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

Sesimbra

A sea-cliff castle taken on 21 February 1165, abandoned and razed in 1191 when Alcácer fell.

It was reoccupied between 1195 and 1199: a royal letter of 1199 refers to an earlier grant to Frankish colonists 'to settle there'. It passes to the Order of Santiago in the 1220s-1230s.

Who holds it

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

Lord in 1200

The crown, with Frankish settlers.

Overlord

Sancho I of Portugal

How things stand that morning

Reoccupied, exposed.

Fuero

None on 1 January 1200; foral of Sancho I in August 1201 on the model of Évora.

Communities

Frankish colonists.

Militia

Not pinned. No figures.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. August 1201 (after 1200)Foral of Sancho I.Depends on: The settlement holding. Stopped by: An Almohad descent from Alcácer do Sal.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The FCSH Sesimbra study.

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. 'Sesimbra, sobre a costa do mar (séculos XII-XIII)' (FCSH digital humanities lab)

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