Order Of Avis
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The Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz ( pt, Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis, ), previously to 1910 ''Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz'' ( pt, Real Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis), previously to 1789 ''Knights'' (of the ''Order) of Saint Benedict of Aviz'' ( pt, Ordem de São Bento de Aviz) or ''Friars of Santa Maria of Évora'', is a
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
order of chivalry, founded in Portugal in 1146. It gave its name and
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
to the
Aviz Dynasty The House of Aviz (Portuguese: ''Casa de Avis''), also known as the Joanine Dynasty (''Dinastia Joanina''), was a dynasty of Portuguese origin which flourished during the Renaissance and the period of the Portuguese discoveries, when Portugal ex ...
that ruled Portugal between 1385 and 1580.


Early history

The order, as a monastic military order, was founded in emulation of such military orders as the Knights Templar, which existed in Portugal as early as 1128, and received a grant from
Theresa, Countess of Portugal Theresa ( Portuguese: ''Teresa''; Galician-Portuguese: ''Tareja'' or ''Tareixa''; Latin: ''Tarasia'') (1080 – 11 November 1130) was Countess of Portugal, and for a time claimant to be its independent Queen. She rebelled against her half-si ...
in the year of the
Council of Troyes There have been a number of Ecumenical council, councils held at Roman Catholic Diocese of Troyes, Troyes: Council of 867 The council was held on orders of Pope Nicholas I, to deal with Hincmar of Reims and his quarrels. The decrees were signed o ...
, which confirmed their early statutes. A native order of this kind sprang up in Portugal about 1146. Afonso, the first king, gave to it the town of Évora, captured from the Moors in 1166, and the Knights were first called "Friars of Santa Maria of Évora". Gonçalo Viegas, was the first grand master. After the conquest of Aviz a castle erected there became the motherhouse of the order, and they were then called "Knights of St. Benedict of Aviz", since they adopted the
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
rule in 1162, as modified by John Ziritu, one of the earliest Cistercian abbots of Portugal. Like the Knights of Calatrava in Castile, the Knights of Portugal were indebted to the Cistercians for their rule and their habit—a white mantle with a green fleur-de-lysed cross. The Knights of Calatrava also surrendered some of their places in Portugal to them on condition that the Knights of Aviz should be subject to the visitation of their grand master. Hence the Knights of Aviz were sometimes regarded as a branch of the Calatravan Order, although they never ceased to have a Portuguese grand master, dependent for temporalities on the Portuguese King. At the death of King Ferdinand (1383) war broke out between Castile and Portugal. When João I, who had been grand master of the Knights of Aviz, ascended the throne of Portugal, he forbade the knights to submit to Castilian authority, and consequently, when Gonsalvo de Guzman came to Aviz as Visitor, the knights, while according him hospitality, refused to recognise him as a superior. Guzman protested, and the point remained a subject of contention until the Council of Basle (1431), when Portugal was declared to be in the wrong. But the right of the Calatravans was never exercised, and the next grand master of the Knights of Aviz, Fernando Rodrigues de Sequeira, continued to assert supreme authority over them. The mission of the military orders in Portugal seemed to end after the overthrow of Muslim domination, but the Portuguese expeditions across the sea opened up a new field for them. The conquest of Ceuta by King João I (1415), the attacks upon Tangier under João's son Duarte (1437) were also crusades, inspired by a religious spirit and sanctioned by similar Papal Bulls. The Knights of Aviz and the Knights of Christ from Order of Christ, scions of the Knights Templars, achieved deeds of valour, the former under the Prince
Fernando Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...
, the latter under Henrique, brother of King Duarte. Fernando displayed a no less heroic forbearance during his six years of captivity among the Muslims, a long martyrdom which after his death placed him among the Blessed (Acta SS.,5 June). This enthusiasm did not last, and the Crusade in Africa degenerated into mere mercantile enterprise. After the grand mastership of the order had been vested in the King in perpetuity (1551), he availed himself of its income to reward any kind of service in the army or the fleet. If the wealth of the Knights of Aviz was not as great as that of the Knights of Christ, it was still quite large, drawn as it was from some forty-three commanderies. The religious spirit of the knights vanished, and they withdrew from their clerical brothers who continued alone the conventual life. They were dispensed from their vow of celibacy by
Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...
(1502), who tolerated their marriage to prevent scandalous concubinage; Julius III (1551) allowed them to dispose freely of their personal properties. Nobility of birth remained the chief requirement of aspirants to the mantle, a requirement confirmed by a decree of 1604.


Secularization of the order

Pope Pius VI (1789) and
Queen Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...
reformed the order into a secular institution. In 1834, when the civil government of Portugal abolished religious orders and monasteries, after the defeat of King Miguel in the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, under the constitutional monarchy the order lost its properties. The ancient military orders were transformed by the liberal constitution and subsequent legislation into mere orders of merit. The privileges which once had been an essential part of the membership of the old military orders also ceased. In 1910, when the Portuguese monarchy ended, the
Republic of Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the ...
abolished all the orders except the
Order of the Tower and Sword The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...
. However, in 1917, at the end of the
Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, some of these orders were re-established as mere orders of merit to reward outstanding services to the state, the office of grand master belonging to the head of state, the President of the Republic. The Military Order of Aviz, together with the other Portuguese Orders of Merit, had its statutes revised on several occasions, during the First Republic (1910–1926), then in 1962, and again in 1986. The Military Order of Aviz, together with the Military Orders of
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and of St. James of the Sword form the group of the "Ancient Military Orders", governed by a chancellor and a council of eight members, appointed by the President of the Republic, to assist him as grand master in all matters concerning the administration of the order. The order can only be conferred on military personnel, both Portuguese and foreign, for outstanding service. For Portuguese nationals, a minimum of seven years of service in the armed forces is required as well as an outstanding and exemplary service record. The regulations of the order suggest classes to be conferred according to military rank thus: *Army Captains and Navy Lieutenants: Knight *Majors and Lieutenant-Commanders: Officer *Lieutenant Colonels and Commanders: Commander *Colonels, Brigadiers, Navy Captains and Rear Admirals (US RADM, Commodore/US RDML being a virtually non-existing rank in the Portuguese Navy): Grand Officer *Major Generals, Lieutenant Generals, Generals, Vice-Admirals and Admirals: Grand Cross. However, a number of further provisions in the regulations of the order allow for exceptions to this general rule.


Grades

The Order of Aviz, as awarded by the Portuguese government today, comes in five classes: *''Grand Cross'' (GCA), which wears the badge of the Order on a sash on the right shoulder, and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest; *''Grand Officer'' (GOA), which wears the badge of the Order on a necklet, and the star of the Order in gold on the left chest; *''Commander'' (ComA), which wears the badge of the Order on a necklet, and the star of the Order in silver on the left chest; *''Officer'' (OA), which wears the badge of the Order on a ribbon with rosette on the left chest; *''Knight'' (CvA) or ''Dame'' (DmA), which wears the badge of the Order on a plain ribbon on the left chest. A sixth class, Grand Collar (GColA), outranking all previous, was introduced in 2021.


Insignia

*The ''badge'' of the Order is a gilt cross with green enamel, similar to the Order's emblem illustrated here, but with a longer lower arm. During the monarchy the badge was topped by the Sacred Heart of Christ. *The ''star'' of the Order is an eight-pointed, faceted star, in gilt for Grand Cross and Grand Officer, and in silver for Commander. The central disc is in white enamel, with a miniature of the modern badge in it. During the monarchy the Sacred Heart of Christ was placed at the top of the star. *The ''ribbon'' of the Order is plain green.


Selected recipients

* Captain James Yeo,
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
1809 *
Roberto Ivens Roberto Ivens (12 June 1850 in Ponta Delgada – 28 January 1898 in Dafundo, Oeiras) was a Portuguese explorer of Africa, geographer, colonial administrator, and an officer of the Portuguese Navy. Early life Roberto Ivens was the son of Margar ...
, 1895. *
David Legge Brainard David Legge Brainard (December 21, 1856 – March 22, 1946) was a career officer in the United States Army. He enlisted in 1876, received his officer's commission in 1886, and served until 1919. Brainard attained the rank of brigadier genera ...
, American arctic explorer and Army officer *
Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...
, American polar explorer and aviator * 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma *
Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard Major Hesketh Vernon Prichard, later Hesketh-Prichard (17 November 1876 – 14 June 1922) was an explorer, adventurer, writer, big-game hunter, marksman and cricketer who made a significant contribution to sniping practice within the British A ...
, British Army Officer * James L Jones, 2006 * Lieutenant General Baron Albert du Roy de Blicquy.


See also

*
Honorific orders of Portugal Portugal has a system of orders, decorations, and medals as a means of honouring individuals for personal bravery, achievement, or service to Portugal. The honorific orders are currently regulated by Law 5/2011. The decorations are given by the Pr ...


Notes


References

For Documents: *Noronha, ''Constitucoes de S. Bento de Aviz'' (Lisbon. 1631). For history: *Jos. Da Purificao, ''Catalogo dos Mestres de Aviz'', 1722 (Acad real de Historia); *Burro, ''Chronica de Cister, onde, etc.''. (Lisbon. 1602); cf ''Almeida in Mem. Acad. Scient''. Lisboa (1837); * Helyot, ''Dictionnaire des ordes religieux'' (1847), 1, 348-350; *Schefer, ''Gesch. Von Portugal'' (Gotha 1834-54); *Herculano, ''History of Portugal'' (Lisbon, 1554–73) *Olival, ''The Military Orders and the Portuguese Expansion (15th to 17th Centuries),'' Portuguese Studies Review Monograph Series, Vol. 3 (Peterborough, 2018). {{DEFAULTSORT:Order Of Aviz Christian religious orders established in the 12th century Aviz, Order of 1146 establishments in Europe 12th-century establishments in Portugal