The Infant was, among his other dignities, Master of the Order of Christ, which, as the direct successor of the Templars in Portugal, held a very high rank, and was, by its "artificial ancestry," as Hobbes would have said, one of the most ancient Orders in Christendom. Henry's father, King John, had been also at one time Head of an Order of Chivalry, the Knights of Aviz; but on coming to the throne he had obtained a dispensation from his vow of celibacy as Master, a dispensation which his son never required. The banner of this Order seems to have floated over most if not all of Prince Henry's African expeditions; in its name he required the aid of Pope Eugenius IV; its special duty--military order as it was in origin--should have been to spread the Christian faith in Moslem and heathen Africa: perhaps its work was considered to extend only to the slaying of Moslems, or Moormen, and the bringing back to Europe of heathen Africans who could be reared as Christians in Portugal. No mission to preach the faith seems to have been undertaken by the Fraternity. Upon this Order the Prince bestowed the tithes of the Island of St. Michael in the Azores, and one half of its sugar revenues; also the tithe (afterwards reduced to the twentieth) of all merchandise from Guinea, as well as the ecclesiastical dues of Porto Santo, Madeira, and the Desertas. The Prince's nephew, D. Fernando, succeeded him (in 1460) in the Mastership of the Order of Christ.[31] [Footnote 31: Already, in 1451, Henry had designated him as his heir.] It has sometimes been said that the Infant Henry was also titular King of Cyprus. This assertion is derived from Fr. Luiz de Souza (_Historia de S. Domingos_, Bk. VI., fol. 331) and José Suares de Silva (_Memoirs of King João I._), who tell us that the Prince was elected King of Cyprus. But this "Kingdom" remained in the posterity of Guy de Lusignan till 1487; and the mistake has probably arisen from a confusion of Henry, Prince of Galilee, son of James I., King of Cyprus, with Prince Henry of Portugal.[32] [Footnote 32: Santarem corrects this; see note in Major's _Henry Navigator_, p. 306. So Azurara's allusion, "No other _uncrowned_ prince in Europe had so noble a household,"--_Guinea_, ch. iv.] In prosecuting his explorations, Prince Henry incurred heavy expenses. His own revenues were not sufficient, and he was obliged to borrow largely. Thus, in 1448, he owed his bastard half-brother, the Duke of Braganza, 19394½ crowns of gold, to pay which he had pledged his lands and goods; and this debt was afterwards increased by 16084 crowns, as stated in the declaration of the Duke of Braganza, November 8, 1449, and in the will of the same nobleman. These debts were partly paid by his nephew and adopted son, D. Fernando, and partly by Fernando's son, D. Manuel. VOYAGES OF PRINCE HENRY'S SEAMEN ALONG THE WEST AFRICAN COAST. (_Not recorded by Azurara._)