Gonzalo Salvadórez, "called Cuatro Manos on account of his great valour", was one of the most powerful Castilian noblemen of his era, a kinsman of the Lara family, and by tradition, descendant of the Counts of Castile. He was a son of Salvador González and brother of Álvaro Salvadórez, with whom he often figures in contemporary documentation. His family's area of influence was Bureba.

Salvador González was a Castilian nobleman active in the regions of La Bureba and Burgos in the middle third of the eleventh century. His origins are obscure, and he thus stands at the head of his lineage, the Salvadórez. He remained loyal to the ruler of Castile throughout his career, even when it meant a loss of position after the Bureba was acquired by neighbouring Pamplona.