Membership in the Order of Christ in the Seventeenth Century: Its Rights, Privileges, and Obligations

Abstract

For Some students of Luso-Brazilian history mention of the Order of Christ brings to mind its headquarters, the magnificent Portuguese monastery at Tomar, graced by Diogo de Arruda’s great window, a masterpiece praised by Robert C. Smith as “probably the best-known single motif in Portuguese art” and “the outstanding example of Manueline preoccupation with exotic naturalism.” Others would think of the Order's successes under the aegis of the Infante Henrique, “the Navigator,” when it underwent reform, received a new rule, and obtained countless spiritual and temporal favors from the popes at Rome. Lesser known is that the Order of Christ was also a clerico-military order whose members pledged to live a more spiritual life while being ready to serve militarily their God and their King. Since a considerable number of those holding important offices in Portuguese America wore the habit of the Order it might be well to examine closely exactly what this membership entailed.