Raposeira legends
Raposeira - a village in the area of the knights of the temple
If you spend your holidays in the Algarve you find yourself on historic grounds. Sagres with its Fortalezza is often thought of as the gateway to the world. The town of Vila do Bispo and the village of Raposeira are no the less special and played their part in Portugese history.
It is known that "heathen" Gods were worshipped between Raposeira and Sagres and religion has always been of significance there. The many megaliths and menhirs here proof of these cults and the town`s name, Sagres, actually means "holy".
When the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights Temple was executed in 1314 the remaining knights took flight to various parts of Europe. One of their refuges was in the West Algarve in Portugal where they were not persecuted but encouraged for obvious reasons.
The knights were the only artisans in ship building and navigation at that time - skills acquired by their experiences during the crusades. More and more Knights of the Temple were accepted in the Algarve where they set up their monastry near Sagres under the new name of, "Convento de Christo" (the Order of Christ). The knights' knowledge was to transform Sagres, which up till then had been known as Finistere ? the end of the world ?, to the gateway to the new world.
As a result shipbuilding and navigation thrived in Sagres and the famous school of navigators was founded there by the infant prince Henry of Portugal who was to become none less than Henry the Navigator. Born in 1394 as third son of John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster he was not heir to the throne and so devoted himself to navigation. He initiated many voyages and expeditions and eventually became the grandmaster of the order.
Henry spent alot of time in the region, posessed houses in Raposeira, became govenour of the Algarve and founded the "Vila do Infante" - King's Town - in 1443. There many legends about this town which was destroyed in 1597 by Sir Francis Drake's canons. After 50 years of insignificance Vila do Infante was given the the Bishop of the Algarve. The bishop transferred his own crown to the town and renamed it "Vila do Bispo" Bishop's Town.
The "Quinta da Raposeira" which included some larger estates also belonged to Henry. Although the main part of his life was devoted to navigation and exploration which he carried out in Sagres he resided from time to time in Raposeira which finally became his place of death. The house in which he died in 1460 is still there.
Henry left more to Raposeira than just the house. Some miracles are said to have had taken place on the "Quinta do Raposeira" and it is supposed that Henry bought the estate because of them. It is a quiet spot with a spring which local people had used as a holy place. Shepherds took the sheep to be blessed, fertility rituals as well as heathen light festivals were carried out there. Henry erected a Christian chapel, the Church of Guadalupe.
There are also stories connected with the flight of some Knights of the Temple on their way from France to the coast in 1307. They carried with them some treasure and the secret knowledge of the knights. It is a said that it was the Knights of the Temple who spread Gothic architecture in Europe. The Church of Guadalupe in Raposeira is in fact the Algarve's first Gothic church.
The construction of the Church of Guadalupe gives the place another mystic element, as the church does not simply revere the European Saints of the Catholic Church but the black Virgin of Guadalupe fromMexico - a figure from a completely different culture. People wonder whether his was simply a trend or a cover of insiders to protect the knights' knowledge.
