Castle of Freixo de Espada-à-Cinta

The Castle of Freixo de Espada à Cinta (Portuguese: Castelo de Freixo de Espada à Cinta) is located in the civil parish of Freixo de Espada à Cinta e Mazouco, municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta, in the Portuguese district of Bragança.

Castle of Freixo de Espada à Cinta
Castelo de Freixo de Espada à Cinta
The tower of Menagem
General information
Status ruins
Town or city Freixo de Espada à Cinta
Country Portugal
Design and construction
Architect Gothic

History

Early history

The origin of the village as well as its name are very old, reaching into legend. According to the scholar sixteenth Barros in his Between Geography Douro and Minho and Tras-os-Montes, the foundation is attributed to a Spanish nobleman who lived in the tenth century, and in whose arms would consist an ash tree and a sword.[1] A local tradition attributes the place name to a Visigoth warrior Espadacinta nickname, that in the village was buried in the shade of an ash tree, which went on to identify the place.[2][3][4]

Medieval history

The Freixo de village existed in the early days of the independence of Portugal, marking the border west of the River Douro. Due to this reason, the first Portuguese king Afronso Henriques (1112-1185) granted the town a charter in 1152 to encourage the additional fortification of the castle's defenses. The first firmly documented references to the castle refer to works in progress in 1258.[5][6]

It was these primitive defenses that that saw initial construction under the reign of Alfonso II of Portugal (1211-1223) in order to repel the invading forces of Alfonso IX of León, between the years 1212 and 1213. King Afonso III (1248-1279) granted a new charter to the village in 1273, when it started a new construction aimed at strengthening and expanding the defenses.[7][8]

During the fifteenth century, works were done onto the castle between 1412 and 1423, and between 1435 and 1459, possibly in order to adapt the castle to the palace of function for the housing of its mayors.[9]

The town and its castle were recorded by Arms Duarte in his Book of Fortresses (c. 1509), especially around the village strengthened by several towers, hexagonal and pentagonal plant, arranged at regular intervals, most sporting boulders counters, and the castle surrounded by the barbican.[10][11][12]

20th century to the modern day

Although the news about this monument is scarce, the castle was used until the nineteenth century when, being lost its military function, a room was used as a municipal cemetery until 1836, resulting the demolition of some sections of the wall.[13]

It is classified as a National Monument by Decree published on 23 June 1910.[14][15]

Characteristics

The architecture of the medieval castle were constructed in Gothic style, resembling the castles of the castles of Alva and Mos. The old castle keep, figured by Duarte de Armas (c. 1509) along with the seven-sided tower, not survived to the modern day days. Castle remains are dominated by an irregular heptagonal plant tower. The locals call it simply as Rooster Tower or Clock Tower. Towering 25 meters high, is accessed through a door in Broken Bow. Its interior is divided into three floors, vaulted arches in, accessed by stairs, lit by small cracks in the walls. At the top, there is a running counter supported by corbels. The set ends with a bell tower square, with needle-like coverage with the corners rounded small pyramids.

References

  1. ↑ TEIXEIRA, António José. "Freixo de Espada à Cinta: notas históricas - sua evolução através do tempo". in: Brigantia, v. 1, nº 1, pp.127-132. Bragança: 1981.
  2. ↑ PINTADO, Francisco António. De Freixo a Freixo de Espada à Cinta: notas de monografia (2 vols.). Freixo de Espada à Cinta: 1996.
  3. ↑ VERDELHO, Pedro. Roteiro dos castelos de Trás-os-Montes. Chaves: 2000.
  4. ↑ VITERBO, Francisco M. de Sousa. Dicionário histórico e documental dos Arquitectos, Engenheiros e Construtores Portugueses. Lisboa: 1988.
  5. ↑ BARROCA, Mário Jorge. Epigrafia medieval portuguesa (862-1422). Lisboa: 2000.
  6. ↑ PAULO, Amílcar. "Freixo de Espada à Cinta e as suas Antiguidades". in: Amigos de Bragança, 3ª série, nº 8, pp. 49-73. Bragança: 1967.
  7. ↑ BARROCA, Mário Jorge. "D. Dinis e a arquitectura militar portuguesa". in: Revista da Faculdade de Letras. História, II série, tomo XV, pp. 801-822. Porto: 1998.
  8. ↑ PERES, Damião. A gloriosa história dos mais belos castelos de Portugal. Barcelos: 1969.
  9. ↑ MARQUES, Gentil. Lendas dos Nomes das Terras (3ª ed.). Lisboa: Âncora Editora, 1999. ISBN 9727800181
  10. ↑ GIL, Júlio; CABRITA, Augusto. Os mais belos castelos e fortalezas de Portugal (4ª ed.). Lisboa; São Paulo: Editorial Verbo, 1996. 309p. fotos, mapas. ISBN 9722211358
  11. ↑ LEMOS, Francisco Sande. "Povoamento Romano de Trás-os-Montes Oriental (6 vols.)". Dissertação de Doutoramento apresentada à Universidade do Minho. Braga: 1993.
  12. ↑ NETO, Joaquim Maria. O Leste do Território Bracarense. Torres Vedras: 1975.
  13. ↑ "DGPC | Pesquisa Geral". www.patrimoniocultural.pt. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  14. ↑ "Monumentos". Retrieved 2016-02-21.
  15. ↑ ALVES, Francisco Manuel. Memórias arqueológico-históricas do distrito de Bragança: repositório amplo de notícias corográficas, hidro-orográficas, geológicas, mineralógicas, hidrológicas, biobibliográficas, heráldicas (...) (2ª ed.). Bragança: 2000.
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