Templar Globe

Regarded as the pre-eminent symbol of Portugal’s history as a powerhouse of European exploration, Lisbon’s Jeronimos Monastery is a fitting location for the signing of the EU reform treaty.

The magnificent complex was started in 1502 by King Manuel I to commemorate Vasco da Gama’s voyage as commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India.

Located at the entrance to the port of Lisbon, the monastery was built on the site of an earlier hermitage where the monks of the Order of Christ, a Portuguese successor to the Knights Templar, gave succour to passing sailors.

That hermitage, the Ermida do Restelo, had been founded by Henry the Navigator, a Portuguese prince who lived from 1394-1460.

He was a noted patron of voyages of discovery along the western coast of Africa and the Madeira islands.

Opening up trade routes

Until Prince Henry’s time, the most southerly point known by European sailors was Cape Bojador, a treacherous reef-surrounded headland on the western Sahara coast, in present day Morocco.

For generations, Spanish and Portuguese sea-lore had maintained that Africa was unnavigable past this point.

But eager to bypass the Muslim territories of north Africa and open up trade routes to the south, Prince Henry funded 15 expeditions to conquer the Cape before Captain Gil Eanes finally succeeded in 1434.

It was in Prince Henry’s hermitage that da Gama and his crew spent their last night in Portugal in prayer before setting sail for India in 1497.

Upon their return two years later, King Manuel I commissioned the construction of a new monastery to give thanks to the Virgin Mary for da Gama’s success.

The work was funded by a tax on eastern spices, with the exceptions of pepper, cinnamon and cloves.

Thanks to da Gama’s passage to India the spices were in plentiful supply, allowing the architects to build a European Gothic masterpiece, regarded as the jewel of Manueline design.

King Manuel chose the monks of Order of St Jerome (Hieronymus monks) to occupy the Monastery.

Like their predecessors from the Order of Christ, the Hieronymus monks continued to provide spiritual guidance to the sailors passing through Lisbon throughout the Age of Discovery - the great period of European exploration from the 15th to 17th Centuries.

By the 16th Century these Portuguese sailors had helped build a huge empire embracing Brazil as well as swathes of Africa and Asia.

There are still some 200 million Portuguese speakers around the world today.

Foundations of our world

The monastery’s connection to the sea is richly illustrated on the columns in the cloisters which are carved with coral, sea monsters and coils of rope.

Many great figures from Portuguese history are buried in the monastery, including its founder King Manuel and da Gama himself.

The monks remained in the monastery until 1833 when religious orders were dissolved in Portugal, at which point the building became owned by the state.

Declared a Unesco world heritage site in 1984, it is described by the UN cultural agency as a “reminder of the great maritime discoveries that laid the foundations of the modern world”.

in BBC News

Recentemente fizemos uma primeira incursão pelas terras deste rio Nabão que, preguiçosamente, vai atravessando Tomar como se não estivesse apressado em dirigir-se a caminho do Sul, onde mais tarde ou mais cedo as suas águas mergulham nas do Zêzere, a caminho do Tejo, mais abaixo em Constância. E quedámo-nos pelo castelo e pelo Convento de Cristo, eterna sentinela vigilante da Estremadura, rapidamente nos apercebendo que visitar no mesmo dia a cidade seria apressada visita clínica, deitando porta fora muito do que há para descobrir.

Descubramos, pois, a cidade partindo da estátua do Infante D. Henrique, mestre que foi da Ordem de Cristo. Por detrás da figura tutelar da cidade estende-se a extensa Mata dos Sete Montes, ocupando grande parte da antiga cerca do Convento, que bem merece ser calcorreada, mesmo que não esteja nas intenções do visitante chegar às muralhas castelejas.

Observemos o edifício do Turismo, na esquina da rua em frente do Infante e vejamos, se o dia estiver claro, as horas no seu relógio de sol. Junto da Misericórdia cortemos à esquerda e embrenhemo-nos pelo dédalo das pequenas ruas estreitas. Na rua da Judiaria (antiga rua Nova), a Sinagoga do século XV, atravessados que estão cinco séculos de intolerância e perseguições em que foi profanada servindo de cadeia e de palheiro entre outros fins, abre-se ao público com toda a sua dignidade. Aqui poderá o visitante não avisado espantar-se com o processo de amplificação acústica utilizado, baseado na colocação de cântaros dentro das paredes com os bocais para a sala do templo. Hoje funciona aí um pequeno Museu Hebraico e recebe milhares de visitantes anuais, sendo a mais antiga Sinagoga de Portugal.

A cidade antiga
Voltamos ao nosso caminho e rapidamente chegamos à Praça da República. Junto da estátua do fundador, o mestre templário Gualdim Pais, deixemos o olhar cobrir toda a praça, sempre com a presença protectora das muralhas encimando o morro traseiro dos Paços Municipais, construídos onde estiveram os de D. Manuel. Do lado Sul, assenta o palacete de D. Maria Silveira, do século XVIII, onde avultam elegantes janelas e mansardas. Esta é a praça por excelência onde, no pino do Verão, a grandiosa Festa dos Tabuleiros, em honra do Espírito Santo, traz aos participantes a lembrança longínqua de tempos já perdidos em que estas terras pertenciam aos monges guerreiros.

S. João Baptista, velha igreja manuelina do século XV, espera uma visita depois de apreciarmos a sua torre sineira encimada pela esfera armilar. A delicadeza da decoração manuelina irrompe pelo belo portal dentro e suspende-se na mais bela peça da igreja, o púlpito rendilhado lembrando um pouco o plateresco espanhol. Na capela-mor, com azulejos seiscentistas, é digna de se ver uma escultura representando o patrono da igreja.

Hora é de sair e observar na rua que liga a praça ao rio (antiga rua Direita), a janela renascentista da Casa Manuel Guimarães, voltando de seguida à praça para calcorrear em passo lento e olhar atento a rua Serpa Pinto, que já foi da Corredoura. Rua de compras, o trânsito vedado, é das mais belas ruas de Tomar. Uma bica no Café Paraíso é inevitável, onde parece que o tempo pára, não devendo o visitante deixar de apreciar a bela máquina antiga de café, num canto do balcão, fulgurante no brilho dos seus cromados. A rua é comprida e as lojas, modernas e tradicionais de todos os ramos, estendem-se dos dois lados da rua.

Chegados ao fim entremos na Ponte Velha sem deixar de observar a nora mourisca que recorda aos passantes que esta terra foi cruzamento importante de vários povos e civilizações. Antes de seguirmos para a margem Este do Nabão, não passam despercebidos os velhos Lagares d’el Rei, antigo complexo industrial onde funcionaram as empresas Mendes Godinho.

Nesta margem a pequena capela de Santa Iria, que Tomar assume como sua conterrânea, assinala o local onde a bela jovem teria sido martirizada. Seguindo pela parte esquerda do rio, um pouco mais distante, surge uma igreja fundamental na história de Tomar, da invocação de Santa Maria do Olival, cuja imagem assume lugar destacado no altar. Terá sido fundada por Gualdim Pais, no século XIII, tem características góticas primárias onde ainda se distinguem algumas reminiscências românicas. Esta igreja, classificada como monumento nacional, serviu de panteão dos templários.

Voltemos ao centro da cidade e, agora que o dia se aproxima do fim, observemos as águas que passam lembrando que os povos que ali viveram e sonharam, vieram de muitas e variadas paragens. Os romanos de Sellium, os visigodos, os mouros, os templários, os cristãos, os judeus e tantos mais. Cidade misteriosa, pensamos, enquanto esticamos os dedos gulosos, para um “Beija-me Depressa”, bolinho fascinante que tão bem acompanha uma retemperadora chávena de chá.

Por Orlando Cardoso
Jornal de Leiria
orlccardoso@clix.pt

“Hoje a verdade é um cartucho vazio”. A afirmação é do historiador e jurista José Hermano Saraiva, que esteve esta semana em Pombal a gravar uma edição para o programa “A Alma e a Gente”, exibido na RTP2. Louriçal, Pombal e Abiul foram os lugares onde o famoso professor esteve para mostrar que “a história de Pombal pode-se apresentar como símbolo da própria formação de Portugal”. Um programa a ser exibido no próximo dia 29, pelas 21h30.

O [jornal] ECO acompanhou um pouco das filmagens e trocou impressões com José Hermano Saraiva no mesmo cenário onde, quatro anos e meio antes, tinha sido feita uma entrevista: no Castelo de Pombal. “Actualmente vive-se de faz de conta. Hoje a verdade é um cartucho vazio”, desabafou o professor, após ter feito uma explicação sobre a edificação, abordando as agitações entre os templários do Castelo de Pombal e a população do Cardal que terminaram “quando o Conde de Castelo Melhor levou a imagem de Nossa Senhora de Jerusalém lá para baixo”. Ainda a propósito da fortaleza, José Hermano Saraiva referiu que “eu daria vida ao Castelo chamando os templários (1). Esse é o castelo mais turístico de Portugal”.

Acompanhar as filmagens de José Hermano Saraiva, de 87 anos, é mais surpreendente do que os próprios enredos da História de Portugal que o professor vai desvendando. Isto porque, em cada cenário, a gravação é feita apenas uma vez, sem blocos de anotações ou paragens. “Faço o programa sem papéis ou qualquer outra indicação. Só digo o que manda o meu coração e as pessoas compreendem essa espontaneidade e aceitam”, acredita José Hermano Saraiva. E como explica ainda o sucesso de seus programas junto a um público tão diversificado? “É uma razão simples. É o poder da verdade. Agarra, convence e aceita-se”, destaca, acrescentando que “hoje o mundo está travesti, cheio de disfarces”.

O realizador d’“A Alma e a Gente”, José António Crespo, acompanha o professor nos programas de televisão há vários anos. “Estou com ele há 14 anos. Costumo dizer que estamos no quarto mandato”. Segundo o realizador, “é muito fácil trabalhar com o professor. Apesar de não podermos esquecer que faz muitas palestras para a elite, é um académico e, não sendo difícil, é essencial conhecê-lo para perceber a sua ironia”.

Já em pleno Largo do Cardal, quando explicava pormenores sobre a Igreja, José Hermano Saraiva atraía os olhares de todos os que passavam, a pé ou de carro. “É ele?” era a pergunta que mais se ouvia. De acordo com o historiador, “quatro anos depois encontro Pombal mais desenvolvido, a população cresceu imenso, além do comércio e trânsito. Pena porque não mostrei as coisas novas de Pombal. Há muito o que ver. Este é um dos lugares de Portugal em que os anos foram positivos”.

Por Adriana Afonso
www.oeco.pt

 (1) Estamos completamente de acordo!

Hello,

I’m Luis de Matos, Chancellor of the OSMTHU and Editor of the Templar Globe.

Last April I presented our readers with the account of one of my family outings to Alcobaça, a Cistercian Monastery closely connected with the Portuguese Templar heritage, and told you a little bit about this beautiful village and its medieval history. I finished the article by promising to write about the two royal tombs we can find in the church, reminding you that the story behind such noble residents is one of great significance and singularity. A story that deserves to be told. You can find those posts here: Templar Cronicles I; Templar Chronicles II - Alcobaça 1. If you haven’t read them yet, it is a good starting point for today’s post.

The story that deserves to be told involves the forbidden love of Prince Pedro I and Maid Inês de Castro. Prince Pedro I was born in 1320, while his grandfather King Dinis (the one who harboured fleeing Templars in the newly created Order of Christ) was still ruling Portugal. Pedro was born in the city of Coimbra, the first born son of the future King Afonso IV and Queen Beatriz of Castille.

King Dinis had been a man of intellect and culture. Poet and Troubadour, he married Isabel - later canonized as Saint Isabel for her Miracle of the Roses -, a Princess from the Languedoc who introduced the cult of the Holy Spirit in Portugal, still present in several forms in Tomar, Sintra and the Azores. King Dinis called all sorts of wise man and artists to the kingdom coming from all parts of Europe, including some from the Arab kingdom of Al-Aldaluz (today Cordoba and Granada). He founded the University of Coimbra in 1290 and sponsored sea explorations, medical research and other sciences while maintaining a good friendship with the heads of the two main chivalric Orders in Portugal, the Order of the Temple which enjoyed total freedom of movement in the country and owned extensive land along the Tagus river, and the Order of Aviz, that had been founded by the founder of Portugal, King Afonso Henriques, over 100 years earlier.

The drama of Pedro and Inês takes place during that hiatus of time (1314 to 1385) between the moment the Templars had been suppressed and were reforming in special places in Europe (of which Scotland is the better known example and Portugal the lesser explored mystery), and the moment both the Order of Christ and the Order of Aviz were ready to be called to a higher duty in 1385 when its Master and son of Pedro I became King John I of Portugal, starting the second Dynasty and marrying Filipa of Lancaster, whose offspring are still remembered as the great explorers of the seas under the white flag with RED cross of the Order of Christ, which had as a great luminary the unavoidable Prince Henry the Navigator (or Infante Henrique de Sagres). King John I, illegitimate son of King Pedro I, was placed under the care of the Order of Christ, under Master D. Nuno Freyre de Andrade after he was born, having later been raised to Master of the Order of Aviz before the crisis in succession catapulted him to kingship as John I. In fact, it was the same Peter I that re-established Tomar as the seat of the Order of Christ - as it had been the seat for the Templars in Portugal - transferring it from Castro Marim where it had been placed temporarily by King Dinis.

Cross of Aviz

Chronology

I - From the Templars to the Order of Christ

1307 Templars arrested in France. Many escape to Scotland. Many escape to Portugal where they are protected by King Dinis

1309 All Templar possessions and knights in Portugal are declared under the personal protection of King Dinis.

1312 After the Council of Vienna, the Order is dissolved by the Pope

1314 Jacques de Molay is burned at the stake in Paris. Pope Clement V dies.

1314 / 16 Vacancy in St. Peters throne, with the Cardinals resisting to elect a successor to Clement V.

1316 Pope John XXII is finally elected, choosing Avignon as his seat.

1317 King Dinis applies near the newly elected Pope in Avignon for the recognition of the Order of Christ, formed with the former Templar Knights and owner of all Templar possessions in the realm of Portugal.

1319 The Order of Christ is approved by Pope John XXII. D. Gil Martins, Master of the Order of Aviz is the first Master of the Order of Christ and the new Order is put under the spiritual guidance of… the Cistercian Monastery of Alcobaça. The seat is Castro Marim.

II - Order of Christ and Order of Aviz time of preparation for taking power

1320 Prince Pedro I is born

1325 King Dinis dies. King Afonso IV comes to the throne.

1336 Prince Pedro marries Constança, forced by his father

1336/55 Pedro and Inês love story and tragedy.

1357 King Afonso IV dies. Pedro I becomes King of Portugal. John, illegitimate son of King Pedro I, is born and taken under the care of the Order of Christ. The Order of Christ returns to Tomar and takes the former Templar castle and convent as its seat. This concludes the passage from the Templars to the Order of Christ, both in temporal and spiritual terms. Its now time to strengthen the Order of Aviz.

1364 When D. Martin de Avelar, Master of Aviz, dies, D. Nuno Frey de Andrade, Master of the Order of Christ and tutor of the young illegitimate Prince John, travels to Chamusca to meet King Pedro and request from him that he appoints his own son Master of Aviz. So, by appointment of King Pedro I, and the intervention of the Master of the Order of Christ, Prince John (of only 7 years of age) is designated Master of the Order of Aviz. This act consummates the move to take power on the part of the survivals of the Templars. Prince John’s tutorship is still held by the Master of Christ until he becomes of age, although the education in arms was undertaken in Aviz.

1367 King Pedro I dies. His son D. Fernando comes to the throne.

1383 King Fernando dies, leaving no male heir to the throne. For two years Portugal is in turmoil as the menace of losing independence is imminent with the King of Castille plotting to acquire the throne by marriage. A growing wave of support claims that John, Master of Aviz, should become the new King. This movement is supported and encouraged by the Order of Christ.

1385 John, son of Peter I, Master of the Order of Aviz, becomes king by popular acclamation, supported by the majority of the Portuguese noble houses and foreign kings, such as Richard II from England. This inaugurated the Dynasty called of Aviz. Under the leadership of Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the Order of Aviz and the Order of Christ on each side, the Portuguese King John I, Master of Aviz, defeats a far stronger army sent by King John I of Castille in a deadly battle in Aljubarrota, just a few miles off Alcobaça. In effect the Order of Aviz takes the throne.

1387 Forging an even stronger relationship with England, King John I of Portugal marries Filipa of Lancaster, sister of the soon to be King Henry the IV of England.

Part III - The Outcome

1400’s Led by Henry the Navigator, first from Sagres and then from the Convent of Christ in Tomar, the Portuguese start the great era of Discoveries.

This has been a short account of the influence of the Order of Christ and the Order of Aviz during the preparatory post-Templar 14th century in Portugal.

Both orders, Templars / Aviz, were the true backbone of the nation in Medieval times. That work was reinforced, as we have seen, after the Templars gave way to the Order of Christ. The fact that John, long before he would be in a position to be acclaimed as king, was placed under the care of the Order of Christ and later appointed Master of Aviz, openly protected by the Master of Christ and by another Order of Aviz hero, Nuno Alvares Pereira, clearly shows the importance of both Orders in Portuguese historical events. The protection of both Orders given to the rise of a new dynasty, the Dynasty of Aviz with King John I, is in many ways similar to the protection given by the Templars at least after 1126 to the first dynasty, the Dynasty of Bourgogne with Afonso Henriques. Different players, but the same pattern altogether.

Nuno Alvares Pereira, companion of John I, with the Cross of the Order of Aviz

However, there are reasons to believe that deeper secrets are hidden under the political relevance of the Order of Aviz and the Order of Christ / Templars along Portuguese and hidden European history. In an article published in 1982 Portuguese researcher and author Olimpio Gonçalves, a leading authority on this subject, makes a few valuable points. Those who look deeper into history and look for the signs of what lies beneath - the reasons for the apparent reason - understand that the Soul of the Lusitan nation, later embodied in Portugal, is “tutored” - so to speak - by 3 Orders, of which the red cross of the Order of the Temple (reformed by King Dinis into Order of Christ, maintaining the distinctive red colour and initiatic mandate…) and the green cross of the Order of Aviz, form the two visible pillars that stand vigilant guard to the orb inside, so beautifully expressed in the national flag adopted in 1910.

To the latter observation of Olimpio, we add that the same colours are also associated with the Masonic degrees of Scottish Master of Saint Andrew (of the Scottish Rectified Rite - survival rite of the Strict Observance) and Scottish Knight of Saint Andrew (29th degree of the Scottish Rite of 33 degrees). The cross of Saint Andrew ( X ), patron of Scotland, is a particularly important symbol to meditate upon here, since in the Templar context it is indissolubly connected with the greek cross of Christ ( + ), both valuable keys to understand the octagon and the eight sided Templar buildings (Tomar, Segovia, London, Paris, etc. - Mosque of Omar) and the so called occult Orders (such as the Priory of Sion or whatever real Order could have existed instead, playing the real role supposed for this 20th century fabrication). In this context, studying the Scottish survival of the Temple - with Skye, Rosslyn and Henry Sinclair, and ignoring Portugal with Sintra, Tomar and Henry the Navigator, is to simply look at the reflex of a broader light. Both lines are complementary and one would not survive without the other. I hope to be able to elaborate a bit more on this later.

Apron and Jewel of Scottish Master of Saint Andrew (Rectified Rite)

Apron, Sash and Jewel of Scottish Knight of Saint Andrew, 29th degree AASR

The period between 1307 and 1385 is then characterized by preparatory work by the Order of Aviz and the Order of Christ which would both take centre stage in the political and scientific events that would follow soon. This preparatory work was undertaken in total discretion and very few documents prepare us for the flourishing years to come. The total eclipse of the Templar fleet and maps would give way to the Portuguese Discoveries, started early in the 1400’s, with vessels carrying the Cross of Christ to far away lands.

By 1307 Portugal - with extensive help of the Templars - had already a stable territory, most of which conquered to the Moors in the course of the Iberian Crusades. The south and west were nothing but a great opening to the vast and unknown Atlantic Ocean, full of legends and promises of hidden treasures. To the north it was divided from Galicia (a province of the Kingdom of Leon) by the Minho river and the border with the kings of Castille to the east was well defined since the times of the first Portuguese kings down to the south, where in the Algarve the fortress of Castro Marim (first seat of the Order of Christ) on the west bank of the Guadiana river, guarded the country from any foolish attempts that could have been made by the taifas (kingdoms) of the Moors of the Al-Andaluz. It would take the united Spanish kingdoms, under Isabel la Católica, almost 200 years more to conquer Granada in 1492 and close their side of the story as far as war with the Arabs was concerned.

Marriage between heirs to the throne of Aragon, Castille, Leon and Portugal were a common way to forge alliances and keep peace between Christian kings. However, there was always the danger that a king might die without male descent and another nation, by marriage, unite under a foreign country two territories. That had been the primary source of concern for the Portuguese crown since the early days. Falling under the crown of Castille would bring open war with the Moors again to a country that had been in relative peace for decades, in a favourable environment to see the flourishing of sciences, teaching, arts and commerce. Even Rome was far away on the horizon, many times neglecting this remote kingdom. The Portuguese kings had helped Castille in some battles against the Moors, especially when national borders might be at peril (Badajoz, Seville, Salado, etc.), but for the most part the time of the Reconquista was a thing from the past and smaller scale military warfare was only used in squabbles against neighbouring Christian Kingdoms. There were Arabs, Christians and Jews living side by side in the major Portuguese cities. Indeed some of the funding for the early Discoveries came from Jewish hands, showing how close the Order of Christ had come to that community. Unity with Castille would shake the Lusitan project from top to bottom and would throw a blanket of darkness and inquisitorial perusal into the practices, livelihood and teachings of a vast segment of the population. That “catastrophe” (interpreted by philosophers and poets as “catharsis”) only befell the nation centuries later, within a set of circumstances that are also of great interest for the students of Templar/Order of Christ history.

King Afonso IV

Amidst this prevailing fear, it was King Afonso IV’s primary concern to find a suitable bride for Prince Pedro I, future king. The choice fell on Princess D. Branca, granddaughter of King Sancho IV of Castille. However, by the age of 14 the Princess was very feeble and Prince Pedro absolutely refused to go ahead with this political marriage. His father then selected another suitable bride, D. Constança Manoel, daughter of one of the most noble lords of Castille, Leon and Aragon. However, Pedro rejected the bride as well, furious for not having been consulted on such a personal matter and not happy that she had already been rejected by King Alfonso XI of Castille before him. This choice wasn’t approved by Alfonso XI either. The intervention of the Master of the Order of Aviz was fundamental and, although Alfonso eventually accepted to have his former bride marry the Portuguese prince by means of a power of delegation, he held her prisoner in a tower in the city of Toro, preventing her from attending her own wedding. After a couple of years of active animosity, peace was finally signed in Seville and Constança travelled to join her husband in Coimbra. However Pedro was full of energy and passion for life, a great lover of hunting and not a very devoted husband. For a long time he didn’t pay attention to his duties as heir to the throne and led a life of pleasure, neglecting his wife that his heart never accepted.

One day his attention was captured by the fairest of the maids of his wife Constança. The ravishing beautiful Inês de Castro became the centre of his obsessive attention, causing scandal in the kingdom and severe misunderstandings with his father, King Afonso IV. It became such an important problem that Afonso IV was forced to retire Inês de Castro to a lonely and distant castle in the far away inaccessible lands of the Portuguese border. But if he thought that this would be enough to turn off his son’s love flame, he was in for a surprise. Pedro and Inês started to correspond with the help of intermediaries that would bring back and forth their love pledges and passionate writings. Pedro, like his grandfather King Dinis was a bit of a poet himself. It became a case of an impossible love. And the more impossible and distant, the more maddening and absorbing it got to restless Pedro. His duty to the nation - to have offspring - was being fulfilled with Constança, but his heart was fully united with Inês and the physical separation was unbearable.

In 1354 Constança died after having given birth to Prince Fernando (later to become King after his father, closing the Bourgogne Dynasty with his early death with no male heir). To great astonishment of the nation and repudiation of King Afonso IV, Pedro sees himself as a free man now and releases Inês from her exile, bringing her to openly live with him in an adulterous relationship, without marriage, establishing themselves first away from the agitated life of the court, but shortly after in the very city of Coimbra.

Pedro and Inês de Castro

The majority of Portuguese lords are not happy with the situation. Inês has two Spanish brothers that Pedro, to spite his enemies and his father, supports and advances politically. One of them even makes it as Constable of the Kingdom and Alcaide-Mor of Lisbon. As their love develops and the influence of the Spanish entourage of Inês grows, so their enemies become more and more suspicious and decide to warn King Afonso IV that the independence of the nation is at peril if nothing is done, since being followed in throne by his son Pedro, he could marry Inês, have offspring and then there would be little to prevent a full scale invasion from the Spanish kingdoms. To complicate matters even further, the Black Plague enters in Portugal and causes a wave of death of an unprecedented scale, causing famine and economical and political crisis. Many rush to condemn adulterous Inês as the cause of such misfortune and see the stubbornness of the Prince that didn’t want to lead the life of a heir to the throne with the nation’s best interests in mind, following instead his foolish passion, punished by Providence with the Plague.

Early in 1355 King Afonso IV is a divided man. He’s torn between reasons of state and his love as a father. Pedro declines all of his father’s suggestions of suitable brides to marry. Advisers of the King say that the reason might be that Pedro married Inês in secret. The only way out of the problem, they say, is to suppress Inês de Castro. His advisers eventually win and the King gives permission that the crime be carried out. Taking advantage of the fact that Pedro was an avid hunter, they prepare a trap to kill Inês while Pedro is away. It is said that the day Pedro was leaving for his hunting trip a great black dog leapt from amidst his dog pack and viciously run to attack Inês with fearful eyes of fire. The prince’s men were petrified and could not react, but Pedro, with one stroke of his sword decapitated the horrible dog whose blood stained fair Inês’s dress. Everyone became gloomy and the sense that grave things were close by was unmistakable. However Pedro decided to hold his departure no longer and bids a last goodbye to Inês.

Soon after Pedro leaves, King Afonso’s arrives with his men. Inês feels the danger and gathers her daughter and two sons and runs to the gardens. It’s in front of the Fonte das Lágrimas (Teardrop Fountain) that Inês pleads for the life of her children and says in her defence that her only sin is the undying love for Pedro. The King is inclined to use clemency, but three lords that were with him persuade the monarch that they should not back away from the mission. Shaken in his heart, Afonso spares the children, but allows for the lords to mercilessly behead Inês de Castro. To this day the Fountain spring is tainted in red.

Pedro was far away, hunting in the woods, in blissful ignorance of the tragedy.

Fernão Lopes, royal registrar, says about D. Pedro: “The hand of one that harms writes in sand, but the one who is harmed carves in marble and such was the case with D. Pedro.”

In Templar Chronicles IV - Alcobaça Part 3 we will finish the Pedro and Inês tragedy, we will understand why Pedro was known as “The Justice Bearer”, we will tell you about his relentless revenge and will look closely to their tombs since then in the Monastery of Alcobaça, face to face, each in one arm of the transept of the beautiful Cistercian church, so that when the Final Judgement comes and they are resurrected, each other will be the first person that each lover will see. To the end of the world…

To finalize for today, here is a chart detailing how the Order of the Temple survived as Order of Christ in Portugal under the protection of the Royal House and of the Order of Aviz, and how both Orders stood as two of the three secret pillars acting behind the courtains of history that lead to the Age of Discoveries with Prince Henry the Navigator, stepping in, in key moments.

Bibliography
Gonçalves, Olímpio, Revista Graal, Comunidade Portuguesa de Eubiose, 1982
Lopes, Fernão, “Chronica Delrey Dom Pedro deste nome o primeiro e dos Reys de Portugal o oytavo”, edição do Padre José Pereira Bayam, Lisboa 1735
Monteverde, Amilio Achiles, “Resumo da Historia de Portugal”, Lisboa 1844
Pina, Ruy de; “Chronica de Elrey Dom Afonso o Quarto”, Lisbon 1653

Text and Photos by Luís de Matos (c) 2007. Chart (c) Luis de Matos 2007

Great video by Hugo Almeida you can find on YouTube. Hugo sent as an email with a link to this 4min clip about the Templar castle of Almourol, in  a small island in the middle of the Tagus river, just a few miles from Tomar and we think this is something you should look at. The voice over is in Portuguese, but there are subtitles in English.

Thanks Hugo!

There cannot be many more forbidding places of worship than the Convento de Cristo at Tomar, 80 miles north of Lisbon. Built as a fortress as well as a monastery, it stands menacingly above the town, its gloomy yellow walls piled on mournful grey ramparts. Your first instinct, on reaching the end of the winding road up to it, is to jump back in your hire car and return to the duel-to-the-death known as Portugal’s A1 motorway.

But if you press on through the outer keep, something extraordinary happens. Rounding a corner, you come upon a pair of tall gates that opens onto a garden of other-worldly serenity. Delicately sculpted hedges border the path; a snatch of birdsong pierces the hum of traffic from the streets below; exotic blooms stretch inquisitively from the flowerbeds; elaborately tiled benches command an orchard of orange trees. Spring, it seems, has come to the giant’s garden after all.

At the far end, a balustraded terrace leads to the extraordinary Romanesque building known as the Charola. On the inside, this shares the circular ground plan of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the spiritual home of the Knights Templar. On the outside - buttressed, castellated, and 16-sided [inside there's a 8 sided towered church] - it resembles a decapitated Dalek.

The Templars were the special forces of Christendom - fierce warrior monks who enjoyed a good massacre. They played a leading role in driving the Moors from this part of Portugal, and when their Grand Master Gualdim Pais began building here in 1160, he created a monument to their pursuit of war and spiritual peace. The knights, it is said, rode their horses not only to church, but into church.

As it grew to its present enormous size, the monastery developed an ever more extreme multiple-personality disorder. Between the 12th and 19th century - when Portugal’s religious orders were abolished, and the monks evicted - it went through seven distinct stages of development, and its architecture ranges from sublime simplicity to Versace-esque extravagance.

Inside the main building, it is the simple you meet first. Although originally used for funerals, the Gothic-arched Cemetery Cloister seems too jolly by half to deserve its name: a lavender bush blooms in the middle, the walls are adorned with intricate blue azulejos (the decorative painted tiles which the Portuguese pirated from their Moorish enemies), and the most potent symbol of mortality you will find is a single fallen orange, glowing beside a dark puddle. In the adjoining Washing Cloister, where the monks’ habits were once laundered, the water troughs have been turned into flowerbeds - a small triumph of soil over detergent.

Both cloisters were built under Henry the Navigator, the 15th-century prince who transformed Portugal into a major seafaring nation. The ensuing enthusiasm for anything to do with boats can be seen in the famous Chapter House window, ingeniously carved with the anchor chains, twists of rope, and other maritime motifs which characterise the Manueline style of Gothic architecture. Green with moss, the window looks like a seaweed-smothered wreck freshly hauled from the ocean bed.

But if you think this is over the top, it is nothing compared to the inside of the Charola. Under a high ceiling stands a two-storey octagon - its pillars and arches smothered with Byzantine patterns of painted gold - looking like a huge ecclesiastical desk-tidy for the monk who has everything. There are murals and painted panels above, behind and before you; there are corbels bearing painted statues of bearded prophets, sallow friars and anaemic archbishops; there are more gilded carvings than you could shake an episcopal crook at. You can almost hear the Grand Master and his architect egging each other on: “Is there anything we’ve left out? Couldn’t we squeeze in just one more angel?” The monastery’s comparatively austere Main Cloister is considered one of the greatest examples of Renaissance architecture in Portugal, brimming with splendid arches and ingenious spiral staircases. The real treat, though, is to escape down the long, beautifully ascetic corridors off it - a symphony of red-brick floors, half-tiled white walls, and barrel-vaulted ceilings leading past the monks’ abandoned cells.

At this point, the place frankly becomes a bit of a maze, and if you have children you would be wise not to let them out of your sight, or you may never see them again. But it is worth persevering in the search for the magical Sala do Capitulo - another chapter house - on the ground floor. Never finished, it has capitulated to the elements, and stands open to the sky with a lawn for a nave and two pigeons for sacristans, solemnly cooing their vespers under the ruined arches.

The advantage of visiting the monastery off season is that you can experience the kind of moment that crowds make impossible. Mine came when, standing in the empty Philippine Sacristy, I suddenly caught the sound of distant singing: a high, exquisite voice glorying in a medieval carol. Baffled, and half expecting to meet the ghost of a dismembered chorister, I followed it to the heart of the monastery, where I found a boiler-suited young woman halfway up a scaffolding in the Charola, serenading herself as she dabbed at one of the murals. I didn’t interrupt, but stood there transfixed for several minutes, watching the sunlight steal through the stained-glass windows of the church, and listening to a song the Templars might have sung 800 years before.

Glorious religious relics in Portugal
Two other magnificent monasteries lie within easy reach of Tomar. The Mosteiro de Batalha, 25 miles to the west, is a Gothic extravaganza built by King Joao I after the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385 (facing 30,000 Castilians with only 6,500 men, he promised to dedicate a great abbey to the Virgin if he won). Joao is buried in the star-vaulted Founder’s Chapel beside his English queen, Philippa of Lancaster, the daughter of John of Gaunt.

Outside, the church is a riot of pinnacles and flying buttresses; inside, its high and narrow nave is flanked by such immense pillars that you might be walking through a stone forest. The breathtaking Cloister of King Joao I first defined Manueline architecture with its elaborate tracery, while the Unfinished Chapels - still roofless 500 years after they were commissioned - are a poignant testament to thwarted human endeavour.

Twelve miles south of Batalha is Alcobaça, whose monastery commemorates another victory - this one over the Moors at Santarem in 1147. The Cistercians based the design partly on their abbey at Clairvaux, and the church - the largest in Portugal - has a wonderful austerity. It contains the tombs of Pedro I and his wife Ines de Castro, who was murdered on her father-in-law’s orders; on becoming king, Pedro - maddened by grief - tore out and ate the killers’ hearts, and made his courtiers kiss the hand of Ines’s exhumed body.

The monks of Alcobaça were famously greedy (though they probably stopped short of cannibalism) and two of the most remarkable areas are the kitchen and the refectory - a graceful vaulted room with a colonnaded staircase. The kitchen contains an awe-inspiring tiled indoor chimney, over 70 feet high, and two marble tables, each large enough to hold an ox.

Portugal basics

Getting there
British Airways (0845 773 3377; www.ba.com) has daily scheduled services from Gatwick to Lisbon (flights operated by GB Airways).

If you are using Lisbon as a base, the Hotel Avenida Palace (00351 21 342 6135) is a central, old-style hotel. Leiria is a convenient town for visiting all three monasteries, as is Fatima.

Further information
The Portuguese National Tourist Office, 2nd Floor, 22-25A Sackville Street, London W1S 3LY (0906 364 0610).

By Anthony Gardner in http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Photos by Luis de Matos (c) 2007

Persecution drove the warrior monks of the Middle Ages to Tomar in Portugal. There, Richard Robinson finds, they built their Camelot

“I SEE that you are not Jewish,” said the only person, other than my wife and I, inside the sparse, four-pillared chamber. My wife shot me a reprimanding look, as if I had done something really stupid. “You took your hat off when you came in,” he explained. “It is our custom to cover our heads.”

Luis Vasco, wearing the serge cap of his previous career in the Portuguese navy, then showed us around the synagogue - the only one in Portugal to have survived the Inquisition. It had been used as a jail and a barn until it was rescued earlier this century, and now it is a museum, housing a collection of Hebrew-inscribed tombstones salvaged from hidden corners of the country.

Before the king of Portugal ordered their expulsion in 1496, the Jews got along well enough with the Knights of Christ, successors in Portugal to the Knights Templar and the elite of this town of Tomar. Discredited and persecuted everywhere else in Europe, the knights withdrew to the west and built this redoubt, their Camelot.

Outside the synagogue a stony lane led upward towards the castle and abbey of the warrior-monks. For four centuries it was the headquarters of the knightly orders, a church on a bold hill, walled about with battlements. A town grew beneath the walls.

The day before, we had stood on the platform of Lisbon’s new Oriente railway station. Our train followed the river Tagus into the rural past. By a blunder on my part we travelled second-class and shared the carriage with students and weather-beaten peasants, mouths agape in sleep.

We trundled out of Lisbon’s industrial fringes and rattled into cork-tree country, and the vineyards of Ribatejo. This was the riverbank land where the boundary fluctuated, for 150 years or so, between Christian and Moor. It was a shifting frontier where the Templars, charged with the task of driving the Moor from the Iberian Peninsula, built their castles.

We arrived at Tomar station, its concourse lit with oil lamps, its cobbled platforms frustrating the use of wheeled suitcases. In the booking hall, an old-fashioned coin-in-the-slot machine posed the question “How much do you weigh today?” adding the injunction: “for persons only”.

The following day, we walked up to the castle, past the unusual circular chapel of the Charola (where the knights are reputed to have attended Mass on horseback) and beyond the main cloister where a stair led us to the Corridors of the Cross. The transept was getting on for 200 yds long, a tunnel-like hall lined with small, locked doors to the monks’ cells. The disembodied tramp and chatter of tour groups echoed from distant chambers. We were drawn to the light of a window at the extreme end, and to a sound of shouting and cheering from outside.

Below us, on the rough turf of the friars’ vegetable garden, appeared to be a medieval gathering. A crowd of villagers from centuries past was listening to a speech delivered from a balcony, when a plague of mice erupted on the scene. Scores of small children in mouse-costume swarmed from the wings, orchestrated by the director and shepherded by teams of matronly minders.

They chased and harassed the scattering crowd with great enthusiasm. They were rehearsing for their part in next month’s festa dos tabuleiros - Festival of the Trays.

Tomar holds the tabuleiros every four years, a festival in honour of the Holy Spirit, in which beef, bread and wine are given to the poor. It goes back to the founding of the Order of Christ. The townswomen are central to the procession, each in white, traditional dress and bearing a towering headdress of flowers and loaves equal to their own height. “In the old days they were all virgins,” the forewoman of the headdress makers told me. “But it is no longer practical to insist on this precondition.”

This is not a touristy area, but the authorities have recognised a marketable theme and developed the Templars’ Wine Route, one which we sampled with the help of farmer Jose Vidal. Actually, the frugal Templars were denied wine and all other luxuries. But somehow, the expression “drunk as a Templar” had crept into the English language by the time the hapless knights were suffering sham trials and burnings at the stake in 1307.

Lunch with Jose took place in a country dining-room - a plain roadside building with no sign outside - where we ate dried salted cod and baked potatoes with garlic served in a pot of boiling olive oil. While we ate, locals would amble in to refill their glasses at the wine vats which lined the wall.

Essential viewing on the Templar trail is the fairytale island castle of Almourol, which appears to float on the river Tagus. At nearby Constancia, a pretty town famous as the birthplace of the poet Camões and for its annual flower spectacle, there were graphic reminders of how unpredictable this once-navigable river could be. The black-and-white depth gauge scaled the grassy bank of the Tagus and continued across the road, high up a flight of stairs. In the winding streets of the old town, lines had been daubed on walls to illustrate the worst of the 1978 and 1979 floods - a good 15ft above the town square.

Almourol, though, is high, dry and pretty well impregnable. The romantic, towering walls rise from the summit of a crag jutting from the middle of the surging waters. A boatman, of the thickset stoical kind, stood on the bank waiting. I thought he was sure to overcharge: boatmen are notorious for it. We embarked anyway, and after scaling the heights and scrambling the ramparts, found that our return trip came to all of 35p each.

Our single visit to Tomar Castle and the Convent of Christ was not enough, and on our final day we climbed once again the stone-paved spiral of the wagon road. Purple blossom of the Judas tree carpeted the way and high above, the flags of the Templars and of Portugal flapped softly in the warm breeze.

The Chapter House was added to the Templar’s circular chapel by Dom Manuel, Grand Master and future king. This was the crowning glory of Tomar, and its masons employed all their powers in the creation of its jewel, a window of unrivalled complexity.

Here was all the mystery and romance from medieval chivalry to the Age of Discovery expressed in stone. Anaconda coils, scaly serpent swags, fat drapes of cable and chain, heraldic insignia, coats of arms, festoons of seaweed and tropical fruit all worked together in a marvellous fantasy of the mason’s art. It was worth coming to Tomar just for that.

Tomar basics

Getting there
Air Portugal (020 7828 0262) operates three flights daily from London Heathrow. Take a taxi to Lisbon Oriente station and then a train to Tomar (2hrs).

Staying there
Stay in the Hotel dos Templarios (00 351 49 321730), a comfortable modern hotel five minutes’ walk from the town centre.

Further information
Contact the Portuguese Trade and Tourism Office (0171 494 1441) or Templarios Regional Tourist Office, Rua Serpo Pinto 1, Tomar (00 351 49 329000).

In http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Photos by Luis de Matos (c) 2007

 A câmara de Santarém realizou uma prospecção arqueológica preventiva para requalificar o jardim da República, recolhendo dez esqueletos de época medieval e uma estela funerária, segundo o arqueólogo da autarquia, escreve a Lusa.

António Matias disse à Agência Lusa que a obra de requalificação do jardim contíguo ao convento de S. Francisco «será acompanhada por arqueólogos» e «avançará sem qualquer problema», acrescentando que os achados remetem para um período entre os séculos XII e XIV.

O arqueólogo afirmou à Lusa que na prospecção, que terminou na segunda-feira, foi encontrada «uma sucessão de três planos de enterramento, depois dos dois primeiros, foram recolhidos mais oito indivíduos» em dois metros quadrados de terreno, explicando que «o mesmo espaço funerário foi sendo utilizado ao longo do tempo».

«Utilizavam a mesma fossa para sepultar mais indivíduos», afirmou António Matias, acrescentando que serão feitas «análises para saber se havia aproveitamento familiar, ou não».

Segundo o arqueólogo, a estela funerária «não tem indicação de idade, mas é da época medieval, apresentando numa face a cruz dos templários e na outra uma estrela de oito pontas», que «identificava uma sepultura de uma criança com idade entre os dois e quatro anos».

O vice-presidente do município disse à Lusa que a «prospecção preventiva já foi dada como concluída» e serviu para «preparar a intervenção» no espaço contíguo, salientando que os achados «não vão condicionar a intervenção» que tem início previsto para Novembro.

Segundo o arqueólogo António Matias, os esqueletos e a estela funerária estão armazenados na reserva do Museu Municipal a aguardar tratamento, lavagem e marcação.

in Portugal Diário

O povoamento em Trancoso terá começado no século XIX A.C.. A comprová-lo a existência de um primitivo castro pastoril, posteriormente defensivo, provavelmente situado no mesmo local onde mais tarde se havia de erguer o castelo. Em 301 A. C. chegam os invasores romanos, aproveitam e ampliam o castro, dada a sua posição estratégica, o que lhes permitiu uma permanência bastante demorada, até ao ano 409 da nossa era (século V A.C.).Existem 2 hipóteses sobre as origens de Trancoso:

- Túrdulos,

- Um enviado da Etiópia e do Egipto, de seu nome Tarracon.

Da segunda hipótese terá resultado o nome de Trancoso: Tarracon - Taroncon – Trancoso.

Outros falam que o nome de Trancoso terá resultado do vocábulo arcaico Troncoso, derivado do sítio onde existem muitos troncos ou florestas (Trancoso, nos seus primórdios, estava rodeada de densas florestas e ainda hoje é viveiro de árvores de grande porte).O nome só aparece documentado pela primeira vez no século X no testamento de D. Chamoa (ou D. Flâmula ou D. Chama), filha do conde D. Rodrigo, com doação do castelo e dos bens que aqui detinha, uma vez que estava na posse de toda a região a sul do Douro, herdada em 960.Antes dos romanos estiveram em Trancoso os cartagineses que permaneceram por 300 anos. Seguiram-se os romanos e nesta altura fizeram-se grandes obras.

Trancoso, no século XIII, começa a ter uma importância grande. Tornara-se um local de intensa actividade comercial, por força da periódica reunião de feirantes, de que iria resultar, ainda nesse século, por decisão de D. Afonso III, a criação da sua feira franca. Essa mesma importância, que, como referimos, lhe vinha desde o tempo de D. Afonso Henriques, para quem a sua conquista representava uma acção fundamental para a fixação do território até aí subtraído aos mouros, atribuindo o direito de foral à dita terra, com todos os privilégios e regalias. Deste documento ignora-se a data, mas é em 1217 que D. Afonso II, neto daquele monarca, também por carta régia, confirma tais privilégios e regalias.

Em 1270, D. Afonso III cede por 600 libras anuais os seus direitos sobre Trancoso, o que mostra, com evidência, o valor já assumido pela povoação.

É, porém, com a escolha de Trancoso para lugar do seu casamento com D. Isabel de Aragão, que D. Dinis confirmará a importância assumida por esta terra na era de Duzentos. Depois do famoso enlace das duas régias figuras, em 1282, que trouxe à região trancosana centenas de componentes das duas comitivas e que nela permaneceram por mais de sessenta dias, jamais a Vila de Trancoso deixou de crescer em prestígio e grandeza. É também o próprio rei, que a elegera para palco do seu real casamento, quem vai lançar as bases do grande povoado em que haveria de tornar-se, mercê dessas atenções e dos muitos mais privilégios concedidos por este e outros monarcas.

Contudo, são os séc. XVII, XVIII e XIX que nos permitem falar sobre uma transformação arquitectónica, sob os pontos de vista de construção e de arte, quer nos edifícios civis, quer nos religiosos. Aliás, basta percorrer a Vila, no espaço intramuros e observar a aplicação dos estilos maneirista e barroco em tantas das suas edificações. São disso exemplo, construções como as igrejas de Santa Maria e de S. Pedro e a Misericórdia, também. O solar dos Garcês, o conhecido palácio Ducal, antiga residência dos Viscondes de Trancoso e a Casa do Arcos, ao lado da igreja paroquial de S. Pedro. Curiosamente, a volumetria não se equaciona com o porte em altura, o que nos leva a concluir, definitivamente, que sempre houve um nivelamento que caracterizou a malha urbana que não o enriqueceu com sumptuosidade e esplendor de alguns outros Centros Históricos conhecidos, mas que lhe permite valorizar a unidade dos seu conjunto, apenas pontuado, portanto, aqui e além, por um edifício de maior dimensão, o que, em contrapartida, valoriza o antiquíssimo burgo trancosense.

O Castelo de Trancoso

Desde meados do séc. X que a região dos extremos ou estremadura estava pontilhada de castelos e penelas, como se pode comprovar pelo documento em que D. Flâmula doa os castelos e penelas ao mosteiro de Guimarães, entre eles os castelos de Trancoso, Moreira de Rei e Terrenho. O mais notável é o de Trancoso em que a Torre de Menagem é testemunho único no país, pela sua estrutura tronco-cónica de origem moçárabe, base da torre que constituía o castelo de D. Flâmula. O castelo tem cinco torres quadrangulares, a torre de menagem tem a porta em forma de arco de ferradura e as principais obras de fortificação foram levadas a cabo entre os séc. X e XIII, quando foi centro de duros combates. D. Afonso Henriques tomou-o em 1139 mas suportou diversos ataques muçulmanos até 1155. Está classificado como Monumento Nacional por Dec. Lei n.º 7586 de 08/07/21.

As Muralhas

Em 1140 e 1160 reconstruíram-se as muralhas exteriores. Para manter os seus defensores, o rei atribuiu-lhe o foral por volta do ano 1173 e doou a terra à Ordem dos Templários, a qual pertenceu até à sua extinção, no princípio do séc. XIV. A fortificação contava com uma cerca de muralhas de 1 Km de circunferência, apoiada em 15 torres, sob as quais, ou a seu lado, se abriam 4 portas: as d’El-Rei, a de S.João, as do Prado e a do Carvalho; a estas juntavam-se 3 postigos: o Olhinho do Sol, o Boeirinho e a Porta da Traição. Sendo uma vila de fronteira nunca se descuraram as suas fortificações. D.Dinis ordenou diversas reformas no conjunto amuralhado e D. João I reforçou-o durante as guerras com Castela. Por volta de 1530, D. João II mandou acrescentar-lhe novas torres do lado norte. Estão classificadas como Monumento Nacional por Dec. Lei n.º 7586 de 08/07/21.

O Bandarra

De seu nome Gonçalo Anes, Bandarra por alcunha, terá nascido em Trancoso nos inícios do século XVI, ou mesmo em 1500.Da fama deste “Nostradamus” português possuímos uma gravura do século XVII publicada na 1.ª edição de 1603 das Trovas, levadas ao prelo por D. João de Castro. Conhece-se a assinatura do Profeta nos autos do Santo Ofício e por esta finada instituição de martírio, todos os passos do sapateiro e profeta entre 1538 e 1541.Bandarra faleceu em Trancoso, onde foi sepultado, estando o seu túmulo na Igreja de S. Pedro em Trancoso. Crítico de Costumes, poeta, profeta, Bandarra foi lido, temido e perseguido pela Inquisição.

Bandarra profetizou em termos bíblicos o Quinto Império, interpretado e comentado pelo Padre António Vieira e Fernando Pessoa.

O Padre António Vieira viria a escrever: “Bandarra foi verdadeiro profeta, pois profetizou e escreveu tantos anos antes tantas cousas, tão exactas, tão miúdas e tão particulares, que vemos todos cumpridas com os nossos olhos”.

Uma dessas profecias diz respeito ao próprio, judiciosa e relevante:

“Em dois sítios me achareis,

Por desgraça, ou por ventura:

Os ossos na sepultura,

A alma, nestes papéis.”

Bandarra chegou a prever que D. João ou “D. Fuan”, será esse “novo rei alevantado», aclamado em finais dos “anos quarenta”. De facto D. João IV seria aclamado em 1640, com coroação no Terreiro do Paço. Nessa época o retrato de Bandarra foi então exposto na Sé de Lisboa.

As principais referências bibliográficas são: As Trovas de D. João de Castro; A Mensagem de Fernando Pessoa; Oliveira Martins “História de Portugal”; Lopes Correia “Monografia”; Hermani Cidade “Padre António Vieira”.

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A porta de pedra giratória passa facilmente despercebida a qualquer olhar menos atento, disfarçada que está no meio de um aglomerado de pedras perdido entre a vegetação. Mas é ali, precisamente, mais que em qualquer outro local da Regaleira, que ganham vida os ideais dos mestres maçónicos e as demandas em nome da fé levadas a cabo pelos cavaleiros templários.

Ali mesmo, na entrada do Poço Iniciático. Porque aquele é o símbolo perfeito da descida ao interior da Terra (ao mais fundo de nós?) que desencadeia o processo irreversível do Homem em busca de si mesmo. E depois, uma vez vencidos todos os obstáculos, continua a ser ele o símbolo perfeito da subida em direcção ao exterior - a iluminação do peregrino que conseguiu ser mais forte que a viagem que se propôs fazer.

“Este lugar tem realmente um pouco de tudo”, confirma António Silvestre, abrindo a porta à descoberta e às explicações “As pedras da entrada sugerem logo a morte simbólica, iniciática, que precede a descida” - feita de 15 em 15 degraus até percorrer os nove patamares que trazem à memória os nove círculos do Inferno, os nove céus do Paraíso e as nove secções do Purgatório da Divina Comédia de Dante. E o percurso descendente lá continua, cada vez mais fundo. Cada vez mais intenso, à medida que a estrela de oito pontas e a cruz templária que nela se esconde vão crescendo a olhos vistos, até os pés tocarem o chão e o centro.

“A partir daqui várias possibilidades estão em aberto”, avisa o guia, apontando o labirinto que se segue e se faz de múltiplas escolhas, tal como a vida. Um dos caminhos vai dar a um beco sem saída [aquilo que acontece a quem recusa a viagem], outro vai ter ao Poço Inacabado, que recebe a luz do dia mas não dá acesso ao exterior [representando os que optam pelo menor esforço e acabam por se perder a meio do percurso].

“Há ainda um outro caminho que tem saída e luz, mas é mais comprido que os outros e não tem água. E um último que se faz pela direita (novo elemento simbólico) e vai desembocar no Lago da Cascata, de uma beleza espectacular que sobe para o exterior.” Quase como se dissesse que o processo está completo, fnalmente. Que custou, mas valeu a pena. Que tudo na vida terá valido a pena no dia em que percebermos que fomos capazes de superar os nossos limites.

Precisamos de descer ao inferno antes de sermos livres pensadores

A partir do momento em que o ingresso é comprado e transposta a entrada principal, há apenas uma coisa a fazer subir. E subir mais um pouco. E andar para a frente, sempre, que a área é vasta e o tempo escasseia quando se pretende conhecer a fundo os cenários que, ao longo do percurso, se sucedem uns aos outros para pôr a descoberto os segredos - muitos segredos, misteriosos, únicos - guardados a sete chaves na Quinta da Regaleira.

“O tempo que o palácio levou a ser construído [só ficaria pronto em 1911, 19 anos depois de o 'Monteiro dos Milhões' ter comprado a propriedade] prova que nada, aqui, é obra do acaso”, nota António Silvestre, apontando para o edifício que se eleva no terreno com a graça de quem sabe ter sido, sempre, o manifesto pessoal de um homem que quis fazer dele síntese da memória espiritual da Humanidade.

“Carvalho Monteiro era, antes de mais, um camoniano que reconhecia a influência dos clássicos e a necessidade de descer aos infernos, vibrar com as energias da Terra e crescer com todo este processo para, no fim, encontrar o equilíbrio”, resume o guia, explicando o sentido figurado da linguagem “O inferno é o medo que todos temos de quebrar as amarras que nos prendem às ideias inculcadas na infância.” A descida e os obstáculos representam a caminhada que fará de nós livres pensadores. A luz “é o encontro connosco”, uma vez alcançado o autoconhecimento.

Nada foi, de facto, deixado ao acaso. E é preciso passar pelo Patamar dos Deuses e a loggia, pela Gruta do Labirinto e o lago, pela Fonte dos Ibis, a capela, o próprio palácio, o Terraço das Quimeras, a Fonte da Abundância, a Torre da Regaleira, o Lago da Cascata, as Grutas do Oriente, do Aquário, da Virgem e da Leda, o Poço Imperfeito e o Poço Iniciático, o Portal dos Guardiães e o Terraço dos Mundos Celestes para sentir que em tudo aquilo sobra espaço para as convicções de cada um.

A Regaleira não tem pretensões de ser bíblia arquitectónica, mas toda ela é um livro - escrito na pedra que lhe dá corpo e na natureza em que se inscreve. Uma ponte entre tempos e saberes que nos faz querer percorrer os muitos caminhos da propriedade com a certeza de que, no fim, é de um só caminho que se trata.

Espreitar a metáfora com os olhos da alma

Quando, em 1892, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro comprou os domínios dos barões da Regaleira por 25 contos de réis, era certo e sabido que aquele espaço estava votado ao sucesso, quaisquer que fossem os planos do novo dono. A cultura e sensibilidade raras do “Monteiro dos Milhões” (como era conhecido graças à enorme fortuna acumulada no Brasil) eram, à partida, sinónimo de mais-valia. O facto de ter desejado para a sua quinta o toque mágico do arquitecto e cenógrafo italiano Luigi Manini, famoso pelos rasgos de criatividade e génio, apenas reforçava a ideia.

Ninguém adivinhava, porém, que rosto e espírito iriam animar a Quinta da Regaleira - aninhada a cerca de 700 metros do centro histórico de Sintra - para fazer dela o verdadeiro jogo de opostos que atravessou o tempo e perdura, ainda hoje, nos 4,5 hectares de propriedade e na vegetação luxuriante, na imponência do palácio e da capela, nos estilos neomanuelino e renascentista que se misturam com os jardins de ideal romântico (aqui, as espécies exóticas coexistem com as autóctones, numa recriação do paraíso que devolveria o homem à sua pureza original), na simbologia esotérica e mitológica que se estende às estátuas de deuses e às grutas, aos lagos e aos poços iniciáticos.

“Já trabalho na Regaleira há seis anos e, ao fim de todo este tempo, continuo a descobrir coisas novas. É impressionante”, afirma António Silvestre, o guia que acompanhou o DN na visita guiada pelo mundo místico de uma quinta que se assume, em cada pormenor, em cada recanto, em cada conceito, como filha do caos e da ordem inerentes a todo o processo de criação.

“E o princípio da ordem depois do caos, é a essência da Maçonaria, a que Carvalho Monteiro terá certamente pertencido”, observa António Silvestre, aludindo à reprodução da dinâmica da Natureza pelas ordens maçónicas - em constante renovação interna com vista ao equilíbrio - que se reflecte em toda a extensão da Quinta da Regaleira.

O que em todo o caso não significa que o “Monteiro dos Milhões” tenha concebido este espaço para a prática de quaisquer rituais. “Não era”, sublinha, “isso que sucedia. As relações simbólicas entre o homem e o universo estão gravadas por todo o lado; a ideia de uma corporação regida pelas suas próprias regras e o conceito de iniciação e de caminhada progressiva rumo ao conhecimento também”, concede António Silvestre. Mas a Quinta da Regaleira tem que ser lida a um outro nível, menos directo e mais abstracto. Puramente simbólico como, aliás, tudo o que existe naquela propriedade e remete directamente para os ensinamentos de inspiração cristã e para correntes esotéricas como a alquimia, o templarismo e a Ordem Rosa Cruz.

“Carvalho Monteiro era essencialmente um conservador patriota e monárquico, que viu na Regaleira um refúgio singular pelo modo como ela lhe permitiu ressuscitar o passado (e a demanda iniciática dos clássicos) e criticar severamente a conjuntura político-religiosa em que o País estava mergulhado na altura”, sustenta o guia. Isso, e representar o caminho da gnose como o único capaz de libertar aquele que ousa empreender, até ao fim, a viagem ao encontro de si mesmo.

Que o génio do “Monteiro dos Milhões” e de Manini só podia ser sinónimo de mais-valia para a propriedade, a vila e a História ninguém duvidava. O que ninguém sabia, então, era que a Regaleira teria alma de metáfora, mágica, surpreendente por nada ser o que parece a um primeiro olhar. Ali só se vê bem com o coração.

QUINTA DA REGALEIRA (Sintra)

Morada. R. Barbosa du Bocage Sintra

Tel. 219 106 6 50

Horário. Das 10.00 às 20.00

in Diário de Notícias

Photos by Luis de Matos (c) 2006

Ilustrações e reproduções em estatuária que constituem a exposição sobre o culto da Virgem Negra estão a apodrecer desde Setembro de 2006 porque o local que a alberga – a Ermida de N.ª S.ª de Guadalupe – espera ligação à rede de electricidade.

Classificada como Monumento Nacional, a ermida (que integra uma capela templária com seis séculos e uma casa agrícola transformada em centro de acolhimento) fica em Raposeira, Vila do Bispo. É um dos exemplos mais antigos do gótico em Portugal e o único vestígio templário no Algarve.

Local iniciático, que atrai maçons estrangeiros, não serve a qualquer culto religioso em particular e, até 2002 (data em que sofreu obras de recuperação), era destino de duas romarias populares. A intervenção, orçada em 866,7 mil euros – comparticipados em 75 por cento por fundos comunitários – renovou o conjunto mas, de acordo com Cristina Farias, chefe da Divisão de Obras da Direcção Regional de Faro do Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (IPPAR), ainda necessita de mais obras: restaurar o telhado e algumas pedras e colocar vitrais na capela e fazer uma drenagem periférica e ventilar o centro de acolhimento.

É precisamente no centro de acolhimento que se encontram as peças que compõem a mostra. Uma situação que Cristina Farias diz ter herdado. Aliás, ao CM a responsável afirmou desconhecer a razão que levou à montagem da exposição antes da conclusão do restauro e da chegada da electricidade. Mas, adianta, “até Julho ou Agosto, tudo ficará em condições”.

TEMPLÁRIOS

A Ermida de N.ª S.ª de Guadalupe é o único vestígio templário no Algarve. Há testemunhos de visitas do Infante D. Henrique à capela, que tem dos mais raros capitéis iniciáticos da Europa.

FENÓMENO EUROPEU

CULTO

O culto da Virgem Negra é um fenómeno europeu que vem da Idade Média. As imagens são de madeira de cedro do Líbano ou ébano. São negras e mostram uma virgem sentada. A da Ermida algarvia, talvez uma cópia, foi roubada há 18 anos.

CUSTOS

A montagem da exposição poderá rondar os 80 mil euros e metade já está paga. Ligar a linha de baixa tensão, do poste colocado há duas semanas, ronda os cinco mil euros. A ligação está aprovada, mas falta a adjudicação.

ERROS

O IPPAR cometeu dois erros na promoção da Ermida: no site, a capela está invertida (na realidade, a rosácea está desviada do centro para a direita) e, no mapa do folheto disponível no local, a capela está do lado errado da estrada.

in Correio da Manhã por Paulo Marcelino

Para saber mais: Excelente artigo sobre a Ermida de Guadalupe

Sunday morning, I walked over to Lincoln Park to catch a glimpse of the annual Portuguese festa parade. In past years, I had watched the parade on the Holly Drive side of the Tracy Branch Library, and it had become an annual event for me. But this year, I had a special interest in one of the underpinning legends of the annual Holy Ghost Festa, sponsored by Tracy’s IPFES.

That special interest was sparked by my recent trip to Portugal; specifically, an afternoon visit to the small town of Estremoz in the Alentejo Plain. It was there in 1336 that Queen Isabel of Portugal died in a hilltop castle. Legends of her life, especially her many kindnesses to the poor, along with a few reported miracles, later brought sainthood to the queen, an unusual occurrence.

Over the years, I had known that Queen Isabel and her concern for Portugal’s poor to be one of the legends connected to the annual festa. I recalled talking to Mary Correia one day about the queen, her saint-like actions, and other festa legends.

Anyway, when our tour group arrived in Estremoz in April, we climbed the hill to the castle, and there was a statue of the Sainted Queen Isabel and the words “Pousada da Rainha Santa Isabel” near the front door of the castle.

The other tour members seemed mildly interested in the queen and her hilltop castle, but I said, “Wow, we’re talking big-time festa material here.”

Inside the castle, which has been made into a pousada — a small, high-end inn — we paused for a soft drink in a lavishly furnished lobby and then toured the chapel, which is lined with tiles depicting the life and recorded miracles of the queen.

A central scene showed her displaying roses from a basket. The story is that when challenged by her husband the king, Dom Dinis, about giving bread to the poor, she opened the basket to reveal only roses, not bread. Roses have adorned statues in her honor ever since.

The king’s crowning the poorest man in the kingdom on Pentecost Sunday at the queen’s urging — showing he was not such a bad guy after all — is another part of the legend.

So on Sunday morning, I watched closely as one of the floats carried a young woman depicting the queen with bread. Queen Isabel’s memory lives on every June in our town and festas all over California.

Waiting for the parade to arrive — it’s scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., but everyone knows it never does — I talked to several of the Portuguese faithful seated in chairs under the shade of the Lincoln Park trees. Many remembered Holy Ghost Festa parades of years gone past and shared a special bond to the parade that brought them back year after year.

Liana Garcia Gerhart told me she was queen of the 1969 festa and recalls marching in Portuguese parades all over Northern California that year. There were a number of very hot Sundays that year, she remembered.

Lisa Alegre Cracraft and Connie Martin Henson chuckled over their experiences marching in festa parades when they were high school students.

Sunday’s parade, which was stalled for a good 15 minutes at the intersection of Holly and Eaton while cars leaving St. Bernard’s Catholic Church after a Mass were flagged through, finally rounded the corner and headed to the church, arriving barely in time for the 11 a.m. Mass in Portuguese.

After that, it was sopas e carne at the IPFES Hall on West Ninth Street. Do you suppose Queen Isabel ever tried the meat broth and boiled beef

By Sam Matthews, Tracy Press publisher emeritus

 __________________________________________________

Saint Isabel of Portugal

Born in 1271, Queen Isabel was married to King Diniz (or Dinis). King Diniz was ruling over Portugal when the Templars escaping from France came to him in search of sanctuary; later King Diniz would establish the Order of Christ with the same posessions and knights as the Templars, with the permission of Rome. His wife Isabel was extremely devoted to the Pentecost and the celebration of the Holy Ghost (where a child is put into the thrown as Emperor of the World, accomplishing the Fifth Age or Empire as related in the dream of Nabucodanossor explained by the Prophet Daniel). Like her great-aunt Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, for whom she was named, Saint Isabel of Portugal dedicated her life to the poor. She established orphanages and provided shelter for the homeless. She also founded a convent in Coimbra.
There are many versions of the story of Queen Isabel’s miracle of turning bread into roses, but they are all fundamentally the same. She is said to have been forbidden by her unfaithful husband to give to the poor. Having hid bread to give away in her apron, she encountered King Diniz, who asked her what she was carrying. Not wanting to let on that the contents of her apron were meant for the poor, she responded that they were roses. The bread was transformed into roses, and King Dinis, who could not understand how she could have possession of fresh roses in January, did not punish his wife. A similar legend is told about her great-aunt Elizabeth of Hungary.

Known for settling disputes, Queen Isabel was called the Peacemaker. When her son Affonso (or Afonso) declared war on his father, jealous of the attention being paid by Diniz to his illegitimate sons, she rode between the armies, reconciling the two sides. On another occasion, she rode to Estremoz despite being ill to keep the army of Affonso, by then Affonso IV, from fighting that of Castile. Affonso, angry at the mistreatment his daughter Maria was suffering at the hands of her husband, the king of Castile, had ordered an attack. Isabel stopped the fighting, but the exertion proved to be too much for her and she fell ill, dying shortly thereafter.

Isabel was buried in Coimbra. She was canonized in 1625 by Urban VIII, and her feast day is July 8. Many Portuguese and Portuguese-American organizations bear her name.

Order of Saint Isabel  (Ordem da Rainha Santa Isabel)

Created by John VI of Portugal on 4 November 1801, in recognition for the devotion of Elizabeth of Aragon, the Queen Saint. John VI invested Carlota Joaquina, his wife, as Grand Master of the order.

The Order is exclusively for dames and it distinguished catholic noble women. The total of members that this order could have was twenty-six.
In 1910, the Monarchy collapsed and the Republican Government abolishe the Order, however King’s Manuel II of Portugal wife in exile and after his death the Duchess of Braganza continued to used the order’s insignia of Grand Master.

The order’s sash is pale pink and has a white stripe in the midle. The crowned medallion as a picture of the Queen Saint giving money to a poor men and it is surronded by a frame with roses (alusion to the Queen’s miracle). The insignia’s motto is Pauperum Solatio.

Two weeks ago I took the family for a drive. We went north from Lisbon, along the western Portuguese highway, past Óbidos (I will post about this medieval village, its beautiful castle and its connections with King Dinis and the Templars in a dedicated chronicle). A few miles north lay the small town of Alcobaça that has been the quiet witness of many important events in the Portuguese history.

Alcobaça (alco-bass-ah) has been a settlement since Roman times. Two small rivers cross the city, Alcoa and Baça, which are said to have been the source of the name for the place. However this is not clear. The main focus of interest nowadays is the Cistercian Convent, built in a confluence of vast lands donated by King Afonso Henriques (first King of Portugal) to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux after the conquest of Santarém.

The present day frontal of the monument is a late XVIII century addition, but both the rose window and the arches of the portal remain the medieval ones. It’s still a very well preserved jewel of Cistercian Gothic art, with its very pure lines and beauty. It was one of the earliest Gothic buildings in Portugal and its medieval structure follows closely the one of the original monastery of Clairvaux.

The foundation of the monastery was part of the strategy by Afonso Henriques to consolidate his authority in the new kingdom and promote the colonisation of areas recently taken from Moorish hands during the Reconquista. In fact Alcobaça is well protected by the ream of Templar castles and Commanderies, with Leiria in the north, Tomar and Almourol in the west and Santarém and Alenquer in the south. One has to wonder if this well matched integration between defence by Templars and land owned by Saint Bernard’s monks isn’t a well crafted one, or just historical coincidence!

The connection between Bernard and the Templars is well known. The protection the Templars granted to King Afonso Henriques, which was returned as ownership of conquered land and castles, is also well known. What is not usually cited is the connection between Bernard and King Afonso Henriques.

In 1147 the Reconquista was well under way in the realms of Portugal. The court had its seat in Coimbra (about halfway between the north and south). From there, frequent military expeditions were sent to Moorish settlements and fortifications. The Templars were one of the King’s most important forces. Just three years before, in 1144, Pope Celestine II had granted them the right to collect their own funds, so this alliance with Henriques was strategically important. While fighting the Moors in Palestine was a primary mission for the Templars, although a very dangerous one carried on a politically complex environment, with many other European Lords and hordes fighting to advance their personal agendas of power an domination, conquering land in the West was significantly less dangerous and once the Order had land granted it was easier to keep it and administrate it, collecting rent and developing agriculture and commerce. One of the reasons for this is the way Henriques conducted his conquests. A fearsome soldier, with a fantastic reputation preceding him, in fact he tried to pact with the conquered population instead of going for the simple annihilation (as it was the case in Palestine and elsewhere). More often than not, this granted him the respect of submitted leaders, who became rapidly used to a relatively normal life under his ruling. We can still visit the Mouraria neighbourhood in Lisbon (literally translated as “Moorish quarter”), a testimony of how the integration was linear as it could be in medieval times. That might be the reason why Portugal finished its Reconquista and has relatively the same borders since 1249 while it took the Spanish kingdoms almost 250 years more, until 1492 to conquer their side of the peninsula.

So, in 1147 conquering Santarém, on the margins of Tagus river, was a very important achievement that would advance Henriques plans a lot. Just before the battle was fought, D. Pedro, half-brother to Henriques, who had visited Bernard in Clairvaux, told him about how Bernard could help them attract people to populate the conquered lands, developing agriculture and establishing medical care, which in turn would help in the advancement of the Reconquista. Since Henriques forces were fewer than the ones defending Santarém legend says he made a pledge to donate all the lands from the fortress westward to the sea, to the Cistercians and the Castle to the Templars if he won the battle.

The Christian troops came close to the castle in the night. It was well defended as expected. They attacked in the dark, mercilessly led by the King. As morning rose a new standard was flying over Santarém. King Afonso Henriques did has he had promised. The castle and all churches were given to the Templars. They governed Santarém for over a decade until they decided to trade it in favour of the newly conquered Tomar in 1160, although keeping a Commandery in Santarém. This kind of trade was made in other places in Iberia. Many times the Templars were given military strategic fortifications and land, only to give them back to the King years later when other, smilingly less important locations - certainly military less important - had been conquered and found favour with Templar leaders. It must have seemed odd to trade Santarém for Tomar. Santarém overlooks and guards the all important Tagus river, the single most important waterway in medieval Portugal. It guards (collecting tolls) the major roads from Lisbon to Coimbra and from the Alentejo to the north. Very, odd. A very coveted prize, given away for Tomar, in the margins of a very unimportant river, an affluent of the Tagus…

King Afonso Henriques also did as promised and a vast set of lands between Santarém and the sea were given to the Cistercians. Now, Bernard was also a very odd character! He could have chosen a number of strategic locations for his soon to be built monastery (indeed one of the largest of the Order). Several harboured ports are within their properties, providing good communication with the rest Christianity, for instance. However, his emissaries were instructed to pick a particular place, well inland, that Bernard described from a dream he had. He had never been to Portugal, or indeed Alcobaça, but he knew exactly where he wanted it. This has sparked people’s imagination and several legends grew in the middle ages about how the location was determined by divine intervention. We can still see in the Room of Kings several tiled representations of these legends in which we see Bernard in France with his monks predicting the King’s victory, alongside others where Afonso Henriques watches the monks draw the lines on the floor that will be used to erect the church, while, on the side, angles do the same, as if saying the place had been chosen by divine intervention and that Bernard’s monks were simply being guided by a superior force. Very original. I have never seen a similar type of iconography anywhere in the world. And for those who say ley lines were used to determine the location of certain special monuments, well Alcobaça seems to have been one such case. Indeed a river passes right under the monastery.

The building began in 1153, just before Bernard died. Nothing is left from these early works. Only in 1178 new, more extensive building started, probably under the guidance of a French architect and French builders. The vertical emphasis observed in the church is a typical gothic feature. Columns and walls are devoid of decoration, as required in Cistercian churches, and the interior is very brightly illuminated by rows of windows on the walls and rose windows on the main façade and transept arms. The main chapel, like in Clairvaux, is surrounded by a gallery (ambulatory) and has a series of radiating chapels. The aisles are covered by simple Gothic vaulting.

Alcobaça is one of the many medieval constructions in Portugal where the characteristic marks of stonemasons can be seen everywhere. It’s clear that operative masons working on the site used the marks system. It’s likely that Masonic operative lodges were active during this period. The church was completed in 1252. The finished church and monastery were the first truly Gothic buildings in Portugal, and the church was the largest in the country.

The last touch in the medieval ensemble was given in the late 13th century, when King Dinis (the one that “turned” the Order of the Temple in Order of Christ - more on this later) commissioned the construction of the Gothic cloister, the Cloister of Silence. Its columns are decorated by capitals with animal and vegetal motifs. The builders were Portuguese architects Domingo Domingues and Master Diogo. The gothic Fountain Hall has an elegant early renaissance water basin inside, decorated with renaissance motifs including coats-of-arms and reliefs of gryphs.

The monks in Alcobaça dedicated their lives to religious meditation, creating illuminated manuscripts in a scriptorium. The monks from the monastery produced an early authoritative history on Portugal, still highly regarded and a good source of historical information about the Order of the Temple. The library at Alcobaça was one of the largest Portuguese medieval libraries.

We will leave for the next chronicle the description of one of the most interesting features of Alcobaça. In the transept of the church are located the tombs of King Pedro I and Ines de Castro. Their love story deserves a chronicle of its own.

It is set in the middle of a XIV century Portugal, afraid of losing its independence to the Spanish crown. The Order of Christ had been founded in 1319 by King Dinis (grandfather of Pedro I), to take charge of the Portuguese Templar sites and knights and it had taken Castro Marin as its seat (Tomar would have been too obvious?). Several Templars were incorporated in the Order of Aviz (founded by King Afonso Henriques), an Order that will have an important presence throughout the Portuguese history, in close relation with the Templars and Order of Christ (allies, in great contrast with local relationship with Saint John/Hospital…). Indeed, the first Master of the newly formed Order of Christ was the Master of the Order of Aviz. To complete the moves that would make the Pope accept that the Templars would not be bothered in Portugal after 1314, King Dinis made the Order of Christ adopt the Cistercian rule and placed them under the spiritual guidance of none other than the Abbot of Alcobaça. I think this wouldn’t pass a close audit if it were done today! But it was effective, and the Order of Christ was established and approved by Rome. The seat was taken back to Tomar exactly as the young Pedro became King D. Pedro I of Portugal, in 1157 playing the lead role on one of the strangest episodes in Portuguese (maybe even medieval European) history.

See you next time.

LM

(Fotos by Luis de Matos)

Continues in Templar Chronicles III - Alcobaça 2

Good Link for 360º views of the Monastery

Hello,

I’m the Chancellor of the OSMTHU, editor of these pages.

For a long time I have been researching the net to bring you the latest about Templar news, research, debates and activities from a wide range of sources. I have had great encouragement from most of our readers and a few interesting suggestions have been taken on board and will be incorporated in the Templar Globe in the future.

It has been my wish since the beginning to help our readers access information about the Order - past and present - that is not readily available in a systematic way from other sources. I always thought that the readers should benefit from the fact that I was born in Portugal and that - as many of you know - in my country we hold some of the most interesting and unexplored Templar sources, stories, traditions, documents, sites and treasures that have been left from ancient times and sometimes defy our understanding.

After you have dwelled a bit into the Templar legacy, it is clear that, while France was the political, financial centre of the historical Templar Order, Portugal became, alongside Scotland and provinces of Spain, their refuge and harbour of retreat. The sea power that the Templars were in 1307 - then vanishing from sight - reappeared in the visionary work of Prince Henry the Navigator, head of the Order of Christ, a few decades later.

However, there are many details that are not available to the researcher because only Portuguese historians, publishing in Portuguese, have written about them, and although many of these are extremely significant and provide explanations to many of the questions remaining about the Order of the Temple, there is no trace of them in most of the reference books about the subject.

With this series of postings generally titled Templar Chronicles, I want to take our readers in a few voyages around Portugal, to sites of great interest and portions of history that are - except for locals - partially unknown. We had a poet called Fernando Pessoa who said that we are born in Portugal either with a mission or as a punishment. The mission is closely tied with the Templars. The punishment is to fail the mission.

Background Information
First let me present Portugal during the XII century (edited from wikipedia articles for convenience):

Portugal is a European nation whose origins go back to the Early Middle Ages. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it ascended to the status of a world power during Europe’s “Age of Discovery” as it built up a vast empire including possessions in South America, Africa, and Asia.

At the end of the 11th century, after having taken part in the conquest of Jerusalem alongside Geofrey de Bullion, the Burgundian knight Henry became count of Portugal, a small territory in the west, under the kingdom of Leon. Henry wanted it to become independent, but died without achieving his aims. His son, Afonso Henriques, took control of the county. In 1126, before the Council of Troyes or Saint Bernard’s proclamation, the Templars are granted the first possessions in Portugal.

On June 24, 1128, Afonso Henriques, Count of Portugal, fearing that the pending marriage of his widow mother with a nobleman from Leon would pose a threat to his ambitions, fought and defeated his mother, Countess Teresa, and her lover, Fernão Peres de Trava, in battle - thereby establishing himself as sole leader and Prince of Portugal. His claim wasn’t recognized by neighboring nations or the Pope for a long time. However Afonso Henriques forged close alliances with military Orders - the strongest of which the recently formed Templars -, pushing southward conquering territory to the Moors, during the Reconquista. At a certain stage, the Templars were granted 2/3 of all conquered land. They built a defensive line of castles along the Tagus river - which included Tomar and Almourol  - that was strategic and crucial for the Kings success.

Afonso Henriques proclaimed himself king of Portugal on July 25, 1139, after the Battle of Ourique where he defeated 5 Moorish rulers after the legendary vision of Christ crucified assured him victory despite numeric disadvantage. He was recognized as such in 1143 by Alfonso VII, king of Leon and Castile, and in 1179 by Pope Alexander III.

The independence of Portugal as a Kingdom and rise of his first - and for many reasons - legendary King Afonso Henriques, parallels the growth of the Templar Order in Europe. It’s not the same project, but one is the visible fruits of the other. If the Templars wouldn’t have been established in 1118, it’s very likely that there had never been a Portugal in 1128. If Bernard of Clairvaux wouldn’t have moved his personal influence near the Pope on behalf of Portugal (as he did on behalf of the Templars), Prince Afonso would have been excommunicated by the Pope. Indeed there is a letter from Bernard to Afonso in which he acknowledges that influence, written when, after the conquest of Santarém (1147), King Afonso donates the surrounding lands to the Cistercian Order, where they will establish the magnificent Alcobaça Monastery, that we will visit in the second of our chronicles.

Count Henrique, King Alfonso’s father, was a cousin of Bernard. And Bernard was, according to many accounts, a cousin of Hugh de Payens. The influence of both Bernard and the Templars in the upbringing of young Alfonso Henriques, tutored by Egas Moniz, one of the noblest families of the county, a mysterious character himself, is incontrovertible.

Most of the chronicles I will be illustrating with a few photos will reflect places, events and stories that took place between 1118 and 1314 or the transition between the end of the historical Order, the creation of the Order of Christ (1319) and up until the Discoveries age (that we will conclude in 1500 with the discovery of Brazil by Pedro Alvarez Cabral).

See you soon!

LM

Images (from the top): Count Henrique of Burgundy, King Afonso Henriques (foto LM) and Egas Moniz.