Castle of Marvão

Parish of
Santa Maria de Marvão

Background

Little is known about the early human occupation of the site, possibly a hill fort prehistoric. At the time of the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, some authors argue that this was the Romanized settlement that the Lusitanians called Medóbriga, which, the object of dispute between the forces of Pompey and Julius Caesar, was conquered by troops of the latter under the command of propraetor Gaius Longinus, in the middle of the 1st century. Interest in the town was mainly derived because it was close to the Roman road that connected Cáceres to Santarém, at the height of the bridge that crossed the River Sever (Portagem Bridge).

Although there is no further information about the period of invasions by the Suebi, Visigoths and Muslims, between 876 and 877 Ibn Marwan settled there, and the place was already known in the 10th century. such as Amaia by ibn Maruane or Fortaleza de Amaia.

The medieval castle

In the context of the conquest of Alcácer do Sal, Afonso I of Portugal (1112-1185) would have taken the settlement to the Moors between 1160 and 1166. When the term of Castelo Branco was demarcated (1214), Marvão was already part of Portuguese territory. Sancho II of Portugal (1223-1248) granted it a Charter (1226), aiming to maintain this advanced sentinel of the populated and defended territory in the face of repeated incursions of Castile at the time.

Afonso III of Portugal (1248-1279) donated the Maranhão domains to the knights of the Order of Malta (1271), later granted to his son, Afonso Sanches, together with the lordships of Arronches, Castle of Vide and Portalegre. For this reason, at the beginning of the reign of Denis of Portugal (1279-1325), the town and its castle were involved in the dispute between the sovereign and Prince D.Afonso, being conquered by the sovereign's forces in 1299. At the end of the matter, the domains of Marvão, Portalegre and Arronches were exchanged for those of Sintra and Ourém, the former remaining in the possession of the sovereign. This confirmed the charter of 1226 to Marvão and undertook works to expand and reinforce its defenses, with emphasis on the construction of the tower of homage, started in the year 1300.

During the reign of Fernando I of Portugal (1367-1383), the refuge for homiziados was established in Marvão (1378). After his death, when the crisis of 1383-1385 broke out, the town and its castle positioned themselves by the party of the Master of Avis. The new sovereign and his successors granted several privileges to the town (1407, 1436 and 1497) with the same aim of increasing its population and defense. At this stage, reinforcements were also made to the walls, which is confirmed by the presence of cubes dating from the 15th and 16th centuries.

From the Portuguese Restoration War to the present day

When Portuguese independence was restored, in the context of the war that followed, Maranhão's defenses were remodeled, adapted to the advances in artillery of the time. The first phase of these works developed between 1640 and 1662 when the abbot D.João Dama undertook the reconstruction of a section of the wall and barbicans that were in ruins, provided repairs at the castle gates and other repairs necessary for the conservation and defense of the town. Still in works, was attacked by Spanish forces (1641 and 1648), actively attacking the square neighboring Valencia de Alcántara, until its conquest by the forces of D.António Luís de Meneses (1644). A report by Nicolas de Langres at the time states that the infantry garrison and of Portuguese cavalry in this fortification came from Castle of Vide, with Marvão counting on about 400 inhabitants.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the fortress of Marvão was conquered by the Spanish army. (1704), to be retaken later by Portuguese troops under the command of the Count of São John (1705). A new Spanish attack on the village would be repeated decades later, in 1772.

In the 19th century, with the outbreak of the Peninsular War, it was occupied by French troops, liberating itself in 1808. Later, during the Liberal Wars, in the episode known as the War of Patuleia was occupied by liberal forces (December 12, 1833), and suffered siege of the Miguelist troops the following year (1834).

The castle is classified as a National Monument, by Decree published on 4th July 1922. The intervention of the public authorities, on the initiative of the General Directorate of Buildings and National Monuments (DGEMN), began in 1938, in the form of repairs, renovations, reconstructions, disinfections, cleaning and painting, repeating itself to this day. Since then, with the support of the League of Friends of Marvão Castle and the City Council, this heritage comes being kept in good condition. Visitors are offered guided tours of the archaeological center of armory in the castle grounds.

Architecture

Marvão Castle stands on a quartz ridge, at an elevation of 850 meters above sea level, ending in its walls the medieval village. Its walls, reinforced by towers, are distributed in lines concentric defensive:

• the inner line, reinforced by two towers and a Turret, dominated by the Torre de Menagem, square plan, which is attached to it;
• the intermediate line, crowned by battlements and reinforced by massive towers;
• the outer line, formed by the Barbican, from where the fence that surrounds the mountain starts and includes the village. The adaptation of this defense at the end of the 17th century converted the castle into the citadel of fortified fortress, with gun emplacements on the roofs, allowing low-angle fire.

Legends

A lenda de Nossa Senhora da Estrela

In the 8th century, unable to resist the advance of the Muslims in the region, the inhabitants of Marvão abandoned their lands to seek refuge in the mountains of Asturias, where they kept Christian resistance alive. Before leaving, they tried to hide the images sacred. At the time of the Reconquista, more than four centuries later, it is said that in one night, a shepherd guided by a star, went to a mountain where he found, among the rocks, a image of Our Lady. As a sign of devotion, a convent was built on this site. Franciscan (Convent of Our Lady of the Star), the Lady having become protector of the castle. Regarding this particular devotion, It is also said that one night, Castilian forces, led by two traitors, were sneaking up on the castle to assault it, a voice was heard in the darkness female who shouted To arms!. While the sentries warned the garrison to get ready posts, the Castilians could be seen fleeing down the slope, frightened.