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D. Gualdim Pais (1118-1195)

Gualdim Pais (1118-1195) was born in Amares near Braga. As a knight to King Afonso Henriques who took part in the Portuguese crusades and a Templarian friar, he was responsible for the founding and settling of Tomar.

He fought alongside Afonso Henriques against the Moors, and was knighted by the king on the battlefield at Ourique in 1139.

He later travelled to Palestine. On his return he was made 4th Portuguese Master of the Order of the Temple (1157), which was then based in Soure. As master of the order he founded the castle and town of Tomar (1160), which became the new base of the Knights Templar in Portugal. He secured the town's charter in 1162.

When Tomar was surrounded by the Almohada forces under the Caliph Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur in 1190, he successfully defended the town thanks to a brilliant strategy. The siege was eventually abandoned, according to some historians, on account of the unhealthy conditions in the siege camp.

Gualdim Pais died in Tomar in 1195. He was laid to rest in the Church of Santa Maria dos Olivais, which served as a pantheon for the masters of the Order of the Temple.