Linhares was already a castellated settlement in the reign of D. Sancho I, tutoring, along with Celorico da Beira and other neighboring forts, the northern section of Serra da Estrela. At the end of the 12th century, the castle's mayors, Gonçalo and Rodrigo Mendes, came to the aid of Celorico's square, which was the target of attack by Leonese troops.