The County of Portucale (Condado Portucalense) was one of the first places where the Knights Templar were established. From 1122 onwards, a few years after the Order of the Temple had been founded in Jerusalem, some friars acquired property in the city and surroundings of Braga. However, the official move into Porto territory took place in 1128, when the Countess Dona Teresa donated the Soure Castle, on the Mondego River.
From 1136, the Order of the Temple officially settled in Portugal, and the Portuguese Templars played a decisive role in the Battle of Ourique, alongside Afonso Henriques against the Almoravid emir Yusuf. A few years later, King Afonso Henriques donated the Penas Roias, Mogadouro, and Longroiva castles to the Templars, enabling them to carry out the mission of defending and consolidating the territory.
In 1147, following the conquest of the city of Santarém from the Muslims, King
Afonso Henriques donated the city to the Order of the Temple in return for military aid, which was immediately challenged by the Bishop of Lisbon, Gilberto de Hastings, who had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the area. After several years of negotiations with the king, the Order of the Temple gave up Santarém in exchange for the Ceras Castle, on which the city of Tomar was to be built, which became the headquarters of the Knights Templar in Portugal.
When D. Gualdim Pais became Master of the Order of the Temple in Portugal, who was to rule the Knights Templar between 1156 and 1195, he was entrusted with defending the Tagus area, where the castles of Pombal, Tomar, Almourol, Zêzere, Monsanto, and Idanha were built using the Templars’ advanced construction techniques.
After the extinction of the Order of the Temple in 1319, to avoid its dissolution and the confiscation of its property, King Dinis established the Order of the Militia of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to which he transferred the rights belonging to the former Portuguese Templars, namely Castelo Branco, Longroiva, Tomar, Almourol, and all the castles, movable and immovable property, rights or jurisdictions.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
| 1122-1127 | The Templars acquire some property in the city of Braga and its surroundings. |
| 1126-1128 | Countess Dona Teresa donates the site of Fonte Arcada (Penafiel) to the Order of the Temple. |
| 1128, 19th March | The Countess Dona Teresa donates Soure Castle, on the Mondego river line, to the Order of the Temple, presumably with the intention of obtaining military aid to defend and expand the territory. |
| 1136 | The Order of the Temple was officially established as a combatant troop in Portugal. |
| 1139, 25th July | The Portuguese Templars took part in the Battle of Ourique alongside Afonso Henriques against the Almoravid emir Yusuf. |
| 1145 | King Afonso Henriques donated the castles of Penas Roias, Mogadouro, and Longroiva to the Knights Templar. |
| 1147, 15th March | Conquest of the city of Santarém from the Muslims. As promised , Afonso Henriques donated the city to the Order of the Temple in return for military aid, which was immediately challenged by the Bishop of Lisbon, Gilberto de Hastings, who had ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the area. |
| 1156 | D. Gualdim Pais was ordained as Master of the Order of the Temple in Portugal. |
| 1156 | The Templars build the Pombal Castle. |
| 1159 | After several years of negotiations with King Afonso Henriques, the Order of the Temple gave up Santarém, receiving in exchange the Church of Santa Maria da Alcáçova in that city and the city and territory of Tomar. |
| 1160 | The Templars build the Tomar Castle. |
| 1165, 30th
November |
Donation of the region of Idanha-a-Velha and Monsanto, with its limits, to the Knights Templars by Afonso Henriques. |
| 1169 | King Afonso Henriques hands over the castles of Zêzere (Vila Nova da Barquinha) and Cardiga (Golegã) to the Knights Templars. |
| 1171 | Construction of the Almourol Castle, to defend the Tagus River, by order of D. Gualdim Pais. |
| 1172 | Reconstruction of the Penas Roias Castle. |
| 1174 | Reconstruction of the Longroiva Castle. |
| 1187 | The Templars build the Idanha-a-Nova castle. |
| 1190, 5th-11th July | Siege of the Tomar Castle by caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf II, with victory of the troops commanded by D. Gualdim Pais. |
| 1198 | King Sancho I donates Nisa-a-Velha to the Knights Templar. |
| 1195, 13th October | D. Gualdim Pais, Master of the Order of the Temple in Portugal, died, and was buried in the Church of Santa Maria dos Olivais in Tomar. |
| 1203, 23rd January | Donation of Idanha-a-Nova and confirmation of the donation of Idanha-a-Velha by King Sancho I. |
| 1206 | King Sancho I donates the Reguengo of Monsalude, Dornes, on the Zêzere river, to the Knights Templars. |
| 1214 | King Afonso II donates the land of Cardosa, where the Templars had built and populated the town of Castelo Branco. |
| 1215 | King Afonso II donates the Coruche Castle to the Knights Templar. |
| 1217 | The Muslims conquered Alcácer do Sal from an army led by Pedro Alvites, Master of the Order of the Temple in Portugal. |
| 1299 | The Knights Templar collaborate in the siege of Portalegre. |
| 1303 | King Dinis donates the Penha Garcia town and castle to the Knights Templar. |
| 1306 | The Templars receive the patronage of Alvaiázere, Vila de Rei, and Ferreira do Zêzere, in exchange for a plot of land in Santarém and the patronage of Trancoso to King Dinis. |
| 1312 | Pope Clement V abolished the Order of the Temple in the Church and throughout the world with the bull “Vox clamantis”, which transferred all the Templars’ possessions to the Hospitallers, except those of Portugal, Castile, Aragon, and Mallorca, which were to remain in the possession of the respective crowns until their fate was decided. |
| 1319 | To avoid their extinction and the confiscation of their property, King Dinis created the Order of the Militia of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to which he transferred the rights belonging to the former Portuguese Templars, namely Castelo Branco, Longroiva, Tomar, and Almourol, as well as all of the castles, movable and immovable property, rights, jurisdictions, honours, men, and vassals that had belonged to the suppressed order. |
Templar masters in Portugal1
| 1126 | 1128 | Guilherme Ricardo |
| 1143 | 1154 | Hugo Martónio |
| 1154 | 1156 | Pedro Arnaldes |
| 1156 | 1195 | Gualdim Pais |
| 1195 | 1199 | Lopo Fernandes |
| 1199 | 1208 | Fernão Dias |
| 1210 | 1212 | Gomes Ramires |
| 1213 | 1227 | Pedro Álvares do Alvito |
| 1227 | 1228 | Pedro Eanes |
| 1228 | 1229 | Martinho Sanches |
| 1229 | 1237 | Estevão de Belmonte |
| 1237 | 1242 | Guilherme Fulques |
| 1242 | João Escritor | |
| 1242 | 1245 | Martim Martins da Maia |
| 1246 | 1252 | Paio Gomes Barreto |
| 1252 | 1263 | Martim Nunes |
| 1261 | Afonso Pais Gomes | |
| 1264 | 1268 | Gonçalo Pais Martins |
| 1274 | 1275 | Beltrão de Valverde |
| 1280 | 1293 | Lourenço Martins |
| 1287 | João Fernandes | |
| 1283 | 1289 | Afonso Gomes |
| 1295 | 1317 | Vasco Fernandes |
1 Updated version according to Paula Pinto Costa’s studies in “Templários em Portugal” (“The Templars in Portugal”), 2019.
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