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Castle Of Avis
The Castle of Avis ( pt, Castelo de Avis), is a Portuguese medieval castle in civil parish of Avis, in the municipality of the same name, in the Alentejo district of Portalegre. History In 1211, D. Afonso II awarded the "lands of Avis" to the Knights of Évora, under the dependency of the Order of Calatrava, in the person of D. Fernão Anes, with the condition that the knight settle the lands and erect a castle. This edict resulted in the settlement of the Military Order of São Bento in Avis, three years later, and the construction of a castle and fortified walls by Master-Prior D. Fernão Anes and Master D. Fernando Rodrigues Monteiro. Immediately, in April 1214 there was an agreement between Fernão Eanes and the Bishop of Évora, D. Soeiro, over the use of the land rents in Évora and settlement of Benavente to support the construction. On 12 January 1215, D. Mafalda, daughter of D. Sancho I, bequeathed to the Master of Avis the settlement of Seia. By the middle of the year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avis, Portugal
Avis (), formerly spelled Aviz, is a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality in the District of Portalegre (district), Portalegre in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 4,571, in an area of 605.97 km2. The present Mayor is Nuno Silva, elected by the Unitary Democratic Coalition. The municipal holiday is Easter Monday. History The fortified city, of which parts have been preserved, was home to the Order of Aviz, Knights of the Order of Aviz. The Order grew into the Kingdom of Portugal's second dynasty, the House of Aviz, and its name today subsists as one of the Portuguese Republic's highest military honors. Gallery File:Avis.jpg, Bridge into the town. File:Avis3.jpg, Church and convent of São Bento of Avis. Climate Parishes Administratively, the municipality is divided into 6 civil parishes (''freguesia (Portugal), freguesias''): * Alcórrego e Maranhão * Aldeia Velha * Avis * Benavila e Valongo * Ervedal * Figueira e Barros See also *Castle of Avis, Castelo de A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcalde
Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) and judge of first instance of a town. ''Alcaldes'' were elected annually, without the right to reelection for two or three years, by the ''regidores'' (council members) of the municipal council. The office of the ''alcalde'' was signified by a staff of office, which they were to take with them when doing their business. A woman who holds the office is termed an ''Alcaldesa''. In New Spain (Mexico), ''alcaldes mayores'' were chief administrators in colonial-era administrative territories termed ''alcaldías mayores''; in colonial-era Peru the units were called ''corregimientos''. ''Alcalde'' was also a title given to Indian officials inside the Spanish missions, who performed a large variety of duties for the Franciscan missionaries. M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Architecture
Medieval architecture is architecture common in the Middle Ages, and includes religious, civil, and military buildings. Styles include pre-Romanesque, Romanesque, and Gothic. While most of the surviving medieval architecture is to be seen in churches and castles, examples of civic and domestic architecture can be found throughout Europe, in manor houses, town halls, almshouses, bridges, and residential houses. Designs Religious architecture The Latin cross plan, common in medieval ecclesiastical architecture, takes the Roman basilica as its primary model with subsequent developments. It consists of a nave, transepts, and the altar stands at the east end (see '' Cathedral diagram''). Also, cathedrals influenced or commissioned by Justinian employed the Byzantine style of domes and a Greek cross (resembling a plus sign), with the altar located in the sanctuary on the east side of the church. Military architecture Surviving examples of medieval secular architecture mainly s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castles In Portugal
Castles in Portugal were crucial components of the military throughout its history. The Portuguese learned the art of building fortifications from the Romans and the Moors. The Romans, who ruled and colonized the territory of current-day Portugal for more than four centuries, built forts with high walls and strong towers to defend their populations. The Moors, who invaded the Iberian Peninsula in the year 711 A.D., brought new stonework and heavily fortified gates to the peninsula. History Portugal has well-defined geographic boundaries, with the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west, and rivers and mountains to the east and north. It occupies the westernmost portion of the Iberian Peninsula and is about the size of the American state of Indiana. The country is a place of topographical contrasts, making defense difficult. The areas around Porto in the north are covered in green hills, with fertile river valleys and a rocky coast. The green mountains are less fertile as they sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portuguese Escudo
The Portuguese escudo was the currency of Portugal from May 22nd 1911 until the introduction of the euro on January 1st 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 . The word derives from the scutum shield. Amounts in escudos were written as with the as the decimal separator (for example: means , means ). Because of the conversion rate of 1,000 = , three decimal places were initially used ( = ). History The currency replaced by the escudo in 1911 was denominated in Portuguese reals (plural: ) and worth 1,000 . The was equivalent to 2.0539 grams fine gold from 1688 to 1800, and 1.62585 g from 1854 to 1891. Gold worth 1.6 (or ; not to be confused with the 20th-century currency) were issued from 1722 to 1800 in denominations of , 1, 2, 4 and 8 . The escudo (gold) was again introduced on 22 May 1911, after the 1910 Republican revolution, to replace the real at the rate of 1,000 to 1 . The term (thousand ) remained a colloquial synonym of up to the 1990s. One million w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parochial Memories Of 1758
The Parochial Memories of 1758 ( pt, Memórias Paroquiais de 1758) are the results of an enquiry sent to every parish in Portugal following the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, by order of Sebastião de Carvalho e Melo, the Secretary of State of Internal Affairs of the Kingdom. The exercise was organised according to a plan containing sixty written questions; the compiled answers, relaying accounts on not only the damage sustained by the earthquake but also information on the local geography, demography, history, and economy, are valuable historical documents and are stored in the country's National Archive. Because Secretary Carvalho e Melo (today more commonly known by the title of Marquis of Pombal Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government. Later, through another roy ...) was the first to attempt an objectiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ravelin
A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle and opposite a fortification curtain wall. The ravelin is the oldest and at the same time the most important outer work of the bastion fortification system. It originated from small forts that were supposed to cover the bridge that led across the moat to the city or fortress gate from a direct attack. From this original function, to protect the gate bridge, also comes its original Italian name "''rivellino''" (which means small bank work or with the German expression common for it: ''Brückenkopf'' – "bridge head"). Therefore, the ravelin was at first only a small work, which should only make the access to the bridge in front of the fortress gates more difficult. When it was realized in the 16th century that this would generally provid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John IV Of Portugal
John IV ( pt, João, ; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), nicknamed John the Restorer ( pt, João, o Restaurador), was the King of Portugal whose reign, lasting from 1640 until his death, began the Portuguese restoration of independence from Habsburg Spanish rule. His accession established the House of Braganza on the Portuguese throne, and marked the end of the 60-year-old Iberian Union by which Portugal and Spain shared the same monarch. Before becoming king, he was John II, 8th Duke of Braganza. He was the grandson of Catherine, Duchess of Braganza, a claimant to the crown during the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580. On the eve of his death in 1656, the Portuguese Empire was at its territorial zenith, spanning the globe. Early life John IV was born at Vila Viçosa and succeeded his father Teodósio II as Duke of Braganza when the latter died insane in 1630. He married Luisa de Guzmán (1613–66), eldest daughter of Juan Manuel Pérez de Guzmán, 8th Duke of Medin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manuel I Of Portugal
Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manuel ruled over a period of intensive expansion of the Portuguese Empire owing to the numerous Portuguese discoveries made during his reign. His sponsorship of Vasco da Gama led to the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India in 1498, resulting in the creation of the Portuguese India Armadas, which guaranteed Portugal's monopoly on the spice trade. Manuel began the Portuguese colonization of the Americas and Portuguese India, and oversaw the establishment of a vast trade empire across Africa and Asia. He was also the first monarch to bear the title: ''By the Grace of God, King of Portugal and the Algarves, this side and beyond the Sea in Africa, Lord of Guinea and the Conquest, Navigation and Commerce in Ethiopia, A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in the Middle East and Europe and were kept for their eggs and dung. History and geography The oldest dovecotes are thought to have been the fortress-like dovecotes of Upper Egypt, and the domed dovecotes of Iran. In these regions, the droppings were used by farmers for fertilizing. Pigeon droppings were also used for leather tanning and making gunpowder. In some cultures, particularly Medieval Europe, the possession of a dovecote was a symbol of status and power and was consequently regulated by law. Only nobles had this special privilege, known as ''droit de colombier''. Many ancient manors in France and the United Kingdom have a dovecote st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the castle fall to an adversary. The first keeps were made of timber and formed a key part of the motte-and-bailey castles that emerged in Normandy and Anjou during the 10th century; the design spread to England, south Italy and Sicily. As a result of the Norman invasion of 1066, use spread into Wales during the second half of the 11th century and into Ireland in the 1170s. The Anglo-Normans and French rulers began to build stone keeps during the 10th and 11th centuries; these included Norman keeps, with a square or rectangular design, and circular shell keeps. Stone keeps carried considerable political as well as military importance and could take up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter, Duke Of Coimbra
Infante D. Pedro, Duke of Coimbra KG (; en, Peter), (9 December 1392 – 20 May 1449) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) of the House of Aviz, son of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. In Portugal, he is better known as Infante D. Pedro das Sete Partidas o Mundo "of the Seven Parts f the World because of his travels. Possibly the best-travelled prince of his time, he was regent between 1439 and 1448. He was also 1st Lord of Montemor-o-Velho, Aveiro, Tentúgal, Cernache, Pereira, Condeixa and Lousã. Early life From the time he was born, Peter was one of John I's favourite sons. Along with his siblings, he received an exceptional education rarely seen in those times for the children of royalty. Close to his brothers Edward, the future king of Portugal, and John, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz, Peter grew up in a calm environment free of intrigues. On 14 August 1415, he accompanied his father and brothers Edward and He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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