1.
Castle
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A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. Usage of the term has varied over time and has applied to structures as diverse as hill forts. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with different features, although some, such as curtain walls. A European innovation, castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures served as centres of administration. Many castles were built from earth and timber, but had their defences replaced later by stone. Early castles often exploited natural defences, lacking features such as towers and arrowslits, in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire, many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castles firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to a mixture of castle technology from the Crusades, such as concentric fortification, not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, so that devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape, while castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts with no role in civil administration, and country houses that were indefensible. From the 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of castles, part of a romantic revival of Gothic architecture. The word castle is derived from the Latin word castellum, which is a diminutive of the word castrum, meaning fortified place. The Old English castel, Old French castel or chastel, French château, Spanish castillo, Italian castello, the word castle was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest to denote this type of building, which was then new to England. In its simplest terms, the definition of a castle accepted amongst academics is a fortified residence. Feudalism was the link between a lord and his vassal where, in return for service and the expectation of loyalty. Castles served a range of purposes, the most important of which were military, administrative, as well as defensive structures, castles were also offensive tools which could be used as a base of operations in enemy territory
2.
Portugal
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
3.
Norte Region, Portugal
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Norte is a region in the northern part of Portugal. It is a land of vegetation and profound historic and cultural wealth. Its capital is the city of Porto, the region has 3,689,173 inhabitants according to the 2011 census, and its area is 21,278 km². It is one of five regions of Mainland Portugal, the region has been inhabited since prehistoric times and is a key area for the understanding of both Atlantic European, Megalithic and Castro cultures. It was in the County of Portugal where Portugals first king, the Kingdom of Galicia at the time of the Suebic Kingdom had its capital in the now Portuguese city of Braga. The original Galician-Portuguese language was developed in the Galician/Northern Portuguese area, taken down south as the Portuguese Kingdom expanded, the region has a number of manor-houses and castles featuring coats of arms as an indication of a very intense medieval period. Northern Portugal is also rich in folklore and traditions dating back to antiquity. Galicia and Northern Portugal have been promoting the candidacy for the recognition of the common intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. The project is backed by the Galician Government, a number of Galician institutions and associations, together with local and regional governments, the official name is Candidatura de Património Imaterial Galego-Português. The countrys longest motorway goes up to Braga, in the heart of Costa Verde, following the coastline on the road from Vila do Conde to Valença, there are beaches, seaside resorts and pictoresque villages such as Caminha and Vila Nova de Cerveira. Throughout the region the rivers, waterfalls, vineyards and fertile plots combine with the monuments in urban centres. Textiles, footwear, food processing, mechanical, electrical, electronics and chemical industries, as well as finance and construction, are some of the main economic activities. However, the region Norte is the poorest of the 7 NUTS II regions of Portugal and it is also the Portuguese NUTS II region with the highest unemployment rate. Northern Portuguese authorities have intensely promoted tourism as a means to attract external investment, Northern Portugal and Galicia form a Euroregion, based on the common historical, cultural, linguistic and economic similarities. The Euroregion has its origins in the Galicia-North Portugal Work Community and this Euroregion is also backed by the Eixo Atlântico, a lobby of Galician and Northern Portuguese cities and municipalities
4.
Entre Douro e Vouga
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Entre Douro e Vouga was a former NUTS3 Portuguese subregion. NUT3 regions in Portugal have recently been rearranged and it is now part of Area Metropolitana do Porto - NUT3 and its name stood for the fact that it covered an area between the Douro River and Vouga River. It was bordered in the north by Grande Porto Subregion and Tâmega Subregion and it had a total surface area of 858 km² and a population of 283,856 inhabitants for a density of 330 hab/km². The main urban centres were the cities of Santa Maria da Feira, Oliveira de Azeméis and São João da Madeira, other cities, Lourosa, Fiães and Vale de Cambra. Its main economic activity is centered in light industry, paper and agriculture transformation and its municipalities are, Arouca Oliveira de Azeméis Santa Maria da Feira São João da Madeira Vale de Cambra All of the above municipalities have city status, except Arouca
5.
Santa Maria da Feira
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Santa Maria da Feira is a city and a municipality in Aveiro District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 139,309, in an area of 215.88 km², Santa Maria is located in area that allowed it to be a crossroads of various peoples. Ancient Roman roadways connected Porto, Viseu, Lisbon and Braga and intersected the region, in addition, pre-Roman castros dotted the territory. Eventually, nomadic tribes began to settle in the vicinity of the castle and this settlement soon became known as the Terra de Santa Maria. This name first appeared in 1117, in a donation by D. Teresa, who began to reside in the castle around 1120. The lands of Santa Maria included a vast territory that included not only the municipality of Feira, the castle of Santa Maria da Feira, the ex-libris of Feira, is a testament to the military architecture of the Middle Ages. It is the fulcrum of the history of the region, in the time of king Denis of Portugal, Feira already was the see of a julgado. This is testified by an ancient document called Foral Velho and it was awarded a new foral in 1514, when Manuel I of Portugal was the King of Portugal. The municipality includes several towns and 3 cities, Santa Maria da Feira, Fiães and it is the most populous municipio in Entre Douro e Vouga and it is part of the Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto. The town is the headquarters of Amorim corporation, the seat of the municipality is Feira, famous for its medieval castle which was the residence of Portugals first king, Afonso Henriques, for a short period of time. The castle, located at the top of a hill, was of strategic importance during its time. Every year, in summer, a festival takes place in Santa Maria da Feira - the Feira Medieval - during which the city goes back to the Middle Ages. Municipalitys sights include the Convento do Espírito Santo, the Igreja da Misericórdia, however, its greatest landmark is the castelo Santa Maria da Feira Castle, from the 11th century. The municipal holiday is January 20 and its the day when the whole municipality celebrates the Fogaceiras. The Fogaceiras is a local holiday. During the Middle Ages, the lands of Santa Maria were infested by the dark plague, to get rid of this calamity, the locals offered a sweet roll, called fogaça, to the patron saint Saint Sebastien. The Fogaceiras have been celebrated for five hundred years, since the eradication of the dark plague, the municipality has a science museum, the Visionarium. Feirense web Info at the Portuguese Association of Municipalities website Photos from Santa Maria da Feira More pictures of Santa Maria da Feira
6.
Feira (Santa Maria da Feira)
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Feira is a former civil parish in the municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal. In 2013, the merged into the new parish Santa Maria da Feira, Travanca. Covering the historic city centre, it was the seat of the Santa Maria da Feira Municipality and it has a population of 11,040 inhabitants and a total area of 8.40 km². Its name of inhabitants are known as Feirense, official city name, Santa Maria da Feira. The surrounding area is known as Terras de Santa Maria. The parish is the location of a medieval castle and it is also famous for its local bread named fogaça and its local market. Sights include the Convento do Espírito Santo, the Igreja da Misericórdia, the its greatest landmark is the castelo Santa Maria da Feira Castle, from the 11th century. Clube Desportivo Feirense Sporting Clube de Santa Maria da Feira, Santa Maria Biweekly Journal Santa Maria da Feira portal Sporting Clube de Santa Maria da Feira
7.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
8.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
9.
Granite
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Granite is a common type of felsic intrusive igneous rock that is granular and phaneritic in texture. Granites can be white, pink, or gray in color. The word granite comes from the Latin granum, a grain, in reference to the structure of such a holocrystalline rock. By definition, granite is a rock with at least 20% quartz. The term granitic means granite-like and is applied to granite and a group of igneous rocks with similar textures and slight variations in composition. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a texture is known as a granite porphyry. Granitoid is a general, descriptive field term for lighter-colored, coarse-grained igneous rocks, petrographic examination is required for identification of specific types of granitoids. The extrusive igneous rock equivalent of granite is rhyolite, Granite is nearly always massive, hard and tough, and therefore it has gained widespread use throughout human history, and more recently as a construction stone. The average density of granite is between 2.65 and 2.75 g/cm3, its compressive strength usually lies above 200 MPa, and its viscosity near STP is 3–6 •1019 Pa·s. The melting temperature of dry granite at ambient pressure is 1215–1260 °C, it is reduced in the presence of water. Granite has poor primary permeability, but strong secondary permeability, true granite according to modern petrologic convention contains both plagioclase and alkali feldspars. When a granitoid is devoid or nearly devoid of plagioclase, the rock is referred to as alkali feldspar granite, when a granitoid contains less than 10% orthoclase, it is called tonalite, pyroxene and amphibole are common in tonalite. A granite containing both muscovite and biotite micas is called a binary or two-mica granite, two-mica granites are typically high in potassium and low in plagioclase, and are usually S-type granites or A-type granites. A worldwide average of the composition of granite, by weight percent, based on 2485 analyses. Much of it was intruded during the Precambrian age, it is the most abundant basement rock that underlies the relatively thin veneer of the continents. Outcrops of granite tend to form tors and rounded massifs, granites sometimes occur in circular depressions surrounded by a range of hills, formed by the metamorphic aureole or hornfels. Granite often occurs as small, less than 100 km² stock masses
10.
Limestone
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Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, like most other sedimentary rocks, most limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids, intraclasts and these organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind when they die. Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or siliceous skeletal fragment, some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i. e. travertine. Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters and this produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular appearance, the primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters. Limestones may also form in lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments, calcite can be dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits a characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. Impurities will cause limestones to exhibit different colors, especially with weathered surfaces, Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock, when conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures. Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly there are waterfalls. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls, coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells. During regional metamorphism that occurs during the building process, limestone recrystallizes into marble
11.
Masonry
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Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar, the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of construction are brick, building stone such as marble, granite, travertine, and limestone, cast stone, concrete block, glass block. Masonry is generally a durable form of construction. However, the used, the quality of the mortar and workmanship. A person who constructs masonry is called a mason or bricklayer, Masonry is commonly used for walls and buildings. Brick and concrete block are the most common types of masonry in use in industrialized nations, Concrete blocks, especially those with hollow cores, offer various possibilities in masonry construction. They generally provide great strength, and are best suited to structures with light transverse loading when the cores remain unfilled. Filling some or all of the cores with concrete or concrete with steel reinforcement offers much greater tensile, the use of material such as bricks and stones can increase the thermal mass of a building and can protect the building from fire. Masonry walls are resistant to projectiles, such as debris from hurricanes or tornadoes. Extreme weather, under circumstances, can cause degradation of masonry due to expansion. Masonry tends to be heavy and must be built upon a foundation, such as reinforced concrete. Other than concrete, masonry construction does not lend well to mechanization. Masonry consists of components and has a low tolerance to oscillation as compared to other materials such as reinforced concrete, plastics, wood. Masonry has high compressive strength under vertical loads but has low tensile strength unless reinforced, the tensile strength of masonry walls can be increased by thickening the wall, or by building masonry piers at intervals. Where practical, steel reinforcements such as windposts can be added, a masonry veneer wall consists of masonry units, usually clay-based bricks, installed on one or both sides of a structurally independent wall usually constructed of wood or masonry. In this context the brick masonry is primarily decorative, not structural, the brick veneer is generally connected to the structural wall by brick ties. There is typically an air gap between the veneer and the structural wall. Concrete blocks, real and cultured stones, and veneer adobe are sometimes used in a very similar veneer fashion
12.
Wood
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Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees, and other woody plants. It is a material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers which are strong in tension embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, in a living tree it performs a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by themselves. It also conveys water and nutrients between the leaves, other growing tissues, and the roots, Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, or wood chips or fiber. In 2005, the stock of forests worldwide was about 434 billion cubic meters. As an abundant, carbon-neutral renewable resource, woody materials have been of intense interest as a source of renewable energy, in 1991 approximately 3.5 billion cubic meters of wood were harvested. Dominant uses were for furniture and building construction, a 2011 discovery in the Canadian province of New Brunswick discovered the earliest known plants to have grown wood, approximately 395 to 400 million years ago. Wood can be dated by carbon dating and in species by dendrochronology to make inferences about when a wooden object was created. People have used wood for millennia for many purposes, primarily as a fuel or as a material for making houses, tools, weapons, furniture, packaging, artworks. Constructions using wood date back ten thousand years, buildings like the European Neolithic long house were made primarily of wood. Recent use of wood has changed by the addition of steel. The year-to-year variation in tree-ring widths and isotopic abundances gives clues to the climate at that time. This process is known as growth, it is the result of cell division in the vascular cambium, a lateral meristem. These cells then go on to form thickened secondary cell walls, composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, if the distinctiveness between seasons is annual, these growth rings are referred to as annual rings. Where there is little seasonal difference growth rings are likely to be indistinct or absent, if the bark of the tree has been removed in a particular area, the rings will likely be deformed as the plant overgrows the scar. It is usually lighter in color than that near the portion of the ring. The outer portion formed later in the season is known as the latewood or summerwood. However, there are differences, depending on the kind of wood
13.
Portuguese Republic
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Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts, Carthaginians and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic, political and military powers. Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France, Spain and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001. The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, Coimbra, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and then by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were also founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
14.
New Year
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New Year is the time at which a new calendar year begins and the calendars year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner and the 1st day of January is often marked as a national holiday, in the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system today, New Year occurs on 1 January. This was also the case both in the old Roman calendar and in the Julian calendar that succeeded it, other calendars have been used historically in different parts of the world, some calendars count years numerically, while others do not. Beginning in 1582, the adoptions of the Gregorian calendar and changes to the Old Style and New Style dates meant the local dates for New Years Day changed to using one fixed date. The widespread official adoption of the Gregorian calendar and marking January 1 as the beginning of a new year is almost global now, regional or local use of other calendars continue, along with the cultural and religious practices that accompany them. In Latin America, various native cultures continue the observation of traditions according to their own calendars, israel, China, India and other countries, continue to celebrate New Year on different dates. The most common dates of modern New Years celebrations are listed below,1 January, The first day of the civil year in the Gregorian calendar used by most countries. Contrary to common belief in the west, the civil New Year of January 1 is not an Orthodox Christian religious holiday, the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar makes no provision for the observance of a New Year. January 1 is itself a religious holiday, but that is because it is the feast of the circumcision of Christ, while the liturgical calendar begins September 1, there is also no particular religious observance attached to the start of the new cycle. Orthodox nations may, however, make civil celebrations for the New Year and those that adhere to the revised Julian calendar, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Romania, Syria, and Turkey, observe both the religious and civil holidays on January 1. The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, occurs every year on the new moon of the first lunar month, the exact date can fall any time between 21 January and 21 February of the Gregorian Calendar. Traditionally, years were marked by one of twelve Earthly Branches, represented by an animal, and one of ten Heavenly Stems and this combination cycles every 60 years. It is the most important Chinese celebration of the year, the Korean New Year is a Seollal, or Lunar New Year’s Day. Although January 1 is, in fact, the first day of the year, Seollal, celebration of the Lunar New Year is believed to have started to let in good luck and ward off bad spirits all throughout the year. With the old year out and a new one in, people gather at home and sit around with their families and relatives, catching up on what they have been doing. The Vietnamese New Year is the Tết Nguyên Đán which most times is the day as the Chinese New Year due to the Vietnamese using the Lunar Calendar. The Tibetan New Year is Losar and falls from January through March, the Mizo in northeast India celebrate their Pawl kut. 29-30 sep Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon after the Northward equinox. Ancient celebrations lasted for eleven days, nava Varsha is celebrated in India in various regions in March–April
15.
Easter
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It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. In Western Christianity, Eastertide, or the Easter Season, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the fiftieth day, Pentecost Sunday. In Eastern Christianity, the season of Pascha begins on Pascha and ends with the coming of the fortieth day, the Feast of the Ascension. The First Council of Nicaea established two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, which were the rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the council. No details for the computation were specified, these were worked out in practice and it has come to be the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March, but calculations vary. Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, in many languages, the words for Easter and Passover are identical or very similar. Easter customs vary across the Christian world, and include services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church. The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection, traditionally decorates the area of churches on this day. Additional customs that have associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades. There are also various traditional Easter foods that vary regionally, however, it is possible that Bede was only speculating about the origin of the term since there is no firm evidence that such a goddess actually existed. In Greek and Latin, the Christian celebration was, and still is, called Πάσχα, Pascha, the word originally denoted the Jewish festival known in English as Passover, commemorating the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt. In most of the non-English speaking world, the feast is known by names derived from Greek, Pascha is also a name by which Jesus himself is remembered in the Orthodox Church, especially in connection with his resurrection and with the season of its celebration. The New Testament states that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith, the resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness. For those who trust in Jesus death and resurrection, death is swallowed up in victory, any person who chooses to follow Jesus receives a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Through faith in the working of God those who follow Jesus are spiritually resurrected with him so that they may walk in a new way of life and receive eternal salvation. Easter is linked to the Passover and Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper, sufferings and crucifixion of Jesus that preceded the resurrection. According to the New Testament, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as in the room during the Last Supper he prepared himself. He identified the matzah and cup of wine as his soon to be sacrificed
16.
May Day
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May Day is a public holiday usually celebrated on May 1. It is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the celebrations that the day includes, in the late 19th century, May Day was chosen as the date for International Workers Day by the Socialists and Communists of the Second International to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago. International Workers Day may also be referred to as May Day and it is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane, most commonly held on April 30. The day was a summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. While February 1 was the first day of spring, May 1 was the first day of summer, hence, as Europe became Christianised, the pagan holidays lost their religious character and May Day changed into a popular secular celebration. A significant celebration of May Day occurs in Germany where it is one of days on which St. Walburga. The secular versions of May Day, observed in Europe and America, may be best known for their traditions of dancing around the maypole and crowning the Queen of May. Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the giving of May baskets, small baskets of sweets or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbours doorsteps. May 1 is also one of two feast days of the Catholic patron saint of workers St Joseph the Worker, a carpenter, husband to Mother Mary, and surrogate father of Jesus. Replacing another feast to St. Joseph, this date was chosen by Pope Pius XII in 1955 as a counterpoint to the communist International Workers Day celebrations on May Day. In the late 20th century, many neopagans began reconstructing traditions, traditional English May Day rites and celebrations include crowning a May Queen and celebrations involving a maypole. Historically, Morris dancing has been linked to May Day celebrations, much of this tradition derives from the pagan Anglo-Saxon customs held during Þrimilci-mōnaþ along with many Celtic traditions. May Day has been a day of festivities throughout the centuries. May Day is most associated with towns and villages celebrating springtime fertility and revelry with village fetes, seeding has been completed by this date and it was convenient to give farm labourers a day off. Perhaps the most significant of the traditions is the maypole, around which traditional dancers circle with ribbons, the spring bank holiday on the first Monday in May was created in 1978, May Day itself – May 1 – is not a public holiday in England. Unlike the other Bank Holidays and common law holidays, the first Monday in May is taken off from schools by itself and this is because it has no Christian significance and does not otherwise fit into the usual school holiday pattern. May Day was abolished and its celebration banned by Puritan parliaments during the Interregnum, may 1,1707, was the day the Act of Union came into effect, joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain
17.
Christmas
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In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family. Although the month and date of Jesus birth are unknown, by the fourth century the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25. Today, most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar and this is not a disagreement over the date of Christmas as such, but rather a preference of which calendar should be used to determine the day that is December 25. Although it is not known why December 25 became a date of celebration, December 25 was the date the Romans marked as the winter solstice, the shortest, and therefore darkest day of the year. Jesus was identified with the Sun based on an Old Testament verse, the date is exactly nine months following Annunciation, when the conception of Jesus is celebrated. Finally, the Romans had a series of pagan festivals near the end of the year, so Christmas may have been scheduled at this time to appropriate, or compete with, one or more of these festivals. The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, the economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world. Christmas is a form of Christs mass. It is derived from the Middle English Cristemasse, which is from Old English Crīstesmæsse, crīst is from Greek Khrīstos, a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ, Messiah, meaning anointed, and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist. The form Christenmas was also used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal, it derives from Middle English Cristenmasse. In addition to Christmas, the holiday has been known by other names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as midwinter, or, more rarely, Nativity, meaning birth, is from Latin nātīvitās. In Old English, Gēola referred to the corresponding to December and January. Noel entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis, the canonical gospels of Luke and Matthew both describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem in Judea, to a virgin mother. In the Gospel of Luke account, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census and it says that angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him. In the Matthew account, magi follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, King Herod orders the massacre of all the boys less than two years old in Bethlehem, but the family flees to Egypt and later settles in Nazareth. The Nativity stories of Matthew and Luke are prominent in the gospels, the first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome in 336. Christmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century, the feast regained prominence after 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day
18.
IGESPAR
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This includes buildings and sites of historical, architectural, scientific or artistic value. The institute keeps a registry of all the sites and issues legally binding opinions regarding any works on them. It was established after the initiatives of PRACE and implemented by the Council of Ministers, Ministerial Order no.376 established its internal structure and statutes, while the Ministry of Cultures organic law established regional directorates. IGESPAR is a State agency, under the auspices of the Ministério da Cultura and its internal structure is laid out in Ministerial Order no
19.
National monument
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A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of national importance such as the countrys founding, independence or a war. The term may refer to a specific monument status, such as a national heritage site. The National monument aims to represent the nation, and serve as a focus for national identity, a series of structures or areas deemed to be of national importance and therefore afforded protection by the state are part of a countrys cultural heritage. These national heritage sites are often called something different per country and are listed by national conservation societies, romania has listed at least one plant as a national monument, Nymphaea lotus f. thermalis
20.
Castles in Portugal
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Castles in Portugal were crucial components of the military across history. The Portuguese learned the art of building fortifications from the Romans, 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, brought new stonework, Portugal has well-defined geographic boundaries, with the Atlantic Ocean to the south and the 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 as well, making its defense difficult. The areas around Porto in the north are hilly and green, with river valleys. The green mountains turn less fertile as they spread to the east, along the coastal Beiras, the topography becomes hillier, with pine forests and a sandy coast. The Alentejo is a vast golden plain that extends south to the red cliffs and green hills of the Algarve and these conditions made the defense of Portugal difficult, and the region was marked by eras of fortification building. Unlike many of their European counterparts, Portuguese castles were influenced by the master-builders of Rome. Even the early Celtic tribes of Portugal, the early Lusitanians, the Romans, who occupied Portugal after this period, for the next 400 years, then built forts with high walls and strong towers to defend their towns. The Romans were the first to bring in organized military outposts in order to guard their domains and these outposts were usually built on existing fortified castros or defensible Neolithic/Paleolithic strongholds in the hills. But, the Romans gradually built their centres based on their trade and/or commercial needs, the outposts that remained continued to serve as sentries or outposts, while some points evolved into larger towns or cities that survived long after the Romans had retreated. By the Middle Ages, Portugal was a crossroads of cultures, with hostile Moors to the south and they brought innovative stonework and heavily fortified gates to Portugal. Meanwhile, Northern European and English forts/castles built wooden forts during this period, although many Portuguese medieval castles originated in the Islamic period, most of them were extensively remodelled after the Christian reconquest. One of the best-preserved is the Castle of Silves, in the ancient capital of the Al-Garb, built between the 8th and 13th centuries, the castle retains its walls and square-shaped towers from the Moorish period. The old Moorish centre of the city, the Almedina, was defended by a wall and several fortified towers and gates, another example of Islamic castles in the Algarve is the Castle of Paderne, whose ruined walls evidence the taipa building technique used in some period construction. The Castle of the Moors, in Sintra, has preserved remains of its walls. Many of these walls were marked by the characteristic horseshoe-shaped gates leading into their courtyards, as evidenced from the castles in Faro and Elvas. During the Portuguese Reconquista many of the castles were reused or rebuilt to protect their fledgling kingdom from invasions from both Moors and rival Christians, like the Castilians
21.
County of Portugal
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A larger entity under the same name was then reestablished in the late 11th century and lasted until the mid-12th century, when its count elevated it into an independent Portuguese kingdom. The history of the county of Portugal is traditionally dated from the reconquest of Portus Cale by Vímara Peres in 868 and he was named a count and given control of the frontier region between the Limia and Douro rivers by Alfonso III of Asturias. South of the Douro, another border county would be formed decades later when what would become the County of Coimbra was conquered from the Moors by Hermenegildo Gutiérrez. This moved the frontier away from the bounds of the county of Portugal. The recapture of Coimbra by Almanzor in 987 again placed the County of Portugal on the frontier of the Leonese state for most of the rest of the first countys existence. The regions to its south were only conquered in the reign of Ferdinand I of León and Castile, with Lamego falling in 1057, Viseu in 1058. It could have been this Count Gonzalo who assassinated Sancho I of León after inviting the King to a banquet, not all historians, however, believe that Gonzalo Menéndez was responsible for the kings death and some attribute the regicide to a contemporary count named Gonzalo Muñoz. In the late 960s Gonzalos lands were ravaged by Vikings, and in 968 and his son Menendo had close relations with Ramiros rival and successor, Bermudo II, being made the kings alférez and tutor of his son, the future king Alfonso V. Following Alfonsos succession, Menendo would serve as regent for the boy king, the former Kingdom of Galicia, then including modern Portugal as far south as Coimbra, was given by Alfonso VI as a county to his son-in-law Raymond of Burgundy. Its territory included much of the current Portuguese territory between the Minho River and the Tagus River, Count Henry continued the Reconquista in western Iberia and expanded his countys dominions. In 1111 the Muslims conquered Santarém, when Count Henry died in 1112, the population of the County of Portugal, including the powerful families, favored independence. Henrys widow, Theresa, took the reigns on behalf of her young son, however, she was defeated by Urraca in 1121 and forced to accept a position of feudal subservience to the Leonese state. Her own son, Afonso Henriques, took the reins of the government in 1128 after routing his mothers forces in the Battle of São Mamede, after this battle, he began to exhibit a seal with a cross and the word Portugal. He continued to win battles, supported by the nobles of Entre-Douro-e-Minho, eventually triumphing in the Battle of Ourique in 1139, also, he never used the title of count which would place him in a clear position of dependence vis-à-vis the king of León and Castile. It was finally in 1143 when his nominal overlord Alfonso VII of León, ricos-homens, infanções e cavaleiros, a nobreza medieval portuguesa nos séculos XI e XII. Serrão, Joel, Dicionário de História de Portugal Volume II Castanhoso-Fez, Portugal, Livraria Figueirinhas /Porto
22.
National Monuments of Portugal
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The national monuments of Portugal were constructed throughout the Portuguese territory, and date back to the period of pre-historic settlement of occupation. The formal organization of the Portuguese state resulted in a process to qualify and quantify those structures that have had a value to the Portuguese culture. This is a compilation of those structures that are designated as National Monuments only, the first documented peoples to occupy the western coast of Iberia were the Ostrimni recorded in Ancient Latin poetry, whose territory stretched from Galicia to the Algarve. The Greeks called the area of Portugal Ophiussa, and its inhabitants the Ophi, the serpent-worshipping Ophis are believed to have been a Celtic culture. The Lusitanians along with the Gallaeci developed the Castro culture at the time of their invasion by the legions of Rome, in the process, they constructed new buildings, established modern infrastructures and a road network that connected Roman villas. The disorganization in the Roman empire, which led to its fall, allowed the conquest by the Visigoths, many of the structures that survived this period include ancient churches and inscriptions built over previous constructions, which were the centre of Lusitanian settlements. Early Christian influences persisted for centuries, until the Moors and Arab Berber peoples invaded the Peninsula. The Moors were first to many of the medieval castles that dot the landscapes of Portugal. From the northern enclaves, the Christian Reconquista began, expanding progressively south towards the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula and this was not a permanent expansion, since the Moorish-Christian frontier continued to expand and retract for several years, with the victories and defeats of each battle. Meanwhile, Portugal became a county of the Kingdom of León and it became an autonomous dominion of the Kingdom of León in 1128, emerging as a fully independent kingdom in 1139, officially recognized by the Treaty of Zamora in 1143. Although there are monuments from various ages some of them have a special value due to their historical, architectural, artistic. Owing to its value and importance, the cultural property may be listed as or national. In addition, these definitions are also defined in terms of being monuments, groups of buildings or sites, IGESPAR regularly proposes the listing of new assets based on its mission to safeguard national heritage. The listing process follows a procedure defined by Decree-Law no. 309/2009, which entered force in January 2010. IGESPAR also monitors and participates in the UNESCO registry of World Heritage Sites as a member state, there are 13 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in territory of Portugal
23.
Marian devotions
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A Marian devotion in Christianity is directed to the person of Mary, mother of Jesus consisting of external pious practices expressed by the believer. Such devotional prayers or acts may be accompanied by requests for Marys intercession with God. In 787 the Second Council of Nicaea affirmed a three-level hierarchy of latria, hyperdulia and dulia that applies to God and they believe this devotion may distract attention from Christ. There is significant diversity of form and structure in Marian devotions practiced by different groups of Christians, Orthodox Marian devotions are well-defined and closely linked to liturgy, while Roman Catholic practices are wide-ranging. There is no single church with universal authority within the Anglican Communion, within the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican movement, devotions to the Virgin Mary have more emphasis within High Church and Broad Church parishes than others. The emphasis placed on Mary and Marian devotions changed over the history of Anglicanism, however, in the 17th century, there was a gradual return to Marianism and by 1662 there were five Marian feasts. Anglican devotion for the Virgin Mary was revived during the 19th century Oxford Movement of Anglo-Catholicism, british theologians such as Father Frederick Faber took an enthusiastic approach to the promotion of Marian devotions towards the end of the 19th century. In the liturgical renewal of the 20th century, Mary gained new prominence, the gradual increase in Marian devotions among Anglicans has also been manifested within the higher levels of the clergy in the Anglican Communion. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams wrote a book on how to pray with the icons of the Virgin Mary, Anglican devotions to Mary include the Anglican Rosary, votive candles, and pilgrimages to Walsingham and Lourdes. Some Anglicans and Anglo-Catholics also pray the rosary itself, for centuries, Our Lady of Walsingham has been a centerpiece in Anglican devotions to the Virgin Mary and its feast is celebrated on October 15, as well as a Catholic feast on September 24. Also common in Anglican cathedrals, Anglo-Catholic parishes, and certain Anglican shrines are chapels or side altars dedicated to the Virgin Mary called Lady chapels, a deep devotion to the Aeipartenos Mary is one of the key themes of Orthodox liturgy and spirituality. Devotion to the Virgin Mary is taken for granted in Eastern Orthodoxy and it permeates the entire life of the Church and historically required no academic development as in the Western Church. In the Orthodox view, devotion to Mary is considered an important element of Christian spirituality, Orthodox theologian Sergei Bulgakov called denominations that do not venerate the Virgin Mary another type of Christianity. The Theotokos title for Mary is very important in Eastern Orthodoxy and is seen as an affirmation of the fullness of Gods incarnation, Marian devotions thus form the nucleolus of Orthodox Mariology. Feasts, icons and hymns are often combined, e. g. the Theotokos Iverskaya wonder-working icon is used on its own feast day, devotions to the Theotokos are often combined with the veneration of icons depicting her with the Child Jesus. For instance, in the Sunday of Orthodoxy the singing of Marian hymns, the Eastern Orthodox Church considers Mary to have been elevated by God to the highest status, above all other creatures, though still only a human being. The Orthodox hymn Axion Estin speaks of Mary as being More honorable than the cherubim, although most Orthodox consider Mary sinless, they do not accept the Roman Catholic definition of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Mary is mentioned numerous times in all of the Divine Services, the final petition of each ektenia ends with an invocation of the Virgin Mary
24.
Alfonso III of Asturias
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Alfonso III, called the Great, was the king of León, Galicia and Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I, in later sources he is the earliest to be called Emperor of Spain. He was also titled Prince of all Galicia, Alfonsos reign was notable for his comparative success in consolidating the kingdom during the weakness of the Umayyad princes of Córdoba. He fought against and gained victories over the Muslims of al-Andalus. During the first year of his reign, he had to contend with a usurper and he was forced flee to Castile, but after a few months Fruela was assassinated and Alfonso returned to Oviedo. He defeated a Basque rebellion in 867 and, much later and he conquered Oporto and Coimbra in 868 and 878 respectively. He ordered the creation of three chronicles which presented the theory that the kingdom of Asturias was the successor of the old Visigothic kingdom. He was also a patron of the arts, like his grandfather before him and he built the church of Santo Adriano de Tuñón. According to a letter of disputed authenticity dated to 906, the Epistola Adefonsi Hispaniae regis, a year before his death, three of Alfonsos sons rose in rebellion and forced him to abdicate, partitioning the kingdom among them. The eldest son, García, became king of León, the second son, Ordoño, reigned in Galicia, while the third, Fruela, received Asturias with Oviedo as his capital. Alfonso died in Zamora, probably in 910 and his former realm would be reunited when first García died childless and León passed to Ordoño. He in turn died when his children were too young to ascend and his death the next year initiated a series of internecine struggles that led to unstable succession for over a century
25.
Reconquista
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The Reconquista ended just before the European discovery of the Americas—the New World—which ushered in the era of the Portuguese and Spanish colonial empires. The concept of a Christian reconquest of the peninsula first emerged, in tenuous form, a landmark was set by the Christian Chronica Prophetica, a document stressing the Christian and Muslim cultural and religious divide in Iberia and the necessity to drive the Muslims out. Nevertheless, the difference between Christian and Muslim kingdoms in early medieval Spain was not seen at the time as anything like the clear-cut opposition that later emerged, both Christian and Muslim rulers fought amongst themselves. Alliances between Muslims and Christians were not uncommon, blurring distinctions even further were the mercenaries from both sides who simply fought for whoever paid the most. The period is looked back upon today as one of religious tolerance. In fact previous documents from the 10th and 11th centuries are mute on any idea of reconquest and their rebellious pursuit was thus a Crusade for the restoration of Churchs unity, where Franco stood for both Pelagius of Asturias and El Cid. Many recent historians dispute the concept of Reconquista as a concept created a posteriori in the service of later political goals. A number of historians have called it a myth, One of the first Spanish intellectuals to question the idea of a reconquest that lasted for eight centuries was José Ortega y Gasset, writing in the first half of the 20th century. However, the term is widely in use. In 711, Muslim Moors, mainly North African Berber soldiers with some Arabs, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, from their stronghold of Narbonne, they launched raids into the Duchy of Aquitaine. At no point did the invading Islamic armies exceed 60,000 men and these armies established an Islamic rule that would last 300 years in much of the Iberian Peninsula and 770 years in Granada. After the establishment of a local Emirate, Caliph Al-Walid I, ruler of the Umayyad caliphate, tariq ibn Ziyad, the first governor of the newly conquered province of Al-Andalus, was recalled to Damascus and replaced with Musa bin Nusair, who had been his former superior. Musas son, Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, apparently married Egilona, Roderics widow and he was suspected of being under the influence of his wife, accused of wanting to convert to Christianity, and of planning a secessionist rebellion. Apparently a concerned Al-Walid I ordered Abd al-Azizs assassination, Caliph Al-Walid I died in 715 and was succeeded by his brother Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik. Sulayman seems to have punished the surviving Musa bin Nusair, who soon died during a pilgrimage in 716. In the end Abd al-Aziz ibn Musas cousin, Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lakhmi became the emir of Al-Andalus, the conquering generals were necessarily acting very independently, due to the methods of communication available. Old rivalries and perhaps even full-fledged conspiracies between rival generals may have had influence over this development, in the end, the old successful generals were replaced by a younger generation considered more loyal by the government in Damascus. A serious weakness amongst the Muslim conquerors was the tension between Berbers and Arabs
26.
Al-Mansur
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Al-Mansur or Abu Jafar Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur was the second Abbasid Caliph reigning from 136 AH to 158 AH and succeeding his brother Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah. Al-Mansur is generally regarded as the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the largest polities in world history. He is also known for founding the city of Madinat al-Salam which was to become the core of imperial Baghdad. Al-Mansur was born at the home of the Abbasid family after their emigration from the Hejaz in 95 AH and he reigned from Dhu al-Hijjah 136 AH until Dhu al-Hijjah 158 AH. In 762 he founded as new residence and palace city Madinat as-Salam. Al-Mansur was concerned with the solidity of his regime after the death of his brother Abul Abbas, in 754 he defeated Abdallah ibn Alis bid for the Caliphate, and in 755 he arranged the assassination of Abu Muslim. When Isa ibn Musa, al-Mansurs intended successor, fell under suspicion of corruption, al-Mahdi was appointed in his stead, like his elder brother Saffah he wanted to unite the land, so he got rid of all of his opposition. It was under al-Mansur that a committee, mostly made up of Syriac-speaking Christians, was set up in Baghdad with the purpose of translating extant Greek works into Arabic. Due to the Abbasids orientation toward the East, many Persians came to play a role in the Empire. This was in contrast to the preceding Umayyad era, in which non-Arabs were kept out of these affairs. In 756, al-Mansur sent over 4,000 Arab mercenaries to assist the Chinese in the An Shi Rebellion against An Lushan, after the war, al-Mansur was referred to as A-pu-cha-fo in the Chinese Tang Annals. Al-Mansur died in 775 on his way to Mecca to make hajj and he was buried somewhere along the way in one of hundreds of graves dug in order to hide his body from the Umayyads. He was succeeded by his son, al-Mahdi, according to a number of sources, Abu Hanifa an-Numan was imprisoned by al-Mansur. There is also an account of foreboding verses al-Mansur saw written on the wall just before his death, when al-Mansur died, the caliphates treasury contained 600,000 dirhams and fourteen million dinars. In 2008, MBC1 depicted the life and leadership of al-Mansur in a series aired during the holy month of Ramadan. Masudi, The Meadows of Gold, The Abbasids, transl, Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone, Kegan Paul, London and New York,1989 Kennedy, Hugh, When Baghdad Ruled The Muslim World, Cambridge, Da Capo Press,2004
27.
Keep
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A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. The Anglo-Normans and French rulers began to stone keeps during the 10th and 11th centuries, these included Norman keeps, with a square or rectangular design. Stone keeps carried considerable political as well as military importance and could take up to a decade to build, during the 12th century, new designs began to be introduced – in France, quatrefoil-shaped keeps were introduced, while in England polygonal towers were built. In Spain, keeps were increasingly incorporated into both Christian and Islamic castles, although in Germany tall towers called Bergfriede were preferred to keeps in the western fashion, in the second half of the 14th century, there was a resurgence in the building of keeps. In France, the keep at Vincennes began a fashion for tall, heavily machicolated designs, meanwhile, tower keeps in England became popular amongst the most wealthy nobles, these large keeps, each uniquely designed, formed part of the grandest castles built during the period. By the 16th century, however, keeps were slowly falling out of fashion as fortifications, many were destroyed in civil wars between the 17th and 18th centuries, or incorporated into gardens as an alternative to follies. During the 19th century, keeps became fashionable once again and in England, despite further damage to many French and Spanish keeps during the wars of the 20th century, keeps now form an important part of the tourist and heritage industry in Europe. Since the 16th century, the English word keep has commonly referred to large towers in castles. The word originates from around 1375 to 1376, coming from the Middle English term kype, meaning basket or cask, the term came to be used for other shell keeps by the 15th century. By the 17th century, the word keep lost its reference to baskets or casks. Early on, the use of the keep became associated with the idea of a tower in a castle that would serve both as a fortified, high-status private residence and a refuge of last resort. By the 19th century, Victorian historians incorrectly concluded that the etymology of the keep and tenazza were linked. As a result of evolution in meaning, the use of the term keep in historical analysis today can be problematic. Contemporary medieval writers used various terms for the buildings we would today call keeps, in Latin, they are variously described as turris, turris castri or magna turris – a tower, a castle tower, or a great tower. The 12th-century French came to them a donjon, from the Latin dominarium lordship, linking the keep. Similarly, medieval Spanish writers called the buildings torre del homenaje, in England, donjon turned into dungeon, which initially referred to a keep, rather than to a place of imprisonment. This ambiguity over terminology has made historical analysis of the use of keeps problematic, while the term remains in common academic use, some academics prefer to use the term donjon, and most modern historians warn against using the term keep simplistically. The fortifications that we would today call keeps certainly did not necessarily part of a unified medieval style
28.
Fortification
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Fortifications are military constructions or buildings designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and also used to solidify rule in a region during peace time. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs, the term is derived from the Latin fortis and facere. From very early history to modern times, walls have been a necessity for cities to survive in a changing world of invasion. Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were the first small cities to be fortified, in ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae. A Greek Phrourion was a collection of buildings used as a military garrison. These construction mainly served the purpose of a tower, to guard certain roads, passes. Though smaller than a fortress, they acted as a border guard rather than a real strongpoint to watch. The art of setting out a camp or constructing a fortification traditionally has been called castramentation since the time of the Roman legions. Fortification is usually divided into two branches, permanent fortification and field fortification, there is also an intermediate branch known as semi-permanent fortification. Castles are fortifications which are regarded as being distinct from the fort or fortress in that they are a residence of a monarch or noble. Roman forts and hill forts were the antecedents of castles in Europe. The Early Middle Ages saw the creation of towns built around castles. Medieval-style fortifications were made obsolete by the arrival of cannons in the 14th century. Fortifications in the age of black powder evolved into much lower structures with greater use of ditches and earth ramparts that would absorb, Walls exposed to direct cannon fire were very vulnerable, so were sunk into ditches fronted by earth slopes. The arrival of explosive shells in the 19th century led to yet another stage in the evolution of fortification, steel-and-concrete fortifications were common during the 19th and early 20th centuries. However the advances in warfare since World War I have made large-scale fortifications obsolete in most situations. Demilitarized zones along borders are arguably another type of fortification, although a passive kind, many military installations are known as forts, although they are not always fortified. Larger forts may be called fortresses, smaller ones were known as fortalices
29.
Afonso I of Portugal
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Afonso I, nicknamed the Conqueror, the Founder or the Great by the Portuguese, and El-Bortukali and Ibn-Arrink by the Moors whom he fought, was the first King of Portugal. Afonso I was born in Coimbra, Guimarães or Viseu and he was the son of Henry of Burgundy and Theresa, the natural daughter of King Alfonso VI of León and Castile. The pair reigned jointly as Count and Countess of Portugal until Henrys death, Afonso was slightly more than two years old when his father, Count Henry, died on 22 May 1112 during the siege of Astorga. In an effort to pursue a share in the Leonese inheritance, his mother Theresa joined forces with Fernando Pérez de Trava. The Portuguese nobility disliked the alliance between Galicia and Portugal and rallied around the infant Afonso, in 1122, Afonso turned fourteen, the adult age in the 12th century. He made himself a knight on his own account in the Cathedral of Zamora, raised an army, in 1128, near Guimarães, at the Battle of São Mamede Afonso and his supporters overcame troops under his Count Fernando Peres de Trava of Galicia. Afonso exiled his mother to Galicia, and took rule of the County of Portugal. He also vanquished his mothers nephew, Alfonso VII of León, who came to her rescue, on 6 April 1129, Afonso Henriques dictated the writ in which he proclaimed himself Prince of Portugal. Afonso then turned his arms against the persistent problem of the Moors in the south, the first assembly of the Portuguese Cortes convened at Lamego is a 17th-century embellishment of Portuguese history. Independence from Alfonso VII of Leóns suzerainty, however, was not a thing he just could achieve militarily, the County of Portugal still had to be acknowledged diplomatically by the neighboring lands as a kingdom and, most importantly, by the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Afonso wed Mafalda of Savoy, daughter of Amadeus III, Count of Savoy and he succeeded in renouncing the suzerainty of his cousin, Alfonso VII of León, becoming instead a vassal of the papacy, as the kings of Sicily and Aragon had done before him. In 1179 the bull Manifestis Probatum accepted the new king as vassal to the pope exclusively, in Portugal he built several monasteries and convents and bestowed important privileges to religious orders. He is notably the builder of Alcobaça Monastery, to which he called the Cistercian Order of his uncle Bernard of Clairvaux of Burgundy. In 1143, he wrote to Pope Innocent II to declare himself, bypassing any king of León, Afonso declared himself the direct liege man of the papacy. Afonso continued to distinguish himself by his exploits against the Moors, from whom he wrested Santarém and he also conquered an important part of the land south of the Tagus River, although this was lost again to the Moors in the following years. Meanwhile, King Alfonso VII of León regarded the independent ruler of Portugal as nothing, conflict between the two was constant and bitter in the following years. Afonso became involved in a war, taking the side of the Aragonese king, to ensure the alliance, his son Sancho was engaged to Dulce, sister of the Count of Barcelona and Infanta of Aragon. Finally after winning the Battle of Valdevez, the Treaty of Zamora established peace between the cousins and the recognition by the Kingdom of León that Portugal was a sovereign kingdom
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Kingdom of Galicia
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The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which adopted Catholicism officially and it was part of the Kingdom of the Spanish Visigothic monarchs from 585 to 711. Compostela became capital of Galicia in the 11th century, while the independence of Portugal determined its southern boundary, the representative assembly of the Kingdom was then the Junta or Cortes of the Kingdom of Galicia, which briefly declared itself sovereign when Galicia alone remained free of Napoleonic occupation. The kingdom and its Junta were dissolved by Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the origin of the kingdom lies in the 5th century, when the Suebi settled permanently in the former Roman province of Gallaecia. Their king, Hermeric, probably signed a foedus, or pact, with the Roman Emperor Honorius, the Suebi set their capital in the former Bracara Augusta, setting the foundations of a kingdom which was first acknowledged as Regnum Suevorum, but later as Regnum Galliciense. The independent Suebic kingdom of Galicia lasted from 410 to 585, in 410 Gallaecia was divided, ad habitandum, among two Germanic people, the Hasdingi Vandals, who settled the eastern lands, and the Suebi, who established themselves in the coastal areas. As with most Germanic invasions, the number of the original Suebi is estimated to be low, generally fewer than 100,000. They settled mainly in the regions around modern northern Portugal and Western Galicia, in the towns of Braga and Porto, in 419 a war broke out between the Vandal king Gunderic and the Suebis Hermeric. After a blockade alongside the Nervasian Mountains, the Suebi obtained Roman help, in the absence of competitors, the Suebi began a period of expansion, first inside Gallaecia, and later into other Roman provinces. In 438 Hermeric ratified a treaty with the Gallaeci, the native. In 448 Rechila died, leaving the state to his son Rechiar. Rechiar married a Visigothic princess, and was also the first Germanic king to mint coins in ancient Roman territories, Rechiar led further expansions to the east, marauding through the Provincia Tarraconensis, which was still held by Rome. The Roman emperor Avitus sent an army of foederates, under the direction of the Visigoth Theoderic II. Rechiar fled, but he was pursued and captured, then executed in 457, in the aftermath of Rechiars death, multiple candidates for the throne appeared, finally grouping into two allegiances. By 465 Remismund, who established a policy of friendship with the Goths, five of the attendant bishops used Germanic names, showing the integration of the different communities of the country. After clashing in frontier lands, Miro and Leovigild agreed upon a temporary peace, the Suebi maintained their independence until 585, when Leovigild, on the pretext of conflict over the succession, invaded the Suebic kingdom and finally defeated it. Audeca, the last king of the Suebi, who had deposed his brother-in-law Eboric and this same year a nobleman named Malaric rebelled against the Goths, but he was defeated. As with the Visigothic language, there are traces of the Suebi tongue remaining
31.
Archbishop
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In Christianity, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In some cases, like the Lutheran Church of Sweden, it is the denomination leader title, an archbishop may be granted the title, or ordained as chief pastor of a metropolitan see or another episcopal see to which the title of archbishop is attached. Episcopal sees are generally arranged in groups in which the bishop who is the ordinary of one of them has certain powers and he is known as the metropolitan archbishop of that see. As well as the more numerous metropolitan sees, there are 77 Roman Catholic sees that have archiepiscopal rank. In some cases, such a see is the one in a country, such as Luxembourg or Monaco. In others, the title of archdiocese is for reasons attributed to a see that was once of greater importance. Some of these archdioceses are suffragans of a metropolitan archdiocese, an example is the Archdiocese of Avignon, which is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Marseille, Another such example is the Archdiocese of Trnava, Slovakia. Others are immediately subject to the Holy See and not to any metropolitan archdiocese and these are usually aggregated to an ecclesiastical province. An example is the Archdiocese of Hobart in Australia, associated with the Metropolitan ecclesiastical province of Melbourne, the ordinary of such an archdiocese is an archbishop, however, especially in the Anglican Communion, not all archbishops dioceses are called archdioceses. Since then, the title of Coadjutor Archbishop of the see is considered sufficient, the rank of archbishop is conferred on some bishops who are not ordinaries of an archdiocese. They hold the rank not because of the see that they head, the bishop transferred is then known as the Archbishop-Bishop of his new see. An example is Gianfranco Gardin, appointed Archbishop-Bishop of Treviso on 21 December 2009, the title borne by the successor of such an archbishop-bishop is merely that of Bishop of the see, unless he also is granted the personal title of Archbishop. The distinction between metropolitan sees and non-metropolitan archiepiscopal sees exists for titular sees as well as for residential ones, the Annuario Pontificio marks titular sees of the former class with the abbreviation Metr. and the others with Arciv. Many of the sees to which nuncios and heads of departments of the Roman Curia who are not cardinals are assigned are not of archiepiscopal rank. In that case the person who is appointed to such a position is given the title of archbishop. They are usually referred to as Archbishop of the see, not as its Archbishop-Bishop, until 1970, such archbishops were transferred to a titular see. There can be several Archbishops Emeriti of the see, the 2008 Annuario Pontificio listed three living Archbishops Emeriti of Taipei. There is no Archbishop Emeritus of a see, an archbishop who holds a titular see keeps it until death or until transferred to another see
32.
Santiago de Compostela
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Santiago de Compostela, commonly known as Santiago, is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the cathedral, as destination of the Way of St. James. In 1985 the citys Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Santiago is the local Galician evolution of Vulgar Latin Sanctus Iacobus Saint James. Other etymologies derive the name from Latin compositum, local Vulgar Latin Composita Tella, meaning ground, or simply from Latin compositella. Other sites in Galicia share this toponym, akin to Compostilla in the province of León, the cathedral borders the main plaza of the old and well-preserved city. Legend has it that the remains of the apostle James were brought to Galicia for burial, in 813, according to medieval legend, the light of a bright star guided a shepherd who was watching his flock at night to the burial site in Santiago de Compostela. The shepherd quickly reported his discovery to the bishop of Iria, the bishop declared that the remains were those of the apostle James and immediately notified King Alfonso II in Oviedo. To honour St. James, the cathedral was built on the spot where his remains were said to have been found, along the western side of the Praza do Obradoiro is the elegant 18th century Pazo de Raxoi, now the city hall. The Obradoiro façade of the cathedral, the best known, is depicted on the Spanish euro coins of 1 cent,2 cents, Santiago is the site of the University of Santiago de Compostela, established in the early 16th century. The main campus can be seen best from an alcove in the municipal park in the centre of the city. Within the old town there are many narrow winding streets full of historic buildings, the new town all around it has less character though some of the older parts of the new town have some big flats in them. Santiago de Compostela has a substantial nightlife, both in the new town and the old town, a mix of middle-aged residents and younger students maintain a lively presence until the early hours of the morning. Santiago gives its name to one of the four orders of Spain, Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara. One of the most important economic centres in Galicia, Santiago is the seat for organisations like Association for Equal, under the Köppen climate classification, Santiago de Compostela has a temperate oceanic climate, with mild to warm and somewhat dry summers and mild, wet winters. The prevailing winds from the Atlantic and the surrounding mountains combine to give Santiago some of Spain’s highest rainfall, about 1,545 millimetres annually. The climate is mild, frosts are common only in December, January and February, with an average of just 8 days per year, while snow is rare, temperatures over 30 °C are exceptional. The population of the city in 2012 was 95,671 inhabitants, in 2010 there were 4,111 foreigners living in the city, representing 4. 3% of the total population. The main nationalities are Brazilians, Portuguese and Colombians, by language, according to 2008 data, 21% of the population always speak in Galician, 15% always speak in Spanish and the rest use both interchangeably
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Portuguese language
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Portuguese is a Romance language and the sole official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Angola, and São Tomé and Príncipe. It also has co-official language status in East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Portuguese is part of the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, and has kept some Celtic phonology. Portuguese is also termed the language of Camões, after Luís Vaz de Camões, one of the greatest literary figures in the Portuguese language and author of the Portuguese epic poem, the museum is the first of its kind in the world. In 2015 the museum was destroyed in a fire, but there are plans to reconstruct it, when the Romans arrived in the Iberian Peninsula in 216 BCE, they brought the Latin language with them, from which all Romance languages descend. Between 409 CE and 711 CE, as the Roman Empire collapsed in Western Europe, Portuguese evolved from the medieval language, known today by linguists as Galician-Portuguese, Old Portuguese or Old Galician, of the northwestern medieval Kingdom of Galicia. It is in Latin administrative documents of the 9th century that written Galician-Portuguese words and this phase is known as Proto-Portuguese, which lasted from the 9th century until the 12th-century independence of the County of Portugal from the Kingdom of León, by then reigning over Galicia. In the first part of the Galician-Portuguese period, the language was used for documents. For some time, it was the language of preference for poetry in Christian Hispania. Portugal became an independent kingdom in 1139, under King Afonso I of Portugal, in the second period of Old Portuguese, in the 15th and 16th centuries, with the Portuguese discoveries, the language was taken to many regions of Africa, Asia and the Americas. The language continued to be popular in parts of Asia until the 19th century, some Portuguese-speaking Christian communities in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia preserved their language even after they were isolated from Portugal. The end of the Old Portuguese period was marked by the publication of the Cancioneiro Geral by Garcia de Resende, Most literate Portuguese speakers were also literate in Latin, and thus they easily adopted Latin words into their writing—and eventually speech—in Portuguese. Portuguese is the language of the majority of people in Brazil and Portugal, perhaps 75% of the population of Angola speaks Portuguese natively, and 85% are fluent. Just over 40% of the population of Mozambique are native speakers of Portuguese, Portuguese is also spoken natively by 30% of the population in Guinea-Bissau, and a Portuguese-based creole is understood by all. No data is available for Cape Verde, but almost all the population is bilingual, there are also significant Portuguese speaking immigrant communities in many countries including Andorra, Bermuda, Canada, France, Japan, Jersey, Namibia, Paraguay, Macau, Switzerland, Venezuela. In some parts of former Portuguese India, namely Goa and Daman and Diu, in 2014, an estimated 1,500 students were learning Portuguese in Goa. Equatorial Guinea made an application for full membership to the CPLP in June 2010. In 2011, Portuguese became its official language and, in July 2014. Portuguese is a subject in The school curriculum in Uruguay
34.
Elizabeth of Aragon
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Elizabeth of Aragon, also known as Elizabeth of Portugal, T. O. S. F. was queen consort of Portugal, a tertiary of the Franciscan Order and is venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Elizabeth showed an enthusiasm for her faith. She said the full Divine Office daily, fasted and did other penance, religious fervor was common in her family, as she could count several members of her family who were already venerated as saints. The most notable example is her great-aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary and her marriage to King Denis of Portugal was arranged in 1281 when she was 10 years old, receiving the towns of Óbidos, Abrantes and Porto de Mós as part of her dowry. It was only in 1288 that the wedding was celebrated, when Denis was 26 years old, Denis, a poet and statesman, was known as the Rei Lavrador, because he planted a large pine forest near Leiria to prevent the soil degradation that threatened the region. Elizabeth quietly pursued the regular practices of her youth and was devoted to the poor. Naturally, such a life was a reproach to many around her, eventually, her prayer and patience succeeded in converting her husband, who had been leading a sinful life. Elizabeth took an active interest in Portuguese politics and was a decisive conciliator during the negotiations concerning the Treaty of Alcañices, signed by Denis and Sancho IV of Castile in 1297. In 1304, the Queen and Denis returned to Spain to arbitrate between Fernando IV of Castile and James II of Aragon, brother of Elizabeth and she had two children, a daughter named Constance, who married King Ferdinand IV of Castile, a son Afonso. Elizabeth would serve as intermediary between her husband and Afonso, during the Civil War between 1322 and 1324, the Infante greatly resented the king, whom he accused of favoring the kings illegitimate son, Afonso Sanches. Repulsed to Alenquer, which supported the Infante, Denis was prevented from killing his son through the intervention of the Queen. As legend holds, in 1323, Elizabeth, mounted on a mule, peace returned in 1324, once the illegitimate son was sent into exile, and the Infante swore loyalty to the king. After Denis death in 1325, Elizabeth retired to the monastery of the Poor Clare nuns and she joined the Third Order of St. Francis, devoting the rest of her life to the poor and sick in obscurity. In spite of age and weakness, the Queen-dowager insisted on hurrying to Estremoz and she again stopped the fighting and caused terms of peace to be arranged. But the exertion brought on her final illness, as soon as her mission was completed, she took to her bed with a fever from which she died on 4 July, in the castle of Estremoz. She earned the title of Peacemaker on account of her efficacy in solving disputes, although Denis tomb was located in Odivelas, Elizabeth was buried in the Convent of Santa Clara in Coimbra, in a magnificent Gothic sarcophagus. After frequent flooding by the Mondego River in the 17th century and her body was transferred to the main chapel, where it was buried in a sarcophagus of silver and crystal. She was beatified in 1526 and canonized by Pope Urban VIII on 25 May 1625 and her feast was inserted in the General Roman Calendar for celebration on 4 July
35.
Count of Barcelos
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Count of Barcelos is a title of nobility, the first to be granted in Portugal. It was created in 1298 by king Denis I and initially it was a non hereditary title and it was only after the death of the 6th Count, when it was granted to Nuno Álvares Pereira, that the title became hereditary. Initially, the seat of the Counts of Barcelos was the Castle of Barcelos, after having been granted the Dukedom of Braganza, the family moved to a larger and more urbane palace in Guimarães. The title is held by Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and 31st Count of Barcelos. Martim Gil de Riba de Vizela, also known as Martim Gil de Sousa,3, pedro Afonso, natural son of King Denis I of Portugal,4. João Afonso Telo, also 1st Count of Ourém,5, Afonso Teles de Meneses, 4th counts son. Since he died before his father, the title reverted back to his father,6, joão Afonso Telo, 4th counts nephew, son of Martim Afonso Telo de Meneses, and also brother of Queen Leonor Teles. Afonso, also Duke of Braganza, son in law of the 7th Count, for the list of holders after this date, see Dukes of Braganza. Duke of Barcelos Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil – Vol. II, pages 376-401
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John I of Portugal
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John I was King of Portugal and the Algarve in 1385–1433. He was referred to as the Good or of Happy Memory in Portugal, more rarely, and especially in Spain, he was sometimes referred to as the Bastard. He is recognized chiefly for his role in preserving the independence of the kingdom of Portugal from the kingdom of Castile, as part of his efforts to acquire Portuguese territories in Africa, he became the first king of Portugal to use the title Lord of Ceuta. John was born in Lisbon as the son of King Peter I of Portugal by a woman named Teresa. In the 18th century, António Caetano de Sousa found a 16th-century document in the archives of the Torre do Tombo in which she was named as Teresa Lourenço. In 1364, by request of Nuno Freire de Andrade, a Galician Grand Master of the Order of Christ, as heiress presumptive, Beatrice had married king John I of Castile, but popular sentiment was against an arrangement in which Portugal would have been virtually annexed by Castile. The 1383–1385 Crisis followed, a period of anarchy, when no monarch ruled the country. On 6 April 1385, the Council of the Kingdom met in Coimbra and declared John, then Master of Aviz, to be king of Portugal. This was followed by the liberation of almost all of the Minho in the course of two months as part of a war against Castile in opposition to its claims to the Portuguese throne. Soon after, the king of Castile again invaded Portugal with the purpose of conquering Lisbon, John I of Castile was accompanied by French allied cavalry while English troops and generals took the side of John of Aviz. John and Nuno Álvares Pereira, his constable and talented supporter, John I of Castile then retreated. The Castilian forces abandoned Santarém, Torres Vedras and Torres Novas, as a result, the stability of the Portuguese throne was permanently secured. On 11 February 1387, John I married Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, the marriage consolidated an Anglo-Portuguese Alliance that endures to the present day. John I of Castile died in 1390 without issue from his wife Beatrice, John I of Portugal was then able to rule in peace and concentrate on the economic development and territorial expansion of his realm. The most significant military actions were the siege and conquest of the city of Ceuta by Portugal in 1415, and these measure were intended to help seize control of navigation off the African coast and trade routes from the interior of Africa. The raids and attacks of the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula created captives on both sides who were ransomed or sold as slaves. The Portuguese crown extended this practice to North Africa, after the attack on Ceuta, the king sought papal recognition of the military action as a Crusade. Such a ruling would have enabled those captured to be sold as slaves
Portugal
