From the Gothic to the Renaissance: Military and Religious Orders

The other tour I signed up for (From the Gothic to the Renaissance: Military and Religious Orders), did not have enough takers so the three of us who had signed up for it were assigned instead to accompany an Academic Field Program (AFP) on the day they were going to do much the same thing. AFPs were required of all students while in Lisbon. They consisted of five full-day programs that included such things as lectures, tours, visits to local establishments associated with their areas of study, etc. The AFP we joined that day was for the Conflict Studies group.

The Shore Excursion had been billed thus:

“Learn the history, gastronomy, traditions, legends, and love stories behind Portugal’s most influential military and religious orders. Highlights include tours of two mysterious monasteries in the historic cities of Tomar and Batalha that have been declared World Heritage Sites. Discover the blend of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim influences throughout the history of the country. From the Military Order of Christ to the Miracle of Fatima, from the masterpiece tomb of Henry the Navigator to the gothic sepulchers of tragic lovers, this tour brings you extraordinary tales of a colorful past.”

The reality of the experience did not match the promise very well. We did get to see some lovely countryside, though, as we traveled by bus, to the historic city of Batalha, which took about an hour and a half; it means “battle” and the area was the site of a famous battle in Portuguese history. An army of 4000 locals and 1000 English beat an army of 30,000 or 35,000 of the Moors, who were coming to conquer and rule, enabling the establishment of Portugal as its own country. The story is that the clever locals devised a battle plan that sounded like a pincer movement, luring the invading army across the plains toward them and then closing them in with two flanks in V-formation. The front line of the defenders consisted of very young men whose brides were waiting for them and, thus, they “couldn’t be beaten,” according to the tour guide. The small army was victorious and Portugal came into being. Photos taken enroute include:

Lisbon’s Design Award-Winning Train Station (seen through the morning mist) 6029View of Lisbon from the Bus 6030Countryside 6039Scenery 6043Signs for Batalha and Fatima 6046House in Small Village 6047Near Where the Battle Took Place 6048

Proverbial Slow Farm Cart 6050Small Town (slightly blurry) 6051

Batalha

We arrived at the cathedral built to honor victory in the battle and the valiant soldiers, where we toured it. The guide had promised that, compared to other churches we would see in Portugal, this one was light and airy inside, as if it were about ready to float away and he was right! It is built in the Perpendicular Gothic style, then popular in England, and it is truly magnificent.

The cathedral entrance (note the twelve apostles with heads flush with the top of the door, 6054
Stunning top of entrance 6057Detail on arch over doorway 6058
Long Exterior View 6070Lights from the Stained Glass Windows on the Graceful Pillars, Photo by Nikki, used by permission P1000508
Another Interior View 6063Wedding

While the guide and a few of us waited for the majority of the students to wend their way from the bus to the cathedral entrance, I heard singing coming from inside the church and sidled in to see what was happening. A wedding was in progress! It was quite exciting and the music was lovely. I listened for a bit until it was time to listen to our guide. By the time we got inside, the wedding was over and most of us got a few shots of the wedding group.

Wedding Group 6066Guests Greeting the Bride 6062
Get Away Vehicle for Bride & Groom “Felicidades” (Congratulations) “Sandra and Carlos” (the couple’s names), “Sejam Felizes” (Happiness Always?) 6102
Once the wedding group had finished at the front of the church, we were allowed to go through a side door into the open cloister and from there into a room where armed and uniformed soldiers guarded a grave topped by a memorial pillar. A large crucifix is on the wall behind it. The story of the crucifix is that it was carried into battle (World War I???) and became lost in the ensuing carnage. Later, it was found in a field, with the upper torso of the Christ sticking straight up out of the ground. I tried taking a picture of a framed photo of it but the camera’s flash went off and it’s hard to see the details but I’m including it below.

Memorial pillar and Crucifix 6075

Soldier on Guard; Another Soldier is on the left, out of sight 6076
Fountain within Cloister 6079
Detail on Ceiling of Cloister 6081
Hallway of Cloister 6082
The Christ as Found on the Battlefield 6083

Tour Guide and Part of Group 6085

Manueline-style carvings on Arch of Outdoor Unfinished Chapel 6088
Lovely Stained Glass Windows 6091

View of Full Arch 6093
Manueline Detail on Arch Carvings 6096
Fatima

After touring the cathedral, we boarded the bus and drove to Fatima, which is on the way to Tomar, where our next tour would be. Fatima is the town where what is considered by the Catholic Church to be a great miracle happened in about 1917 when three shepherd children in the fields tending sheep were visited by the Virgin Mary. I had heard of this before but couldn’t figure out how the name Fatima fit in because Fatima is an Islamic name, that of the daughter or sister of Mohamed. In fact I knew and worked with several Fatimas in the UAE. Now I know that the miracle is known by the name of the town nearest where it occurred and the town was Fatima, having been named by the Islamic Moors during the time they ruled there. Two of the children died shortly afterward the event but the third lived to be very old and died only two years ago. Today there is a large cathedral standing in the town of Fatima in honor of what happened. There is a statue of the three children in a nearby roundabout.

However, when we arrived in Fatima, we were taken to a hotel to have lunch. It was a several course meal that was very good but the service was so slow it took nearly two hours and when we were finally finished, there was no time to go to the shrine, we only drove past it on our way to Tomar, our next stop. This circumstance was not well-received by most of our group and certainly not by me. I’d rather have had a hot dog for lunch and spent two hours at the cathedral and its grounds. I took a few pictures; the one I thought I took of the cathedral, at a distance from the road as we drove by didn’t take, so I don’t even have that reminder that I was in such a famous place.

Road Sign for the Sanctuary 6045Road Leading from Restaurant to Shrine of Fatima 6106
Shepherd Children Statue 6109

Tomar: Monastery Built by the Knights Templar

Our next destination was the town of Tomar and its hilltop monastery. The bus had a bit of a problem getting from the town up the hill so it went through part of the town to get turned the right way and I took some interesting shots as we went.

Tile Sign for the Tourism Commission 6116
Tiled Chimney on house with stucco walls and traditional red clay tile roof 6117
First View of Monastery 6114
The original portion of the monastery, called a convent, was built in the 11th century by the Knights Templar, which apparently originated right there. There are rumors (or course) that their treasure and in particular the Cup (can’t remember its formal name right now) are hidden somewhere within but since they haven’t been found in almost 10 centuries, I think that’s hopeful thinking. When Prince Henry the Navigator, of the throne of Portugal, was in his prime, he decided that the Knights had to go, so somehow the Crown accused the Templars of various serious crimes and divested them of their Portuguese holdings, including that one. Henry then established the Order of Christ and became its chief Priest. All the soldiers who joined were male, took vows of poverty and gave up their worldly belongings to the Order and lived there in the convent. Unlike English religious orders in which nuns live in convents and priests in monasteries, according to our tour guide, no females ever lived there.

Other buildings were added onto it over time, one major wing in the 13th century, another in the 15th and so on. The various architectural and decorative styles are quite distinct from one another as can be seen from the photos I took.

Traditional Fort – like the one on my tile!!! 6119
Entrance Gate 6120

Close up view 6121
Manueline Décor on 13th Century addition 6124
Manueline Detail 6128
Bell Tower 6125
Tile wall decorations seen through window 6130

Buveh beside Tile Wall 6132
Tile Detail 6133
Colored Tile Décor 6134
Fountain in Center of Courtyard 6135
Tiled and Arched Arcade 6140

Tiled Bench on Grounds 6143
View 6144
Nearby Ruins 6145
View of Battlements 6146
Wrap-up

The AFP lasted all day. In returning to the bus, a few of us went directly there, after a quick stop in the gift shop but the others dithered about and ended up caught in a drenching downpour that had been threatening for a couple of hours. They were soaked to the skin while we few timely ones were dry as bones. We headed directly back to Lisbon but it was a long trip and we didn’t return to the ship until at least 8:30. The dining crew was kind enough to hold dinner for us although it should have ended at 7:30. We were tired and starved by the time we returned. I would much rather have done the tour as a tour rather than with a large number of students – about 25. They were so restless by the time we got to the convent, many of them scattered all over the place instead of listening to the guide and they were, mostly, the ones who ended up getting wet because they didn’t go directly back to the bus.