Tile with Templar Calatrava Cross by Marto of Toledo Spain 004

This resin tile is engraved with the Templar Order of Calatrava Cross. The aspect is by all the points of view the same of a handmade earthenware tile.The Templar Order of Calatrava was the first military and religious order founded in the Kingdom of Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava as a Militia was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164. The Order of Calatrava was founded by Abbot Raymond of Fitero with the original purpose of protecting the town of Calatrava, located near present-day Ciudad Real. As their numbers and strength grew they were invited in 1147 by the King of Castile, Alfonso VII, to protect a castle he had taken from the Moors. The castle was called Calatrava (Arabic Qal'at Rabah: 'fortress of Rabah'). The Templars established a garrison there and stayed for ten years. They were replaced by a militia of Cistercian laymen, under the supervision of Raymond, Abbot of the Cistercian monastery of F