A parchment dated 1476 being a royal document signed by King Dom Afonso V granting an office in the royal house to Gomes Soares. The man receiving the office was possibly in charge of the local castle, and later became a member of the Private Council of the King. This Gomes Soares is also refered as Gomes Soares de Melo in the Genealogical Archives available online. He seems to be an ancestor of the Governor D. João de Castro. However, there was also a man with the same name, who was a squire of the king in 1473, bachelor of Grammatics, professor at the monastery of Alcobaça.

Translation of the Document into English:
“Dom Afonso by the grace of God King of Castle and Leon and Portugal and Toledo, and Galicia, and Cordova, and Seville, and Murcia, and Jaen and the Algarves from these side and overseas in Africa, and Gibraltar, and Algeciras, Lord of Biscaya and Molina, to whomever this letter is shown to we make known that desiring to do grace and favour to Gomes Soares, gentleman of our household, we have as good and give him as master-footman of the afore-mentioned household in the same manner Afonso Pereira, who recently died, had the afore-mentioned office, and in the manner of all the other master-footmen who had had the afore-mentioned office and we also order the overseer of the afore-mentioned household and their officers and to whomever this letter is shown to that he should be had as master-footman and no other instead and that he should be obeyed to in all things pertaining to his office and we want him to have all advantages, gains and benefits of the afore-mentioned office that master-footmen rightly should have and all master-footmen had had before him, and Gomes Soares swore at our Chancelary by the Holy Gospels that well and rightly would use of the afore-mentioned office caring for our service and for the right of the people

Issued at our city of Oporto, 25 days of July Lopo Fernandes wrote it on the year of Our Lord Jesus Christ of 1476″