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The Military Order of Christ (previously ''Ordem dos Cavaleiros de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo'' "Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ") was founded in 1318 as the continuation of the Knights Templar of Tomar, following the suppression of the Templars in 1312. It was established by King Denis of Portugal, who negotiated with Pope Clement's successor John XXII for recognition of the new order and its right to inherit the Templar assets and property. The order was secularized in 1789, and dissolved in 1910. It was revived in 1917 within the Portuguese Republic, headed by the President of Portugal, as a decoration in recognition of outstanding services to the state. ==History of the Knights Templar in Portugal== The Templars were founded around 1118 and soon formed commanderies around Europe to support their efforts in the Holy Land, settling in Portugal at least since 1122, in the region of Braga, where the Order received successive donations and where they also bought lands. This occurred only two or three years after their foundation in Jerusalem, and about 7 years before their recognition and confirmation in the Council of Troyes.〔() ''Templários no condado portucalense antes do reconhecimento formal da ordem: O caso de Braga no início do séc. XII - Revista da Faculdade de Letras / Templars in the County of Portucale before the formal recognition of the order: The case of Braga in early 12th century'', CIÊNCIAS E TÉCNICAS DO PATRIMÓNIO, Porto 2013, Volume XII, pp. 231-243. Author: Paula Pinto Costa, FLUP/CEPESE (University of Porto)〕 The Templars also received lands donated by D. Theresa in 1126, few years before Portugal born as a fully independent kingdom. Portugal was the first country in Europe where they settled. Dom Gualdim Pais, provincial Master of the Order of the Temple in Portugal, constructed the Convento de Cristo in 1160. According to folklore, he chose the location after drawing lots and receiving a sign to build a new Templar fortress on a hill between the river Fria and Saint Gregory's creek. Traditional local legends and chronicles preach that the choice was for mystical reasons and by divine inspiration, from practices like geomancy by the provincial Grand Master, based on exercises taken from luck and predestination. Reinforcing this magical view is the fact that the lot was part of a small chain of seven elevations (''lugar dos sete montes''), which became known as the ''city of seven hills'', as the seven hills of Jerusalem, the seven hills of Rome or the seven columns of Constantinople.〔() - TOMAR DOS TEMPLÁRIOS: A SEDE PORTUGUESA DA ORDEM DOS TEMPLÁRIOS - Ademir Luiz da Silva, Revista Mosaico, v.4, n.1, p.92-103, jan./jun. 2011 - in Portuguese〕 The Convento de Cristo is a testament to the Templars' architectural abilities.〔(360° virtual tour of the convent )〕 The octagonal church was inspired by the Islamic Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem, used by the Templars as their base of operations. The Dome of the Rock is located on the Temple Mount, where the Temple of Jerusalem stood prior to its destruction in 70 A.D., and the Templars believed the Dome of the Rock was a remnant of the ancient Temple from which their name derives. The order incorporated features of the shrine into their imagery and architecture, including the seals of Grand-Masters. The architecture of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre may have also served as a model. The sepulchre itself stands in an elaborate structure within the rotunda (rotunda – 35 m diameter), surrounded by a group of three columns between four pairs of square piers columns supporting an ornamented, domed roof. It is possible that the 4th-century rotunda's columns were removed from their original location on the façade of the Roman temple. Renovation of the piers exposed evidence that the columns had originally been much higher and that the Crusaders cut them in half for use in the 12th-century rotunda. On 13 July 1190, Yaqub al-Mansur, the King of Morocco laid siege to the Templars in Tomar. This test of strength confirmed the Templars' military power and established them as an indispensable presence in the defense of northern Portugal. Pais died in 1195 after ruling for 50 years. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of the Order of Christ」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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