Among Galicia’s many legends, few are as well-known as the story of Aldhara.
It is a tale of love, mystery and loss that has been told for centuries.
A long time ago, a nobleman named Froyás lived in a castle overlooking a river. He had two children: Egas, a hunter, and Aldhara, a kind and beautiful young woman who was engaged to Aras, the son of another noble family.
Their marriage was meant to unite two important houses.
One day, as the family gathered for lunch, Froyás realised Aldhara was missing. Servants searched the castle and the surrounding land until someone said they had seen her walking alone toward the river. Soldiers and neighbours joined the search for days, but she was never found.
Some believed she had drowned; others thought wild animals might have attacked her. As time passed, people stopped talking about it, but Froyás and Egas never forgot her.
The white doe
Years later, while hunting in the forest, Egas spotted a white doe. Surprised by its beauty, he shot an arrow and hit the animal. When he reached it, the doe lay motionless, shining white against the grass.
Egas cut off one leg to show his father and carried it home. But when he opened his bag at the castle, he froze. Inside was a woman’s hand, wearing Aldhara’s ring.
Frightened, he and his father ran back to the clearing. There, lying on the ground, was Aldhara herself, looking just as she had the day she disappeared.
The legend of Galicia: The curse
According to the legend, Aldhara had been bewitched, forced to wander the forests in the form of a white doe. Her brother’s arrow ended the spell and finally set her spirit free.
Locals say that on foggy nights, a white deer can still be seen near the riverbank, moving quietly through the trees. They call her Aldhara, the White Doe of Galicia.
