Filho de
Paio Ramires
e de
Gontrode Soares,
combateu ao lado de
D. Afonso Henriques
contra os
mouros,
vindo a ser ordenado
Cavaleiro
pelo soberano no campo de
Ourique (1139).
Partiu depois para a
Palestina,
onde militou durante cinco anos como Cavaleiro da
Ordem dos Templários,
tendo participado do cerco à cidade de
Gaza.
Ao retornar, foi ordenado como quarto
Grão-Mestre da Ordem em Portugal (1157),
então sediada em
Soure,
onde tinham castelo desde
1128 (Castelo
de Soure) por doação de D.
Teresa. Fundou, nessa capacidade, o
Castelo de Tomar
e o
Convento de Cristo
(1160),
que se tornou o Quartel-General dos Templários no país, dando
foral à
nova
vila no
ano de
1162.Também
fundou o
Castelo de Almourol,
o da
Idanha, o
de
Ceras, o
de
Monsanto
e o de
Pombal.
Deu foral a
Pombal em
1174.
Cercado em
1190 em
Tomar
pelas forças
Almóadas
sob o comando do califa
Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur,
conseguiu defender o Castelo contra esse efetivo numericamente
superior, detendo assim a invasão do norte do Reino por esta
parte.
Faleceu em Tomar no ano de 1195, e ali
se encontra sepultado, na
Igreja de Santa Maria dos Olivais.
Fonte: Wikipédia
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Gualdim Pais was born in
Amares (a town in the province of
Minho, near
Braga)
in 1118, son of
Paio Ramires and Gontrode Soares. He
fought alongside
King Afonso I against the
moors,
and was ordered a Knight by him in the year of 1139, after the
Battle of Ourique. He departed to
Palestine shortly thereafter, and
during five years fought there as a Knight Templar. He had a
prominent role in the siege of the city of
Gaza.
He was ordained the fourth
Grand Master in
Portugal of the Order of
Knights Templar in 1157, which then
was ruled from
Braga.
He founded the
Castle of Tomar in 1160, then near the
frontier with the
Muslim states, and transferred the
seat of the order there. The famous
Round Church of the Castle of Tomar,
inspired by similar structures in Jerusalem, was built under his
supervision. He gave
foral,
a feudal contract, to the new town of
Tomar
in 1162. He supervised the building or restoration of several
other frontier castles for the
Templars, namely the
Castle of Almourol, and those of
Idanha, Ceres,
Monsanto Company and
Pombal. He also founded the city of
Pombal, and gave it Foral in 1174.
Besieged in 1190 by vastly superior
forces under the
Almoravid King of
Morocco
Yusuf I, he managed to defeat them
with his Knights and thus defended the north of the young
Kingdom of
Portugal from invasion.
He died in
Tomar
in the year 1195. His grave is located in the
Church of Santa Maria do Olival in
that city.
Source: Wikipedia
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