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Foundation
in the time of Henry
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 II
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. |