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

Sintra

The Moorish castle on the ridge west of Lisbon, which surrendered after Lisbon fell in 1147, with a termo reaching the Atlantic at Cascais.

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 Sintra about 1211).

Overlord

Sancho I of Portugal

What the town holds

  • The castle and town
  • The termo to the sea (Cascais)

How things stand that morning

Royal town.

Wealth

Orchards, vineyards and coastal fishing.

Military

The Moorish castle. No figures.

Fuero

Foral of Afonso Henriques, 9 January 1154.

Council

A royal concelho under the castle.

Communities

Christians; the Muslim farmers of the hills largely stayed after 1147 (thin for 1200).

Militia

Not pinned. No figures.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Foral date from the Parques de Sintra page; the rest standard.

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. Parques de Sintra: 9 January, Sintra's charter
  2. 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.