The Castle of Monsanto

Monsanto’s Castle Research, text and drawings by David Freitas and António Rodrigues, Class 5 A, Portugal

The Castle • Ordered to build in 12th century by Gualdim Pais, Knight of the Templars.

• Built at a height of 758 meters above sea level, it had a polygonal plan with walls reinforced by several quadrangular towers.

• In the middle of the bailey, we can find the keep.

• It is visible the well, the ruins of a chapel and the stairs to the walk- walk.

The Legend of Monsanto’s Siege Once upon a time the village of Monsanto was surrounded by the Muslims. It was a very difficult moment to the people because they had lack of food and they could not go out of the castles to

search for help.

Never losing the hope of surviving, they resisted for a

long period of time although they only had a calf and a

bushel of wheat.

The women of the castle remembered to feed the calf.

When they saw it was very fat they threw it down the cliffs ‌ The enemy thought that they still had a lot of food and that they were wasting

their time, so they raised the siege and returned to their lands.

Sometimes , it’s better to be clever than strong!

The End