1 Smith, Robert C., The Art of Portugal, 1500-1800 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), p. 51 Google Scholar. It has been stated that Arruda invented “an iconography for the oceanic adventures of the Portuguese nation.” See Kubler, George and Soria, Martin, Art and Architecture in Spain and Portugal and their American Dominions, 1500 to 1800 (Baltimore, 1959), p. 103 Google Scholar. Unfortunately, the important subject of the Order of Christ has been sadly neglected by Portuguese historians despite Pedro de Azevedo’s recommendation more than six decades ago that its study would result not only in many new insights into the religious life of Portugal but into her economic and social history as well. See de Azevedo, Pedro A. and Baião, Antonio, O Archivo da Torre do Tombos: Sua Historia, Corpos Que o Compõem e Organisação (Lisboa, 1905)Google Scholar. The only general work available is Vieira Guimarăes’ oft-cited but mediocre study, A Ordem de Christo (Lisboa, 1901), which has recently been reprinted. There seem to have been no other serious attempts to fill the gap, though a vast amount of documentary material is available. The most useful summary in English is still Moeller’s, Charles article, “Order of the Knights of Christ,” in the old Catholic Encyclopedia, III (1908), 698–699 Google Scholar. The Order’s own account is found in Definições e Estatvtos dos Cavalleiros & Freires da Ordem de N.S. lesu Christo, com a Historia da Origem e Principio della (cited hereinafter as Definições) (Lisboa, 1628), pp. 52-66. The highlights of the above-cited works are also found in de Andrade e Silva, José Justino, Colleccāo Chronológica da Legislacão Portuguesa (cited hereinafter as Legislacão Portuguesa). 10 vols. (Lisboa, 1854-1859), III, 181–271 Google Scholar. Pages 191-198 deal with the history of the Order. It is well to note that the Andrade e Silva version is based on the text of the 1717 edition of the Order’s Rule and Statutes which differed slightly from the one published in the 1628 edition. Where possible, all quotations from the Definições are cited by section and title to avoid confusion because of variations in pagination. In other cases, the pagination of the 1628 edition is used. For a compendium of the rule effected by D. Henrique (“the Navigator”) and D. João, bishop of Lamego, in 1449, see Damiao, Frey, Compendio da Regra e Diffinicois dos Cavalleiros da Ordem de Nosso Senhor lesv Christo, com Algūs Breues Apostolicos & Priuilegios Reays á Mesma Ordem Concedidos (Lisboa, 1607)Google Scholar. Hereafter, this work will be cited as Compendio da Regra. Machado, Diogo Barbosa, Bibliotheca Lusitana Historica, Critica, e Cronologica. 4 vols. (3rd ed.; 1965-1967), I, 610 Google Scholar mentions an earlier (1606) edition.

2 For the Order of Christ and Portuguese expansion, see Shiels, W. Eugene, King and Church. The Rise and Fall of the Patronato Real (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1961), pp. 44–60 Google Scholar. Also de Oliveira, Oscar, Os Dizimos Eclesiásticos do Brasil nos Periodos da Colònia e do Imperio (Juiz de Fora, 1940)Google Scholar.

In appreciation for Portuguese interest in winning Africa to Christianity, Pope Calixtus III in his bull “Inter caetera quae” of 13 March 1456 gave the Order of Christ such important privileges as the right of presentation and complete jurisdiction over all ecclesiastical benefices to be founded “beyond the seas” along with the disposal of Church revenue (in particular, the tithe or díizimo) in those regions. With the exception of questions dealing with faith and morals, the Portuguese royal family through its role as masters, governors and administrators of the Order of Christ had complete control of the Church in its overseas possessions.

3 Definições, Parte I, tit, 6. Because of the reforms discussed below, the obligations of the customary vows of poverty, chastity and obedience (with the possible exception of the latter), which formerly had been more or less the same as those required of the regular clergy, were reduced to a mere practice of the virtue, and the knights and commanders of the Order of Christ were not obliged to do more in their observance than a good Christian layman.

4 The chief difference between a knight and a commander seems to have been monetary, the former receiving the habit and a small annual pension (usually ranging from 10$000 to 40$000), Commanderies, on the other hand, frequently started at 50$000. Possession of a commandery also offered a member considerably more prestige. For example, in processions, etc. commanders had precedence over knights.

There was also a hierarchy among the officials of the Order. After the Master (i.e., the King) came the Prior of the monastery of Tomar, followed by the Commendador-mor, the Keeper of the Keys, the Sacristan of Tomar, and the Standard-bearer. Definições, Parte I, tit. 34, pars. 1-4. Seniority among the knights and commanders was determined by the date of the profession of vows. For details, see tit. 35, pars. 1-4.

5 The prevalence of abuses can be seen from the language of the Order’s Rule and Statutes, dispensations, and reforms (especially those of D. Henrique, D. Sebastião I, and D. Filipe II).

6 The accomplishments and reforms of these four Masters of the Order are outlined in Definições, pp. 61-66. In this article the Habsburg monarchs are given their Portuguese titles. Thus the three Philips of Spain—Philip II, III, and IV—are referred to as D. Filipe I, II, and III respectively.

7 L.P. Wright with his emphasis on the sale of habits paints a grim picture of decay and abuse in the Spanish military orders during much of the seventeenth century. My researches have not turned up evidence of any widespread selling of habits in the Order of Christ during the corresponding period. See Wright, L.P., “The Military Orders in Sixteenth and Seventeenth-Century Spanish Society,” Past & Present, no. 43 (May, 1969), pp. 55–60 Google Scholar.

8 Junior, Caio Prado, The Colonial Background of Modern Brazil, trans. Macedo, Suzette (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967), p. 488 n. 4.Google Scholar

9 Definições, Parte I, tit 18. For the candidate’s wife, see tit. 19, par. 1. Many were disqualified from membership in the Order because their wives were “New Christians.” For one example, see the letter of 12 April 1603 regarding the wife of Antonio da Cunha, “uma crista nova inteira.” Printed in e Silva, Andrade, Legislação Portuguesa, I, 10.Google Scholar

10 Definições, Parte I, tit. 19, par. 1. Título 19 goes into great detail on how the investigation should take place.

11 Definições, Parte I, tit. 19, pars. 2, 3, 4, and 9. Witnesses must “not be Moors or Jews but God-fearing and trustworthy.” (par. 3).

12 Definições, Parte I, tit. 19, pars. 4, 5.

13 Definições, Parte I, tit. 19, par. 5.

14 Definições, Parte I, tit. 19, par. 7. Though legally three witnesses sufficed for such depositions, the Order of Christ demanded no less than six witnesses. For the secrecy of the investigation, see par. 3.

15 Definições, Parte I, tit. 19, par. 7.

16 Definições, Parte I, tit. 19, par. 8.

17 Definições, Parte I, tit. 19, par. 12.

18 The sampling is based on Ementas de Habilitações de Ordens Militares nos Principios do Seculo XVII (Lisboa, 1931). The original document is in BNL, Fundo Geral, 1335.

19 BA., 46-XI-12 (“Symicta Lusitanica” which contains copies of papal correspondence dealing with Portugal), fls. 110, 130, and 144v-146. The two other dispensations allowed João Gonsalves de Gusman to receive the habit even though his father had Jewish blood (fl. 18) and permitted Antonio de Mello to accept a commandery without first serving in Africa (fl. 121v).

20 Concemed for his younger son’s future, Jorge de Albuquerque Coelho, third donatário of Pernambuco and hero of El-Ksar el-Kebir, petitioned D. Filipe II to have the commandery promised to him in 1583 (but never awarded) and worth four hundred milreis annually granted to Matias (Paulo). On 6 January 1601 the Crown answered this request and the six-year-old Albuquerque was officially promised a commandery in the Order of Christ in recognition of his father’s services in North Africa. The only condition attached to this mercé was that the required papal dispensations be obtained since Matias was underage and had not served in Africa. Requested by the King on 7 November 1600, it was finally granted by Pope Clement VIII on 19 May 1604. It seems, however, that the benefice granted to the child and mentioned in the papal dispensation—that of Sao Pedro das Várzeas, located in Soure in the diocese of Coimbra—had also been awarded about the same time to Bernardim de Távora, son of Francisco de Távora, the King’s reposteiro-mor. The result was a long process of litigation which finally ended in 1613. It left Matias a member of the Order of Christ but temporarily without a commandery. See AGS, Sect. Prov., lib. 1468, fl. 126v; ANTT, Chancelaria da Ordem de Cristo, liv. 13, fls. 346v-347; BA, 46-XI-12, fls. 144v-146; ANTT, Mesa da Consciencia e Ordens, liv. 17, fls. 212-212v; and ANTT, Chancelaria da Ordem de Cristo, liv. 21, fls. 231 and 33v-40v.

21 Many of those over fifty receiving habits in the military orders seem to have been civilians. For example, in 1604 Dr. Pero Nunes da Costa, the King’s councillor and a member of the Desembargo do Paço received a dispensation to enter the Order of Christ though he was overage. In a similar case Ignacio Ferreira, a deputy of the Mesa da Consciencia e Ordens, was given the habit in the Order of Santiago. See Andrade e Silva, Legislação Portuguese, I, 97 and 10 respectively. A carta régia of 8 February 1628 instructed that all deputies of the Mesa da Consciencia e Ordens, clerics as well as laymen, be members of the military orders since these organizations were under their jurisdiction. Ibid., IV, 119.

22 The orders of Santiago and Avis were possibly more lenient in granting habits to those descended from mechanics or those whose livelihood involved manual labor. A sampling of twelve men obtaining membership in the Order of Avis during the three decades 1620-1650 revealed that three received dispensations: two were underage and the third had ancestors who were classified as artisans or craftsmen. During the same period only one of seventeen admitted into the Order of Santiago needed a dispensation. He, too, was descended from mechanics. For these cases, see Ementas de Habilitações, pp. 16, 22. For the half century 1600-1650 my research showed only two dispensations for entrance into the Order of Christ for grandsons of the working classes: Paulo Nunes Tinoco whose maternal grandfather was a pastryman (ibid., p. 72) and Cristóvao Borges whose maternal grandfather was a ropemaker (cordeiro). Borges received his dispensation in 1603. e Silva, Andrade, Legislação Portuguesa, I, 23 Google Scholar.

23 Ibid., II, 223.

24 Ibid., I, 209.

25 See the carta règia of 6 March 1614 along with that of 6 September 1616 in ibid., II, 86-87 and 213.

26 Ibid., II, 86-87.

27 Ibid., II, 213. The Crown wanted to prevent “New Christians” from receiving the habit of the Order or even asking for dispensations for membership “para excluir inteiramente uma introducção tao nociva á minha Fazenda e á consevação da Nobreza.”

28 Ibid., I, 67. Though some historians claim this pronouncement of 1604 was an ineffective law and point to the reception of the habit by D. Henrique Dias, a black Brazilian military leader, and D. Antonio Filipe Camarão, an Amerindian chieftain, as evidence for their assertions, a search through the Ementas de Habilitações fails to reveal a significant number of exceptions in relation to the great mass who were refused entrance into the military orders because they lacked “purity of blood.” There were always a few favorites or higher nobility who received dispensations because their grandparents and, in many cases, their great-grandparents had been married to “New Christians.” But very seldom did one whose father had married a “New Christian” ever receive admittance into the Order of Christ. The Ementas de Habilitações, pp. 81-90, gives a list of those refused habits in the military orders from 1620-1650 because of Jewish ancestry. It can be further argued that since D. Henrique Dias and D. Antonio Filipe Camarão were neither descended from Moors nor Jews, they did not receive the full brunt of an edict directed especially at “New Christians.”

29 See, for example, the cartas regias of 13 January 1609 and 6 September 1616 in e Silva, Andrade, Legislação Portuguesa, I, 273, and II, 213Google Scholar respectively.

30 Ibid., I, 285, 382 and III, 124.

31 Ibid., IV, 309.

32 Carta régia of 9 February 1633 in ibid., IV, 307.

33 Ementas de Habilitaçoes, pp. 81-90.

34 Ibid., p. 81. For a related example, see p. 84.

35 There seems to have been a great deal of ambivalence on the part of both the Crown and the Mesa da Consciencia e Ordens regarding membership in the Order of Christ for those who earlier had been heathens or had pagan ancestors. Title 18 of the new Rule and Statutes when discussing who should be received into the Order and what his qualifications should be mentions nothing of the gentio or heathen. However, the questionaire for the inquiry into the candidate’s background included the question: “Se foy gentio? ou seu pay, & may, & auós de ambas as partes?” Definiçôes, Parte I, tit. 19, par. 10. Practical considerations—especially during time of warfare or national emergency—usually prompted the granting of a dispensation.

36 Ementas de Habilitações, pp. 86-87.

37 Ibid, p. 41 and Andrade e Silva, Legislação Portuguesa, IV, 138.

38 de Mello, José Antonio Gonsalves, D. Antonio Filipe Camarão. Capitão-Mor dos Indios da Costa do Nordeste do Brasil (Recife, 1954), pp. 19–20 Google Scholar.

39 Kiemen, Mathias C., The Indian Policy of Portugal in the Amazon Region, 1614-1693 (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1954), p. 70.Google Scholar

40 Ibid., pp. 70-71; Studart, Guilherme, Documentos para a Historia do Brasil e Especialmente a do Ceará. 4 vols. (Fortaleza, 1904-1921), III, 177–180 Google Scholar.

41 Ibid., III, 180; Kiemen, Indian Policy, p. 71.

42 de Mello, José Antúnio Gonsalves, Henrique Dias, Governador dos Pretos, Criouols e Mulatos do Estado do Brasil (Recife, 1954), pp. 8, 17-19, 42, 45-47Google Scholar.

43 Ibid., p. 9.

44 de Mello, José Antonio Gonsalves, João Fernandes Vieira. Mestre de Campo do Têrco de Infantaria de Pernambuco. 2 vols. (Recife, 1956), I, 15–19; II, 146-151Google Scholar.

45 See Cuvelier, Jean, L’ancien royaume de Congo (Bruges, 1946), p. 293 Google Scholar and the sources cited there and Axelson, Eric, Portuguese in South-East Africa, 1600-1700 (Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press, 1960), pp. 74, 111Google Scholar.

46 Definições, Parte I, tit. 22.

47 For details, see Definições, Parte I, tit. 20.

48 A description of the ceremony is found in Definições, Parte I, tit. 21, par. 1. For those receiving the habit overseas, see par. 3.

49 Definições, Parte I, tit. 23, par. 1 gives the ceremony. For those overseas, see par. 2.

50 Definições, Parte I, tit. 22.

51 Peres, Damião (ed.), História de Portugal. Edição Monumental. 9 vols. (Barceios, 1928-1954), III, 235Google Scholar.

52 Definições, Parte I, tit. 21.

53 Definições, Parte I, tit. 25, par. 3; see also Compendio da Regra, fls. 13-l4v.

54 Definições, Parte I, tit. 7, par. 2; see also tit. 21, par. 1 (p. 101).

55 Definições, Parte I, tit. 21, par. 1. On 4 January 1551, Pope Julius III, in his bull “Praeclara charissimi,” assigned in perpetuity the mastership of the Portuguese military orders to the Portuguese Crown. For the Latin text and the Portuguese translation, see Definições, pp. 29-51. The mastership of the Order of Christ had been held by an immediate member of the Portuguese royal family since the time of Henry the Navigator.

56 Definições, Parte I, tit. 23, par. 3

57 Definições, Parte I, tit. 23, par. 3. During the triennial visitation, members of the Order were asked whether they resided with or were dependent upon some “Senhor,” and, if’so, had permission been granted by the Master. See “interrogatorio pera os visitadores” in Definições, Parte I, tit. 32, par. 3 (p. 141).

58 Definições, Parte I, tit. 29. See also Compendio da Regra, chap. XI (fls. 5-5v). Failure to wear the cross of the Order on one’s outer garment—if done for an extended period of time and with the explicit intention of repudiating membership in the Order—was also considered to be a mortal sin. See Definições, Parte I, tit. 9. Furthermore, the same member would incur ipso facto excommunication.

59 The chapter was called by D. Filipe II during his visit to Portugal in 1619, but the new statutes were not promulgated until 1627. Though most of the new statutes relaxed earlier ones, several made them stricter. D. Filipe III also placed a greater emphasis on the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. See Moeller, , Catholic Encyclopedia, III, 698–699 Google Scholar.

60 Definições, Parte I, tit. 12. Earlier statutes demanded that members confess their sins and receive communion only twice a year (on Christmas and Easter). See Compendio da Regra, chap. III (fl. 2v).

61 Definições, Parte I, tit. 12. The pre 1627 regulations are found in Compendio da Regra, fl. 12. Regarding the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, see Definições, Parte I, tit. 13, par. 1.

62 Compendio da Regra, chap. V (fl. 3).

63 Definições, Parte I, tit. 16. The reasoning behind the new law was that since most knights and commanders were married, the rules regarding abstention for meat would work too much of a hardship on their families.

64 Definições, Parte I, tit. 17. See also Compendio da Regra, chap. IV (fls. 2v-3).

65 Definições, Parte I, tit. 14. Before 1627 knights and commanders were obliged to say the Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Mary sixty times daily if they were unable to pray the Little Hours. See Compendio da Regra, chap. II (fls. 2-2v).

66 Commanders were obliged to have four masses said, knights two, Definições, Parte I, tit. 15. The statutes promulgated by D. Manuel I in 1503 required that members of the Order of Christ pray the Office of the Dead for a deceased colleague. If this was impossible, the Lord’s Prayer was to be said fifty times. Compendio da Regra, fl. 6.

67 Definições, Parte I, tit. 26. Cf. Compendio da Regra, fl. 11.

68 Definições, Parte I, tit. 25, par. 4.

69 Definiçóes, Parte I, tit. 25.

70 Definições, Parte I, tit. 25, par. 1. The earlier rule did not seem to make such allowances and strictly forbade garments of bright green, crimson or yellow. See Compendio da Regra, chap. I (fl. 1v).

71 Definições, Parte I, tit. 10, par. 1 and tit. 27.

72 Definições, Parte I, tit. 8. The earlier scapulars were slightly larger. See Compendio da Regra, fl. 6v. For the different types of crosses, see the illustrations in the beginning of the Definições along with Parte I, tit. 9. Novices wore different crosses than professed members. See Definições, Parte I, tit. 8, par. 1. Cf. also Compendio da Regra, fls. 6v-7v.

73 See “Interrogatorio” appended to Definições, Parte I, tit. 32, par. 3 (p. 141). Cf. also the letter of Frei Damião, 3 March 1607, in Compendio da Regra. The obligation to have a copy of the rule in one’s possession seems to have been dropped from the 1717 edition of the Definições. See e Silva, Andrade, Legislação Portuguesa, III, 226 Google Scholar.

74 Definições, Parte I, tit. 11.

75 Definições, Parte I, tit. 25, par. 2.

76 Definições, Parte I, tit. 25, par. 2, For the triennial inspection of arms, see Parte I, tit. 32, par. 3 (p. 142).

77 See “interrogatorio” appended to Definições, Parte I, tit. 32, par. 3 (pp. 140-142); for visitation procedures of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, cf. Compendio da Regra, fls. 8v-10.

78 Definições, Parte I, tit. 32, par. 4.

79 Definições, Parte I, tit. 31, par. 3; also see “interrogatorio” appended to tit. 32, par. 3 (p. 141).

80 Definições, Parte I, tit. 31. The elaborate ritual for these sexennial sessions is described in pp. 127-137. At these meetings the eleven definitors, who served in somewhat of an advisory capacity to the Master of the Order, and the four visitators were elected by the members of the Order who were present (pp. 127-129). There were to be no proxies (Parte I, tit. 31, par. 5). Chapters held in the sixteenth century were very similar except for what proved to be the impractical stipulation that they be held yearly. Cf. Compendio da Regra, fls. 7v-8v.

For the duties of the definitors (who held office until the next general chapter), see Definições, Parte I, tit. 31, pars. 8-10. The visitators’ responsibilities are outlined in tit. 32, especially pars. 1-3. The visitators were to be accompanied by “freres, vigários, ou beneficiados” of the Order who were appointed by the Mesa da Consciencia e Ordens to handle sacramental matters and write up the results of the visitation. All were to be “God-fearing and well-versed in the Rules and Statutes of the Order.” The statutes promulgated by D. Manuel I only provided for two visitators. See Compendio da Regra, fl. 9.

81 Definições, Parte I, tit. 31, par. 1. For regulations governing the knight or commander’s behavior during the chapter, see pars. 2, 4. Cf. Compendio da Regra, fls. 14v-15.

82 For example, Salvador de Sá, one of the great Portuguese heroes of the seventeenth century and a knight in the Order of Santiago, repeatedly and successfully tried to transfer to the Order of Christ. Boxer, C.R., Salvador de Sa and the Struggle for Brazil and Angola, 1602-1686 (London, 1952), p. 67 Google Scholar. Nevertheless, the reverse procedure was not unknown. Matias de Albuquerque, the viceroy of India, petitioned the Crown to be transferred from the Order of Christ to that of Avis. ANTT, Chancelaria da Ordem de Cristo, liv. 8, fl. 22v (Carta para da Ordem de Cristo para a de Avis e receber o habito na India era Vice-Rey, 6 October 1590). Probably this request was due to a scarcity of vacant commanderies in the Order of Christ. Matias de Albuquerque had been promised a commandery in the Order of Christ but had not received it. AGS, Sect. Prov., lib. 1468, fls. 124 and 126v. Albuquerque had received the habit of the Order of Christ in 1576. ANTT, Chancelaria da Ordem de Cristo, liv. 4, fls. 134-134v.

Permission for passing from one order to another was granted by Pope Julius II in his bull, “Sincere devotionis affectus,” of 24 January 1506. See Peres, , Historia de Portugal, III, 236 Google Scholar.

83 Definições, Parte III, tit. 6.

84 Definições, Parte III, tit. 3, par. 1. In fact, any knight or commander bringing his case to another judge other than the juiz dos cavaleiros would be fined one thousand cruzados. See also tit. 7. For civil cases, see tit. 6, par. 1.

85 Definições, Parte III, tit. 3. There was also a juiz geral das Ordens who was informed of all cases in which members of the military orders were involved. Like the juiz dos cavaleiros, he was to be a member of a military order “formado na faculdade de Canones, de boas letras, & virtude.” See tit. 1, pars. 2-3.

86 Definições, Parte III, tit. 3. par 2. This referred to “general depassas [judicial inquiries].” There could be no depassas particulares without permission of the Master of the Order or the Mesa da Consciencia e Ordens. See tit. 6, par. 3.

87 Definições, Parte III, tit. 1, par .1.

88 Definições, Parte III, tit. 1, par. 2-5.

89 Definições, Parte III, tit. 1, pars. 6-7.

90 Definições, Parte III, tit. 6, par. 2.

91 Definições, Parte III, tit. 2.

92 Definições, Parte III, tit. 2, par. 1.

93 Definições, Parte I, tit. 28. Cf. also tit. 21, par. 5.

94 For D. Manuel’s role, see Moeller, , Catholic Encyclopedia, III, 698 Google Scholar. An inventory of the four hundred and fifty-four commanderies of the Order of Christ is found in Definições, Parte IV, tit. 2 (especially pp. 235-271). Since some commanderies were probably combined into larger ones, only four hundred and forty-nine are actually listed.

95 Definiçôes, Parte IV, tit. 2 (pp. 272-273).

96 The Statutes of 1627 proposed that the thirty-seven commanderies set aside for North Africa be reduced to eighteen and that the value of the latter be increased from ten to twenty milréis. Ten commanderies would be applied to Tangiers, four to Ceuta, and four to Mazagão. Definições, Parte II, tit. 8, par. 1. For the remaining commandery, see par. 2.

Needless to say, there were only a very few commanderies worth more than a thousand milréis annually and, as to be expected, they were reserved for members of the royal family, the higher nobility, and royal favorites and out of the reach of the average commander.

97 Receipts from and, therefore, the value of each commandery fluctuated from year to year. A comparison of the list in the 1627 Definições with several commanderies mentioned in a consulta of the Council of Portugal in 1626 (AGS, Sect. Prov., lib. 1468, fl. 24) shows the following variations in annual incomes.

On 27 May 1627 when the carta de quitação was drawn up for the commandery of S. Pedro de Caide the benefice was worth 196$800, the meia-anata being 98$400. See ANTT, Chancelaria da Ordem de Cristo, liv. 12, fl. 242v.

98 Definições, Parte II, tit. 19. The various annates are described in pars. 1-12. Upon payment the commander would receive a letter of quittance (carta de quitação) from the Order’s chancellery. See par. 12.

99 Definições, Parte II, tit. 19.

100 Definições, Parte II, tit. 15.

101 Definções, Parte II, tit. 5. Because of the shortage of better commanderies, knights at times were awarded one with an annual income considerably below the amount promised by the King. There were provisions, however, for moving up to a more valuable commandery. During times when there were too few vacancies among the higher-valued commanderies, the Crown ignored the statute allowing only one benefice and sought the approval of the Mesa da Consciencia e Ordens and a special dispensation from Rome to allow a commander to hold simultaneously two or more commanderies whose total value approximated the one promised. For an example, see ANTT, Chancelaria da Ordem de Cristo, liv. 26, fl. 61.

It seems that many, disappointed because commanderies were producing incomes lower than that of their appraised value, tried to take advantage of this policy to petition the Crown for other commanderies. In an alvará of 30 December 1615 the King firmly stated that new commanderies would only be granted to those who temporarily were given benefices valued at less than that promised. Those whose commanderies were not producing the expected income were out of luck. Andrade e Silva, Legislação Portuguesa, II, 187. For regulations on the promising of commanderies, see Definiıoes, Parte II, tit. 6.

102 Matias de Albuquerque’s commanderies were all in the archbishopric of Braga: São Pedro de Caide awarded on 8 November 1626 and worth 180 milréis; São Salvador de Pena awarded on 9 February 1630 and worth 280 milréis; and Santa Maria de Alvarenga awarded on 9 October 1634 and worth 100 milréis. Thus by 1634 Matias de Albuquerque’s annual income from his commanderies in the Order of Christ was approximately 560 milréis. For the grants of these commanderies, see ANTT, Chancelaria da Ordem de Cristo, liv. 12, fls. 350-351 liv. 26. fls. 61-62; liv. 27, fls. 213-211 respectively. All these benefices he willed to his wife, D. Catarina Barbara de Noronha, the Condessa de Alegrete. ANTT, Chancelaria da Ordem de Cristo, liv. 35, fl. 12 and ANTT, Portarias do Reino, liv. 2, fl. 94v. Vieira’s commanderies are discussed by de Mello, Gonsalves, João Fernandes Vieira, II, 148–151 Google Scholar. Two other notable exceptions were D. Lopo de Azevedo and D. Dinis de Lencastre. See e Silva, Andrade, Legislação Portuguesa, I, 173–174 Google Scholar and Ementas de Habilitações, p. 24 respectively.

103 Definições, Parte II, tit. 14, par. 2.

104 Definições, Parte II, tit. 14, par. 7. See “provisao para emprazar.”

105 Definições, Parte II, tit. 21, par. 1; Compendio da Regra, fl. 13.

106 Definições, Parte II, tit. 22. See “copia da provisāo.”

107 Definições, Parte II, tit. 22. Some of the other duties of the contador are described in tit. 17, pars. 1-2; also cf. Compendio da Regra, fl. 11v.

108 Definições, Parte II, tit. 11. If there were just cause, for example, if the commander were stationed overseas, this requirement could probably be waived.

109 Definições, Parte II, tits. 1 and 2.

110 Definições, Parte II, tits. 1 and 3.

111 Definições, Parte II, tit. 1 and pars. 1-3.

112 de Melo, D. Francisco Manuel, Epanáforas de Vária História Portuguesa, ed. Prestage, Edgar (Coimbra, 1931), p. 127 Google Scholar. The first edition was published in Lisbon in 1660.

113 Definições, Parte II, tit. 4, See also tit. 3.

114 L. P. Wright, Past & Present, no. 43, p. 59.

115 Ibid., p. 64.

116 e Silva, Andrade, Legislação Portuguesa, I, 19 Google Scholar.

117 Ibid.,, II, 109.

118 Consulta of the Mesa da Consciencia, 23, September 1635, BNL, Fundo Geral, 71636, fl. 1.

119 For the English experience, see Stone, Lawrence, “The Inflation of Honours, 1558–1641,” Past & Present, no. 14 (November, 1958), pp. 45-70 CrossRefGoogle Scholar. For Portugal, see the illuminating preliminary report of Morgan, Broadhead, “The Portuguese Titled Nobility in the Time of the Philips: 1580-1640,” unpublished paper presented at the first annual meeting of the Society for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies, Wesleyan University, 19 April 1970.Google Scholar

120 Huizinga, Johan, The Waning of the Middle Ages. A Study of the Forms of Life, Thought and Art in France and the Netherlands in the XIVth and XVth Centuries (London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1924), p. 82.Google Scholar