded alive in 1195.
Gómez"s children by her were Fernando, Gonzalo, Rodrigo, and Velasco.