A native of Flanders and a clergyman, Nicholas joined an international maritime expedition intending to take part in the Third Crusade.
After the fall of Silves, according to an eyewitness account, the De itinere navali, the newly appointed Portuguese governor named Nicholas bishop.
[2][3] According to Ralph of Diceto, only five days after the city fell, on the Nativity of Mary (8 September), Nicholas dedicated the mosque as the cathedral of the Blessed Virgin.
[6] In December, he witnessed the king's donation of the castle of Alvor to the monastery of Santa Cruz de Coimbra.
According to Roger of Howden, when a ship bearing English crusaders arrived, Nicholas begged them to take part in the city's defence.