Alcanʹtara (Order of)

A military and religious order instituted in 1214 by Alfonso IX., King of Castile, to commemorate the taking of Alcantara from the Moors. The sovereign of Spain is, ex-officio, head of the Order. A resuscitation of the order of St. Julian of the Pear-tree, instituted by Fernando Gomez in 1176, better known by the French title St. Julien du Poirier. The badge of the order was a pear-tree.