Having played a key role during the Portuguese Reconquista by taking, settling or defending the territory from the Muslims, the Order was an influent institution in Portugal and valuable partner to the Portuguese Crown. Unlike elsewhere in Europe, it suffered no persecution at the time of its dissolution, its members and property in Portugal being instead transferred by King Denis to the Order of Christ, created specifically for this very purpose.[1]
History
Shortly after their creation, the Templars settled in Portugal in 1128, having been granted the frontier Castle of Soure in March 19, 1128 by Countess Teresa. The official act of donation took place in Braga, in the presence of Raymond Bernard, recruited by Hughes de Payens during his trip to Europe, possibly one of a small group of Templar scouts to seek donations for the Order.[1]
This was a time of political tension in Portugal and just a few months afterwards Teresas heir Afonso Henriques revolted with the support of the Portuguese nobility and wrested control of the county at the Battle of São Mamede.[1]
Afonso did not oppose the presence of the Order in the territory, he sought to involve it in the Reconquista efforts against the Muslims to the south and officially confirmed the donations granted by his mother.[1]
The Templars quickly grew in numbers and influence during their first sixteen years in Portugal through the recruiting of local new members or the acquisition of property.[1] Their first known military engagement in Portugal took place when the Muslim qaid of Santarém attacked Soure in 1144.[1] The knights made a sortie, however they were defeated and the castle was pillaged, numbers being then taken to captivity.[1] In 1145, the Templars were granted the castle of Longroiva by Afonso Henriques' sister and her husband Fernão Mendes de Bragança.[2]
The Templars participated in Afonso Henriques conquest of Santarém, taken in 1147 during the night.[1]
The Order was later granted the lands of Ceras by King Afonso, with a castle that was in ruins at the time. This donation was of strategic importance because Ceras lied close to the border, its castle defended a major road that linked Lisbon to Coimbra and it featured fertile grounds where an important settlement effort could be undertaken.[1] Instead of renovating the ruined castle, the master of the Templars in Iberia Gualdim Pais commenced the construction of the formidable new castle of Tomar from the ground up, on March 1, 1160.[1] It featured a number of innovations taken from castles in the Holy Land, where Pais had previously travelled to. Two years later Pais granted the town of Tomar a charter.[1]
Gualdim Pais and the Templars were responsible for introducing a number of key innovations in fortification to Portugal, namely keeps (first attested in Tomar in 1160, in Almourol in 1171, in Pombal in 1171, in Penas Róias in 1172, in Longroiva in 1174, in Soure between 1171 and 1175), sloped walls, and hoardings (first attested in Longroiva in 1174).[3]
The Templar castle of Pombal
The military importance of the Templars matched their importance in settling and developing new lands.[1] Most their domains were deserted when the Order took possession of them due to the ravages of war.[1] The Order passed town charters and promoted the settlement of lands. The military Orders in Portugal, namely the Templars later adopted comparable economies of scaled and employed notably advanced methods of production such as the irrigation system introduced by the Templars in the Zêzere River valley.[4] Surplus production was sold into urban markets.[4]
The Order had a vital and strategic role in the defense of the southern Portuguese frontier against the Muslims between 1160 and 1217. In November 30 of 1165, the castle of Monsanto was granted to the Order by king Afonso, although it would pass to the Order of Santiago in 1172. Dom Gualdim Pais promoted the renovation of Almourol Castle in 1171. During the great Almohad campaigns against Portugal they resisted a strong Muslim attack in 1190 when Tomar was sieged by the Almohads, commanded by the Caliph in person.
Castle of Tomar
King Sacho I, known as "the Settler", was a major patron of the Templars and during his reign the Order was granted important stretches of land, such as the lands of Açafa in 1199, where Castelo Branco was founded.[1]Idanha-a-Nova was founded in 1205 or 1206 and delivered to the Templars.[5]
In 1212, a number of Portuguese Templars and other volunteers from the urban militias participated in the great Battle of Navas de Tolosa under the command of preceptor Gomes Ramires. The Templars took part in the conquest of Alcácer do Sal to the south of Lisbon, promoted by the Bishop Soeiro of Lisbon.[6]
The Templars in Portugal, Leon and Castile were initially commanded by the same preceptor.[1] When prince Sancho of Castile rebelled against his father king Alfonso X in 1282, many Templars in Portugal took the side of the king, while the Castilian Templars took the side of the prince-heir momentarily.[1] After the death of the (Portuguese) preceptor João Fernandes in 1288, Templar command in Portugal was separated from the other two kingdoms, the result of an effort by the Portuguese Crown who was often at war with Leon and Castile.[1]
The Church of Santa Maria do Olival in Tomar, final resting place of several masters.
The process of dissolution of the Templars in Portugal and the creation of the Order of Christ which would replace them began when Pope Clement V ordered the investigation and confiscation of Templar property in Iberia in 1306.[1] Unlike Ferdinand IV of Castile who promptly appropriated Templar property, King Denis of Portugal hesitated in carrying out the Papal order, and only did so in 1309 in the face of growing claims by a number of clergymen with disputes against the Order.[1] The following year, in January 31, 1310, the king signed a mutual pact with Ferdinand IV of Castile and Jaime II of Aragon should the Papacy decide to appropriate Templar property for the Church.[1]
Faced with united opposition in Iberia, the Pope instead ruled in favour of transferring Templar property to the Hospitallers but King Denis objected to this as well, not only because a foreign Hospitaller command could be disadvantageous to fight the Muslim threat from north-Africa but also because the large amount of border fortifications that would be concentrated in the hands of the Hospitallers could mean a strategic risk for Portugal.[1]
Clement V was succeeded by Pope John XXII, who proved favourable to the proposal to create a new Order that would replace the Templars in Portugal.[1] Denis' delay in confiscating Templar property for himself was decisive in securing the good will and approval of the Pope.[1]
The new Order of Christ was made official by the Papal bull Ad Ea Exquibus in March 14, 1319.[1] Denis then granted the Order "all castles, properties and goods" belonging to the Templars while Gil Martins was appointed as its first grandmaster.[1] Transference was seamless.[1] Many knights joined the new Order, with no arrests having been effected or recorded.[1] The last master of the Templars in Portugal Dom Vasco Fernandes ended his days as commander of Montalvão on the eastern border, "a fate vastly different than Jacques de Molay".[1] Fernandes and many former members henceforth added quondam miles Templi to their signature, "at one time knight of the Templars".[1]
The Castle of Almourol is a medieval castle atop the islet of Almourol in the middle of the Tagus River, located in the civil parish of Praia do Ribatejo, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the municipal seat of Vila Nova da Barquinha, in Portugal's Centre Region. The castle was part of the defensive line controlled by the Knights Templar, and a stronghold used during the Portuguese Reconquista.
The Convent of Christ is a former Catholic convent in Tomar, Portugal. Originally a 12th-century Templar stronghold, when the order was dissolved in the 14th century the Portuguese branch was turned into the Knights of the Order of Christ, that later supported Portugal's maritime discoveries of the 15th century. The convent and castle complex are a historic and cultural monument and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983.
The Military Order of Christ is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910, it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was founded in 1319, with the protection of King Denis of Portugal, after the Templars were abolished on 22 March 1312 by the papal bull, Vox in excelso, issued by Pope Clement V. King Denis refused to pursue and persecute the former knights as had occurred in most of the other sovereign states under the political influence of the Catholic Church.
Vila Nova da Barquinha is a municipality in the district of Santarém in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,322, in an area of 49.53 km². The village of Vila Nova da Barquinha, which is the seat of the municipality, has about 3500 inhabitants.
Dom Gualdim Pais, a Portuguese crusader, Knight Templar in the service of Afonso Henriques of Portugal. He was the founder of the city of Tomar.
This is a historical timeline of Portugal.
This is a historical timeline of Portugal.
Monsanto is a village in the civil parish of Monsanto e Idanha-a-Velha, in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, District of Castelo Branco, Portugal. In 2011, it covered an area of 131.76 km² and had 828 inhabitants. Monsanto would become popularly known as "the most Portuguese village of Portugal" due to a government-sponsored competition that awarded twelve historic villages the distinction of Most Portuguese Village of their own province in 1938.
Castle of Penela is located in a Penela town in Penela Municipality in Coimbra District, Portugal. The castle was built on a hill dominating the area and used to be a stronghold protecting Coimbra in times of Reconquista. Castle of Penela and the neighboring castle Montemor-o-Velho are both fine examples of defensive structures of that period.
Tomar, also known in English as Thomar, is a city and a municipality in the Santarém district of Portugal. The town proper has a population of about 20,000. The municipality population in 2011 was 40,677, in an area of 351.20 km2 (135.60 sq mi).
The Castle of Abrantes overlooks the city of Abrantes, in the municipality of Abrantes in the district of Santarém, Ribatejo, divided between the two civil parishes of São João and São Vicente. It was part of the Reconquista fortifications that made up the Linha do Tejo, a line of castles and outposts during the Middle Ages, recently integrated into a tourist region called the Região de Turismo dos Templários.
The Castle of Castelo Branco, is a Portuguese medieval castle in civil parish of Castelo Branco, in the municipality of the same name, in the Centro district of Castelo Branco. Known locally, as the Castelo dos Templários, the Romanesque castle was constructed under the orders of King Afonso II of Portugal in 1214.
The Military Order of Christ was founded in 1318. The order, in every sense of the term, were Knights Templar who continued their operations from their headquarters in Tomar, Santarém Portugal. Contrary to the belief that the Templar Order was renamed and established by King Denis of Portugal, the Templars merely moved backed to their original headquarters in Tomar Castle which was an autonomous zone granted to the Templar Order. Reasons for this move and change of name were to protect the vast assets of the order from repatriation by the Catholic Church. The Templar assets were then transferred over to the Cavaleiros de Cristo, all with the blessing of King Diniz who helped pull off the deal with the Church.
The Kingdom of Portugal was established from the county of Portugal in the 1130s, ruled by the Portuguese House of Burgundy. During most of the 12th and 13th centuries, its history is chiefly that of the gradual reconquest of territory from the various Muslim principalities (taifas) of the period.
The Castle of Seda is a medieval castle located in the civil parish of Seda, in the municipality of Alter do Chão, in the Portuguese district of Portalegre.
The Castle of Santarém is a medieval castle located in the city of Santarém in the Portuguese county and district of Santarém.
The Castle Idanha-a-Nova is a medieval castle located in Idanha-a-Nova, in the District of Castelo Branco, Portugal.
The Siege of Tomar was a military engagement that took place in 1190 between the Almohad caliphate who attacked the town of Tomar in Portugal, and the Templar Order, who owned the settlement and successfully defended it from the Muslim attack.
Portuguese participation in the Reconquista occurred from the moment the County of Portugal was founded in 868 and continued for 381 years until the last cities still in Muslims control in the Algarve were captured in 1249.
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