The Royal Guard of the Archers (

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 ...

: ''Guarda Real dos Archeiros'') was the palace guard of the

Portuguese Monarchs This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the nea ...

from the 16th century until the end of the monarchy in

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 ...

in 1910. Its members were armed with

halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from ...

s, the Guard being also known as the Royal Guard of the Halberdiers (Portuguese: ''Guarda Real dos Alabardeiros''). The Royal Guard of the Archers was mainly a ceremonial guard. The security of the Monarchs and the Royal Family was mainly entrusted to regular

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

units, some elite regiments being especially chosen of this function.

History

Before the existence of the Royal Guard of the Halberdiers, King

John II of Portugal John II ( pt, João II; ; 3 March 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince ( pt, o Príncipe Perfeito, link=no), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for re-establishi ...

created a Guard of Riders (Portuguese: ''Guarda de Ginetes'') for his protection, composed of light cavalry troopers. King

Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: *Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was ...

kept this light cavalry guard and established that it should be composed of 200 riders. Apparently, King John III had discontinued the Guard of Riders, being known that he traveled by public places with little or no guard protection. The Royal Guard of the Halberdiers was created by King

Sebastian Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

, as a company of foot halberdiers, all Portuguese, appointing as its first captain, Francisco de Sá de Meneses, count of Matosinhos. In 1580,

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

became the

King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the n ...

, establishing the

Iberian Union pt, União Ibérica , conventional_long_name =Iberian Union , common_name = , year_start = 1580 , date_start = 25 August , life_span = 1580–1640 , event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession , event_end = Portuguese Restoration War , ...

and naming

archduke Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

Albert of Austria as

Viceroy of Portugal The Viceroy of Portugal was the political chief of the Kingdom of Portugal and the highest representative of the King of Portugal during the period of the Iberian Union, when a personal union existed between the monarchies of Portugal and Spain ...

, with residence in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. The Royal Guard of the Halberdiers was kept, but archduke Albert created within it a second company made up of German halberdiers. The Guard continued to be kept – with the Portuguese and the German companies – by the following viceroys, being mainly responsible by their protection as the Kings didn't live in Portugal. In the 16th century, similar halberdier guards were created in Portugal by the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...

and by the

Dukes of Braganza The title Duke of Braganza ( pt, Duque de Bragança) in the House of Braganza is one of the most important titles in the peerage of Portugal. Starting in 1640, when the House of Braganza acceded to the throne of Portugal, the male heir of the ...

. The first – still existing today – was responsible for the police of the University and the city of

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...

and the second was responsible for the ducal protection. On 1 December 1640, Portuguese Independence was restored and Duke John of Braganza became King of Portugal as John IV. John IV kept the Royal Guard of the Halberdiers, with the Portuguese and German companies, while his former ducal guard of halberdiers was transformed into the company of halberdiers of the Prince's guard. The Royal Guard of the Halberdiers became increasingly just a ceremonial and palace guard. The military protection of the Portuguese Monarchs was given to Army and

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

units. As in Portugal, military units with the specific function of royal guard never existed – except for brief periods in the 19th century – the Kings security was entrusted to regular military units, some elite regiments being preferably chosen for this task. The Guard followed the Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil in 1807. In 1822, Prince Peter of Portugal declared the

Independence of Brazil The Independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Brazilian Empire. Most of the events occurre ...

becoming Emperor

Peter I of Brazil Don (honorific), Dom Pedro I (English: Peter I; 12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), nicknamed "the Liberator", was the founder and List of monarchs of Brazil, first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. As King Dom Pedro IV, he List of ...

. Inspired in the Portuguese Guard, Peter I created a similar

Imperial Guard of the Archers The Imperial Guard of the Archers (Portuguese: ''Guarda Imperial dos Archeiros'') was the ceremonial palace guard of the Brazilian Monarchs from the establishing of the Empire of Brazil in 1822 until the establishment of the republic in that coun ...

(Portuguese: ''Guarda Imperial dos Archeiros''). By Decree of 28 August 1833, the three companies of the Royal Guard of the Archers were merged in just one company made up only of Portuguese. The Guard existed until the end of the Monarchy and the establishment of the Portuguese Republic on 5 October 1910.

Gallery

File:UEB 047.jpg, Portuguese Royal and Brazilian Imperial Archers guards uniforms in the early 19th century File:Guarda Real dos Archeiros no funeral de D. Carlos e de D. Luís Filipe (1908-02-08) - António Novais.png, The Archers Guard escorting the funeral procession of King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and Prince Luís Filipe File:Funerais de D. Carlos e de D. Luís Filipe, a Guarda Real dos Archeiros junto do Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (1908-02-08) - Joshua Benoliel.png, The Royal Guard of the Archers in 1908 File:Abertura das Cortes, a Guarda Real dos Archeiros aguardando a chegada de D. Manuel II (1908-04-29) - Joshua Benoliel.png, The Archers Guard waiting for King Manuel II in the State opening of the Portuguese Parliament

History

Gallery

See also