Prior of Crato

Last updated

The Prior of Crato (Prior do Crato), was the traditional title given to the head of the Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (Hospitaller) in Portugal. It is a reference to the domains of the order around Crato, Portugal.

Contents

The Portuguese branch of the Knights Hospitaller was originally based in the northern citadel of Leça do Balio (near Matosinhos), which was allegedly donated to the order as early as 1112 by Countess Theresa. Around 1232, King Sancho II of Portugal donated extensive domains further south, around Crato (in the Portalegre District) to the Knights Hospitaller, along with the duty to fortify that frontier. The order moved its headquarters from Leça to Crato in 1340, shortly after the Battle of Salado, constructing the Monastery of Flor da Rosa near Crato.

From the outset in the 12th century, the head of the Order of Knights Hospitaller in Portugal was known simply as the Prior do Hospital. That title continued to be used after the move to Crato. It is really only after 1441 that the term Prior do Crato began being commonly used.

The most famous person to hold this position was probably António, Prior of Crato, a royal prince who attempted to lay claim on the royal throne (as King Anthony I of Portugal) during the 1580 dynastic crisis. Anthony ended up losing his bid to King Philip II of Spain.

At the time of the Restoration of the Portuguese monarchy in 1640, the new king John IV of Portugal nominated D.[ clarification needed ] Rodrigo da Cunha to the position, but the order refused to ratify the king's choice, noting that the title was currently held by a Spanish Infante. For the next few decades, the king and the order continued at odds, the order forwarding its own candidates against the king's choices. No one held the formal title of prior, the king being limited to appointing an administrator or governor for the order. A compromise was finally reached during the regency of Peter II, whereby the king agreed to recognize the candidate nominated by the order, and in return, the king would get to nominate his three subsequent successors.

The title of grão-prior (Grand Prior of Crato) was subsequently dominated by royal princes ( infantes ), before ascending to the throne. This was formalized in a royal letter of Queen Mary I of Portugal in 1789 (confirmed by Pope Pius VI), passing the properties of the order to the Casa do Infantado - that is, permanently placing the administration of the order in the hands of the legitimate heir to the throne. This arrangement continued until 1834, when the commenda of the Order of Knights Hospitaller in Portugal was extinguished, and their properties passed to the Junta dos Juros.

Priors of Crato

Heads of the Knights Hospitaller in Portugal.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuno Álvares Pereira</span> Portuguese general

D. Nuno Álvares Pereira, O. Carm. was a Portuguese general of great success who had a decisive role in the 1383-1385 Crisis that assured Portugal's independence from Castile. He later became a mystic and was beatified by Pope Benedict XV, in 1918, and canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portuguese conquest of Ceuta</span> 1415 conflict between Portugal and Marinid Morocco

The Portuguese conquest of Ceuta took place on 21 August 1415, involving the forces under the command of King John I of Portugal and the Marinid sultanate of Morocco. The city fell under Portuguese control after a carefully prepared attack, and the successful capture of the city marked the beginning of the Portuguese Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Braganza</span> Portuguese dynasty

The Most Serene House of Braganza, also known as the Brigantine Dynasty, is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferdinand the Holy Prince</span> Master of Aviz

Ferdinand the Holy Prince, sometimes called the "Saint Prince" or the "Constant Prince", was an infante of the Kingdom of Portugal. He was the youngest of the "Illustrious Generation" of 15th-century Portuguese princes of the House of Aviz, and served as lay administrator of the Knightly Order of Aviz.

Constable of Portugal was an office created by King Ferdinand I of Portugal in 1382, to substitute the High Standard-bearer (Alferes-Mor) as the head of the Portuguese Military. It was also referred as the Constable of the Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches</span>

Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches was an illustrious Portuguese knight and nobleman, with a long and illustrious career abroad in England. He was invested by the English king, Henry VI as the 1st Count of Avranches and made a Knight of the Garter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Álvaro Gonçalves Pereira</span>

Álvaro Gonçalves Pereira, Prior of Crato, was born to Gonçalo (Gonçalves) Pereira, 97th Archbishop of Braga (1326-1349) and Teresa Peres Vilarinho. At a very young age, he entered the Order of St. John of the Hospitallers. At Rhodes, at the time seat of the Order, he fought the Turks in the galleys of the Hospitallers so proving his worth that the Grand Master made him Prior of the Hospitallers in Portugal. There he founded the Castle of Amieira, the palaces of Bonjardim and the Monastery of Flor da Rosa, near Crato, the seat of the Order in Portugal. He administered the Order with great zeal and won a brilliant victory at Salado. He was one of the eminent figures of the reigns of Kings Afonso IV, Peter I and Ferdinand I. He died at an advanced age ca 1375. He was the father of the Constable of Portugal, Nuno Álvares Pereira.

Gonçalo (Gonçalves) Pereira (c.1280–1348) was a Portuguese prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the archbishop of Braga from 1326 until 1349.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle of Belver</span>

The Castle of Belver is a Portuguese castle in the civil parish of Belver, municipality of Gavião, district of Portalegre, in central Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle of Amieira do Tejo</span>

The Amieira do Tejo Castle is a Portuguese castle in the civil parish of Amieira do Tejo, municipality of Nisa, in the antique district of Portalegre, approximately 200 kilometres from the city of Lisbon

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count of Atouguia</span> Extinct Portuguese title of nobility

Count of Atouguia was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated from 17 December 1448, by King Afonso V of Portugal, and granted to D. Álvaro Gonçalves de Ataíde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro Álvares Pereira</span> Portuguese noble

Dom Pedro Álvares Pereira was a Portuguese noble of the 14th century.

Pêro de Ataíde or Pedro d'Ataíde, nicknamed O Inferno (Hell), was a Portuguese sea captain in the Indian Ocean active in the early 1500s. He was briefly captain of the first permanent Portuguese fleet in the Indian Ocean, taking over from Vicente Sodré, and the author of a famous letter giving an account of its fate.

Fernando de Castro was a 15th-century Portuguese nobleman, diplomat and military figure. Fernando de Castro was the 1st Lord of Paúl de Boquilobo. He was a member of the royal council of John I of Portugal, and governor of the household of Prince Henry the Navigator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Twelve of England</span>

The Twelve of England is a Portuguese chivalric legend of 15th-century origin, famously related by the poet Luís de Camões in his 1572 Os Lusíadas. It tells the story of twelve Portuguese knights who travelled to England at the request of twelve English ladies to avenge their insult by a group of English knights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forty Conspirators</span>

The Forty Conspirators were a Portuguese nationalist group during the Iberian Union. The Conspirators were composed of forty men of the Portuguese nobility, and many clergy and soldiers. Their goal was to depose the House of Habsburg king, Philip III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">António de Ataíde</span>

Dom António de Ataíde, 1st count of Castanheira, was a childhood friend and favorite of King John III of Portugal. As an advisor to the King, he played a key role in Portugal's policies towards its colony of Brazil. He also served as a diplomat in missions to several European countries and was a Minister and member of the King's council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lopo de Almeida</span>

Lopo de Almeida (1416–1486) was the first Count of Abrantes bestowed with the title on June 13, 1476 by King D. Afonso V of Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monastery of Flor da Rosa</span> Building in Crato, Portalegre District, Portugal

The Monastery of Flor da Rosa is situated in Flor da Rosa in the municipality of Crato in the Portalegre District of Portugal. Constructed by the Knights Hospitaller, it is considered both as one of the most important Gothic monuments in Portugal and as the best Portuguese example of a fortress church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martinho de Ataíde, 2nd Count of Atouguia</span>

Dom Martinho de Ataíde, 2nd Count of Atouguia, was a 15th-century Portuguese nobleman and diplomat. In 1455, he was granted the lordship of the Canary Islands, by donation from King Henry IV of Castile, which he later sold to the Count of Viana.

References

  1. 1 2 Pelúcia, Alexandra (2016). Afonso de Albuquerque : corte, cruzada e império (in Portuguese) (1a edição ed.). Lisboa: Círculo dos Leitores. pp. 59–60. ISBN   978-989-644-337-5. OCLC   958470506.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.