Uma "cousa minha": os reis e os governadores das ordens militares portuguesas nos séculos XV e XVI

Abstract

From King João I (1385-1433), the administration of the Portuguese Military Orders - Santiago, Christ, and Avis - was increasingly concentrated in members of the royal family, until its total concentration in the person of the king himself, in 1551. The aim of this paper is to analyse the family connections that help to explain the holding of directive roles in the Portuguese Military Orders by members of the royal family during the 15th and 16th centuries and how this dynamic was seen by a Spanish chronicler of the late 16th century. In parallel, we will analyse cordial relations and some conflict situations that accompanied this whole process, as well as the normative activity of the administrators of these militia throughout this conjuncture.