The Knights Templar built the magnificent Castle and Convent of Christ in Tomar, Portugal, in the 12th century. But when the military religious order was dissolved and its members routed and killed after 1319, the kings of Portugal made Tomar a refuge for the monastic knights, changing their name to the Order of Christ and putting them under royal protection.
The entire complex (castle, and ecclesiastical structures) is now a UNESCO world heritage site, but certain elements stand out. The first image shows the castle walls of Tomar, dating to 1160 — the majority of the city population lived within its walls, and the round towers show the influence of the Knights Templar, who favored them from the square. The castle inhabitants successfully withstood a siege by the Muslims: the rulers of Portugal supported the Knights Templar in the perilous 14th century in part due to their help with the Reconquista against the Muslims.
The second image shows the exterior of the oldest parts of the Convent, the round church or “charola,” built by Tomar’s founder, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar Gualdim Pais. The outside looks like a 16-sided tall fortress, with the inside having an octagonal shape modeled on the most important religious buildings in Jerusalem (like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Mosque of Omam), where the Knights Templar took up arms to support the Western Christian pilgrims.
Portugal entered its economic heyday with the Age of Exploration, and since the Portuguese kings protected the Knights Templar and their descendants, the Order of Christ, the Convent of Tomar was lavishly funded during this time. Thus, the interior of the charola is festooned with arches, paintings, gilded panels, and the like. This 16th-century ultra-Baroque style in Portugal is called “Manueline”. It can feel dense and garish with detail, but it is also opulent and distinct. The Window of the Chapter House (third slide), on the western side of the structure, is a perfect example of the Manueline style. It has ropes that speak to the seafaring Age of Exploration, as well as carvings of corals and vegetation, and symbols of the Order of Christ.
Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Convention “Convent of Christ in Tomar”
