Martín Flaínez

Martín Flaínez (or Laíñez) (died May 1108) was "one of the most powerful and distinguished members" of the Leonese aristocracy during the reign of Alfonso VI (1065–1109), with which the length of his public life almost exactly coincided. From 1090 until his death he was a regular figure at the royal court, and even used the title gracia Dei comite, "count by the grace of God".

Twelfth-century depiction of Iberian cavalry: a crowned man with a bow, two knights with swords and a standard-bearer carrying a cross into battle.

Martín was a son of , son of Count Fernando Flaínez, and his second wife, Toda. The first documentary record of Martín dates to 28 May 1065, when he participated in a donation to León Cathedral. His brother Fernando, the royal alférez, fell out with the king in 1077 and was banned from court. It fell to Martín to restore the family's fortunes. who all died in battle: Gómez, Osorio, Pedro and Rodrigo. The couple also had a daughter named for her maternal grandmother, Tegridia. There survives an interesting description of a manor house purchased by Martín and his wife sometime before 1085. It included a kitchen, pond, strawloft and threshing floor. In May 1085 they granted it to Arias Núñez for his loyal service.

On two isolated occasions before 1090—in October 1075 and December 1080, specifically—Martín is given the title comes (count), the highest in the kingdom, but he does not consistently use this title until after the summer of 1090. He was buried in Sahagún.