Town · Kingdom of Portugal · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Abrantes

The royal castle above a Tagus crossing between Santarém and the Templar castles of the Zêzere, facing the empty south bank.

Who holds it

Name
Sancho I (the crown); the alcaide on 1 January 1200 is not pinned
Title
Royal town under the king's alcaide or tenente
Confidence
medium

Lord in 1200

The crown; the alcaide on 1 January 1200 is not pinned (Gonçalo Mendes de Sousa holds it about 1211).

Overlord

Sancho I of Portugal

What the town holds

  • The castle, town and river crossing

How things stand that morning

Royal frontier town.

Wealth

River traffic and farmland.

Military

Castle. No figures.

Threats

  • Raids from across the Tagus

Fuero

Foral of Afonso Henriques, 1179.

Council

A royal concelho.

Militia

Not pinned. No figures.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Foral date from standard references.

Primary sources for Portugal

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

5 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.

Sources and studies

  1. Gonçalo Mendes II de Sousa (pt.wikipedia, after Sottomayor-Pizarro 1997)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.