Gaula is a Portuguese

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Santa Cruz in the island of

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

. The population in 2011 was 4,028, in an area of 6.95 km².Eurostat
It is located northeast of the island capital of

Funchal Funchal () officially Funchal City (), is the capital, largest city and a Municipality (Portugal), municipality in Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it ...

History

Gaula's history is tied to universe of local history, popular culture, literature, traditions and customs; it was originally referred to as the ''terra do amadis de Gaula'' (''Land of Amadis de Gaula''), ''terra de adelos'' (''Land of the wandering salesmen''), ''terras de doutores'' (''Lands of the Doctors''), ''terra de padres'' (''Land of Priests''), ''terra das amoras'' (''Land of the Blackberries'') and ''terras de malvasias'' (''Land of the

Malvasia Malvasia (), also known as Malvazia, is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, ...

''), among others, that served to identify it from other regions of the island. Many of these names arose of tradition and legend, when Gaulês were interrogated about the birthplace, they would respond with merry comments, such as ''I am from Gaula, what do you have with that'', or outside the blackberry harvest, ''I am from Gaul for my sins''. The oldest documented references referring to Gaula extend to 1509, when King

Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: *Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned ov ...

conceded this location the right to construct a small chapel to ''Santa Maria da Luz''. Its toponymy was influenced by chivalrous romances of the medieval era, namely, the historical romanance ''Amadis de Gaula'' from the 14th century. During this era the lands were homes to signeurial families, such as the horseman Lançarote Teixeira de Gaula and Helena de Góis, children of Lançarote Teixeira, who was the son of

Tristão Vaz Teixeira Tristão Vaz Teixeira (c. 1395–1480) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who, together with João Gonçalves Zarco and Bartolomeu Perestrelo, was the official discoverer and one of the first settlers of the archipelago of Madeira (1419– ...

, first Captain-donatário of Machico. The parish included the two ecclesiastical parishes: ''Nossa Senhora da Luz'' in the south, and ''Achada de Gaula'', in the a north. From the 15th century, the region that would become known as Gaula, became inhabited by settlers from northern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Gaula was elevated to the status of civil parish in 1558.

Geography

The parish of Gaula consists of the localities Achada de Baixo, Achada de Cima, Achada da Rocha, Aldonça, Beatas, Contenda, Farrobo, Fazenda, Fazendinha, Fonte, Fonte do Lopo, Furtados, Lajes, Levadas, Lobas, Lombadinha, Salão, São João, Pico, Porto Novo and Povo.

References

{{authority control Freguesias of Santa Cruz, Madeira