Family His father, (d. after 867), sometimes called Pedro Theón of
Pravia, and possibly the son of
Bermudo I of Asturias, was a member of the
Curia Regis of King
Alfonso III and appears in January 867 confirming a royal charter jointly with other nobles, including Count
Rodrigo of Castile. Pedro was actively involved in the
Reconquista and was also responsible for ousting and defeating the
Vikings when they invaded Galicia in 858. Besides Vímara, Pedro was also the father of . The old Christian version of ‘Vímara’ is believed to be derived from ‘Weimar’ a name from any of several places like one
Weimar in Hesse and
another in Thuringia, from Old High German wīh "holy" and mari "standing water". Although old-fashioned, it is still used in Portugal today as Guímaro.
Count Vímara was a vassal of the King of
Asturias,
Alfonso III, and was sent to
reconquer and secure from the
Moors (
Arabs and
Berbers who had occupied
Visigothic
Hispania), in the west coastal fringe of
Gallaecia, the area from the
Minho River to the
Douro River, including the city of
Portus Cale, later
Porto and
Gaia, from where the name of
Portugal emerged. The
Kingdom of Asturias was divided internally into several counties or royal provinces. Portus Cale was one of these Asturian counties. In 868, Vímara Peres was named
Count of Portugal by King Alfonso III after the reconquest of the region north of the
Douro river. Later Portuguese historians viewed this event as the earliest milestone in the history of the state of Portugal, although Portugal did not achieve independence until the 12th century. He was able to expel the Moors and founded a fortified town under his own name
Vimaranis (of Vimar) which later became
Guimaranis, present-day
Guimarães (the
Portuguese call it "The Cradle City"). Vímara Peres died in 873 in Vama, possibly identified as Guimarães or Bama in the territory of
Touro, A Coruña.
Issue Most historians agree that he was the father of: •
Lucídio Vimaranes (Lucídio, son of Vímara), who succeeded Vímara as the governor of the county. Although the identity of his wife was not recorded in any contemporary charters, her name could have been Trudildi. If that was the case, Vímara would have been the father of: • Audivia Vimaranes who was married to Count Gutierre Aloítez. ==See also==