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condition till A.D. 1809, when it was formally abolished by Napoleon.

In 1840, Austria instituted an honorary Order called by the same name, and, in 1852, Prussia revived it under the designation of the Order of St. John.

PART IV.

PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH ORDERS.

"Oh, lovely Spain! renowned romantic land!
Where is that standard which Pelagio bore,

When Cava's traitor-sire first called the band
That dyed thy mountain streams with Gothic gore?
Where are those bloody banners which of yore
Waved o'er thy sons, victorious to the gale,
And drove at last the spoilers to their shore ?

Red gleamed the Cross, and waned the Crescent pale,
While Afric's echoes thrilled with Moorish matrons' wail."

BYRON.

PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH

ORDERS.

I. The ORDER of AVIS.

THIS Order is believed to have originated in Portugal about 1147, during the reign of King Alphonso I. Certain noblemen, it is said, banded themselves together to follow the King in his wars with the Moors, but without any religious vow or profession.

The Order was fully constituted in 1162, and Peter, a peer of France, and of royal blood, was appointed first Grand Master.

The knights followed the rule of St. Benedict, as observed at Citeaux. They were first named the New Soldiers, then the Knights of Evora, which place they had taken from the Moors, and afterwards the Knights of Avis, from a fortress where they established themselves, near the Moorish frontier, and from which they carried on constant war with the invaders of their country.

The Order was confirmed by Pope Innocent III., in A.D. 1284, and the Kings of Portugal conferred many privileges and possessions upon the Order.

The Order of Calatrava, in Spain, made over to the Order of Avis their property in Portugal, on condition that the Grand Master of Calatrava should be the visitor of the Order of Avis. This led to subsequent disputes, which continued till the Council of Basle obliged the Knights of Avis to fulfil the terms of the agreement.

After some years, the Pope placed the government of the Order in the hands of persons nominated by himself, and Pope Paul III. united the Grand Mastership with the crown of Portugal.

II. The ORDER of ST. JAMES of COMPOSTELLA, in Spain.

The shrine of St. James, at Compostella, attracted a vast number of pilgrims, but the wild and rocky character of the neighbouring country gave facilities to the Moors to lie in wait, pillage, and maltreat them.

To protect them a body of thirty noblemen and gentlemen formed themselves into a society, undertaking to patrol the roads and keep them open and safe. They received a rule and constitution from the Pope in 1175, and certain border castles, hitherto held by the Templars, were transferred to them. They also acquired large possessions and great wealth.

In 1396, they received permission to marry. In 1493, the Grand Mastership was united to the crown of Spain.

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