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Two
legends involve Almourol. Early in the 12th century, the
lord of Almorolan was an Arab emir named Almorolon. The
emir's beautiful daughter fell in love with a Christian
knight. She began to sneak him into the castle every
night so they could spend time together. The knight was
just using the poor girl, and one night opened to gate to
his fellow knights, who captured the castle. Almorolon
and his heart-broken daughter embraced and threw
themselves from the parapets into the river below. The
second legend is that of Donna Beatriz and the Moor.
Beatriz was the daughter of the cruel Visigoth warrior,
Dom Ramiro, in the 9th or 10th century. He killed a
Moorish woman and her daughter over a cup of water, and
soon captured an 11 year old Moorish boy, who unknown to
Dom Ramiro was the son and brother of the murdered women.
The boy became the page of Dom Ramiro at Almourol, where
he lived with his wife and daughter Beatriz. The
revengeful boy slowly poisoned the don's wife until she
died. While Dom Ramiro was off at war, the girl and her
page fell in love despite themselves and the Moor's
desire for revenge vanished. However Dom Ramiro soon
returned, bringing with him a knight to who he had
promised Beatriz. The Moor told Beatriz of her father's
cruelty - and about his own murder of her mother. The
young couple vanished, fate unknown and Dom Ramiro died
of remorse. It is said that on some nights with a full
moon you can see the Moor hugging Donna Beatriz, with Dom
Ramiro kneeling at their feet, imploring their
forgiveness. |
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