Order of Aviz

The Order of Aviz or Avis ( Ordem Militar de São Bento de Aviz ), also known as Order of St. Benedict of Avis, was an order of knighthood in Portugal, which was named after its headquarters, the city of Avis. Under the same name Order of Merit is awarded as Portuguese today.

History

The symbol of the Order was often depicted with lily- shaped ends traditionally a green cross. The ribbon was green. A ceremony dress consisted of a white coat with lily cross ..

With the history of this order a number of legends are connected, which often seek to establish that the history of the Portuguese Aviz Knights was older than that of the Castilian Knights of Calatrava Order, from whose community they end of the 14th century broke away.

As largely secured applies, the Portuguese Order of Knights of Aviz originally from a company incorporated in Coimbra in 1162 Brotherhood of Knights ( Confraria de cavaleiros ) emerged to fight the Moors. The king asked the knight of the Brotherhood to defend the 1159 conquered by the Moors town of Évora against their counter-attacks.

After 1166 the Brotherhood by the Portuguese King Alfonso I (Dom Afonso Henriques I ) was transformed into a spiritual order of knights and initially named after its seat as an Order of Évora. Her first master was in Portugal 1175-1195 the military commander of Lisbon and the Estremadura, Gonçalo Viegas de Varzim.

Around the year 1187 the Superiors took over the rule of the Knights of Calatrava. Henceforth they were ( da Ordem de Calatrava Milicia de Évora ) is considered as the militia of Évora Calatravaritter, that is, as the Portuguese branch of this Castilian Order. The Teutonic Knights vowed poverty, chastity and obedience, as well as the fight against the Moors to lead. In addition to the Knights, there were, as in other orders also, the large group of lay brothers, who were not, or not subject to these strict rules in full.

King Alfonso II gave the Knights under their champion Fernando Annes 1211 fortress and city Aviz. The Order fortified the city, built from the fortress and established here his convent building. 1223 and in 1224 moved the entire militia of Évora under their master Fernão Rodrigues Monteiro by Aviz and has since that time known as the Order of Aviz. 1248, the Avis Knight recorded under their master Martim Fernandes from when Ferdinand the Holy conducted siege and conquest of the Andalusian city of Seville, which is then incorporated it into his kingdom of Castile Ferdinand.

Although the Aviz Order formally the Grand Master of the Castilian Knights of Calatrava was subject, who had to confirm, inter alia, the choice of the master of the militia of Évora, the Aviz Order had since its inception a unique "national- Portuguese " component and a strong autonomous character. Politically, the Avis Knight from the beginning were the Portuguese king who gave them extensive land grants, committed and dependent on this.

In addition to other orders the Aviz Knights were an important military and economic support of the Portuguese Reconquista. After this came to its conclusion with the conquest of the Algarve mid-13th century, the dependence of Aviz Knights of the Order of Calatrava to a growing threat to the Portuguese kings in their latent rivalry with Castile was. The Portuguese royal family, therefore, began to withdraw the wealthy in Portugal Order of Knights of the Castilian influence and to create with the Order of Christ, in the rose of the Knights Templar resolved with the approval of the papacy a national order of knighthood for the continuation of the Reconquista in North Africa.

Especially since the 1363 was the master of Aviz Knights appointed Prince John in 1385, against the express opposition of Castile as John I. king of Portugal, these disputes were also made in Aviz Order. 1387 chose the Aviz Knights Fernando Rodrigues de Sequeira as their master, without obtaining the consent of the Grand Master of Calatrava. 1389, Pope Boniface IX. this choice. Thus the Knights of Aviz had to finally loose from a composite with the Order of Calatrava. Took over in 1434 the Infante Ferdinand of Avis, the Office of the Grand Master, which remained from then on always in the ranks of the Portuguese royal family. Only in 1440 the independence of Aviz Knights was finally recognized by Castile. After Ferdinand's death in captivity of the Moors on June 5, 1443 was 1444 Peter of Aragon, the 15 -year-old son of the Infante and regent of Portugal Peter of Portugal, was appointed Grand Master of the Knights of Aviz.

1789 secularized Queen Mary I all the orders, including the Order of Aviz Knights. Since then he has three classes: Grand Cross, Commander and Knight.

1894 military order of merit for members of the armed forces was formed, inter alia, armed forces of the country with three classes.

Since the reform of 1986, the Portuguese President stands as sg Grand Master at the top of the order, which can only be awarded for military merit in five classes in domestic and foreign military.

In 2013 a revival took place under the Zisterziensterobalten the Ecumenical Congregation in Neuwedell place where the Order has its headquarters in the religious house.

Classes

The Order today consists of five classes.

• Grand Cross
• Grand Officer
• Commander
• Officer
• Knight

Grandmaster

The Grand Master of the Order were:

• Pedro Afonso (ca. 1160-1169 )
• Gonçalo Viegas de Varzim (1176-1195)
• Paio (1200)
• Fernando Anes (1201-1221)
• Fernando Monteiro Rodrigues (1222-1237)
• João " Porteiro "
• Martim Fernandes (1238-1264)
• Pedro Afonso (1268-1269)
• Simão Soares (1269-1280)
• Egas Martins de Outeiro (1280-1290)
• Fernão Soares
• João Peres (1291-1292)
• João Afonso ( 1294 )
• Lourenço Afonso (1296-1310)
• García Peres de Casal (1311-1316)
• Gil Martín de Outeiro (1316-1319)
• Vasco Afonso (1320-1329)
• Gil Peres de Noudar (1330-1332)
• Afonso Mendes ( 1334 )
• Gonçalo Vasques (1336-1341)
• João Rodrigues Pimentel (1342-1351)
• João Afonso de Pena de Aguiar (1351-1356)
• Diogo García
• Martim de Avelar (1357-1363)
• Egas Martíns
• João I of Portugal (1364-1385)
• Fernando Rodrigues de Siqueira ( 1387 -? ) ( Administrator)
• Fernando of Portugal (1434-1443)
• Pedro of Portugal (1445-1466)
• João II of Portugal (1468-1490)
• Afonso of Portugal (1490-1491)
• Jorge of Lancastre (1491-1551)

Brazilian Order

The Brazilian religious originally corresponded to the Portuguese Avizorden, which was established by Act of 20 October 1823 for Brazil as a political, not a military order and determined on September 9, 1843 in more detail. The ranks and insignia remained the same, only the green ribbon was trimmed in red.