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Foundation in the time of Henry

portugal.gif (3458 bytes)The Templars were founded in Jerusalem in 1118 by the French Knights Hughes de Payens and Geoffroy de Saint-Omer. Their first rule was composed in 1127 by St Bernard of Clairvaux, and was sanctioned in the following year at the Council of Troyes. In the same year Raimundo Bernado, thought to have been French or a Catalan, visited the Iberian Peninsula in order to recruit members and obtain financial aid for the order. Teresa, Regent of Portucale, made a gift of the town of Fonte Arcada, and in 1128 added the castle of Soure and its lands to this donation, in exchange for an undertaking from the Templars to conquer territory from the Moors.

Growth in the time of Afonso I

In 1143, after protracted negotiations between Raymond Berenguer IV (the Count of Barcelona and a Templar) and the Grand-master of the Templars, Roberto de Craon, the order's mission on the peninsula was defined. In 1145, when Hugo Martonio (known as Hugo Martins in Portuguese) was master of the temple in Portugal, Fernao Mendes, brother-in-law of
Afonso Henriques, and his wife the Infanta Sancha Henriques, donated the castle of Longroiva. The knights aided Afonso Henriques in his conquest of Santarem in 1147, and by way of recompense, the king granted them ecclesiastical authority over the lands liberated from the Moors.
In 1159, when Gualdim Pais was master of the Templars in Portugal, they were given the castle of Ceras near Tomar, with lands stretching from the Mondego to the Tagus along the Zezere. As Ceras castle was in ruins, Gualdim decided to build a new fortification in Tomar, and work began on March 1, 1160. In the same year, the town came into being.
In 1165, the templars were given the territories of Idanha and Monsanto. In 1169 they were granted one third of all lands they conquered south of the Tagus, and their ownership of the castles of Cardiga, Foz do Zezere and Tomar was confirmed. A year later the defensive line along the Tagus was strengthened with the construction of Almourol castle.


Seige in the time of Sancho I

On July 13, 1190 the King of Morocco lay seige to the Templars in Tomar. This test of strength confirmed the Templar's military prowess and established them as an indispensable presence in the defense of northern Portugal. Gualdim Pais, Master of the Temple in Portugal, died in 1195 after a reign of 50 years.

The time of Afonso IIchrist.gif (725 bytes)

In 1214, when Pedro Alvites was master of the Templars in Portugal, Afonso II granted them the lands of Cardosa, thus laying the foundation for what is now the city of Castelo Branco. The Templars fought at the battle of Alçacar do Sal in 1217.

Decline in the time of Afonso III

The royal favour shown to the Templars diminished during the reign of Afonso III.

Downfall in the time of King Dinis

The downfall of the Templars came in France, where King Philip ordered the arrest of all Templars on the first black Friday - October 13, 1307. They were accused of various repellent crimes including heresy, although it seems likely that Philip simply wanted to remove a powerful political and financial force in his Kingdom.
In Portugal, King Dinis did not believe the accusations. In 1308 Pope Clement V issued the bull Regnas in Coelis, ordering Dinis to investigate the templars in Portugal. Dinis developed a joint policy with Castile, and in 1310, in Salamanca, the Templars were declared innocent on Iberian territory. In 1312, Clement issued the bull Vox in excelso, suppressing the order, and declaring that the Hospitallers should inherit its goods. But Dinis argued that the knights had simply been granted perpetual use of lands which actually belonged to the crown (inquisitions of 1314), and founded a new order, the Order of Christ, which was granted the holdings of the Templars.