ALCÁNTARA, ORDINE DI

ALCÁNTARA, ORDER OF. - A knightly order founded at S. Juliao de Pereyro in 1156, at the initiative of some knights from Salamanca, led by D. Suarez Fernández Barrientos, with the aim of uniting Spanish nobility in the struggle against the Moors. The knights were required to be of genuine nobility and of unblemished life. Initially, it adopted the Cistercian Rule and was enriched with many privileges, including that of depending directly on the Holy See. From the 13th century, it had its seat in Alcántara, from which it took its definitive name. In the 16th century, the vow of chastity was replaced by that of defending the Immaculate Conception. Suppressed during the French occupation, it was later restored, only to be suppressed again by the republic of 1872; however, it was revived thereafter by the will of Alfonso XII.