Guimarães in the context of "Law of Portugal"

The County of Portugal (Galician-Portuguese: Comtato de Portugalle; referred to as Portugalia in contemporary documents) refers to two successive medieval counties in the region around Guimarães and Porto, today corresponding to litoral northern Portugal, within which the identity of the Portuguese people formed. The first county existed from the mid-ninth to the mid-eleventh centuries as a vassalage of the Kingdom of Asturias and the Kingdom of Galicia and also part of the Kingdom of León, before being abolished as a result of rebellion. A larger entity under the same name was then reestablished in the late 11th century and subsequently elevated by its count in the mid-12th century into an independent Kingdom of Portugal.

The North Region (Portuguese: Região do Norte [ʁɨʒiˈɐ̃w̃ du ˈnɔɾtɨ] Mirandese: Region de l Norte [rɨʒiˈõŋ d(ɐ)ɫ ˈno̝ɾte̞] or Northern Portugal is the most populous region in Portugal, ahead of Lisbon, and the third most extensive by area. The region has 3,576,205 inhabitants according to the 2017 census, and its area is 21,278 kilometres (13,222 mi) with a density of 173 inhabitants per square kilometre. It is one of five regions of Mainland Portugal (NUTS II subdivisions). Its main population center is the urban area of Porto, with about one million inhabitants; it includes a larger political metropolitan region with 1.8 million, and an urban-metropolitan agglomeration with 2.99 million inhabitants, including Porto and neighboring cities, such as Braga, Guimarães and Póvoa de Varzim. The Commission of Regional Coordination of the North (CCDR-N) is the agency that coordinates environmental policies, land-use planning, cities and the overall development of this region, supporting local governments and associations.

Northern Portugal is a culturally varied region. It is a land of dense vegetation and profound historic and cultural wealth. What is now Northern Portugal was first settled by various pre-Celtic and Celtic tribes before being visited by a number of Mediterranean civilizations who traded in its river-mouths, including Greek, Carthaginians, conquest by the Romans, invasion by Germanic peoples, and attacks by the Moors and the Vikings.

The Battle of São Mamede (Portuguese: Batalha de São Mamede, pronounced [ˈsɐ̃w mɐˈmɛðɨ]) took place on 24 June 1128 near Guimarães and is considered the seminal event for the foundation of the Kingdom of Portugal and the battle that ensured Portugal's independence. Portuguese forces led by Afonso Henriques defeated forces led by his mother Teresa of Portugal and her lover Fernão Peres de Trava. Following São Mamede, the future king styled himself "Prince of Portugal". He would be called "King of Portugal" starting in 1139 and was recognised as such by neighbouring kingdoms in 1143.

Greater Metropolitan Area of Minho (Portuguese: Grande Área Metropolitana do Minho) is a former administrative division in Portugal. Founded in 2004, it consisted of 12 municipalities in the north of the country: Amares, Barcelos, Braga, Cabeceiras de Basto, Fafe, Guimarães, Póvoa de Lanhoso, Terras de Bouro, Vieira do Minho, Vila Nova de Famalicão, Vila Verde and Vizela, all of them part of the former Braga District. It was disbanded in 2009, when the intermunicipal communities Ave and Cávado were formed.

Pelagio Galvani (c. 1165 – 30 January 1230, Portuguese: Paio Galvão Latin: Pelagius) was a Leonese cardinal, and canon lawyer. He became a papal legate and leader of the Fifth Crusade.

Born at Guimarães, his early life is little known. It is repeatedly claimed that he entered the Order of Saint Benedict but this is not proven. Pope Innocent III created him cardinal-deacon of Santa Lucia in Septisolio around 1206. Later, he was promoted to the rank of cardinal-priest of S. Cecilia (probably on 2 April 1211), and finally opted for the suburbicarian see of Albano in the spring of 1213. He subscribed the papal bulls between 4 May 1207 and 26 January 1230. He was sent on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople in 1213. During this two-year mission he attempted to close Orthodox churches and imprison the clergy, but this caused such domestic upset that Henry of Flanders, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, reversed his actions which had caused the "tempest which held the city of Constantine in its grip", as noted a contemporary historian. Three years later he was elected Latin Patriarch of Antioch but his election was not ratified by the Holy See. He was dispatched in 1218 by Pope Honorius III to lead the Fifth Crusade at Damietta in Egypt, and made a poor strategic decision in turning down favourable peace offers made by the sultan al-Kamil. During his absence, the see of Albano was administer by Thomas of Capua.

Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, observed on 6 December (or on its eve on 5 December) in Western Christian countries, and on 19 December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church Calendar, is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra; it falls within the season of Advent. It is celebrated as a Christian festival with particular regard to Saint Nicholas' reputation as a bringer of gifts, as well as through the attendance of church services.

In the European countries of Germany and Poland, boys have traditionally dressed as bishops and begged alms for the poor. In the Portuguese city of Guimarães, the Nicolinas, a series of festivities in honor of Saint Nicholas, happen every year. In Poland and Ukraine children wait for St. Nicholas to come and to put a present under their pillows provided that the children were good during the year. Children who behaved badly may expect to find a twig or a piece of coal under their pillows. In the Netherlands and Belgium children put out a shoe filled with hay and a carrot for Saint Nicholas' horse. On Saint Nicholas Day, gifts are tagged with personal humorous rhymes written by the sender. In the United States, one custom associated with Saint Nicholas Day is children leaving their stockings hung up to be filled with mini gifts or leaving their shoes in the foyer on Saint Nicholas Eve in hope that Saint Nicholas will place some coins on the soles.