MAYTE IN MIRAVET, TEMPLAR HISTORY IN RIBERA D'EBRE

Today, The Grandma has received news from Mayte, one of her closest friends.

Mayte has visited Miravet in La Ribera d'Ebre, and she has shared her memories and photos with The Grandma.

Miravet is a municipality in the comarca of Ribera d'Ebre in Catalonia.

The village and the castle was founded by the Moors and rebuilt by the Knights Templar and transformed into a fortress-monastery, after the conquest of 1153. 

It is considered to be the largest fortified complex in Catalonia, and one of the best examples of Romanesque, religious and military, architecture of the Templar order in the whole Western world.

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, in Latin Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici, also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, one of the most wealthy and popular of the Western Christian military orders.

They were founded in 1119, headquartered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages.

Officially endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church by such decrees as the papal bull Omne datum optimum of Pope Innocent II, the Templars became a favored charity throughout Christendom and grew rapidly in membership and power. Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were amongst the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades.

They were prominent in Christian finance; non-combatant members of the order, who made up as much as 90% of their members, managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom.

They developed innovative financial techniques that were an early form of banking, building a network of nearly 1,000 commanderies and fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land, and arguably forming the world's first multinational corporation.

The Templars were closely tied to the Crusades; when the Holy Land was lost, support for the order faded. Rumours about the Templars' secret initiation ceremony created distrust, and King Philip IV of France, while being deeply in debt to the order, used this distrust to take advantage of the situation.

In 1307, he pressured Pope Clement to have many of the order's members in France arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake. Under further pressure, Pope Clement V disbanded the order in 1312. The abrupt disappearance of a major part of the European infrastructure gave rise to speculation and legends, which have kept the Templar name alive into the present day.

More information: Turisme Miravet

 In times of war, as in life, surround yourself
with people of value, virtue and high morals,
because it's always better to lose, perish
and vanish in glory than to live in shame.

Robin Sacredfire

MIRAVET: THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR IN RIBERA D'EBRE

Joseph de Ca'th Lon in Miravet, Ribera d'Ebre

Today, Joseph de Ca'th Lon and his friends have visited Miravet, a beautiful and amazing town in Ribera d'Ebre. 

Miravet is famous thanks to its beauty and its interesting history with Moors and Knights Templar.

During the travel from Corbera d'Ebre to Miravet, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her First Certificate Language Practice manual (Vocabulary 12).

More information: People and behaviour

Miravet is a little village located in the middle of the Terres de l’Ebre, in the middle of a beautifull landscape between mountains, the River Ebre and a leafy bank forest. You can enjoy the view by crossing the river with the ferry.

Arriving in Miravet on the ferry that crosses the Riber Ebre, the last one of its type that has been conserved in the Terres de l’Ebre, is an unique experience. Today, of course, a medieval tax is no longer charged for the crossing, and though cars are now transported, the ferry still uses the river current as its only driving force.

Joseph de Ca'th Lon visits Miravet Castle

Miravet Castle, an imposing fortress surrounded by a wall 25 meters high that seems to arise from rocks and located on a hill overlooking the course of the Ebre and the surrounding land.

This strategic position has made it succeed settlements since prehistoric times and has assumed an important role in various conflicts.

Today you can still see part of the structures of a Moorish fortress on which stood the Templar Castle, immediately after the conquest of these lands by Ramon Berenguer IV. The castle was given to the Knights Templar, which became the headquarters of the Templar province of Catalonia and Aragon during the period would be more power and splendor of the history of Miravet.

The end of this stage also meant the most dramatic episode of its history with a siege of more than a year, which preceded the disappearance of the Order of the Temple.

More information: Turisme Miravet

Although later the castle was remodeled to suit the requirements of defense entails the appearance of artillery, appearance and structures that have arrived are essentially works of the Knights Templar. So Miravet has become one of the best examples of military architecture of XII-XIII Catalan.

The Grandma & Claire visit Miravet Castle

Making use of a crag, the Moors decided to found the, nowadays, Old Village, and crowning the rock, the great castle, rebuilt by the Knights Templars and transformed into a fortress-monastery, after the conquest of 1153.

It is considered to be the largest fortified complex in Catalonia, and one of the best examples of Romanesque, religious and military, architecture of the Templar order in the whole Western world. It keeps alive the memory of the end of the Knights at the Crown of Aragon, who suffered a 12 month siege, between 1307 and 1308.

The other architectural treasures are in the Old Village, the Old Church by the Hospital order, dating from the Renaissance and unique in its style throughout the Terres de l’Ebre, it conserves the original stone altar from the castle, the remains of wall paintings and somes expositions. In contrast to this, we find the Islamic Arch for the Aljama-mosque in the backside of the church, and the Sanaqueta balcony over the river.

The clay pottery, the most ancestral tradition that is conserved in Miravet and in the Terres de l’Ebre, has for centuries seduced visitors who came to this town, and can now be see in Miravet.

There are still eight workshops, which are located toghether in the Raval quarter. There masters can be found making pieces by hand and still using the potter’s wheel; with shapes and glazes introduced from the Islamic world, such as pitchers,vats and jars.

More information: Patrimoni-GenCat

Veritas vos liberabit.

The truth shall set you free.

Templar Proverb

THE GRANDMA MEETS WITH ELI POPPINS IN MIRAVET

Eli Poppins and The Grandma in Miravet

What have in common Eli Poppins and The Grandma? Lots of things but mainly their passion for numbers, Science, stones and History. There's something that can unite all of these terms in one: The Knights Templars. 

Since Eli Poppins decided to live in Miravet, a small village in the Catalan county of La Ribera d'Ebre in Tarragona, The Grandma tries to visit her as many times as she can.

Today, The Grandma is in Miravet enjoying a wonderful day with Eli Poppins who is going to explain to us the History of this amazing place.

More information: Domus Templi

Miravet is a little village located in the middle of the Terres de l’Ebre, in the middle of a beautifull landscape between mountains, the River Ebro and a leafy bank forest. You can enjoy the view by crossing the river with the ferry.

Miravet i son Castell Templer by Leonardo di Ferrari.

Arriving in Miravet on the ferry that crosses the Riber Ebro, the last one of its type that has been conserved in the Terres de l’Ebre, is an unique experience. 

Today, of course, a medieval tax is no longer charged for the crossing, and though cars are now transported, the ferry still uses the river current as its only driving force.

Making use of a crag, the Moors decided to found the, nowadays, Old Village, and crowning the rock, the great castle, rebuilt by the Knights Templars and transformed into a fortress-monastery, after the conquest of 1153. 

More information: Catalonia-Valencia

It is considered to be the largest fortified complex in Catalonia, and one of the best examples of Romanesque, religious and military, architecture of the Templar order in the whole Western world. It keeps alive the memory of the end of the Knights at the Crown of Aragon, who suffered a 12 month siege, between 1307 and 1308.

Catalan painter Joaquim Mir in Miravet, 1929

The other architectural treasures are in the Old Village, the Old Church by the Hospital order, dating from the Renaissance and unique in its style throughout the Terres de l’Ebre, it conserves the original stone altar from the castle, the remains of wall paintings and somes expositions. In contrast to this, we find the Islamic Arch for the Aljama-mosque in the backside of the church, and the Sanaqueta balcony over the river.

The clay pottery, the most ancestral tradition that is conserved in Miravet and in the Terres de l’Ebre, has for centuries seduced visitors who came to this town, and can now be see in Miravet.

There are still eight workshops, which are located toghether in the Raval quarter. There masters can be found making pieces by hand and still using the potter’s wheel; with shapes and glazes introduced from the Islamic world, such as pitchers,vats and jars. 

Download The Military Orders in Catalonia

Don't forget to visit these places, then:

-The River Ebro and the landscapes.

-The traditional ferry crossing the river without motor.

-The Old village: dockyard, watermill, arcades, Aljama arch, Jewish street, watchtower and Sanaqueta balcony.

-The Old Church (XVI-XVII c.): nowadays, a cultural monument for concerts and exhibitions, temporary and permanent. You can visit it with a local guide from the Information Point.

-The Templar Castle (XII c.): a Government of Catalonia heritage site.

-Blores Route: following medieval paths through archaeological remains to the watermill.

-The potters workshops and the traditional pottery, in Raval Quarter.

Templar is truly a fearless knight, and secure on every side,
for his soul is protected by the armor of faith,
just as his body is protected by the armor of steel.
He is thus doubly armed and need fear neither demons nor men. 

AD 1135 by Bernard de Clairvax

ADRIANA, RHODES AND HARIS ALEXIOU

Rhodes, Greece

Latest news about the family!

Although Adriana was born in Ithaca, Ulysses hometown, her parents decided to name Adriana in honour to Hadria, the ancient Latin city on the Adriatic Sea banks. Nowadays, she lives in Rhodes (Ρόδος in Greek) where she’s studying History of Art in the Aegean University. She chose this University because this island could offer her a mix of cultures (Latin, Greek, Byzantine, Turkish and Medieval) and she could become an expert in The Order of the Temple. 

Adriana receives some help from Eva, our Maltese gymnast. They share knowledge about these Medieval Knights who dominated the Mediterranean in the XII and XIII centuries and further Malta and Rhodes established in other places of the Catalonia and Aragon Crown as Lleida, Majorca, Miravet, Monzón, Tortosa or Montpellier. Adriana respects and conserves her Greek traditions strongly and she always sings songs of her favourite singer, Haris Alexious, who is considered, nowadays, one of the best female Mediterranean voices, shared honour with Maria del Mar Bonet.

More information: Knights Templar Order

Έχει πανσέληνο απόψε κι είναι ωραία
είναι αλλιώτικη η σιωπή χωρίς παρέα
Δε νιώθω θλίψη μα μου 'χει λείψει

There is a full moon tonight and it is nice;
silence is different without company.
I feel no sorrow but I have missed.