The Chronicles of Fernão Lopes: Volume 4. The Chronicle of King João I of Portugal, Part II (Textos B, 64) 9781855663992, 9781805430131, 1855663996

Table of contents :
Front cover
Contents
List of Illustrations
Sponsors
Abbreviations
Introduction
The Chronicle of King João I of Portugal, Part 2
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189
Chapter 190
Chapter 191
Chapter 192
Chapter 193
Chapter 194
Chapter 195
Chapter 196
Chapter 197
Chapter 198
Chapter 199
Chapter 200
Chapter 201
Chapter 202
Chapter 203
Chapter 204
Bibliography of Works Cited

Citation preview

THE CHRONICLES OF FERNÃO LOPES

Tomb of King João I and Queen Philippa of Lancaster, Founder’s Chapel, Monastery of Batalha, Batalha, Portugal. The king, wearing armour and holding a sword, represents a warrior who defended his kingdom, namely at the Battle of Aljubarrota, the victory celebrated by this precise monument. The effigies of both monarchs holding hands symbolise the Treaty of Windsor (1386); Queen Philippa holding a book reflects the importance she gave to education and, possibly, her introduction of the Salisbury rite in Portugal. (Image by courtesy of Dr. Joaquim Ruivo, Director of Monastery of Batalha, Direção-Geral do Património Cultural, Portugal).

THE CHRONICLES OF FERNÃO LOPES VOLUME 4 THE CHRONICLE OF KING JOÃO I OF PORTUGAL, PART 2 Edited by Amélia P. Hutchinson Juliet Perkins Philip Krummrich † Teresa Amado Translated by † R. C. Willis Philip Krummrich Juliet Perkins Iona McCleery Francisco Fernandes † Shirley Clarke Principal Consultant Patricia Anne Odber de Baubeta With an Introduction by Tiago Viúla de Faria

TAMESIS

© Contributors 2023 All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner First published 2023 By Tamesis (Serie B: TEXTOS) ISBN 978 1 85566 399 2 (hardback) ISBN 978 1 80543 013 1 (ePDF) Tamesis is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA www.boydellandbrewer.com The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library Cover design: Toni Michelle

To medievalists of all ages who preserve and share the knowledge and understanding of times past to illuminate the future, especially the colleagues, collaborators, and friends we sadly lost in the course of this project: Teresa Amado R. C. Willis Shirley Clarke Nicholas G. Round

CONTENTS List of Illustrations

xix

Sponsors

xx

Abbreviations

xxi

Introduction: The Chronicle of King João I of Portugal, Part 2: Fernão Lopes and the Two Reigns of João of Avis Tiago Viúla de Faria

1

The Chronicle of King João I of Portugal, Part 2 Prologue Chapter 1 Concerning the offices to which the king appointed certain people, and concerning matters which were then decided in Cortes Chapter 2 Concerning the charter which the king issued to the city of Lisbon in confirmation of the city’s privileges Chapter 3 Concerning the places which the king gave to Lisbon for inclusion within the city limits Chapter 4 Concerning a number of things that happened in the same period Chapter 5 How the constable left for Oporto, and concerning the speech he made to his men Chapter 6 How the constable captured the castle at Neiva Chapter 7 How the count captured Viana [do Castelo] Chapter 8 Concerning the towns and villages which surrendered to the constable without resistance and of their own accord Chapter 9 How the king reached Oporto and was received by the city’s inhabitants Chapter 10 How the king decided to capture Guimarães Chapter 11 How the king captured the town of Guimarães

13 16 20 22 23 25 28 29 30 30 33 35

viii CONTENTS

Chapter 12 How the inner bailey was attacked, and how Aires Gomes negotiated a truce Chapter 13 How the King of Castile excused himself for not going to the aid of Aires Gomes, and how the town [of Guimarães] was surrendered to the king Chapter 14 How Braga was captured Chapter 15 How steps were taken to begin the capture of Ponte de Lima Chapter 16 How the king left Guimarães for Ponte de Lima Chapter 17 How the king entered the town and captured it Chapter 18 How Lope Gómez was attacked, how his tower was forcibly entered and how he was dispatched as a prisoner to Oporto Chapter 19 Concerning the Castilian noblemen who invaded Portugal, and how deep they penetrated Chapter 20 How Martim Vasques and Gonçalo Vasques came to an agreement at the behest of João Fernandes Pacheco Chapter 21 How the captains of Castile fought against the Portuguese, and how the Castilians were defeated Chapter 22 How the King of Portugal and the constable left Guimarães Chapter 23 How the king left Torres Novas and headed for Santarém Chapter 24 How the king and the constable made their way to Alenquer, and how the constable then left for the Alentejo Chapter 25 How the king left Alenquer for Abrantes and sent for the constable Chapter 26 How the King of Castile reached Elvas with the intention of capturing it but raised the siege and made his way to Ciudad Rodrigo Chapter 27 Concerning the royal council which the King of Castile held with his advisers before he invaded Portugal Chapter 28 Other arguments, contrary to those which you have heard, as to why the King of Castile ought not to invade Portugal Chapter 29 How the King of Castile invaded Portugal, and concerning a number of events that preceded the battle Chapter 30 Concerning the discussion which the King of Portugal held with his advisers as to whether or not to go into battle, and concerning the arguments put forward

37 40 42 43 45 46 49 52 54 56 60 61 63 65 68 70 71 74 76

CONTENTS

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Chapter 31 Arguments which the King of Portugal presented to his royal council, and how he summoned the constable 79 Chapter 32 Concerning the message which the constable sent to the King of Castile, and concerning the arguments which he commanded a captive to declare in the king’s presence 82 Chapter 33 Concerning the message which the King of Portugal sent to the King of Castile, and how he reached the field where his men drew up their battle formation 84 Chapter 34 How the noblemen in the King of Castile’s army came to speak to the constable, and concerning the conversation they had with him 88 Chapter 35 Advice which the King of Castile took as to whether or not to go into battle 92 Chapter 36 Advice proffered by Dom João Afonso Telo, urging that the battle should in any circumstances take place, arguments with which the King of Castile agreed 95 Chapter 37 Concerning the forces which each king had at his disposal 98 Chapter 38 How the two kings drew up their battle formations, and with which captains 101 Chapter 39 Concerning the names of certain men in the King of Portugal’s army, and which of them he dubbed as knights 105 Chapter 40 How João Fernandes [Pacheco] and Egas Coelho came from Beira in order to be with the king in the battle 106 Chapter 41 Concerning which people chose to appeal to Almighty God to intervene on behalf of the respective kings 109 Chapter 42 How the battle was fought between the two kings, and how the Castilians came to be defeated 111 Chapter 43 How the King of Castile fled the battlefield and reached Santarém 116 Chapter 44 How the King of Castile left Santarém and returned to his own country 119 Chapter 45 How the battle was finally won, and which men died in it 122 Chapter 46 How the King of Portugal left the battlefield and made his way to Alcobaça 126 Chapter 47 How the people of Lisbon discovered that the battle had been won and how they reacted 129 Chapter 48 How Lisbon’s inhabitants went to receive the flags which the king sent them, and concerning the homily that a friar preached 131

x CONTENTS

Chapter 49 Concerning the everlasting vows taken by the city in commemoration of this battle Chapter 50 How Santarém was abandoned by the Castilians, and how its inhabitants expressed their allegiance to the King of Portugal Chapter 51 How the king arrived at Santarém and dispatched back to their own country the Castilians he found there Chapter 52 How the king gave the constable the county of Ourém and other places, and how the constable paid the swordsmith for the sword which he had tempered for him Chapter 53 How the count made preparations for the incursion into Castile and how he went about it Chapter 54 How the constable invaded Castile, and how the Master of Alcántara, Martim Eanes de Barbuda, advanced towards him but dared not do battle with him Chapter 55 How the Master of Santiago and the great lords who accompanied him sent a challenge to the constable, and concerning the answer that he gave to it Chapter 56 How the constable and the Castilians converged on Valverde, and concerning the fighting which took place between them on crossing a ford Chapter 57 How the count began fighting against the Castilians before engaging with them in battle Chapter 58 How the battle between the count and the Castilians was fought, and how the Master of Santiago was killed Chapter 59 How Antão Vasques invaded Castile, and what happened to him there Chapter 60 How Antão Vasques engaged the Castilians in battle and defeated them Chapter 61 Concerning which townships King João went on to seize from those which had declared for Castile, and how the Castilian fleet raised its blockade of Lisbon and left Chapter 62 How the king left Santarém in order to make the pilgrimage which he had promised to undertake Chapter 63 How the king left the city of Oporto, intending to lay siege to Chaves Chapter 64 How the king pitched his siege camp against Chaves Chapter 65 How the townsfolk [of Chaves] burnt down the king’s siege tower, and concerning the message which he received from the Duke of Lancaster

137 138 141 144 147 149 151 152 155 158 160 163 165 167 169 170 171

CONTENTS

Chapter 66 How a number of troops which he had summoned reached the king, and concerning the truce entered into by Martim Gonçalves Chapter 67 Concerning the reply that the King of France gave to the King of Castile’s messengers whom he sent to him after the battle [of Aljubarrota] Chapter 68 Concerning the letter which the Antipope sent in reply to the King of Castile Chapter 69 How the King of Castile sent a message to Martim Gonçalves telling him to surrender the town in accordance with what had been negotiated in the truce Chapter 70 How the count ejected from among his forces all the women whom his men had brought with them Chapter 71 How the king held a muster on the bank of the Vilariça Brook, and concerning the troops that he found there assembled Chapter 72 How João Afonso Pimentel joined the king and handed Bragança to him Chapter 73 How the king regained Almeida, though he had not intended to attack it Chapter 74 How the count ordered a squire to be burnt for stealing a chalice from a church, and how Afonso Peres was taken prisoner Chapter 75 How the king reached Coria and laid siege to the town Chapter 76 How the king attacked Coria, and concerning the observations made by Rui Mendes Chapter 77 Concerning the discussion that the king held with the constable about laying siege to towns Chapter 78 How the king raised the siege of Coria and went back to his own kingdom Chapter 79 Concerning the message which the king sent to his envoys, and how they found out in England that he had been made king Chapter 80 How the Master of Santiago and Lourenço Eanes Fogaça went to speak with the Duke of Lancaster, and concerning the matters they discussed Chapter 81 How the Duke of Lancaster spoke with the King of England and his royal council about his journey to Spain, and how he was given leave to go

xi

173 177 178 180 181 183 186 187 189 191 192 194 198 200 202 203

xii CONTENTS

Chapter 82 Concerning the treaty of friendship which was negotiated between the King of Portugal and the King of England 204 Chapter 83 How the Duke of Lancaster left England and landed in Galicia 206 Chapter 84 Concerning the message that the duke sent to the King of Castile, and the reply the king forwarded through his messengers 208 Chapter 85 Concerning further observations made to the duke by the other two envoys 209 Chapter 86 How the duke replied to the matters which the envoys raised 211 Chapter 87 Concerning the other arguments which the bishop added on the duke’s behalf 212 Chapter 88 Concerning what kind of man the Duke of Lancaster was and what kind of woman his wife Princess Constanza was 215 Chapter 89 How the Duke of Lancaster left La Coruña and captured the town of Santiago de Compostela 217 Chapter 90 How the King of Portugal learned of the duke’s arrival and made his way to Oporto 218 Chapter 91 How King João sent word to the duke, and where they agreed to meet each other 220 Chapter 92 How King João and the Duke of Lancaster first met 221 Chapter 93 Concerning the agreements which the king and the duke negotiated together 222 Chapter 94 How the king left for the banks of the Guadiana, and how the princess was brought to Oporto 224 Chapter 95 How the king arranged to set up his household and wrote to the communities of his realm 226 Chapter 96 How the king celebrated his marriage to his wife in the city of Oporto 227 Chapter 97 How the king provided the queen with a household and with an income for her expenses 229 Chapter 98 Concerning some of the ways and good qualities of Queen Philippa 230 Chapter 99 How the king made excuses to the duke for not being ready by the time he should have been 231 Chapter 100 How the king and the duke set out and arrived at Benavente de Campos 233

CONTENTS

Chapter 101 How Castile was prepared for where the king and the duke invaded the country Chapter 102 How Álvaro Gomes and a Castilian jousted together Chapter 103 How [Sir] Mauburney and Sir Robert jousted Chapter 104 How the town’s defenders came forth to skirmish before the king left Chapter 105 How Roales was taken, and concerning other things that ensued Chapter 106 How the king took Valderas Chapter 107 How Valderas was sacked Chapter 108 How the king besieged Villalobos, and how Martim Vasques da Cunha defended himself against the Castilians Chapter 109 What the king ordered to be done to the men who took the hay, and how Villalobos was captured Chapter 110 How the King of Portugal decided to return to his kingdom, and concerning the death of Rui Mendes Chapter 111 How the king departed with his army, and Diego López de Angul was taken prisoner Chapter 112 Concerning some who jousted in that place Chapter 113 How the king passed through Ciudad Rodrigo and arrived in Portugal Chapter 114 How the 2,000 lances that had been promised by the King of France to aid him reached the King of Castile Chapter 115 How the messengers of the King of Castile came to speak to the duke and reached several agreements Chapter 116 How the king left for Coimbra and fell ill in Curval Chapter 117 How two of the duke’s men fought a duel, and the reason why Chapter 118 A response to certain statements that a historian included in his chronicle Chapter 119 How the duke departed from Oporto, and concerning the treaty that was signed between him and the King of Castile Chapter 120 How Lady Catalina was brought to Castile, and how her mother came to see the king, her cousin Chapter 121 How the King of Castile sent excuses to the duke for not being able to see him, owing to his illness

xiii

235 236 237 238 239 241 242 243 245 248 250 252 253 255 256 257 259 260 263 265 266

xiv CONTENTS

Chapter 122 How the King of Castile amassed the gold that he had to pay to the duke Chapter 123 The beginning of our reply concerning the dispensation about which we said that the aforementioned historian had spoken Chapter 124 How Pope Urban [VI] died, and the king sent his ambassadors to Pope Boniface Chapter 125 The text of the first letter that was made public in the cathedral Chapter 126 The public reading of the second letter which the messengers brought from the Curia Chapter 127 How the king ordered that the things which his fleet might seize should be distributed Chapter 128 Concerning the procedure the king ordered to be followed in lawsuits that had been heard by officials of the King of Castile Chapter 129 How the king established an allowance for the noblemen, and other things he decreed Chapter 130 Concerning how Dom Pedro de Castro, Dom Pedro da Guerra, and Prince Dinis, who were in Castile, came to the King of Portugal Chapter 131 How the king ordered that what had been taken from the Genoese ships be paid for, and how he went to Braga to convene Cortes Chapter 132 Concerning an incursion that the enemy made into Portugal, and the plunder they carried away Chapter 133 How the count attacked the Gascons by night, defeated them, and took away their plunder Chapter 134 How the king went to besiege Melgaço Chapter 135 Concerning the belfry and siege ladders that the king ordered to be made Chapter 136 How the king took possession of the town of Melgaço by its surrender Chapter 137 How the King of Portugal went to lay siege to Campo Maior Chapter 138 How the king gained the town by its surrender Chapter 139 How the king married off a number of damsels and ordered one of his chamberlains to be burned at the stake

268 269 271 274 276 280 282 283 285 286 287 288 291 292 293 296 297 298

CONTENTS

Chapter 140 How the king besieged Tuy and took it by surrender Chapter 141 How a truce was reached between Portugal and Castile Chapter 142 Concerning some of the arguments that the King of Castile put forward with regard to the Cortes he had summoned Chapter 143 How the King of Castile revealed to his royal council what he wished to do with the kingdom so that they should give him their opinion Chapter 144 How those from whom the King of Castile took counsel replied to him about the partition of the kingdom Chapter 145 How the king spoke to certain people about the treasure that he wished to build up for the war Chapter 146 Concerning the reply that was given to what the bishop and the knight said Chapter 147 How the King of Castile died following a riding accident Chapter 148 King João’s children and their dates of birth Chapter 149 The manner in which these princes maintained obedience to their father Chapter 150 How a truce was arranged between Castile and Portugal Chapter 151 Concerning the ambassadors that came to the king from Castile and the reply they took back Chapter 152 How the constable gave part of his lands to those who had served with him in the war Chapter 153 How the king arranged to buy lands from the nobles, and how they were summoned to this end Chapter 154 How the count had wished to depart the kingdom, and the reason why he was prevented from doing so Chapter 155 How Martim Afonso de Melo spoke with Gonçalo Eanes about capturing Badajoz Chapter 156 How the people of Badajoz began to be suspicious of Gonçalo Eanes, and the arguments they put to him Chapter 157 How Gonçalo Eanes spoke to Martim Afonso, and the arguments that those of Badajoz put to him once again Chapter 158 How Badajoz was captured Chapter 159 How the king sent a message to Castile about the taking of Badajoz and of what was said about the matter Chapter 160 Concerning the forces who entered through Beira and via the Guadiana, and what the king did in relation to it

xv

301 303 304 305 306 311 313 315 316 319 321 324 327 328 330 332 334 336 337 341 342

xvi CONTENTS

Chapter 161 How the count decided to enter Castile, and the manner of his doing so Chapter 162 How the count left Cáceres and came to Portugal Chapter 163 How the count decided to make another sortie into Castile, reaching Villalba Chapter 164 Concerning the message that the Master [of Santiago] sent to the count, challenging him to fight, and the reply the latter gave Chapter 165 How the count’s squire spoke to the master, and concerning the discussion that they had Chapter 166 Concerning the message that the squire brought back and the agreement the count came to over it Chapter 167 How the count came to leave Castile and went back into Portugal Chapter 168 How the king left for Galicia, and what happened to him at the ford on the [River] Minho Chapter 169 How the king besieged Tuy, and attacked it Chapter 170 How those in the town made known to the King of Castile the difficulty they were in, and concerning the counsel he took about it Chapter 171 Concerning the decision that was taken to help the town of Tuy Chapter 172 How these forces we have mentioned came together, which King João heard of at Tuy Chapter 173 How the constable set out to go and fight Prince Dinis, who declined to confront him Chapter 174 How the King [of Portugal] fought in Tuy and gained the town through surrender Chapter 175 How certain men from Serpa entered Castile, and concerning what happened to them Chapter 176 How the Portuguese fought against the Castilians and defeated them Chapter 177 How the King of Castile sent Master Ambrosio with a message for the King of Portugal Chapter 178 Concerning the power that the King of Portugal conferred on the Bishop of Coimbra and on the constable, and how they met the Master of Santiago and Ruy López

345 347 348 351 353 355 357 359 362 363 365 367 368 372 376 378 380

383

CONTENTS

Chapter 179 Concerning what was first said during these acts of arbitration Chapter 180 Concerning the arguments which the proctors respectively submitted on behalf of their liege lords Chapter 181 Concerning other reasons given by the arbitration judges to bring the kings to a good accord Chapter 182 Concerning the things that the Castilians added further to the first demands they had made Chapter 183 How Prior Álvaro Gonçalves went to Castile, and how his priorship was given to Lourenço Esteves de Góis Chapter 184 How the king attacked Alcántara and [then] raised the siege laid to it Chapter 185 Concerning the ambassadors who went to Castile to negotiate peace and were not successful Chapter 186 Concerning the counsel the king requested to make peace, and what he was told in reply Chapter 187 How the ten-year truce was put into effect and under what conditions Chapter 188 How Queen Catalina advised the king her husband to keep peace with Portugal Chapter 189 How the negotiators of Castile and of Portugal met to discuss the peace treaty Chapter 190 Concerning the arguments that were discussed by the negotiators, and how they did not reach an agreement Chapter 191 The message that Queen Catalina sent to the King of Portugal and the reply that she received Chapter 192 Which ambassadors the king sent to Castile, and the letter that he wrote about it to Queen Catalina Chapter 193 Concerning the words that the ambassadors spoke to the queen, in person and in writing Chapter 194 The arguments put forward by both sides in Queen Catalina’s royal council Chapter 195 How the ambassadors spoke to the queen separately, and were granted the peace that they demanded Chapter 196 How the peace treaty was made and approved by the king, and when Chapter 197 How the Queen of Castile sent a letter to the King of Portugal to ask for the aid of a certain number of galleys, and the answer that he sent her in another

xvii

386 388 389 391 393 395 397 399 401 402 404 407 412 418 420 422 425 428 430

xviii CONTENTS

Chapter 198 How certain marriages of the children of these monarchs were mooted on both sides, yet did not take place Chapter 199 The comportment of the constable during wartime Chapter 200 What way of life the count led during peacetime Chapter 201 How the King [of Portugal] charged the count with the maintenance of justice in the Alentejo Chapter 202 Concerning more things that the royal council decided, and the fact that excise taxes [sisas] were not created Chapter 203 How the king married his illegitimate son Dom Afonso to the daughter of the constable Chapter 204 How the marriage was arranged between Dona Beatriz, the sister of the aforesaid Count of Barcelos, and the Earl of Arundel Bibliography of works cited Index

433 435 439 441 444 447 449

453 See general index in volume 5

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Frontispiece: Tomb of King João I and Queen Philippa of Lancaster. Founder’s Chapel, Monastery of Batalha, Batalha, Portugal. By courtesy of Dr. Joaquim Ruivo, Director of Monastery of Batalha, Direção-Geral do Património Cultural, Portugal.

ii

Genealogy ‒ The Portuguese Royal Family (with English and Castilian connections), Iona McCleery. xxii The editors, contributors and publisher are grateful to all the institutions and persons listed for permission to reproduce the materials in which they hold copyright. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders; apologies are offered for any omission, and the publisher will be pleased to add any necessary acknowledgement in subsequent editions.

Sponsors The Fernão Lopes Translation Project, including the publication of Fernão Lopes’s chronicles for the first time in English, has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor

Funded by the Direção-Geral do Livro, Dos Arquivos e das Bibliotecas / Portugal

ABBREVIATIONS CKP The Chronicle of King Pedro of Portugal, present edition, vol. 1 CKF The Chronicle of King Fernando of Portugal, present edition, vol. 2 CKJ1 The Chronicle of King João I of Portugal, Part 1, present edition, vol. 3 CKJ2 The Chronicle of King João I of Portugal, Part 2, present edition, vol. 4

Introduction The Chronicle of King João I of Portugal, Part 2 Fernão Lopes and the Two Reigns of João of Avis1 TIAGO VIÚLA DE FARIA

Quem te conhece, Fernão Lopes? Quem saberá que nesta sala, entre códices antigos, nasce neste momento talvez o maior livro da literatura portuguesa? José Saramago2

F

or the most celebrated of contemporary Portuguese novelists, the chronicle of King João I by Fernão Lopes stands as perhaps the greatest work of Portuguese literature ever penned. José Saramago revered the first great Portuguese prose writer for his unobtrusive, almost imperceptible brilliance. The lack of perception of Fernão Lopes’s ‘neglected genius’ (génio desprezado), as expressed by Saramago, may help explain his relative anonymity, even in his country of birth, until comparatively recent times. Indeed, the chronicles were not published in Portugal until 1644 and, although since then several good editions of the separate chronicles have been published, a comprehensive edition is still called for. Nearly a century ago, such an edition had been the hope of William J. Entwistle, one of Lopes’s early scholars in any language.3 1 My thanks to Amélia Hutchinson and Pat Odber for their very helpful comments and suggestions. Research for this work was supported by the national funds of Portugal and the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., via the ‘Norma Transitória’ initiative (DL57/2016/CP). 2 Author’s translation: ‘Who knows you, Fernão Lopes? Who could know that in this room, among ancient manuscripts, perhaps the greatest book in Portuguese literature was born?’: José Saramago, ‘“A nua verdade”’, Deste mundo e do outro (Lisbon: Editorial Arcádia, 1971), pp. 171–73. 3 William J. Entwistle, ‘Prolegomena to an Edition of Fernão Lopes’, Hispanic Review, 3:2 (1935), 138–48.

2

TIAGO VIÚLA DE FARIA

Not only Entwistle – whose edition in the original Portuguese of the Crónica de D. João I, Part 2, forms the basis of the translation in hand4 – but also his contemporary and fellow Oxonian, Aubrey F. G. Bell, advocated for the unrestricted dissemination of Lopes’s works regardless of language. As if Entwistle’s eulogy of Lopes as ‘the greatest master of Portuguese prose’ were not enough, for Aubrey Bell Lopes ranked among the world’s greatest writers. He is the finest chronicler of all, ‘the Middle Ages at their best’.5 And yet, even if Lusophone scholarship has since caught up with Lopes, the chronicler and his work remain largely beyond non-Portuguese speakers’ notice, conspicuously that of medieval historians.6 Despite the existence of a bilingual English/Portuguese anthology – Lomax and Oakley’s invaluable The English in Portugal7 – the fact remains that social, political, and even military and political scholars have taken little notice of such material, notwithstanding its considerable usefulness for matters such as the Hundred Years War and its context, to mention just one.8 As explained in the general introduction to the present edition, Fernão Lopes was probably of relatively humble extraction and became a notary by training. Slowly but steadily, he worked his way up Portugal’s royal administration

4 Fernão Lopes, Cronica del Rei Dom Joham I de boa memoria e dos reis de Portugal o decimo, Parte segunda, ed. William J. Entwistle (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, 1977), relying on two manuscript copies: London, British Library Add. MS 20946, and Lisbon, Torre do Tombo, Crónicas 13 (formerly TT MS 365; see [|Accessed 18 October 2022]). Part 2 was copied into approximately 46 known manuscripts from before 1700: Bibliografia de textos antigos galegos e portugueses (BITAGAP), Work ID number 1046, online at [Accessed 18 October 2022]. 5 Aubrey F. G. Bell, Fernam Lopez (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1921), quoted from p. 52; Entwistle, ‘Prolegomena’, p. 138. 6 Teresa Amado, Bibliografia de Fernão Lopes (Lisbon: Edições Cosmos, 1991), and Isabel V. Cepeda, Bibliografia da prosa medieval em língua portuguesa: Subsídios (Lisbon: Instituto da Biblioteca Nacional e do Livro, 1995) provide an excellent entry point into Lopesian studies, updated in BITAGAP, Bio ID number 1028 ( [Accessed 18 October 2022]), including significant contributions from Brazil. 7 Derek W. Lomax and R. J. Oakley (eds and trans), The English in Portugal, 1367–87: Extracts from the Chronicles of Dom Fernando and Dom João (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1988). 8 Notable exceptions include Jonathan Sumption, The Hundred Years War, III: Divided Houses (London: Faber & Faber, 2009), and Peter E. Russell, The English Intervention in Spain and Portugal in the Time of Edward III and Richard II (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955), which remains the first port of call for information about the external relations of 14th-century Christian Iberia.

INTRODUCTION

3

under the first three monarchs of the Avis dynasty.9 He became a vassal of the dynasty’s founder, João of Avis (r. 1385 to 1433 as João I), and, more importantly, he received the patronage of no fewer than four of João’s children. When in 1418 he was appointed ‘overseer general of the papers in the royal archive’ (guarda das escrituras do tombo), Lopes was already a personal secretary to the crown prince and João’s deputy, Duarte. Duarte kept Lopes in the job after succeeding his father as king (r. 1433–1438). At the same time, Lopes was also the privy secretary of Duarte’s younger brother, Fernando, a position he had held since at least 1422. At some point, he entered the household of Henrique (Henry ‘the Navigator’) as a knight. He kept on serving the ruling House of Avis as head archivist, notary public, and chronicler-royal for a further two reigns: firstly, under Prince Pedro, when he became regent of the realm for Afonso V (the son and heir of Pedro’s elder brother, Duarte), and at the end of his career under Afonso himself.10 On 19 March 1434, King Duarte officially charged Lopes as head archivist with the mission of chronicling the histories of the former kings of Portugal (de poer em caronyca as estorias dos reys que antygamente em Portugal forom) in return for a stipend for life.11 In some ways, this almost replicated (or perhaps it solemnised) an earlier commission for a chronicle. The so-called Crónica de 1419, the composition of which started on 1 July 1419, probably at the request of none other than Duarte, takes its narrative back some 325 years, starting with the arrival of Henri of Burgundy (the father of Afonso Henriques, first king of Portugal) in the Iberian Peninsula, and carries it onto the mid-1300s with the reign of Afonso IV (d. 1357). There is no doubt that the Crónica de 1419 had been meant to include also the reigns of Fernando and João, and one would presume Pedro’s as well.12 Whether Fernão Lopes was the author of the Crónica de 1419 cannot be stated with absolute certainty, but it is highly likely that he did advance through at least such a project as that described in 1434. Lopes himself claims to have listed the names of Count Henri’s knightly companions and to have narrated the death of Afonso IV in a 9 Chris Given-Wilson, ‘General Introduction to The Chronicles of Fernão Lopes’, in Amélia P. Hutchinson, Juliet Perkins, et al., The Chronicles of Fernão Lopes, I: The Chronicle of King Pedro of Portugal, trans. R. C. Willis, Philip Krummrich, et al. (Woodbridge: Tamesis, 2023), pp. 3–4. 10 See for example the introduction to Fernão Lopes, Crónica del Rei Dom João I da boa memoria. Parte primeira, ed. Anselmo B. Freire (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, 1977), pp. xxviii–xlii (henceforth Crónica, Part I). 11 Lisbon, Torre do Tombo, Chancelaria de D. Afonso V, liv. 19, f. 22, published by Freire in Crónica, Part I, p. xlv (doc. 1). 12 Adelino A. Calado (ed.), Crónica de Portugal de 1419 (Aveiro: UA Editora, 1998). For this debate, see principally Filipe A. Moreira, A Crónica de Portugal de 1419: fontes, estratégias e posteridade (Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 2013).

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prior volume.13 It seems certain that he would have undertaken this in chronological order, meaning that what corresponds to the volume in hand was the last to be written. According to internal evidence, in 1443 Lopes would have been close to finishing the first part of Dom João I or a draft of it.14 Part 2, therefore, would have been put together at a time between close to that year and 1454, at which point Lopes officially retired, at his own request, due to old age. He had made some progress in researching the final portion of João I’s reign, but it was left to Gomes Eanes de Zurara, Lopes’s successor as head archivist and chronicler-royal, to finish. The outcome materialised as a chronicle of João’s conquest of Ceuta in the year 1415.15 In championing such an ambitious undertaking, João I’s successor Duarte was in line with monarchical traditions elsewhere, namely the sponsoring of historical writing for self-aggrandising purposes, to further impress the ruling elites’ credentials on audiences both present and future. It is widely known that for centuries the French rulers had employed the monks and abbey of Saint-Denis as vehicles for shaping visual and textual testimonies to royalty – inextricable as they were from the history of France itself. So, the chronicles written in the third quarter of the 13th century, probably by the monk Primat at the request of Louis IX, already incorporated narratives that were older. The resulting body of work, known collectively as the Grandes chroniques de France, continued to be extensively edited and expanded in succession at the orders of the French monarchs.16 The Iberian kings, perhaps most notably Alfonso X of Castile (Duarte’s third-great-grandfather), similarly ordered the history of the land, and of the lineage, to be committed to writing. Nevertheless, the enrolment of any writer for life – especially one who was not a clergyman – as a historiographer, if we will, appears to have had little or no precedent at all. Even the incumbent chroniqueur de France seems not to have enjoyed a fixed wage before 1465.17 This alone makes Lopes quite 13

Crónica, Part I, Chapter 159. Chronicle chapter numbers, as a rule, are valid for any edition of Fernão Lopes’s works, including the present one. When the full word ‘Chapter’ is used, it is an encouragement to the reader to consult the appropriate chronicle in the present edition. 14 Crónica, Part I, ch. 163; also ch. 1 in the chronicle of King Pedro. 15 Parts of which are available in translation: Virgínia C. e Almeida (ed.), Conquests and Discoveries of Henry the Navigator: Being the Chronicles of Azurara – Portuguese Navigators and Colonizers of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, trans. Bernard Miall (London: Routledge, 1936). 16 On the historiographical fashioning of the Chroniques to suit the royal agenda, see for example Gabrielle M. Spiegel, ‘Medieval Canon Formation and the Rise of Royal Historiography in Old French Prose’, Modern Language Notes, 108:4 (1993), 638–58. 17 Bernard Guenée, ‘Histoires, annales, chroniques. Essai sur les genres historiques au Moyen Âge’, Annales, 28 (1973), 997–1016, at p.1013; Chris Given-Wilson,

INTRODUCTION

5

exceptional. With a quarter of a century as keeper of the archives already under his belt, by 1434 he must have proven himself already up to the task; a task that, besides copious amounts of time, required of him an in-depth knowledge of the sources, a fitting research method, and the ideological commitment to his patrons. Most critics seem to agree that, overall, Lopes negotiated these requirements admirably. Coming to the structure of Lopes’s work, his assignment of 1434 had been ‘to render into [a] chronicle the histories of Portugal’s former kings’. This is important in that it challenges what has been our perception of Fernão Lopes’s attributed body of work. After all, we may not be in the presence of a series of chronicles as such. Strictly speaking, ‘the chronicles of Fernão Lopes’ as they have become known, may well be envisaged instead as a single grand narrative of Portugal’s past, one that is broken into semi-articulated sections, thought out according to reign – these being the estorias dos reys as stated in Lopes’s commission. Such an understanding would help to explain why the character João of Avis is first introduced in Pedro’s reign (Chapter 43), even though at that stage there is not much to say about him, other than infusing João’s beginnings with an auspicious premonition. So we learn of how João, a boy of seven, was given the role of master of the military order of the knights of Avis, and of how his father, King Pedro, dreamt that one day someone of the boy’s description would restore the kingdom from a great conflagration.18 Thereafter, in the account of Fernando’s rule, as the narrative unfolds Fernão Lopes will allow João increasingly more attention. Predictably, this grand narrative reaches its pinnacle with the development of João’s regime and ultimately of the current reigning house in the dynasty of Avis.19 What seems to be the concept of the chronicle as a unified whole takes hold when Lopes, in the prologue to King Pedro, cites ‘the organisation of our reasoning, already expounded in the first prologue’ (a hordem do nosso rrazoado, no primeiro prollogo ja tangida). Thus, there existed a general prologue to the work, unfortunately lost, which gave details of the ratiocination behind the chronicle.20 According to a royal writ, transcribed by Damião de ‘Official and Semi-Official History in the Later Middle Ages: The English Evidence in Context’, The Medieval Chronicle, 5 (2008): 1–16, at pp. 12‒14. 18 On the importance of prophecy and dreams in relation to ‘truth’, Chris GivenWilson, Chronicles: The Writing of History in Medieval England (London and New York: Hambledon and London, 2004), pp. 38–56. 19 Luís de Sousa Rebelo first considered these works a trilogy for the same reasons: A concepção do poder em Fernão Lopes (Lisbon: Horizonte, 1983), especially pp. 113–16. 20 Early Portuguese dictionaries agree in the definition of ‘razoamento’/‘rezoar’/’ar rezoar’ as to justify an argument; to discuss by presenting the reasons for and against; to organise discourse. See among others Raphael Bluteau, Vocabulario portuguez e

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Góis in the Chronica do Felicissimo Rei Dom Emanuel about a century later, when Lopes’s chronicler stipend was raised in 1449 (15 years after the 1434 commission), the work he was still devoting himself to appropriately kept its designation as ha Chronica dos feitos dos reis de Portugal.21 This might have corresponded with the listing designated as Coronica de Portugal in the inventory of the king’s books made at the time of Duarte’s passing.22 The item could be identified as the chronicle of Fernão Lopes, then ongoing.23 Thus, rather than seeing the ‘chronicles’ of Pedro, Fernando, and João as autonomous works, we might come closer to the author’s original intent in appreciating them as inter-communicating pieces in a connected narrative – Pedro, Fernando, and João with Parts 1 and 2 – as seemingly they had been conceived. In the end, they all take on the familiar shape of a royal biography,24 which is hardly surprising, given the chronicle’s purpose to extol the institutional and historical foundations on which Duarte’s own kingship rested, although Lopes does not fail to push his various storylines along, without losing sight of the bigger picture. However, if Fernão Lopes’s chronicle was organised from the perspective of monarchical succession, why are there unambiguously two parts to João, arranged in an orderly fashion and each with its own prologue? Evidently, Lopes was concerned with singling out the period extending from Fernando’s death in 1383 to the coronation of João in 1385 (Part 1) from the one that came afterwards (Part 2). Part 1 has the very same significance as a full-blown account, which Lopes names ‘the deeds of the master of Avis’. What this does is to cohere the period of João’s regency, making it distinct from the next, which Lopes calls the ‘deeds of the king’, because, politically and constitutionally speaking, it formed a cogent historical moment.25 This was no longer Fernando’s age, but we are not quite yet in that of King João I. Not only does Part 1 fulfil the need to prop up the figure of João (and in so doing helps to validate his dubious claim to legitimate sovereignty), more strikingly latino, 10 vols (Lisbon: Officina de Pascoal da Sylva, 1728), vol. 7, and Bento Pereira, Thesouro da lingua portugueza (Lisbon: Paulo Craesbeeck, 1647). 21 Damião de Góis, Cronica do felicissimo rei D. Manuel, ed. Joaquim M. T. de Carvalho and David Lopes, 4 vols (Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade, 1926), vol. 4, ch. 38 (p. 93); first noted by Freire in Crónica, Part I, p. xxxi and n. 55. 22 King Duarte of Portugal, Livro dos conselhos de El-Rei D. Duarte (livro da cartuxa), ed. João J. A. Dias (Lisbon: Editorial Estampa, 1982), p. 207. 23 Moreira, A Crónica de Portugal de 1419, p. 52, hypothesises that the ‘coronica de Portugal’ could have consisted of Lopes’s outputs. 24 The format became standard in the ‘official’ historiography of the kingdom: Bernardo V. e Sousa, ‘Medieval Portuguese Royal Chronicles. Topics in a Discourse of Identity and Power’, e-Journal of Portuguese History, 5:2 (2007), 1–7. 25 On the recognition of politics as a main structural component in Fernão Lopes, see Rebelo, A concepção do poder, pp. 23–27.

INTRODUCTION

7

it fully recognises another need, perhaps even more important, which is to do justice to additional political actors at play. Hence Lopes’s famous teasing out of the role of ‘the people’ in shaping the course of events.26 The fact that Lopes’s povoo hardly features in Part 2 stresses the author’s understanding of the key driving forces at stake and their change over time. After João’s crowning, Lopes’s attention noticeably shifts to the more or less condensed constellation of nobles that surrounded the new king; much in the same way that, for example, in interpreting the times of Fernando (and of Pedro, to some extent), much of the chronicler’s emphasis had been on the interaction between the monarchy and the king himself with rival lineages. Fernão Lopes stands out as the observer and interpreter of the shifting forces in history. Nowhere do we see how Lopes brings the nobility more sharply into focus in the present volume than in the way in which he handles the condestável Nuno Álvares Pereira, João’s field marshal and kingmaker. Nuno Álvares takes pride of place in Part 2, featuring in the title of 34 chapters, with a number of additional chapters equally concerned with his actions. He is the sung hero of battles – first and foremost the Battle of Aljubarrota – and of tireless campaigning in Castile and across the Portuguese regions of Entre-Douroe-Minho, the Alentejo, Extremadura, Trás-os-Montes, and the Beiras, during which he helps his king quell the resistance of local barons and the opposition of regional magnates. Akin to João I, Nuno Álvares is the leader of armies, but we also witness in him the ascent of the grandee – from younger son to royal favourite, to military commander, to Portugal’s only count (the highest rank in the nobility), to vast estate-owner, to taking vassals of his own, and finally to becoming the king’s in-law. Interestingly, the final chapters in Part 2 concern the marriages of King João’s two illegitimate children: Beatriz into the English peerage, and Afonso to Nuno Álvares’s only child and heiress. A dynasty was thus created in Afonso that did not lag far behind João’s main line and the royal house in wealth, possessions, and following. As a result, Fernão Lopes is especially aware of the potential strains and instability presented by this ‘new’ nobility on the rise – of which Nuno Álvares is the prime example, though by no means the only one – expecting their reward from the regime they had fought so hard for. As he introduces the dynastic union of Avis and Pereira, Lopes makes sure that Dom Afonso is shown every bit as much regard as João’s legitimate offspring, that is Afonso’s half-brothers and sisters. Lopes’s judiciously crafted exercise of reconciliation is best illustrated in chapters 148 and 149. Here, every member of João’s progeny is counted, with an even-handed Lopes sticking to the bare facts of biography. Even Duarte, his long-time benefactor, is modestly described: ‘another son of the king, who was known as the Infante Eduarte … reigned

26

Many passages accentuate this, most notably the last paragraph in Chapter 163.

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after his father’. The chronicler then sets off on a long disquisition about filial obedience (obidiemcia), citing examples, ranging from Antiquity to Portugal’s own history, of great harm being inflicted by son turning against father – including the rift between Afonso IV and João’s own father, Pedro, about whom no criticism is spared. Lopes backs these assertions further, resorting to epistolary material with which he was clearly familiar, and which might have resounded with his contemporary readers/listeners, namely the letters of Petrarch to the Roman statesman Stefano Colonna, and of Peter of Blois to ‘a crown prince of England’, who could be no other than Henry the Young King, the eldest among the surviving legitimate sons of Henry II. In trying not to please one at the expense of the other, or in other words in glorifying unity and condemning dissent, Fernão Lopes could well have been reacting to the momentous political crisis felt at the time of writing. After Duarte had died in 1438, animosity between his brother, Prince Pedro, who became regent of Portugal shortly afterwards, and their half-brother Dom Afonso escalated. The conflict would end drastically with Pedro being killed on the battlefield in 1449. In addition, the social climate was heavy with discontent. Just as in the years 1383–1385, the povoo (with Lisbon and Oporto once again at the helm) as a constitutional collective demanded the reinforcing of rights, as testified by a long list of grievances presented before the parliament of 1439.27 In all likelihood, Lopes was a very mindful observer of his own historical time, bookended, as it were, by two major civic upheavals.28 What is crucial, however, is that as a writer he never seems willing to sacrifice objectivity. If we consider that the chronicle’s audience would have extended beyond the (often at odds) royal and seigneurial spheres, so as to take in also the town magnates and well-to-do burghers that increasingly epitomised the kingdom’s most prosperous cities, then the work of Fernão Lopes – with its impressive breadth and sense of balance – may well have appealed to more than a narrow fringe of Portugal’s educated. Whereas those themes can be seen as the main underpinnings of Part 2, others will be more obvious. Lopes’s diegesis on King João hinges on six or seven focal sub-plots, communicated in chronological order: campaigning in northern Portugal (April–June 1385); events surrounding Aljubarrota (April– August 1385); incursions into Castile and defending the border (August 1385– April 1386); John of Gaunt’s Iberian affairs (July 1386–September 1387); further belligerence with Castile (1388–1400); and peace-making (1400–1411).29 The narrative is made all the richer by the interspersion of smaller thematic clusters. 27 João J. A. Dias and Pedro Pinto (eds), Cortes portuguesas: reinado de D. Afonso V (Cortes de 1439) (Lisbon: Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2016). 28 As posited in João G. Monteiro, Fernão Lopes: texto e contexto (Coimbra: Minerva 1988), p. 39. 29 The dates are approximate.

INTRODUCTION

9

These can take the form of anecdotes, circumstantial vignettes, or the author’s own meditations, at times offered as full chapters. Thus, the specific aim of chapter 173 is ‘to challenge some of the explanations given by a historian in his chronicle’ (a reference to the Castilian chronicler, Pero López de Ayala), with Lopes duly imparting to the reader the evidence he had found, while Chapters 66 and 67 deal with Juan I of Castile’s relations with Charles VI of France and the Avignon papacy, following defeat at Aljubarrota, or Chapter 117, which sheds light on the attempt to assassinate John of Gaunt. In other instances, however, clusters appear to be placed gracelessly and are even unwieldy, which raises the question of intentionality: is it possible that Part 2 was never quite finished (though most of its manuscripts appear to be relatively consistent in content)?; or was Lopes compelled to insert certain material (perhaps as with Chapters 199 and 200, on the virtues of Nuno Álvares, the odd placing of which serving only to reinforce their lustre)?; or, in framing the narrative, was the chronicler simply working up spaces which he felt needed filling? By all accounts, Fernão Lopes clearly revels in telling a good story – and in having a good story to tell. He is at his best when dealing with the density and breadth of complex events. The affairs of Castile and occasionally Aragon had already been accounted for in the lives of Pedro and Fernando, sometimes almost as penetratingly as Portugal’s. The same is true with some of the byzantine Anglo-French politics of the period. In the life of João, while Part 1 had rendered comprehensible the courtly intrigue that had made the master of Avis’s ascent possible, Part 2 comes somewhat closer to Fernando in that it brings war and diplomacy more to the fore. Here, Lopes is most comfortable recounting great battles and military campaigns – his vivid descriptions of warfare in general, including facets like siegecraft, army organisation, clandestine missions, and the defence of towns and fortifications, are as captivating as ever. As he may have come from a family of artisans, Lopes’s apparent ease with martial topics may seem intriguing. Conceivably, it could have come from contact with his patrons at court. Duarte, his closest, was the author of a treatise on horsemanship, João I of another, on large game hunting, and there were other veterans of Ceuta and the Maghrebine battleground, not to mention the last survivors from the old wars: João I and Nuno Álvares Pereira themselves lived into the 1430s.30 If the world of diplomacy and negotiation may seem admittedly less colourful to portray than what has just been described, then its analysis calls for added nuance. It is especially telling that a man of such admirable historical 30 João G. Monteiro, Miguel G. Martins, and Tiago V. de Faria, ‘Another 1415: Portugal’s Military Landscape at the Time of Agincourt’, Journal of Medieval History, 43 (2017), 118–35, reprinted in Rémy Ambühl and Craig Lambert (eds), Agincourt in Context: War on Land and Sea (London and New York: Routledge, 2018). Consider the section on ‘Portuguese military culture at the start of the fifteenth century’.

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grounding as Fernão Lopes would fail to be used in Avis diplomacy at some point in his career. He just may have lacked the appropriate skills. Although a seasoned notary and administrator, the fact remains that Lopes was never a lawyer, nor even, one might perhaps assume, as talented an orator as a writer. But even his shortcomings in that sense can be spun in a positive light. This is because of the approach favoured by Lopes as a historian. He often reminds us of his preoccupation with accuracy and reliability (manifest in the prologue to Part 1 better than anywhere else). Indeed, the less confident Lopes is with the matter being dealt with, the sharper his method. In compliance, he trails closely behind his sources, at times even copying down whatever he feels should be left to his audience to see and judge for themselves. Whenever breaking away from a key narrative source – as with the Castilian chronicler Pero López de Ayala in Chapter 173, already mentioned – Lopes thickens the narrative with supporting evidence as varied as papal bulls, diplomatic correspondence, memoranda to messengers and ambassadors, international treaties, royal decrees, and sermons from members of the clergy.31 This certainly adds to his work a strong sense of dependability, modernity even. Yet, we stand reminded, if to the medieval chronicler the value of being unbiased was much vaunted and desired, that still does not mean that history is neutral.32 Fernão Lopes, the gifted history-teller, pleads to be the trusted servant of ‘truth’, but the moral and political models that he offers his readership equally remain at the heart of the crónica. Such is the paradox of the medieval chronicle – and Lopes its most refined interpreter.

31 A good English introduction to Fernão Lopes’s critical approach and editorial methods is still Peter E. Russell, ‘On the Sources of Fernão Lopes’, in Portugal, Spain and the African Atlantic, 1343–1490: Chivalry and Crusade from John of Gaunt to Henry the Navigator (Aldershot: Variorum, 1995), II, pp. 1–30, reproducing Peter E. Russell, As fontes de Fernão Lopes (Coimbra: Coimbra Editora 1941). About sermons reinforcing certain points in the chronicles, Patricia A. O. de Baubeta, ‘Towards a History of Preaching in Medieval Portugal’, Portuguese Studies, 7 (1991), 1–18 (at pp. 13–14). Specifically on Ayala, Selena Simonatti, ‘Fernão Lopes ”traductor” de Pero López de Ayala: Pedro I “el Cruel” de Castilla en la Crónica de don Pedro’, in F. Bautista Pérez and J. Gamba Corradine (eds), Estudios sobre la Edad Media, el Renacimiento y la temprana modernidad (San Millán de la Cogolla: Cilengua, 2010), pp. 383–92; Luis Fernández Gallardo, ‘La Crónica de D. Fernando de Fernão Lopes: una perspectiva hispánica’, in A. Martínez Pérez and A. L. Baquero Escudero (eds), Estudios de literatura medieval. 25 años de la Asociación Hispánica de Literatura Medieval (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, 2012), pp. 379–88. 32 ‘Si l’impartialité est qualité recherchée et vantée [par les chroniqueurs], l’histoire n’est pas neutre’: Pierre Courroux, L’Écriture de l’histoire dans les chroniques françaises (XIIe–XVe siècle) (Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2016), p. 861.

THE CHRONICLE OF KING JOÃO I OF PORTUGAL, PART 2

Prologue

W

e have given you a reasoned account in recording what happened to the Master on the death of Count Juan Fernández and in describing other matters which then ensued, relating each event from the very first steps he took up to the time when he was proclaimed king, as you have heard.1 Now, with the help of God and by adopting once again our established order of approach, we are minded to reveal all his noble achievements from the beginning of his reign until the very end of his blessed days.2 As it has been our practice to begin the narrative of each and every reign by imparting the noble qualities of the respective monarch, and as we did not wish to deviate from our earlier procedure, we would have liked to do the same in the case of this particular sovereign. However, we recalled the dictate of the philosopher Favorinus,3 which made us so fearful that we dared not do so. He declares that it is a more shameful deed to praise a person briefly and sparsely than it is to speak great ill of that person. That is because someone who utters modest praise about a man reveals that he indeed wishes to praise him but fails to find in him quite the worthy characteristics which would enable him to be given a lofty eulogy. But someone who goes to great lengths to present a derogatory case against another person clearly shows to everybody that hatred and malice have driven him to do so. Accordingly, as we are unequal to the task of praising this powerful monarch at length, nor suited to give an account of his noble qualities, owing to the immense worth of his achievements, we would prefer not to discuss them, in recognition that it would be more appropriate for them to be set down by some great and eloquent scholar who could properly delineate the sequence of his meritorious deeds. Nevertheless, as we would thus be totally breaking with our established method, which would be reprehensible, it is with no little fear and haste that, despite the case that we have made, we shall briefly touch on a small number of praiseworthy achievements, just as has been our practice in the case of other kings. For the sake of brevity, and setting aside the many praiseworthy deeds which a number of authors, writing before us, have striven to describe in lengthy

1 In

CKJ1. As will be seen, Fernão Lopes’s account goes up to c. 1411, a little over halfway through King João’s reign, which ended in 1433. 3 Favorinus of Arelata, modern Arles (c. A.D. 85–155), was a Roman philosopher who flourished during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. 2

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THE CHRONICLE OF KING JOÃO I OF PORTUGAL, PART 2

and detailed accounts, we shall limit ourselves to praising the following few deeds which they record, as though they all spoke with one voice, and just as they described them. This great and most honourable lord, the most outstanding of all the kings of Portugal, was always a truly loyal Catholic, in such a way that what most shines forth in a prince, namely a strong faith, was clearly fulfilled in him. He paid great devotion to the Blessed Virgin, revering Her with singular affection. For her praise, he translated the prayers of his daily devotions into Portuguese, making their words appropriate to address the Virgin Mary and her Blessed Son, with the result that many people adopted these prayers in their own devotions, something that there is no memory of having been done before. He commanded great scholars to translate into the vernacular the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Letters of Saint Paul and other spiritual books written by the saints, so that those who heard them might be more devout in their pursuit of God’s law. He always subjugated the deeds of his own life to the Christian faith, showing great obedience to the High Shepherd of the Church4 and deep and seemly reverence for the prelates and ministers thereof. He was the sovereign who added the Cross to the arms of Portugal, because those of the Order of which he was Master bear a green cross on a white field. In his recognition that Almighty God had granted him the lofty rank of king, he did not forget His commandments and set aside certain hours of the day and night to give Him thanks and praise. Despite all his blessings he never became swollen with pride but always praised and thanked God for all of them and was entirely trustworthy in his dealings with friend and foe alike. In his progress along the royal highway he never took one step in the wrong direction, for all that there was no shortage of those seeking to shred his immense fame with envious and raging teeth. In his conversation he behaved in a gentle and honourable way, issuing orders which it was a pleasure to carry out and using words which were always delicate and courteous. Never did anyone ever hear vile or foul language issue from his mouth. He was not hot-tempered or cruel; rather, he was gentle, and his punishments were benign, so that both the virtues that a king should possess, namely justice and compassion, were amply fulfilled in this monarch. He never went to war against his enemies for any trivial reason. Rather, recognising that peace means freedom in repose, he always strove mightily to come to terms with them and advised his own people to be so discreet as to forestall any grievance which might cause discord to arise among them. He was a man of great intellect and nobility of custom, a man who hugely deserved to be both honoured and loved, and

4

The Pope.

PROLOGUE

15

a gracious companion of noblemen and great lords, as well as being kindly in his dealings with common folk. The censure earned by the reprehensible behaviour of certain kings cannot be directed at this man, namely that, because hardly any man is satisfied with just one woman, they abandon their wives and belong to no woman, since one is not enough for them, and get embroiled with other women, thus jeopardising their own souls and scandalising their subjects. However, this man’s praiseworthy behaviour in this matter is quite remarkable. That is because he most strongly resisted and restrained himself against that vice ever after he took as his consort Queen Philippa, a lady most excellent in her lineage and in her customs, for all that she brought with her a vast household of attractive women, with whom he could just as freely have sated his desires. He loved and honoured his wife with a chaste and decorous love. Never, however, on that account was his fond affection for her confronted by such requests and entreaties on her part concerning judicial matters as to cause him not to fulfil all that the law demanded of him. Among all the virtues which shone out from this monarch was the virtue of largesse, which he never forgot to bring to bear in every action. For that reason everyone felt it was their duty to love and serve him, because they all received great and significant favours from him, each one according to his status. Not unjustly has this king been counted among those princes fortunate in war, but it is also fitting that those kings who come after him should follow his example, as if he were their master, and learn the rules of royal governance, such that, if it is a greater achievement to rule a kingdom justly and temperately than it is to have gained it, then he fully deserves the praise and glory for doing so. That is because, whereas it is quite obvious that honours can change one’s habits, this general rule does not apply in his case, and he seemed worthier to reign by dint of his virtues and honourable qualities than on the grounds of the royal lineage from which he was descended. Oh most noble prince, most excellent flower of all Portugal’s kings, those authors write well who have said that a special grace has caused all human virtues to blossom in you, such that in our poor talent we have not dared to speak about them; as for these few virtues which we have gleaned from the works of others, we have summarised them, so that it cannot be said that we have broken our first rule and so that we can once again pursue our straightforward account.

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Chapter 1

Concerning the offices to which the king appointed certain people, and concerning matters which were then decided in Cortes5

O

nce the Master had been installed in his royal eminence, invested with his lofty undertaking, and accepted by everyone as their liege lord, he at once appointed his household officials and those officers necessary for other matters throughout the realm. Apart from Nuno Álvares, who was made Constable [of Portugal] and chief steward, the following were installed in office: Álvaro Pereira as marshal of the army; Gil Vasques da Cunha as standard-bearer; João Fernandes Pacheco as chief of the royal guard; Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos as chief bailiff of the province of the Minho; Nuno Viegas the Younger as chief bailiff of the province of Trás-os-Montes; Afonso Furtado as captain general of the fleet; Estêvão Vasques Filipe as commander-in-chief of the crossbowmen; João Rodrigues de Sá as head chamberlain; João Gomes da Silva as chief cup-bearer; Pero Lourenço de Távora as master of the great wardrobe; Lourenço Eanes Fogaça, who was away in England, as chancellor of the great seal, with Doctor João das Regras acting in his name; Gonçalo Peres his clerk of the crown in chancery; Afonso Martins, who had been the Abbot of Pombeiro, as private secretary to the king; João Gil and Martim da Maia as comptrollers of finance; Lourenço Martins, who had been governor of Leiria, as chief treasurer; Fernando Álvares de Almeida as comptroller of the finances of the royal household (the king also made him commander of Juromenha, an office held till then by Fernão Rodrigues de Sequeira, and made him a knight of the Order of Avis, while Fernão Rodrigues was promoted to the rank of grand commander); similarly, other officials were appointed throughout the realm in accordance with the king’s view as to what was required. As for the mastership [of the Order of Avis], he retained that for himself. We shall have a few things to relate about the Cortes which were then held – the first to be summoned by the king – particularly because certain enquirers would like to know what was requested of their liege lord in that assembly by the people of the nation who had so recently chosen him as their king, and how keen he was to reward them for their excellent service 5 The Cortes was the national assembly, as a rule, formed by representatives drawn from the three estates: the nobility, the clergy, and the commoners, the task of which was to advise the king on legislation. There, all these people, especially those representing the concelhos (the town and city communities) had the opportunity to make their complaints and claims to the king, sometimes very bluntly. This assembly in due course evolved into the parliament of the nineteenth century.



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to him. These matters we record, so that you can see the procedure that was adopted, even though not everything is presented here nor are things in the order in which they took place, and we shall only touch briefly on a number of issues, which we now go on to mention. One of these issues was presented as follows: His Majesty was well aware that the best and most important principle, essential to every great lord or prince, and to him likewise, was to have honourable advisers who should always accompany him, so as to ensure the perfect governance of the realm and the maintenance therein of justice and the rule of law. Accordingly, since much harm and damage, or many good benefits, proceeded from such advisers, depending on the nature of the advice which they gave to kings, they entreated His Majesty not to take on nor to have in his service any persons who were unreliable or a threat to him, for that was very dangerous and much to be feared. They had been told that he wished to take on, as members of his retinue and of his royal council, a number of men who had been in the service of Queen Leonor and had, indeed, been long-serving members of her household, men who constituted a major threat, not only to him, but even to the honourable service of the realm, and were indeed highly damaging also to them, his people, because they would always seek to cause them harm, death and dishonour. Therefore, even if he were pleased to forgive them and to count them among his followers, they begged him not to give them any office in his household or in the city [of Lisbon]. Instead, from the four estates6 of the realm – prelates and noblemen, learned scholars and citizens – they entreated him to deign to choose the following whom they now named: [from the clergy] Dom João, who was Bishop of Évora, and Rui Lourenço, who was Dean of Coimbra; from the nobility, Diogo Lopes Pacheco, Vasco Martins da Cunha, Gonçalo Mendes de Vasconcelos and Vasco Martins de Melo; from the learned scholars, Doctor Gil do Sém, Doctor João das Regras, Doctor Martim Afonso and João Afonso de Azambuja, who was a bachelor of laws. Then those from Lisbon declared the following: Since the residents of the said city loved him more than did any others in his kingdom, they had claimed and urged that he should take that lofty position where God had placed him and which he now occupied, and as the king was in the habit of 6 Note the reference to the four estates, now including the letrados. These trained professional lawyers in the royal service as a permanent element in royal councils was a feature of constitutional development in the late 14th century in the Iberian kingdoms, as elsewhere. Nevertheless, in listing these ‘learned scholars’ as a separate and distinctive estate of the realm, the Coimbra assembly was taking a significant step further, possibly in recognition of the decisive role that João das Regras and his colleagues had played in grounding its own somewhat ad hoc existence and decisions within a framework of law.

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following the advice given by the citizens, God would always direct his deeds into ever-improving courses, as had been the case so far, they begged from him the boon that, to the honour of the said city, he should always count, as a member of his royal council, one of the city’s native sons, whom the city would choose. From Oporto three were nominated, from whom one was to be selected: Vasco Fernandes Ferraz, or Martim Abade, or Domingos Peres das Eiras; from the city of Coimbra, Gonçalo Esteves, or Álvaro Fernandes, or Afonso Domingues de Aveiro; and from Évora, Fernão Gonçalves da Arca, Luís Gonçalves [Carvalhais], or Pero Sanches [Carvoeiro]. The king replied to these entreaties as follows: With a royal council composed of the prelates and noblemen whose names were put forward by the Cortes, along with one citizen from each of the cities which they had mentioned, including one from Lisbon to be elected by that city, it was his pleasure to rule over and govern the kingdom through justice and the rule of law, to do this just as well as those who had done it the best, and to do so even better still, if that were possible, as, please God, all his people could see. He added that, as for the former criados7 of Queen Leonor, his approach to them would be as the Cortes requested of him, and he promised to stand by that undertaking to them. Then those from Lisbon also stated the following: His Grace was well aware that of all the cities of Portugal, Lisbon was the best and noblest in the kingdom, and that, since the courts of kings and great lords should be in the best places, they urged him to ensure that his court should always be located in Lisbon. Furthermore, since the greatest truth and loyalty in the realm necessarily resided in those who held the seals, both the seals that were public and those that were confidential and secret, and since, among all the other towns, large and small, throughout the kingdom, Lisbon had been the main city in always upholding such truth and loyalty, then in honour of that city they requested him to entrust his seals to whomsoever he chose, provided that he was a native of the city, and to no one else. The king declared that it gave him pleasure that the court should be based in Lisbon, that he should not entrust the public seals to anyone other than a native of the city, and that the confidential seals should be given to other people whose loyalty to serve him he trusted. Similarly, the Cortes declared as follows: Given that there are matters which pertain to all people, and about which everyone feels both involvement and concern, they, the people, ought regularly to be called upon, so that decisions could be put into effect after their due agreement and advice. Since also they were denied this by his brother King Fernando, who did as he saw fit in matters which pertained to the state of the kingdom (from which many evils ensued, 7 Someone, usually from a distinguished background, brought up (‘criado’ in Portuguese) in the house of a great lord and, therefore, a faithful vassal.



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as was widely recognised by everybody), they pleaded with him not to make peace or war without their agreement, nor to enter into marriage. The king answered as follows: In respect of war and peace, except for the war which he had begun in the nation’s honour and for the defence of the realm, he had no intention of beginning any other without their due agreement and advice. As for marriage, since marriages have to be entered into freely, and since the kings his predecessors had been able to marry freely, he did not accept the obligation to promise any such thing. However, it was his wish duly to inform them about it, whensoever it might please God to provide him with the opportunity. Likewise, the people were greatly offended by marriages en bloc, stating that King Fernando and his wife Queen Leonor, through letters of request,8 had caused numbers of widows to remarry against their will, as well as other women who were subject to the power of their parents and relatives, in cases where the men they remarried were not suitable for them; indeed, if they refused to get married, these men would send for these women and would have them follow them [with the court] for four or five months, spending what they possessed. What was worse, in a very short time some men frittered away on reprehensible habits and practices what wealth the women had, reducing them to abject poverty. Such behaviour ran quite contrary to conscience, to the service of God, and to the free choice with which marriage should be contracted. Consequently, the people entreated the king not to issue such letters, nor to bring about such marriages. To this the king replied that he had no intention of making anybody marry against his or her will and that, even when letters of request were issued concerning such matters, each person should do whatever he or she felt to be in his or her best interests, for he had no wish to force anybody into anything nor to cause any distress on this account. Each person should answer boldly and not be troubled by such documents. The people earnestly begged the king to lift the ban on killing deer and partridges in the area surrounding Lisbon, which was subject to a certain financial penalty. That was because it brought very little profit to the monarchy and because the people underwent much harsh treatment from the gamekeepers, who arrested them and charged them huge payment, both in money and in other things which were injurious to them. The king answered that he was happy to raise the ban and promised never to go against this. These and many other matters too unimportant to mention here were willingly and openly granted by the king to the city of Lisbon. He promised on oath to uphold justice and the rule of law and to maintain all the favours 8 Such cartas de rogo, though requests, were clearly ignored at the recipients’ peril. Such a situation varied significantly according to the king who issued them. See Chapter 139 below, which proffers a practical example of the outcome of conflict over marriages.

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and privileges which he had granted to its citizens, as well as to preserve the rights and customs which they had received in the reigns of earlier kings. In order to ensure and confirm this, he ordered the following charter to be issued, which you must look at in order to see his noble intent.

Chapter 2

Concerning the charter which the king issued to the city of Lisbon in confirmation of the city’s privileges

K

ing João, by the grace of God King of Portugal and the Algarve: To all who read this charter we make the following declaration. We have considered the great, indeed outstanding, services which the very noble and loyal city of Lisbon has rendered to these realms, the governance of which has been entrusted to us by Almighty God, and has likewise rendered to us in helping to defend the said realms against harsh and most powerful enemies, to wit, the King of Castile. Contrary to reason and the rule of law, that king has sought to subjugate both us and the realms which it is our duty to defend; he has been helped in this by many wicked Portuguese who, according to reason, nature and the fealty which they had sworn to uphold, were duty-bound to help to defend these realms against the aforesaid King of Castile and against any others who sought to inflict harm upon them. By doing what they ought not to have done, they applied and have continued to apply all that was in their power to serve the King of Castile with their lives and with the towns, villages and castles of these realms, despite having solemnly undertaken to defend them against the King of Castile and the said kingdom; moreover, they have transferred the allegiance of those castles to him, thus jeopardising both us and these realms. The said city [of Lisbon], which has always been loyal and truly faithful to these realms, has striven and continues to strive to preserve their honour and to prevent them from falling into the aforesaid subjection, not fearing pressure from the King of Castile, nor his immense power, nor the threats which he has issued both against the city and this country. That is because the city’s objective was right and just by divine, natural and civil law and was in accord with the advice of many former knights, learned scholars and other most discerning noblemen and squires, as well as native inhabitants of the said city, who on the grounds of both reason and the rule of law were ready to defend these realms if they were given the opportunity to do so. Indeed, they said as much to the King of Castile, but he contradicted them, as a man who, against all reason and the rule of law, wanted to subjugate these realms and the aforesaid city. Similarly, this city and its people, both residents and native-born, realising that all those who were duty-bound to defend their own homeland were abandoning that task and were giving help to our enemies, strove as they



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have always striven to help these realms in a manner typical of their own staunch loyalty, and stood, as ever, ready to defend them. Residents and native-born alike have risked their lives, spilt so much of their blood and spent so much of their resources, allowing much of their property to be destroyed in the honour and defence of these realms, and now they have adopted us as their king and liege lord – in fact, if the said city had not stood ready, the entire kingdom would have been overwhelmed by the power of the King of Castile, assisted by wicked Portuguese. Accordingly, in recognition of each and every one of these factors, lest such loyal travail should go unrewarded, and so that those who have performed such noble deeds should receive honourable recompense, by way of example to those others yet to perform noble deeds on our account, we have first of all solemnly consulted, as such undertakings demand, with great and wise noble lords, knights and dignitaries, bishops, prelates and learned scholars from our royal council, as well as many other citizens specifically summoned to the Cortes for this purpose. They are the following: Vasco Martins de Sousa, Martim Afonso de Sousa, Nuno Álvares Pereira, Gonçalo Mendes de Vasconcelos, Gonçalo Gomes da Silva, Vasco Martins da Cunha, João Rodrigues Pereira, Vasco Martins de Melo, João Fernandes Pacheco, Mem Rodrigues, Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos, Martim Vasques, Vasco Martins, Gil Vasques, Lopo Vasques da Cunha and many other knights and squires, along with the Archbishop of Braga, the bishops of Lisbon, Évora, Oporto and Lamego, as well as the bishops of this city [of Coimbra] and of Guarda, plus the Abbot of Alcobaça, the Prior of Santa Cruz, and other prelates, then Doctor Gil do Sém, Doctor João das Regras and Doctor Martim Afonso from our royal council, as well as the town and city communities of Évora, Coimbra, Oporto, Lamego, Estremoz, Tomar, Guarda, Silves, Beja and many other town communities and citizens. Wishing, for the aforesaid reasons, to reward the services which it has extended to us and to these realms, because we deem it beneficial to them, the governance of which God Almighty has entrusted to us, not forgetting the aid received from the said city, and acting freely, willingly and with our absolute power, we give, grant, approve and confirm [to the people of the said city of Lisbon] all the privileges, freedom, noble traditions and customs which till now its citizens have received from the kings, my predecessors, and which they have enjoyed without their opposition. Likewise, we concede and grant to them the favours, donations, freedom and privileges which are listed in the following clauses and which they have requested from us. We willingly consent to each and every one of these clauses and order their fulfilment through our full knowledge, absolute power and personal instigation, or through any other means and approach which may better ensure their firm and steadfast validity, despite any laws, statutes and decrees or any other rights which either run to the contrary or may diminish their impact. These clauses we deem to be specifically expressed, if such is needed, even if they contain any overruling clause. We promise and swear to preserve and uphold them and never to act against them, either wholly or in part. We request all our successors, regardless of

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their circumstances, to preserve and uphold these clauses and to ensure that their subjects do likewise. Indeed, with what power lies within us, we cast our curse upon them, should they ever go against this. In witness whereof we command this charter to be issued. Given in our city of Coimbra on the tenth day of April in the year indicated above.9

Chapter 3

Concerning the places which the king gave to Lisbon for inclusion within the city limits

I

f it is claimed that a true favour is one which is granted without being asked for and which originates in the kindness of the person who grants it, then this can indeed be said of the noble King João. That is because, when he realised that the city of Lisbon had been the true mother and creator of what had been achieved, he was not fully satisfied with the privileges and freedoms which he had granted to it; rather, he took the view that they fell short of what the city truly deserved. Thus, in order to enhance the city’s noble and honourable status and to commemorate its truly remarkable service for all time, he decided to extend the city limits well beyond what existed and authorised this in a charter which begins in the following way: King João, by the grace of God King of Portugal and the Algarve: We inform all those who read this charter that we recognise the many great services that the very noble city of Lisbon has rendered to us, to these realms and to their inhabitants. It exposed itself to every danger in order to save every one of us from the evil subjection which, against all reason and the rule of law, the King of Castile was so keen to inflict on us, as is now widely known throughout the whole of Spain.10 Indeed, as a reward for those services, the city deserves to receive from us something which will make it the most noble and honoured city within these realms. Accordingly, in recognition of our need to grant favours to this city, we honour it, extend to it a privileged status, and give, donate and encompass within its borough boundary as its affiliate our township of Sintra, along with its respective boundary and villages. Furthermore, it is our wish and command that the aforesaid city of Lisbon be enabled to decide everything which the township of Sintra is currently able to do within its present borough boundary.

9

That is, 1385. See CKJ1, Chapter 192. ‘Spain’ (Latin Hispania) was at this time essentially a geographical expression denoting the entire Iberian Peninsula. 10



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Contained in this charter there were further clauses and conditions. In addition, Lisbon’s borough boundary was extended to include Torres Vedras and Alenquer, along with all their villages, as well as Mafra, Colares, Ericeira, Vila Verde [dos Francos] and all the other townships which extend from the boundary of Alenquer down to the said city of Lisbon and as far as the River Tagus, and from the borough boundary of Sintra and Torres Vedras as far as the shoreline. Not included were Arruda [dos Vinhos] and Vila Franca [de Xira], as they belonged to the masterships of certain orders. As a result, the city limit extended for 8 leagues, and contained the inhabitants of the three townships mentioned,11 which he gave to Lisbon as its new boundary. This included their men-at-arms, horsemen, foot soldiers and crossbowmen, who were obliged to sally forth with their respective banners whenever so required, in order to accompany Lisbon’s flag when it set forth in its own defence and to protect the riverbank, or when it went anywhere else in the king’s service. Moreover, this service was to be provided at the expense of the community councils of the said townships, and their forces should always accompany the city troops and lodge in their encampment. Likewise, when the king realised that the loyal city of Oporto had also rendered great, indeed outstanding, services to the kingdom, he granted it the inclusion of the jurisdictions of Bouças,12 Maia and Gaia, which are close to the city, as well as Penafiel13 and Vila Nova,14 near to Goião. In regard to these matters he ordered charters to be issued to the respective cities, as appropriate to each one of them.

Chapter 4

Concerning a number of things that happened in the same period

S

ince one of the clauses granted by the king in these Cortes was that he should abolish the war tax and not levy the taille,15 because the people were promising to give him all that he needed to pursue the war, the town 11

That is to say Sintra, Torres Vedras and Alenquer. Nowadays Matosinhos. 13 Named as Penafiel de Sousa in the Portuguese text. The addition of ‘de Sousa’ was formerly indicative of several places on the bank of the River Sousa. 14 This may be a scribal error for Vila Cova, which lies within the borough of Penafiel; alternatively it may be the Vila Nova which lies within the borough of Baião, for which latter place-name ‘Goião’ may also be a scribal error. 15 Tax levied on the common people. 12

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communities decided among themselves to make an immediate request for the payment of soldiers’ wages and for coins to be issued to the value of 400,000 libras, which roughly amounted to 100,000 dobras, requesting also that this money should be paid over in graves, barbudas and small coinage, or in silver if the king so chose to give it to certain people. From these coins there would be minted another coin of lesser quality, so that by this multiplication of their number there would be sufficient for the soldiers’ pay and for any expenses necessary. The result was that by common agreement the king ordered the minting of standard reais16 of one dinheiro, which were each worth 10 soldos. The king’s treasurers oversaw the coinage: Persifal oversaw what was being minted in Lisbon, and Martim Lourenço, who was the father of the doctors [of laws Gil Martins and Afonso Lourenço], oversaw the minting which took place in Évora. Since the king acknowledged every deed of noble service to him and did not forget the troubles and tribulations suffered by the people of Almada when they were besieged by the King of Castile, he gave orders that the inhabitants of Almada should not, therefore, pay anything corresponding to their share in this request. In addition, at this time there arrived in Lisbon a galley from Genoa, on board which were a doctor [of laws] and a knight who, as envoys representing the communal republic of Genoa, had come to speak to the Master, now King of Portugal, about the merchandise seized from two of their naos when close to the port of the said city, as you have heard.17 Having travelled to Coimbra and explained the reason for their mission, they received such a welcome answer that after a few days they returned happily and with high hopes to their own land. It is important that you should now know that, while the King of Castile was in Seville and, after he went to Córdoba, he was very keen and in a great hurry to assemble his troops and to equip a fleet of naos and galleys to attack Lisbon, to cause it as much havoc as he could and to cut off the supply of provisions which were able to reach it by sea. One Sunday, which was the second day of April [1385], at the hour of vespers on the very Easter feast day that celebrates the Resurrection of Our Lord, while ten Castilian galleys were moored in front of the city harbour, there appeared two vessels sailing upriver from the direction of São Julião, which is 3 leagues from the city. They were a nao and a barge from England, bringing both wheat and men-at-arms to the kingdom of Portugal, and they were separated from each other by about a league. On seeing the barge, which was the one in the lead, the galleys sallied forth and attacked it from all sides, believing, quite reasonably, that the prize was already theirs. The English put up a stout defence and with their arrows severely wounded those aboard the galleys. While the battle raged, it pleased 16

In Portuguese, reais is the plural of real. CKJ1, Chapter 109.

17 See



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Almighty God, to the frustration of the Castilians, that the barge picked up a following wind, which enabled it to escape from their midst and come to anchor in front of the city Sea Gate. Abandoning the barge, the galleys put about and, seeing the nao approaching, making slow headway with a poor wind, went to attack it. If beforehand they had attacked the barge well, they attacked the nao even better and with firmer intent, while the nao defended itself well enough to make them exert themselves. Meanwhile, on land, many people from the city had come down, all along the waterfront, both on foot and on horseback, to see whether something might arise to enable them to help the English. Moreover, everyone watching the engagement, both men and women, who were a large crowd, did not stop crying out to God and to his Blessed Mother and calling on Saints George and Vincent to go to their aid. A chorus of weeping went up as they prayed. The wind was steadily dropping, and everybody thought that the nao was bound to be captured. Amid this desperate situation Almighty God bent an ear to the prayers of so many people and, suddenly, as if created anew, there sprang up an abundant wind which drew the nao away from its enemies and brought it safely before the city. Everyone counted this as a miracle and gave profuse thanks to God for consenting to rescue the English from such immense danger. The story goes that in the engagement 250 of those aboard the galleys were killed, not to mention many who were wounded, whereas aboard the two [English] vessels only four were killed, and just a few others suffered injury. On the king’s orders, the Englishmen who arrived aboard them received their pay immediately and made their way to Évora, where they would be supplied with horses and go off to serve wherever they were sent.

Chapter 5

How the constable left for Oporto, and concerning the speech he made to his men

O

n the constable’s advice the king decided to go to Oporto, intending to capture several places in the Minho area which had declared for the King of Castile. Before he left Coimbra, since he was somewhat suspicious of Gonçalo Mendes de Vasconcelos, especially as he was a relative of Queen Leonor, he deemed it appropriate to take the Coimbra castle from him and entrust it to someone on whom he could rely. He spoke with Vasco Martins de Melo and told him, when he saw him outside the castle, to go in and take it over. Vasco Martins did so, and, though Gonçalo Mendes was aggrieved, the king was able to please and pacify him by granting him other favours. Neither

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of his sons, Mem Rodrigues and Rui Mendes, who had been accompanying the king for some time, was greatly troubled by this, because they had been apprehensive that their father might use the castle to do something for which they could be blamed. Then the king entrusted the castle to Lopo Vasques de Sequeira, a man who later became grand commander of the Order of Avis and remained in charge of the castle for the rest of his days. While the king was handling this matter, a message reached him from Lisbon to say that most of the King of Castile’s fleet was standing off the city and that very soon the rest would arrive. The king conveyed this message to the constable and discussed with him the best way to approach the matter. The constable, in his great anxiety to serve him, answered that, if he would graciously grant him permission and a suitable number of his troops, then with them and those that he already had, he would serve him by going to do battle with the [Castilian] fleet. The king replied that he was most grateful to him, for that indeed was his wish, even though he had not mentioned it to him yet. He then gave him a message for the city of Oporto, and the constable left at once to arrange his departure. When he arrived there, he met his wife and daughter, Dona Beatriz (who later became a countess), who had just arrived from Guimarães, where they had been detained for a time, as the town had declared for Castile. A nobleman, one Gonçalo Peres Coelho, who was a relative of the constable’s wife and was in the castle at Guimarães, had brought them to Oporto secretly and then made his way back. The count18 was delighted to see his wife and daughter but, despite his joy, he did not forget what the king had ordered him to do. He summoned all the best men in the city, as well as the sailors whose duty it was to be in that expedition, and addressed them about what the king had commanded of him. They debated the matter and then answered the count, telling him that they considered it could not be done in such a way as might preserve the honour of the realm and the service of the king.19 18 Nuno Álvares Pereira was granted his first title of count (the Count of Ourém) only after the Battle of Aljubarrota, in Chapter 52 below. However, from the beginning of the present chronicle he is not only the military commander of the realm but the great war hero and second figure in the chronicle, overshadowed only by King João himself. Besides, in this and the following chapters the two leaders are about to start the long campaign for the recovery of the kingdom. Also, for 17 years (1385–1402) he was the only person in Portugal to receive the title of count. Accordingly, Lopes alternates between referring to him as ‘the count’ or ‘the constable’. 19 During the siege of Lisbon the weakness, in number of vessels and equipment, of the Portuguese fleet in comparison to the Castilian fleet became apparent, and the Master of Avis was aware of it (See CKJ1, Chapters 131, 133 and 135). Moreover, vessels were destroyed then, many of the unprepared crews died and nothing had changed since then in Portuguese naval capability. Not to fight against the huge restored Castilian fleet was a realistic and reasonable decision which the seamen were the best positioned



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The count then gave some thought to his wish to go on a pilgrimage to Santiago [de Compostela] in Galicia. That was for three reasons: the first was in order to serve God; the second because all the townships and villages in that area had declared for Castile and so he wished to capture a number of them; and the third because the bulk of his men lacked mounts and so he wanted to see whether he could provide them with horses, since that area abounded in them. Having made up his mind, he assembled most of his men-at-arms in the Monastery of São Dinis and addressed them as follows: ‘My friends, with God’s help it is my hope to take you to a land where you will be amply provided for and where you will find everything that you need. As for foraging, as you are about to set off, you will receive a month’s pay at once, since, for the time being, there is no further money available. I ask you, therefore, to make ready and brook no further delay. Do not take offence at the pay being so little, for, God willing, you are on the way to a land where you will find all that you need. I also urge and recommend that, while proceeding through this realm, you should refrain from injuring or killing any farmers, nor should you harass or torment them in any way in order to get them to give you what they have. That is because they are not the great lords of the townships and castles, nor do they possess fortresses from which to wage war on my liege lord the king; indeed, they abominate war, but more they cannot do. As for provisions, take only what cannot be dispensed with. In respect of horses, take them wherever you find them, till you have sufficient on which to be mounted. I beseech you, my friends, as much as I can, to make your way honourably and without any ill-feeling among you. By doing so, God will help you even more and will enable you to defeat your enemies. For be assured of this: if you conduct yourselves in this way, even if a thousand, nay, two thousand, nay, all the forces of Castile bear down upon you, you will be able to do battle with them fearlessly if you trust in God. Besides, since you have neither townships nor castles in which to take refuge, you will nevertheless have to await their onset in open country. What I am now recommending, you should become deeply committed to uphold.’ To this speech the answer came from all the squires and men-at-arms there present, when they declared that they greatly welcomed all that he had said, and that it was their intention to do as much, even though the count had not told them to which land he proposed to take them.

to make. Eventually, having inflicted no harm to the city nor indeed performed any action, and with the Castilian army still unable to recover from the disaster suffered at Aljubarrota, the Castilian fleet left Lisbon as quietly as it came (see Chapters 51 and 61 below).

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Chapter 6

How the constable captured the castle at Neiva

A

fter these few words, in which the count informed his men of his intent, he set off one day after eating a meal, with a view to spending the night in a place called Leça, which is a good league from Oporto. He took with him merely 150 mounted squires. There he was joined by all those of his armed men who had advanced on foot. While he was heading away from the town, the mule bearing his bed went out behind everyone else. Just as it was going out through a town gate known as the Olival Gate – the very gate by which the constable had left – the mule dropped down dead. All those who saw it took to be a remarkable incident and some kind of omen. A number of them took the news to the constable as he proceeded on his way and told him that for this very reason it was inadvisable to continue and that he should turn back in any case. The constable, however, poured scorn on any omen or vain imagining which might occur to some people and declared that he attached no importance to the matter. He gave orders for his bed to be transferred to another animal, and that they should follow on after him. It is said, however, that on that same day it so happened that, near the very gate where the mule died, a man was possessed by the Devil, who uttered many things through him, including that he had killed the mule, thinking that by its death the constable would not proceed to where he was due to perform many noble deeds; he added that the constable had so much faith in himself that he did not turn back at all nor shrink from continuing on his way; but now he regretted what he had done, since he had gained nothing from it. Having arrived at Leça, the count spent the night there and left again the next day. As he travelled through that area, there came over to him forty men-at-arms, all good squires, drawn from the places which had declared for Castile, Galicians as well as Portuguese, together with many foot soldiers. The count was immensely pleased with them and gave them a very warm welcome. In addition, they brought many horses, because they were aware that his forces were having to proceed on foot. These horses he distributed according to each man’s needs, so that by the time he reached a point to this side of Darque 8 leagues from Leça, he was accompanied by 400 mounted lances, with the visors on their bascinets raised. Journeying onwards, they arrived one day, around the hour of vespers, at a point close to the township of Neiva, which is located ten leagues away from Oporto, and where the very sturdy and well-defended castle had declared for Castile. The governor there was a son-in-law of Lope Gómez de Lira. Once they had pitched camp, some of the constable’s troops, without his knowledge, approached the castle in order to skirmish with the local forces. At the point when fighting broke out between the two sides, the constable was informed. He went there at once, to see if it was possible for him to seize the castle. As



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they were attacking it vigorously from all sides, a bolt was shot through the visor of the governor’s bascinet, which killed him instantly, and the castle was entered after negotiation. The governor’s wife, the daughter of Lope Gómez, approached the constable and pleaded with him for no harm to befall her, and for her honour to be preserved. He answered that it so pleased him and that she should not be afraid. The next morning he sent her off very honourably, accompanied by both foot soldiers and horsemen, to Ponte de Lima, which lay 4 leagues distant, and where her father stood as officer of the marches on behalf of the King of Castile. The castle of Neiva was stripped of animals, money, clothes, agricultural utensils and many other things contained in it. The count left [Pedro] Afonso do Casal to guard it, along with a number of men-at-arms and foot soldiers.

Chapter 7

How the count captured Viana [do Castelo]

H

aving thus captured the castle at Neiva, the count left next morning, without delay, with his forces and very soon reached Viana [do Castelo], which was a league distant from Neiva and which had declared for Castile. The governor there was a brother of Lope Gómez, Vasco Lorenzo de Lira by name. The count began to launch a vigorous attack on the castle from all sides, and many men from the area came to help him in this, setting fire to all the town gates, which burned right down. With the onslaught being so vigorous and determined, Diogo Gil, one of the constable’s lieutenants, was knocked out. Another man was killed by a big stone hurled down from above: he was a noble squire called Fernandes, who was the greatest and most valiant man that there was, not just in Portugal, but throughout the whole of Spain; he had been a criado of King Fernando, and the count was deeply upset at his passing. While defending himself, the governor was struck in the face by a bolt. Recognising that he was wounded and that the town’s gates were ablaze, he realised at once that the only outcome would be a forced entry. Unable to hold out any more, he negotiated that the attack should be halted, that he and his men should leave in safety with all their possessions and that he would surrender the town to the constable. The count readily accepted this and immediately took possession of the town. That very day he lodged there, along with some of his troops. Vasco Lorenzo, the aforesaid governor, along with his men, made for Ponte de Lima, where his brother, Lope Gómez, was stationed. When the latter saw how broken Vasco Lorenzo was, he sent him at once to Braga, bearing a message that he should be handed the castle there. It, too, was held by Lope Gómez on behalf of the King of Castile.

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Chapter 8

Concerning the towns and villages which surrendered to the constable without resistance and of their own accord

T

hree days after the constable had captured Viana and, having requested the inhabitants of the town to remain both resolute and calm in the service of their liege lord the king and to install magistrates and officials in his name, he then decided straightaway to head into Galicia, which was Castilian territory. He made for Santiago, just as he had intended. While he was on his way there, the leading citizens of Vila Nova de Cerveira, 4 leagues away, and of Caminha, well aware that, despite their strength, he had taken Viana and the castle of Neiva by force, and fearful lest he should now attack them in turn, sent him a message, pleading with him not to do so; rather, they begged him to send men to receive control of their townships, for they would hand them over at once. They said they were Portuguese and wished to continue to be Portuguese and to serve both the king and his kingdom. The count was delighted at this and gave deep thanks to Almighty God for directing his achievements so well. He sent them elements of his forces to receive control of these townships and to install a guard there, as befitted the king’s service. Heading onwards, he reached the River Minho. As he could not cross the river, he lodged in a good village nearby. There he received a message from Monção, which had also declared for Castile, in which he was informed by its inhabitants that they had been told he was intending to attack the township; they begged him not to go there, for they were true Portuguese and wished to continue to be Portuguese. They urged him to send men to receive the township on behalf of the king, for they would willingly and immediately hand it over to them. He therefore sent men to receive the township, which was duly handed over, and a guard was installed as appropriate for its safety. Let the count remain in the aforementioned village, keenly seeking how to ford the river, and let us go and fetch the king in Coimbra and bring him to Oporto.

Chapter 9

How the king reached Oporto and was received by the city’s inhabitants

T

he king left Coimbra, as he had decided, and made for Oporto, which was 18 leagues away; it was a city which he had never visited, nor had he been anywhere from where he could see it. This city is situated alongside the River



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Douro and is where many splendid naos and other vessels are constructed, far more than in any other place in the kingdom. The river is very deep where it flows past the city, allowing a gangplank to be placed from ship to shore so that people can embark or disembark at will. Knowing that the king was on his way, the city’s inhabitants made preparations to receive him. An instruction was issued that nobody should ply his trade and that on this day everyone should abstain from their usual work. The reception was arranged as follows: very early in the morning, all the naos in the river were dressed with flags and standards, and many green boughs were placed in whatever positions each person judged they were displayed to best advantage. The ships’ boats were all garlanded, with trumpets and pennants placed fore and aft and were equipped with skilful oarsmen, some wearing shirts and hats bedecked with roses, while others wore a livery which displayed striking sprays of flowers, all trying to wear their best. Setting aside all sadness, the city folk dressed themselves in their latest finery and dashed about, anxious to put on such a show as would deflect all criticism. The streets along which the king was due to proceed, when heading for the palace where he was to lodge, were so thickly strewn with branches, flowers and sweet-smelling herbs, that the ground was no longer visible. Along these streets the house doors stood wide open and were garlanded in laurel and other greenery, some hanging down as appropriate, while other was so thickly woven together that it left no room for any further coverage. All this could readily be done at that time of year, as it was the month of May. Each person strove to surpass his neighbour in the way he bedecked his front entrance and his floor, placing by his door burning herbs, the smoke of which gave off such refined scents as would dispel any foul or noisome air. At the windows they hung out wraps, coverlets and other items of cloth which greatly adorned the streets, which were patrolled by men who were in special charge of this decoration and who supervised the removal of anything excessive and the enhancement of anything defective, lest they detracted from good order. The windows of the houses all were occupied by beautiful ladies, as well as other classes of women, all extremely eager to see the king and attired in such elegant apparel that ugly and shabby appearance dared not show itself that day in the city. In certain places there were groups of women singing song after song and there were ropes at the ready up which skilful men would swarm, the moment that the king arrived. Artisans and many other people had been engaged to arrange dances and all manner of games, in which old men and youths alike took part, all happily and willingly. For their part the women danced in beautifully ordered circles, which they accompanied with countless songs, some of them in praise of the king, and others of a more traditional nature. It was not just women of ordinary class and condition who performed, but also, in honour of the festivities, they were joined by many of the city’s more prominent ladies.

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At the gate through which the king was due to enter a host of citizens were assembled, elegantly clad in garments with gold and silver adornments. Outside there were many other people with the city’s standard, some with staves in their hands, ready to direct the games when the king arrived, and others in readiness to accompany him to the palace where he was due to lodge. Standing there, no less conscious of his duty to receive him honourably and having made due preparations with his clergy, was Dom João, the Bishop of Oporto, nobly and splendidly decked out in his episcopal vestments. All the rest were also festively dressed in their finest garb. While they were all waiting in their appointed places, the king’s men appeared in the area beyond Gaia by which the king was due to approach. The boats plying on the river rushed over to greet him and great shouts of joy went up, and trumpets blared. Among them was a large and elegant boat, with a rich and splendid awning, on board which the king was to cross the river. When the king had boarded with his noblemen and other followers, as many as could fit on that boat and the other boats, they all began to sail along the river, the king’s boat, dressed in pennants, leading the way and all the others in its wake, so that it was a wonderful sight to behold. At the Miragaia Gate, where he was expected, as we said, the king went ashore along a wide and spacious gangplank. There, the kissing of his hands and the cries of ‘God preserve Your Majesty’ were so intense that there was no way in which everybody could get what they wished. After a lengthy spell in which they went on doing this, a citizen to whom had been entrusted this task spoke out, ‘Sire! Take this standard in your hands! Through it we place ourselves in your power and pledge ourselves in homage to serve you with our lives and possessions, even to the point of laying them down in honour of this realm and in your service.’ While the citizen spoke these words, the king had his hands on the shaft of the standard and declared that likewise he was ready to pledge his life and his body in honour of the realm and in their defence, adding that he held them to be honourable and loyal subjects, and that he would grant them many favours when they requested him to do so. Then there began the performances of their dances and games, in which they so frequently shouted out, loud and clear, ‘Long live King João! Long live King João!’ The king progressed through the city very slowly; indeed, it could not have been otherwise, because in every street the number of people eager to see him was so huge that it seemed that they almost suffocated. The ladies at their windows called out, ‘God preserve Your Majesty for many noble years!’ and ‘A long and noble life to Your Majesty!’ and many similar cries. As they uttered these words, they threw down many roses and other flowers, millet, wheat and other things. The festive atmosphere and this reception of their king moved many of them to the point where their comely faces became bathed



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in sweet and pleasurable tears. In this fashion the king was conveyed happily and joyfully to the palace where he was to lodge, and the people, in the same festive mood, returned, each and every one, to their homes. That day, after he had eaten a meal, the constable’s wife went to see the king, as he had never seen her before, nor she him. The king received her most warmly and gave her a most honourable welcome. Some say that, before she took her leave of him, the king bestowed upon her and her husband the following lands: Bouças, Basto, Pena and Barroso, as well as Barcelos and Penafiel de Bastuço. They add that he at once ordered the relevant charters and privileges to be issued. However, we reject this view and approve, rather, of the view that these and other lands were given to the constable when the king, after the battle [of Aljubarrota], gave him the countship of Ourém and the countship of Barcelos, as you will hear in due course.20

Chapter 10

How the king decided to capture Guimarães

W

ith the king in Oporto, and Guimarães held for Castile, as you have already heard,21 its governor and officer of the marches was a certain Aires Gomes da Silva, supported by eighty noble and honourable squires, such as Gonçalo Peres Coelho, Gonzalo Mariño, who was betrothed to the daughter of Aires Gomes, Aires Gomes the Younger, Álvaro de Tordehumos, who was a celebrated man-at-arms, and other squires from the area, both Galicians and Castilians, indeed, ample numbers for its defence. This town of Guimarães is strong and has powerful defences, not just the town, which has two defensive walls, but also the castle in itself. Aires Gomes was a hoary elderly man, well advanced in years. He was the most highly honoured man of his lineage and had been King Fernando’s mentor. Handsome and well built, he maintained a fine household, characteristic of a great nobleman. His wife was a Castilian named Doña Urraca Tenorio, the sister of Don Pedro Tenorio, who was the Archbishop of Toledo. It so happened that in Guimarães there dwelt a noble squire, Afonso Lourenço Carvalho, who was the most honourable and highly regarded man in the town. An uncle of his, João Rodrigues Carvalho, was of the king’s 20 See Chapter 52 below, in which the countship of Ourém was given to Nuno Álvares shortly after the Battle of Aljubarrota. It was not until after the Battle of Valverde (see Chapter 63 below), two months later, that he was also made the seventh Count of Barcelos. 21 See CKJ1, Chapter 155.

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party, while other relatives were followers of Dom Lourenço, who was the Archbishop of Braga. Since Afonso Lourenço was the most prominent figure in the town and had relatives in the king’s party, Aires Gomes was apprehensive and greatly suspicious of him. This suspicion ran so deep that one day he sent him a message to say that, if he did not wish to be belligerent towards him or cause him any trouble, then he should send away all his followers and dispatch them to wheresoever he saw fit, including to his estates, and not to keep any with him, or else remain inside his house and not go out with them; if he did, then he, Aires Gomes, would inflict upon him as much havoc as he could. Afonso Lourenço had a following of squires and foot soldiers and, owing to bonds of friendship and benefits [he distributed], he was closely allied to most people in the town. Consequently, it was grievous for him to send his followers away and to give up contact with his friends; however, recognising the demands of the times, he was forced to do so. There was another squire in Guimarães, named Paio Rodrigues, who was Afonso Lourenço’s brother-inlaw and a great friend of his. Though he too had a following of squires and was very wealthy, Aires Gomes was not so afraid of him. One day, when the king was discussing with Archbishop Lourenço how Guimarães could be swiftly seized without laying siege to it, the archbishop answered him, saying, ‘Sire, more opportunely than you might imagine, and by means of something which you have very ready to hand.’ He then told him about the discord that existed between Afonso Lourenço and Aires Gomes and urged him to write suitably worded letters to Afonso Lourenço and to his brother-in-law, for they would bring about a way in which he could capture the town. The king commanded the letters to be written, relevant to the matter in hand, and promised them many favours if they were to bring about his objective. The letters were duly dispatched and most secretly delivered. In the letter to Afonso Lourenço he summoned him to discuss the matter with him in Oporto, which lies 8 leagues away. They were to meet there in a vegetable garden near the city wall, as indicated in the letter. When the letters had been received and their message duly conveyed, Afonso Lourenço sent him a message to say that he would go and discuss matters with him on a given day. On that day the king made as if to go hunting but, along with Fernando Álvares, who was his comptroller of finances, he separated off from the other huntsmen and headed for the vegetable garden they had specified. There, to his delight, he found Afonso Lourenço, and they stepped aside to discuss matters. Once they had hit on the best way to carry out their enterprise, they agreed to seize any inhabitants of Guimarães who happened to go to Oporto for provisions.22 Afonso Lourenço went back and discussed the matter with Paio Rodrigues. When they had both agreed on the

22

This is explained in Chapter 11 below.



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way in which to hand over the town and on how entry should be effected, Afonso Lourenço went back to speak in great secret with the king on a given day in the aforementioned vegetable garden. In Guimarães his absence was not noticed, because he had not been out of his house for four or five days and, whenever he did so, he went out on his own with a shepherd’s crook in his hand. This ruse did much to allay any suspicions Aires Gomes had about him.

Chapter 11

How the king captured the town of Guimarães

H

aving determined the day on which the town would be seized, the king discussed the matter with a number of his noblemen, telling them to take the horses which were least likely to neigh. He took with him 300 horsemen, but only a very few foot soldiers. He attended mass and dined early, and they left lightly equipped, without mules or other encumbrances. At dead of night they reached the flat plain of São Redanhas,23 just half a league away from the small village where Afonso Lourenço was waiting for them. From there he led them round to the valley with a grove known as Santa Maria, where the trees are very dense and which lies about three crossbow shots away from the town.24 Once there, each man did what he could to prevent his horse from neighing, and, when one of the horses did neigh, the king immediately had it killed. On the day when the king set off, the order was given to detain everyone travelling the roads to or from Oporto, lest any of them should divulge the news [of their advance]. Now, whenever Afonso Lourenço set out from Guimarães, Paio Rodrigues, who remained in the town, dealt with whatever was needed inside it. It came about that, on the day when Afonso Lourenço left, he had a word with João Azedo, the man who held the keys of the postern gate. Afonso Lourenço said to him that, since he worked alone and was intending to bring in a cart laden with a large vat, he was asking him to open the gate at a very early hour, so that no one should see him. The gatekeeper, who knew nothing about the plan, said that he would be happy to do so. Later on, Paio Rodrigues requested the gatekeeper to go and see whether his brother[-in-law] was on his way, and so João Azedo kept his promise and opened the gate very early. Once it was open, Paio Rodrigues and his men detained the gatekeeper. Paio Rodrigues then kept very quiet, deployed men to guard the gate and posted others on the ramparts to forestall and hold back any forces which might seek to rush 23 24

Nowadays Creixomil. Some 650 yards (c. 600 m).

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to the gate. Afonso Lourenço, who had remained awake, duly arrived at that point. He immediately took hold of a large stone block which had long been lying there and placed it against the gate to prevent it from being closed. Just as dawn was breaking, he signalled to the scouts and the scouts signalled to the king, who then rushed up as fast as he could. One of the squires serving Aires Gomes had risen early to go to mass and, seeing men on the ramparts whom he did not recognise and hearing the clatter of horses’ hooves, he took leave of his senses and yelled out, ‘For Castile! For Castile!’ Afonso Lourenço, who was waiting for the king, answered him with ‘No! For Portugal! For Portugal!’ Then, with a will, they crossed swords; with the horsemen already close at hand, the squire turned his face to see who they were, whereupon Afonso Lourenço struck him such a powerful blow that he at once fell down dead. Also killed was the gatekeeper, João Azedo, who held the keys. The king kept pace with the leading horsemen and, when he reached the gates of the town, the first to ride in was the previously mentioned nobleman, the famous and daring João Rodrigues de Sá,25 who was at once wounded in the face by some who had rushed up in response to the hubbub. Nevertheless, the people of the town did not take up arms and greatly rejoiced at what had been done. Afonso Lourenço led the way, crying out at the top of his voice, ‘For Portugal! For Portugal!’ As for the Castilians and the followers of Aires Gomes, there was nothing for it but to head for safety. João Rodrigues, who knew the streets of the town very well and that it had an inner bailey, made off at once on horseback, with his lance at the ready, shouting out ‘For Portugal and Saint George!’ He did this in order to seize control of the gate of the inner bailey, to prevent the followers of Aires Gomes who were lodged throughout the town from rushing through it. Before he got there, ahead of him in his very path he encountered Álvaro de Tordehumos, that noble man-at-arms whom we have already mentioned,26 along with some twenty troops armed with shields, both men-at-arms and foot soldiers, whom he was leading and gathering together. Realising that it was inadvisable for him to enter the fray singly and on horseback, João Rodrigues at once dismounted and with his lance in his hands he thrust them all before him in such a way that they did not dare to tackle him. In order to take refuge in the town they backed away from him. As it happened, no Portuguese accompanied João Rodrigues; instead they made their way through the town looting the property of the Castilians which they found in their lodging houses. When João Rodrigues noticed that the Castilians were all making their way through the gateway and that, despite what he wanted, he was unable to stop them, he angrily hurled his lance aside, seized one of the Castilians by the legs and 25 26

He is mentioned and praised in CKJ1, Chapter 139. In the previous chapter.



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dragged him captive into the king’s presence. For all his deeds he received that day immense praise. Next, the troops began to get excited in their keenness to attack the town, but the king made them calm down and took up lodging close to the Church of Santa Maria, in the prior’s residence. He gave orders that nobody should steal or loot anything from the inhabitants of the town, except for those who were followers of Aires Gomes. As for those men, since the king made his entry at a time when they were all still in bed, many of them were seized and robbed of their horses, their weapons and whatever they were found to possess. In their haste and confusion others could not lay hands on any clothes in which to get dressed, and some of them, clad only in their shirts, scurried off to take refuge in the castle. As for the townsfolk, they all came forward to kiss the king’s hand and to welcome him as their liege lord.

Chapter 12

How the inner bailey was attacked, and how Aires Gomes negotiated a truce

H

aving rested, the king decided to send a message to Aires Gomes urging him to surrender the castle to him; he put to him all the reasons which could persuade him to do so, stating that he was well aware that he and all his lineage were noble Portuguese and that, for the honour and well-being of his native land, it was his duty to help to defend it, even if he did not possess any part of it; this was all the more so, given that Aires Gomes was entitled to an inheritance in it. He was also well aware that to strive to be against one’s country and to help in its destruction seemed to him, the king, very strange; for that reason the king entreated him to abandon his plans and transfer his forces to the service of his country. Moreover, he promised to increase so greatly his honour, rank and wealth that he would consider himself well content; alternatively, he could name whatever he would like to be granted to him and he, the king, would be happy to authorise it. However, neither these nor all the other excellent arguments that the king sent to him were successful in eliciting any other response than that he had no intention of accepting. Aires Gomes took this stance because he was determined to defend himself. Furthermore, if he were to find himself in difficulties, his plan was to negotiate, for, with the King of Castile hurrying to his aid, or ordering others to do so, he considered that this would bring him great honour and the opportunity for him to receive huge rewards. Consequently, he persisted in holding out, along with his wife and others who advised him.

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At this point the king decided to launch an attack on the inner bailey. He summoned from Oporto siege engines, weaponry, troops, artisans and everything else necessary for such an attack. He ordered the construction of a siege tower on top of some nearby houses, so that crossbows could shoot from there. Wooden scaling ladders were made for placing against the ramparts. He also ordered the construction of a huge siege ladder, which was the first the king ever made. Great quantities of firewood were assembled in order to set fire to the gates. But, when they began to catch fire, they were extinguished with water poured into chutes from huge vats ready filled by the people within the ramparts. One morning the king began his attack, and a very powerful attack it was. A scaling ladder on wheels was set against the rampart; it had three uprights, which enabled two men to go up side by side, and up it climbed a number of honourable noblemen, led by João Rodrigues de Sá and Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos. Despite being attacked from all sides, those inside the rampart defended themselves very well. When Álvaro de Tordehumos noticed that, where the ladder was, men were climbing up it as best they could, he rushed up, armed in a coat of plates, a gambeson and a mail gorget under a bascinet with camail; before him he placed a wooden window shutter and he wore a shield on his arm. He took up a position between the two battlements where the ladder was propped and hurled down many stones which those on the rampart were passing to him. When he saw that the Portuguese were fearlessly climbing upwards, and that João Rodrigues was already very close to the crenels, he hurled down a great stone, striking João Rodrigues on the head and knocking both him and all the others down to the ground, as well as breaking the ladder. Had João Rodrigues’s head not been so well protected by his armour, he would have been killed. As it was, he bled profusely from his eyes, nostrils, ears, mouth and private parts. For a lengthy spell he lay unconscious, and it was thought that he was dead. Others too were injured. With the attack continuing, powerful crossbow shots were aimed at Álvaro de Tordehumos, both from the ground and from the siege tower, but not a single bolt hampered him, because he was so well armed, even though many bolts stuck in him. After the ladder fell, a bolt chanced to penetrate the palm of his hand, at which he smacked his hand against his shield, forcing the bolt out through the other side, and then got down from the rampart. The king then commanded his siege devices to be moved back, in order to have the ladder mended and launch a further attack. When Aires Gomes learned of this, he was apprehensive about waiting for it and negotiated a truce with the king. They reached an agreement along the following lines: if, after thirty days, the King of Castile had not come to his aid or sent others to do so, he would surrender the castle to him, and he, his wife and all his followers could safely depart, taking with them all their possessions; while the truce lasted, nobody from the castle should emerge to



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inflict any harm on the Portuguese, nor should any food supplies be brought in; furthermore, if any such supplies were indeed brought in, then the truce would be broken, and the king could attack them. As surety against this, Aires Gomes handed over Gonçalo Peres Coelho and another squire as hostages. There are some who at this point claim that, a week after the truce began, a sortie was made from the castle in order to inflict harm on the encampment, and that in fury at this the king commanded the trumpets to sound and launched a ferocious attack in which the gates were set alight, a forced entry was made through the bailey and the defenders took refuge in the castle; Aires Gomes then negotiated [again] …27 and further such claims. However, anybody writing this has not studied the text of this gospel,28 since events did not take place in that way, for the truth of the matter is as follows: After Aires Gomes had negotiated a truce, subject to the conditions which we have mentioned, and days having already passed since he had sent Gonzalo Mariño, his [future] son-in-law, with a message to the King of Castile, a rumour broke out one day among the Portuguese, according to which those inside the castle were bringing in goats and other livestock and were breaking the truce. They began at once to shout out ‘To arms! To arms!’ and to demand that an attack should be launched against them. They started bringing up firewood, setting fire to the gates and placing ladders against the ramparts. Being quite unprepared for this, those inside the castle were not swift enough to prevent an entry from being forced and to stop the gates of the town from burning down. At this hour the king was taking his afternoon sleep. Awoken by this great hullabaloo, he demanded to know what it was all about. He was told that his men had attacked the town and had already forced their way in. The king was furious that they had broken the truce without his knowledge, pointing out that Aires Gomes would hold him to blame, believing that he had ordered it. He made his way there in all haste and found many of his men inside, setting fire to parts of the town. He angrily rebuked them, telling them that they deserved to be thrown onto the fires they had lit, because by their actions 27

The Portuguese text is defective at this point. Fernão Lopes refers to his narrative as ‘this gospel’ because it presents the absolute truth, like the Gospel, as opposed to authors whose interpretation of events he believes to be inaccurate. This terminology is used even more deliberately in the CKJ1, Chapter 159. There, the ‘Portuguese Gospel’ is the message proclaiming Pope Urban VI as the true and rightful Pope, and the Master of Avis, the future King João I, as the rightful King of Portugal, because he supports him. Juan I of Castile supported Clement VII, the Avignon anti-pope (1378–1394). Further religious metaphors referring, for example, to the residents of Lisbon as ‘martyrs’, Chapters 160–161, accentuate the predestination of the Master of Avis and his people as those protected by God because they are ready to sacrifice themselves to defend His law on Earth. 28

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they had caused him to break his solemn word. Since all those from the bailey had taken refuge in the castle, the king ordered the fire to be checked and quenched. He then returned to where he was lodging, and many of his troops remained inside the inner bailey. Such was the reason for the attack launched on that occasion and no other. Having taken stock of what his men had done, the king sent a message of apology to Aires Gomes, an apology which the latter refused to accept. That was because Aires Gomes claimed that, if the attack had been made contrary to the king’s wishes, and if he was displeased at it, as he now claimed, then he should withdraw all his troops from within the inner bailey; moreover, if the king came to pay compensation for the loss and damage inflicted on him, then he would accept his apology. However, the king answered that he would do no such thing because, as Aires Gomes would ultimately have to concede the bailey to him, then he should consider it already conceded, and, rather than having [to return it to him just] to capture it again, then he, the king, considered it already captured. On receiving this reply and concluding that the king had been pleased at the actions of his men, Aires Gomes broke the truce. Then the king ordered a further attack, employing his various devices and [with his crossbowmen] shooting from his siege engines. The defenders fought back very hard; indeed, Aires Gomes’s wife walked along the rampart with her skirts laden with stones, distributing them to the defenders. Eventually, recognising that they were in dire straits and no longer capable of enduring more, the defenders reverted to the original truce and waited for help to come [from the King of Castile].

Chapter 13

How the King of Castile excused himself for not going to the aid of Aires Gomes, and how the town [of Guimarães] was surrendered to the king

G

onzalo Mariño arrived in Castile, reaching Córdoba, where the King of Castile was assembling as many forces as he could to effect his invasion. There he informed him that the town of Guimarães had been taken, and that Aires Gomes was being besieged and had been attacked with siege engines, towers and other appurtenant devices. The outcome was that he had entered into a truce for a number of days, thus enabling him to inform His Grace and Queen Beatriz, his wife, in whose names he held the town. He besought him to go to his aid or to send others to do so, or otherwise to release him



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from the pledge which he had assumed on behalf of the town, for he could no longer defend himself. Having listened to these and other observations, the king stated that he already knew for sure that the Master of Avis, who called himself King of Portugal, had entered the town of Guimarães, and that Aires Gomes and those with him were in great difficulties as a result of the attacks which had been launched against them. Moreover, he considered that Aires Gomes and those who happened to be with him in the siege had rendered distinguished service both to him and to his wife the queen by dint of the tribulations which they had suffered there on their behalf. However, for the sake of such a town as Guimarães and its castle, even if it were of much greater importance, it was not his wish that a knight such as Aires Gomes, nor such noblemen as were with him, should be sacrificed. Furthermore, the king said that Gonzalo Mariño could clearly see that he was amassing as many forces from his kingdom as he could, in order to invade Portugal to help Aires Gomes and the other noblemen who held towns and castles on behalf of himself and his wife Queen Beatriz. Besides that, he had already sent his fleet of naos and galleys to attack Lisbon and seize its port so as to prevent it from receiving any help either in provisions or in manpower. Neither Gonzalo Mariño nor anybody else should think that he had left Portugal for any length of time and would not soon return there to win back all that he had left behind, even if it involved great trouble and much costly expense to his realm. Nobody could blame him either for what he had been doing up to that point, unless it were someone lacking in judgement. However, the period of the truce which Aires Gomes had negotiated was so short that, as things stood at that moment, he was not in a position to go to his aid, should he want to. Therefore, since Aires Gomes had entered into a truce with the Master of Avis, he should surrender to him the said town, so that Aires Gomes and those that were with him could leave in safety and come to serve him. That was because he intended, swiftly, very soon and with God’s help, to take possession of the kingdom of Portugal, for it had rebelled against him, and all those towns and villages would be returned to those who had charge of them. Gonzalo Mariño returned with this reply to Aires Gomes who, on receiving the King of Castile’s order, abandoned the town and left in accordance with what had been agreed. This took place at the beginning of June. However, a number of his men declined to accompany him and went over to the King of Portugal. These included Álvaro Dias de Oliveira, Lopo Afonso de Penalva, Gonçalo Rodrigues Carvalho and sundry other noble squires and men-at-arms, to a total of fifty-three. The king cleared them of greater and lesser charges and commanded that their possessions be returned to them if they were theirs by right, except for those things which had been seized when the town had been entered.

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Aires Gomes was an old man and in poor health; he was carried out on the shoulders of his men and died a few days later here in this kingdom. The king gave his possessions and those of his wife to Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos, Lopo Dias de Azevedo and João Gomes da Silva. The town he gave to the Constable of Portugal. Doña Urraca29 went back to Castile; her brother, however, refused to accept the betrothal of his niece to Gonzalo Mariño because he did not approve of him. He set her free from her engagement, declaring that she was a minor when she had been betrothed to him, and married her off to someone else. Deeply aggrieved at this, Gonzalo Mariño took the habit of a Franciscan friar for the rest of his days.

Chapter 14

How Braga was captured

A

s you have heard, Vasco Lorenzo, the brother of Lope Gómez [de Lira], was to be found in Braga after he had lost Viana,30 and there he continued to ally himself to the King of Castile, believing that in Braga he was safe. But on the day when Guimarães was captured, the inhabitants of the city of Braga began to have words with the residents of the castle, who were out in the streets discussing what the king and the constable were doing, to the point where they created a disturbance against them. They started jabbing at them with long knives and lances, and those from outside the castle shouted out the watchwords ‘For Portugal! For Portugal! For King João!’, till eventually they confined the castle inmates within its walls. Next they began to shoot at them from four siege engines which happened to be to hand. Straightaway, that very day, they sent a message to the king in Guimarães, which lay 3 leagues away, urging him to come to the town, because its people were already on his side, and to capture the castle before anybody rushed to its aid. That day, as night fell, the king dispatched to Braga Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos and Martin-Paul, a Gascon knight, with sufficient forces needed for the task. He also wrote at once to the constable, who was still in the village where we left him beside the River Minho, to tell him that certain honourable men from Braga had sent him a message to say that the town was already on his side and had urged him to seize the castle. He added that Vasco Lorenzo held the castle on behalf of his brother Lope Gómez, and that, since Lope Gómez might well send troops to help him, he was now commanding him to hurry immediately to the town and to make every effort to capture it. 29

See the first paragraph of Chapter 10 above. The Portuguese text reads ‘Neiva’; this is clearly an error for ‘Viana’, as can be seen from the end of Chapter 7 above. 30



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The constable was delighted to receive this instruction from the king, especially because circumstances prevented him from crossing the River Minho. At once, and without further ado, he hurried off with his men, passing close to Ponte de Lima, which was where Lope Gómez was, till he reached Braga. He took up lodging in the town, which was already on the king’s side. Next day, he sent a message to Vasco Lorenzo, urging him to surrender the castle to him on behalf of his liege lord the king. However, Vasco Lorenzo sent back a message to say that on no account would he do so. The count then decided to attack the castle and gave orders for it to be targeted by the four siege engines which he found in the town. Continuous bombardment took place for two nights and a day, with the outcome that a number of people in the castle were killed or injured. Vasco Lorenzo, realising that he could not hold out any longer, and that it was impossible to defend it, gave orders for negotiations to be entered into with the constable, pleading with him to permit him and those who were with him to depart in safety with all their possessions, in return for which he would surrender the castle to him. The count was glad to agree and at once received it. Vasco Lorenzo then left with as little honour as when he left Viana [do Castelo], and the count remained in possession of the town.

Chapter 15

How steps were taken to begin the capture of Ponte de Lima

I

f we leave aside the well-known contradictory accounts offered by some writers concerning the capture of this town and assert the real truth of the situation, then the means and manner by which the king recovered it were as follows: Present in Ponte de Lima as officer of the marches was Lope Gómez de Lira, a former criado of King Fernando and chief bailiff of that judicial district. He was stationed there, with his wife and offspring, in support of the King of Castile. With him were many honourable squires, ample numbers of foot soldiers and some eighty crossbowmen, as well as numerous other troops from the town and from the surrounding area, who stood ready to defend it. Among these there were present with him Rodrigo Eanes de Araújo, Garcia Rodrigues de Ledesma, Fernão Caminha de Ruivos, Diogo Gil Sarrazinho and other well-known squires whose names we shall not bother to mention. The town possesses a vast and beautiful bridge; it is long and wide, supported on many pillars, and crosses a river known as the Lima, which flows by, close to the town. There are twelve towers in the town which were

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all integrated into the wall and suitably equipped. There were always sentries on the ramparts, and they never left them except at night. All the gates were barred with boulders, except for the one at the [end of the] bridge, which was their service gate. The town was well supplied with many provisions, and those inside felt securely protected against any possible adverse circumstances. In the town there dwelt an honourable squire named Estêvão Rodrigues. One day, in the main square, at the time when, in Coimbra, the Master was elevated to the rank of king, Gonçalo Lopes de Goiães, Pero Veloso and other squires of Lope Gómez began talking to Estêvão Rodrigues about the elevation of the king, the celebrations in his honour and other related matters. They adopted a contemptuous approach to these things and uttered inappropriate remarks against the king, at which Estêvão Rodrigues was greatly perturbed but did not dare to contradict them. However, he gave this irritable reply: ‘Do you want an answer from me, Gonçalo Lopes? It may turn out that this man that you mock will give you a nasty surprise.’ After this and further exchanges they took their leave of him, very irked at what he had said. Lope Gómez found out about these remarks and in his displeasure ordered Estêvão Rodrigues to be jailed. His relatives and friends went to talk to Lope Gómez in his defence and got him released. Once at liberty and resentful at the dishonour that he had suffered, he raised the matter with his brother Lourenço Rodrigues and with another relative, namely Garcia Lopes, who belonged to Lope Gómez’s household, as well as with up to eight others. He insisted that, since they were Portuguese and had a king who was a native of the realm, they should hand over Ponte de Lima to him. Having all agreed to this, and in order to keep their secret safe, they went to swear a solemn oath at a holy shrine half a league outside the town. Once this agreement had been made, they summoned from Guimarães, which is 8 leagues away, a Franciscan friar who was a native of Ponte de Lima. His name was Friar Gonçalo da Ponte. Through him they sent a message to the king in Oporto, which was where he still was located, to say that they had agreed to hand the town over to him and that, when once they saw that the time was ripe to put this into effect, they would immediately inform him. The king was very pleased to receive this message and declared that he was very grateful to them, considering it to be a great act of service to him. In addition, he requested them, since they had agreed on such an honourable undertaking, to make every effort to carry it out as well and as safely as they could; as for him, he promised to grant them many favours in return. The friar came back with this message and, indeed, journeyed back and forth several times to discuss the best means of bringing these things about. Meanwhile, the king had made for Guimarães and captured it, as you have just heard. One day, when Estêvão Rodrigues was discussing with the others how to hand the town over and what they should all do, he realised that they were already regretting their decision when they said that it was a highly dangerous



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and dubious undertaking: the town was very strong and was defended by very noble forces, and, if things happened to turn out differently from what they expected, their own lives, as well as those of their wives and children, would be utterly forfeited, and death inevitable. Consequently, they did not want to discuss the matter any further; however, they promised him, on the basis of the sacred oath which they had taken, that they would reveal nothing about the matter, were it his intention to proceed with it in any way.

Chapter 16

How the king left Guimarães for Ponte de Lima

W

hen Estêvão Rodrigues realised that the participants in this plan were letting him down in this way and that everything that they had planned and agreed was coming to nothing, he resolutely decided to carry on with what he had begun and spoke to his brother as to how he might help him. Having agreed not to fall short in any way, several days went by after this until the king captured Guimarães. When news of this resounded throughout the region, Estêvão Rodrigues sent a message to the friar, telling him to go immediately to inform the king that, on a specific day that he appointed to him, he should set out and would recover the town. Delighted to receive such news and keeping everything to himself, the king sent a message to the count in Braga, which lay 3 leagues away and where he still was stationed, fully informing him of the situation. He commanded him to make ready swiftly in order to accompany him, indicating a certain place where he should await him, so that they could join forces. The count did as he was commanded and set out at once for the designated place. Having made these arrangements, the king ate a meal and then quietly set out accompanied by ample forces with which to fulfil his objective and feigned to be making for the monastery at Costa,31 so that nobody should grasp his true intent. However, despite all this, when the king set out, a man who was active in that area as a scout hurried at once to Ponte de Lima to inform Lope Gómez as follows: ‘You should be aware that the king has left Guimarães, and that nobody knows where he is going. But some people assert that he’s making for the monastery at Costa, whereas others say that he’s going to Vila Real.’ ‘Surely, he’ll be heading to attack Vila Real’, answered Lope Gómez. ‘That’s a town held by João Rodrigues Portocarreiro. But don’t worry, let

31

Costa is a place close to Guimarães.

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him go wherever he pleases. Tell him to scratch about in the soil for he won’t damage the hedge.’32 Having travelled along his feigned route for a good distance, the king wheeled towards Ponte de Lima. He arrived well after nightfall at a spot 1 league short of the town. There Estêvão Rodrigues was already waiting for him and came to meet him. Half a league from the town an ambush was set up involving most of his troops, with Álvaro Pereira as their marshal. The king advanced through a densely wooded area, accompanied by 100 of his finest horsemen, to a point about two crossbow shots away from the town. There the king and all his men dismounted from their horses and secured their tongues with hair from their tails to prevent them from neighing, lest they be discovered.

Chapter 17

How the king entered the town and captured it

W

ith Ponte de Lima being provisioned and equipped as we have described, its customary defence procedure was as follows: numbers of men from areas outside the town came to keep watch as their turn came, as likewise did men from the town itself, along with them. Very early every morning five foot soldiers went to inspect the wooded areas around the town, to check whether there were any troops or some ambush to threaten it. Once they had surveyed the area and returned to town, they then opened the gates and sent the watchmen off home. Those men from the town who kept watch and patrolled at night slept during the morning. Those who did not have this duty, including Lope Gómez, slept peacefully for as long as they liked and were fully rested, so that well into the morning not one of those whose concern it was to defend the town would you find out and about. When Estêvão Rodrigues went out in the evening to await the king at the appointed spot, he told the man guarding the gates that he was looking for some mules of his which had gone missing and which he suspected had been stolen. When once he had brought the king to the place we have mentioned and had left him and his men to rest there, he went back to town very early next morning and found the gates were closed. After a short while the gates were opened for the foot soldiers to go and inspect the wooded areas, as was their practice. When they were on the point of going out, they asked Estêvão Rodrigues where he had been. 32 This implies ‘Tell him he can make minor inroads but that he can’t loosen our grip on Ponte de Lima.’



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‘With the devil’, he said. ‘Can’t you see where I’ve been? Anyway, where are all of you going?’ ‘What do you mean?’ they asked. ‘What do I mean?’ he replied. ‘Ever since last evening I’ve had the wretched job of searching this entire area for two mules which have gone missing. There’s not a single wood or valley around this town that I haven’t spent all night rushing about in. No way could I find them. I think they must have been stolen. So you don’t need to go out there, because all is safe, and you’ve nothing to check up on. Still, if you want us all to go back there, let’s have a couple of drinks first, as I’ve got some rather good wine, and then we can go back there afterwards.’ Since it was rather foggy that morning, and Estêvão Rodrigues was soaked through with dew, two members of the patrol, Álvaro Loução and Fernão de Angulha, both said, ‘Estêvão Rodrigues is quite right. Let’s go and have a drink with him; that’s a good idea!’ The rest agreed to this; so they went off to his house, and the gatekeeper then closed the gates. When they were all with him in his house, he had a word with his wife, who knew what he was about, and then said to the others, ‘If we’re going to have some drinks, let’s have a good breakfast made for us as well.’ She proceeded to take her time preparing it. Then Estêvão Rodrigues said, ‘God bless you all, d’you want another good idea? Let’s play dice while we’re waiting.’ They happily agreed and started to play. While the game was in progress, his wife emerged from the kitchen to say, ‘Can you stop your game a moment and go and check the cellar? I think one of the casks is leaking.’ ‘You lot just carry on with the game’, he said, ‘while I go and see what’s happening, and I’ll draw enough for us to drink.’ He got his maidservant to take the wine in to them, telling her to say, if they were to ask how he was getting on, that they should just wait a little while and he would soon be back. However, he made off with his brother and one foot soldier. Together they went to the town gates, where he addressed the gatekeeper with the following words: ‘It’s now quite safe for you to open up the gates. Why don’t you open them for the watch party? It’s already late.’ The gatekeeper replied that he was waiting for the foot soldiers, whose task it was to check on the wooded areas. Estêvão Rodrigues answered: ‘Let me tell you, if you are to wait for them, they’ll be setting out from here at a fine old time! Anyway, you clearly don’t know that today I’ve come back from checking the woods, because I spent all night looking for the mules that were stolen from me, and the whole area is safe. Those soldiers went with me and they’re in my house playing dice. They won’t be going out there now.’ The gatekeeper then opened the gates for the watch party and he went out with them, where they cheerfully chatted together. Those who happened to take the path to where the king was were captured the moment they arrived.

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As they went out, Lourenço Rodrigues, Estêvão’s brother, stealthily threw some small coins between the gates, as planned, and then started to look for them, saying that he had lost them the night before. On finding some of them, he then dropped others, in order to prolong the delay, whereupon those who were on their way out helped him to look for them. These included the gatekeeper and others present who acted as guards. Lourenço Rodrigues then upturned a stone between the gates; it was one of those on which the people who guarded the gates usually sat. He showed that he had found some of the coins underneath it. The foot soldier,33 who was on the bridge, then made a signal by waving his hood and Estêvão Rodrigues, who saw it clearly, then made a similar signal to the king’s men. The king swiftly began by deploying his foot soldiers and 20 English mounted archers. Ahead of him went the constable, along with Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos, Gonçalo Vasco de Melo the Elder, Martim Afonso de Melo the Younger, Doctor Martim Afonso and others. As he advanced, the king kept calling out, ‘Blind them, Saint Matthew, blind them!’ They made their way under the bridge and then through an unprotected gap between the ramparts and the barbican. When they saw them approaching, those on the ramparts immediately began to shout to the other guards to close the gates. Lourenço Rodrigues, whose life was now at stake, strove to hamper them by brandishing his sword so that there was no ready way to close the gates nor remove the stone. While men were tugging at it and pulling on the gates, with Lourenço Rodrigues in the middle battling against them, Estêvão Rodrigues rushed up and thrust his sword between the gates. He smote the man closing the gates on the head, who let go of them. Lourenço Rodrigues pulled on one of them till it was wide open, and he and his brother kept it like that, wielding their swords and shouting out, ‘For Portugal! For Portugal!’ The king swiftly arrived with his men, and they began to enter the town. When the king entered, a huge stone was hurled down from the tower above the gates and it landed close to him, at which they say he declared, ‘Ah, they’re already spurring us on!’ Of Lope Gómez’s men lodging in the town many were still abed when they heard the hullabaloo and saw so many uninvited guests in their midst. Trumpets blared as they began to dress and don their armour, striving to give them a rough reception. They defended the streets very doughtily with their weapons and shields, yelling out, ‘For Castile! For Castile! This is nothing.’ But their cries and defending availed them little, because the archers and other troops immediately forced them back, killing some and capturing others, till they took refuge along the ramparts and into the towers, defending themselves from there as best they could. At this point Álvaro Pereira and his men arrived 33 The one who had accompanied the two Rodrigues brothers to the gates and was their ally.



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from the ambush where they had held back and, since the town itself was now clear of the enemy, they all set about helping themselves to whatever they found that was not the property of the inhabitants, and each man took up lodging as well as he was able.

Chapter 18

How Lope Gómez was attacked, how his tower was forcibly entered and how he was dispatched as a prisoner to Oporto

N

ow that the king was in possession of the town, he at once decided to attack the towers, which were very strong, equipped with weaponry and replete with soldiers. Nevertheless, before launching his attack, he sent a message to Lope Gómez to say that he was well aware of the honourable rank and honours which he had received in the kingdom and that in this respect it was not his intention to diminish them but, rather, to add to them and to grant him many favours with which he would be content. Moreover, he could see that his position had reached a stage where it could not now be defended and it was undesirable that he, his wife and all those with him should perish, particularly as he had no castle in which to defend himself and, even if he had, it would be of no avail. Besides, if he was hoping that help would arrive from the King of Castile, he should bear in mind the help he had sent to Aires Gomes, for that would enable him to see what benefit he could expect from persisting with that intention. For these reasons he advised him, for his own good, to come over to him while he, the king, was still in a mood not to inflict harm on him, because, later on, it could happen that Lope Gómez might seek from him what he was now requesting of him, and it would be denied him. These arguments and many others which were put to Lope Gómez were never capable of persuading him of anything other than of his urge to defend himself. So the king then gave orders for attacks to be made on all the towers except for the one occupied by Lope Gómez de Lira. The constable attacked them from outside, whereas others surged along stretches of the ramparts from end to end, so that by dint of arms, fires and parley, all the [other] towers surrendered and were swiftly captured. It is important that you should know that the tower occupied by Lope Gómez was the tallest and most defensible of all the towers in the town. It possessed two upper storeys, was made of compact stone up to the [walkway of the] ramparts and that was where the door used by those within was to be found. When the king entered [the town],

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Lope Gómez, lying there in safety and suddenly hearing the great hullabaloo, immediately asked what was causing the disturbance. ‘We don’t know’, they answered, ‘except that we can hear people shouting out, “Saint George! Saint George!”’ ‘Saint George?’ he said. ‘Lock tight the gates, and as for Saint George I renounce him, if he’s trying to get in today!’ Alarmed and speechless, thirty-six men thrust themselves into the fray alongside him, men-at-arms, foot soldiers and crossbowmen. This tower was amply provisioned with firewood and many sides of bacon, right up to the first upper storey, and, since that region possesses many churches and monasteries, the silver and coinage that pertained to them was kept under guard by the said Lope Gómez in this tower. When the attack on the tower began, they defended themselves very doughtily, showing no pity as they hurled down rocks and shot their arrows. At this juncture cries went up [among the assailants] urging that the doors [of the tower] be set on fire. While they were striving to do so, Lope Gómez ordered Gonçalo Lopes de Goiães and the Abbot of São Salvador to go and parley with the king. Being unable to leave by the door, because of the state it was in, they were lowered down in a basket. The final objective of the parley was that the king would deign to give them all the time they needed to send a message to the King of Castile, requesting him to send help to them or go to their aid himself, and, were he not to come, then King João would allow them to leave in safety, along with all their possessions. The king, however, declared himself unwilling to accept any such arrangement, because, since he now controlled the entire town, except for that one tower which was incapable of holding out for long, he was not prepared to accept any arrangement other than that the tower be handed over without further delay and that they should leave at once. With the discussion continuing without agreement, one of the squires asked Gonçalo Lopes whether there was anyone among them willing to fight in single combat or two against two in a duel to the death, in pursuit of their objective. ‘Which two might those be?’ he asked. ‘We’re the ones in question’, came the answer, ‘I and this other squire here.’ Gonçalo Lopes asked what their names were. ‘People call me João Gil Sapo’, he replied, ‘and this is Gonçalo Aranha.’34 ‘Noble youth!’ exclaimed Gonçalo Lopes. ‘Who would dare risk his life against such a double dose of poison as that? Not I for one, I tell you!’ With everybody laughing at this, the king said to Gonçalo Lopes, ‘Get back up there at once, all of you, since you so nobly wish to put yourselves to the test. There is no reason for you to remain out here.’ 34

Sapo is the Portuguese for toad, and aranha is the Portuguese for spider. Gonçalo Lopes, on the verge of being defeated, imprisoned or killed, seized the opportunity to show a good sense of humour.



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Off they went and were hoisted back upwards in a basket just as they had come down. The king ordered the attack to begin again. At once João Rodrigues Guarda, who was a noble and very capable squire, along with Antão Vasques and Martim Afonso de Melo, climbed up a ladder onto the rampart which led directly to the door [of the tower]. Martim Afonso led the way and immediately took up a position under the arch of the doorway of the tower. A large rock was hurled down from above, striking João Rodrigues and knocking him to the ground dead. Another rock struck Antão Vasques, who fell down, gravely injured and close to death. Those [assailants] who were on the rampart threw burning firebrands, flax and firewood over to Martim Afonso, where he stood so that he could set fire to the door. However, owing to the many stones being hurled down from above, he did not dare move out from under the archway but with his sword he dragged towards him what was being thrown to him and succeeded in setting fire to the doors. When they began to burn, Martim Afonso darted away and made for the stretch of the rampart where the others were attacking. When the doors had burned down, the fire ignited the firewood and the sides of bacon and burned away the first storey. With flames and great clouds of smoke reaching the second storey, the defenders were unable to endure more and took to the battlements of the tower, which have a wide walkway. From there Lope Gómez and the rest began to shout and wave their cloaks, pleading with the king to pardon them, for they wished to surrender. The king was in a position where he could view everything very well and was pleased to see the plight they were in, because they had been unwilling to parley with him in the way he had wanted. He particularly felt this because of the death of João Rodrigues, which was a grievous blow to him. His men urged him to let them all suffocate, on the grounds that they thoroughly deserved this for daring to oppose him. That too was the king’s intention. However, it is said that Vasco Martins de Melo begged the king to take pity on Teresa Gomes, the wife of Lope Gómez, who was pregnant, along with their children, even though she was the daughter of Vasco Gomes de Abreu, who was not loyal to the king, beseeching him not to allow them to suffer such a cruel death. Moved to pity by these earnest pleas, the king commanded the attack to cease. The wife of Lope Gómez was lowered by ropes in a basket, followed by Lope Gómez and the rest, each one as best and as fast as possible, some of them reeking of smoke, and others who had already begun to be singed by the flames. When they all came forward to kiss the king’s hand, one of the squires addressed Gonçalo Lopes de Goiães as follows: ‘Aha, Gonçalo Lopes! That was bad advice you gave to Lope Gómez, when you urged him not to accept the terms of my lord the king and to strive to defend himself against him!’ To this Gonçalo Lopes replied, ‘Who are you, to speak to me like that?’

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‘They call me Lançarote’, was his answer.35 ‘Of the Lake, or what?’ said the other. ‘A servant of my lord the king’, said the squire. ‘Well, if you’re Lançarote of the Lake, then I’m Sir Kay, the one who was Thrown Down!’36 The king then gave orders for Lope Gómez, his wife, Gonçalo Lopes and others to be taken as prisoners to Oporto, where they were very badly received, suffering insults and angry taunts. Next they were moved further on, being transferred to Coimbra. The king gave Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos the lands of Fraião and Geraz [do Lima], as well as the other places which Lope Gómez had possessed ever since the days of King Fernando. In Ponte de Lima lots of weapons, horses, mules and many other things were found, with which the king’s men most amply supplied themselves. To act as guardians of the town the king left Estêvão Rodrigues and his brother, along with some of his men, and then went back, with the count, to Braga. That day and night the king was the constable’s guest, dining and lodging with him. They both left next day for Guimarães.

Chapter 19

Concerning the Castilian noblemen who invaded Portugal, and how deep they penetrated

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ccording to what is written by some who have dealt with these events,37 the King of Castile was at this time in Córdoba, as we mentioned, and had dispatched his fleet to lay siege to Lisbon.38 He was in great haste to send for all the great lords, nobles and men-at-arms to join with him in invading Portugal from Badajoz, as he had planned to do. He also wrote to Don Pedro Tenorio, the Archbishop of Toledo, and to certain knights who were his vassals, ordering them all to assemble in Ciudad Rodrigo. From there they were to invade the kingdom of Portugal, hack down the vineyards and wheat fields and do as much damage and create as much havoc as they could. Realising that the time was ripe for doing this, they were very pleased, since it was the month of May, which was ideal for it. The archbishop immediately left for Salamanca, to wait there for all the king’s vassals with whom he was due to carry out his 35

Lançarote is the Portuguese for Lancelot. Sir Kay, another of the Knights of the Round Table, King Arthur’s steward. He was ‘thrown down’ with his horse by a knight in a fierce combat. 37 One of Fernão Lopes’s sources here was Pero López de Ayala’s Crónica del rey don Juan I, Year 7, Chapter 8. 38 In Chapter 13 above. 36



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incursion. Before he reached that city, where it was planned that they should all assemble, a number of captains, who were vassals of the king, arrived at Ciudad Rodrigo. They included Juan Rodríguez de Castañeda, Pedro Suárez de Toledo, chief provincial governor of that city, Álvaro García de Albornoz, the king’s chief cup-bearer, Juan Rodríguez Maldorme, Pedro Suárez de Quiñones, Juan Alfonso de Trujillo and other honourable and distinguished noblemen. All together, they numbered some 400 select and honourable lances, not to mention light horsemen, foot soldiers and crossbowmen. In Ciudad Rodrigo they took the decision to make an incursion into enemy territory. We cannot locate any documentary account as to whether these captains were among those who were to join with the archbishop or not. Nevertheless, we consider that they were, and that they resolved to take this action in order to demonstrate their bold and noble qualities and to serve their liege lord without further instructions from any higher authority. When they were all assembled together, several of them addressed Juan Rodríguez de Castañeda, who was their most prominent figure, as follows: ‘Juan Rodríguez, we think that this incursion which you wish to make isn’t to be recommended, because, however much you might gain in the area which you wish to invade, you will find that gain to be exceeded by the fierce opposition that awaits you. Surely you can see that in this area there are such noblemen, [and these they immediately named] who, it is reasonable to believe, are ready to defend it against you. On those grounds, it is our view that we should either assemble more forces in order to invade the area which you have in mind, or we should invade a different area, where conflict will be less intense.’ Juan Rodríguez answered, stating that this was the very reason why he wanted to invade the area in question, in order to find out what the Portuguese wished to do in these circumstances. His objective was to derive honour from setting noblemen against noblemen, to see both what their mettle was and what difference lay between certain groups, however great and honourable the Portuguese noblemen might be. ‘In addition’, he said, ‘we are guided by the truth, and the Portuguese by lies, for they fail to act as true and loyal subjects in that they wish to defend the land against Queen Beatriz, to whom it belongs by right, and to whom they had pledged their loyalty when her father King Fernando was alive, accepting her as their liege lady and heir to the throne. Now they renege on their undertaking. May their feet and hands fail them, so as to lose the use of them! Consequently, we must invade boldly and with great trust in ourselves, confronting them in battle if that should be the case.’ Many other opinions were uttered on the matter, but finally they declared that, since this was his pleasure, he should proceed with what he wanted, for they were not men to hang back, whatever their views. All the others who accompanied Juan Rodríguez then went along with what he had said. What prompted the daring which they all now demonstrated was the mutual hatred and discord which existed between the Portuguese captains who were

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in that region. The Castilians took the view that there was no agreement among the Portuguese, that they would not join forces against them, and that individually each of them could not cause them much trouble. Accordingly, they boldly intended to carry out their wishes. At this point the 400 horsemen made ready, along with the 200 horsemen led by Pedro Suárez de Quiñones; they were accompanied by a considerable body of foot soldiers and a number of crossbowmen and they all invaded Portugal. They entered via Almeida, which had declared for Castile, reached Pinhel, which had sided with Portugal, and then passed along the fertile valley of Trancoso. They made their way through the villages in the area, pillaging and taking prisoners. They reached the town of Viseu, which lay 22 leagues distant from Ciudad Rodrigo where they had all set out from. When the inhabitants saw them approaching, since the town has no defensive wall or fortress other than the cathedral, they took refuge there and in the churches, many of them taking with them whatever possessions they could carry. Others fled to the hills, everybody seeking safety as best they could. The Castilians began to pillage, take captives and cause as much havoc as their whim demanded. This they did in the very face of the [Portuguese] captains of that region, behaving as men who had no fear of them, or of anybody else, either at that time or in time yet to come. They burst into the churches and stole from them all the silver and other objects of value that they could find, but they did not take prisoner any of the people who had taken refuge there.

Chapter 20

How Martim Vasques and Gonçalo Vasques came to an agreement at the behest of João Fernandes Pacheco

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t the time when the Castilians invaded Portugal, as we have related, there were present in the province of Beira a number of Portuguese noblemen, namely Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho in Trancoso, of which he was the governor, along with a number of honourable squires who served him; then there was Martim Vasques da Cunha, along with his brother Gil Vasques, in the castle of Linhares; and finally there was João Fernandes Pacheco in Ferreira de Aves. It is certainly true when we say that, if the Castilians planned to leave the kingdom in safety owing to the hostility which existed between these noblemen, it would have happened like that, had it not been for the noble actions of João Fernandes Pacheco, who strove very hard to intervene in this matter. Gonçalo Vasques [and his supporters], on the one hand, and Martim Vasques and his brothers, on the other, were greatly at odds because of the land seizures which certain of them claimed were being carried out by the others, saying



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it was wrong for them to do so. For that reason they had not spoken to one another for a long time. When they saw that the Castilians were pillaging the land so openly, they fully realised that this greatly diminished them and brought shame upon them. However, Gonçalo Vasques did not dare make any foray against them, because he had so few men and could not see how he could derive any honour from such an action. Likewise, Martim Vasques had not so many men that he could boldly attempt such a sortie. Nevertheless, they were well aware that, were they to join together, there would be enough of them to inflict damage on their enemies. However, by the rule of ‘You’re a fine fellow, and I’m a fine fellow, but which of us will drive the donkey?’, each one of them held himself back, as you can see, and bands of [Portuguese] noblemen thus allowed the Castilians to destroy as much of the land as they saw fit. The king was in Guimarães and was greatly perturbed when he learned of the invasion carried out by those [Castilian] forces and the immense havoc that they were wreaking. Several times, when discussing this matter, he spoke as follows: ‘I’m very surprised at Gonçalo Vasques, Martim Vasques and the other noblemen there in Beira. With the enemy rampaging before them as though in their very houses and destroying as much as they’re reportedly doing, how can they fail to take them on? How can they let them pillage in this way and freely get away? It would appear that they’ve little concern for the land which they will benefit from and to which they owe their honourable rank and their estates.’ At this point, João Fernandes Pacheco who, as soon as the Castilians invaded, had come to the conclusion that this was such a shameful situation, both to him and to the other noblemen, made up his mind to speak to them about it. He left at once for the house of Martim Vasques, which lay 3 leagues away, and told him how disgraceful it was for him, Martim Vasques, and for Gonçalo Vasques to permit the incursion which the Castilians had made, to let them pillage and lay waste the land and not to react as it was right they should do. ‘What’s worse’, he said, ‘they do it before your very eyes and show their contempt for you.’ In discussing this matter he put forward as many sound arguments as he could, in an effort to persuade him that they should react to the situation. Martim Vasques made excuses, referring to the enmity which existed between him and Gonçalo Vasques and giving João Fernandes to understand that this was impossible. After they had both expressed many views on this matter, João Fernandes repeated his position: ‘Martim Vasques, just let me tell you that this is no time for saying, “He offended me first, and so it’s right he should admit his guilt”, nor for coming out with any other arguments which might cloud the issue. Rather, the time has come to leave past events aside for now and to earn a noble and honourable reputation, because God is offering you that chance. As for me, I am not holding myself back. Note especially that your enmity isn’t so great as to give you grounds for letting the kingdom go to wrack and ruin. Then afterwards, if you don’t want to come to terms, that’s up to you; don’t come to terms!’

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Having both agreed on this, João Fernandes went at once to speak to Gonçalo Vasques. After João Fernandes had advanced the above arguments and as many sound reasons as he could in his attempt to win him over, Gonçalo Vasques refused ever to give way, stating that the rift between them was so great that there was no way in which he could do as he was asked. However, João Fernandes was a man of discretion and great wisdom and from certain remarks which Gonçalo Vasques dropped into the conversation he grasped the fact that he was not refusing on that account but because he did not wish to serve under the leadership of Martim Vasques, with all the praise going to Martim Vasques for any noble achievement that God might give him. Keeping quiet about what he had understood, João Fernandes then went back to Martim Vasques and told him what had transpired between him and Gonçalo Vasques and what he had understood about his position. Martim Vasques answered him saying that, in regard to lineage and honour, rank and brothers, soldiers and other retinue, everybody could readily see the great advantage he had over Gonçalo Vasques. He said: ‘Nevertheless, leaving all that aside, as well as the discord between us, it is my pleasure, for the honour of the realm and in the service of the king our liege lord, that Gonçalo Vasques should be the leader in this undertaking and that his be the honour and praise derived from any noble achievement that God may wish to give us. Furthermore, for him to understand that I do this willingly and so that he should lose all suspicion of me, tell him that I wish to be his guest and to go and dine with him and that we should all set forth from his house.’ Delighted at this answer, João Fernandes went at once to convey it to Gonçalo Vasques, who showed his own great pleasure and gave orders for a fine dinner to be prepared, as befitted such a celebration. Thus there came to dine with him Martim Vasques and his brother Gil Vasques, as well as João Fernandes and Egas Coelho, who were also due to take part in the raid. Leonor Gonçalves, the wife of Gonçalo Vasques, was also present at the invited dinner and passed among the company with great joy and pleasure, showing how happy she was at the festivities.

Chapter 21

How the captains of Castile fought against the Portuguese, and how the Castilians were defeated

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hen once these noblemen had reached agreement and had sworn to help one another, honourably and loyally, in order to wrest plunder from their enemies in any way whatsoever, they concluded that the best method they could adopt in this regard was to know for certain where the Castilians



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would be making for and to do battle with them there at some appropriate spot. In order to make their presence more noticeable and to win more praise for their strength in battle, they sent to the Castilians a squire, Afonso Rodrigues Batissela by name, with the message that, since they had dared to make such an incursion in order to lay waste the land of the King of Portugal, their liege lord, they might deign to proceed to where they, the Portuguese, were to be found and that they would have their dinner ready and waiting. The Castilians showed themselves to be very pleased with this message, and Juan Rodríguez de Castañeda told the squire that he promised, if this were to happen, that he would reward him with a fine steed for bringing the good news. Afonso Rodrigues went back with this reply, at which the Portuguese were delighted. Knowing that the Castilians were bound to approach via the town of Trancoso with everything that they had plundered, they drew up their battle line in a water meadow at less than half a league from the town and across which the Castilians would have to pass. The Portuguese numbered little more than 300 lances, according to what some have written. The banner of Gonçalo Vasques was guarded by 120 lances, that of Martim Vasques by 150, that of João Fernandes by 30, and those of Gil Vasques and Egas Coelho accounted for the rest. This small force then gathered together, with every man hurrying as best he could, on account of sealing this friendly alliance so suddenly and having neglected to prepare for the action which they now undertook. They possessed few well-trained foot soldiers, but amassed many more from the townships and from among the farmworkers of that region. The result was that the Castilians held the advantage in their capable light horsemen and men-at-arms, whereas the Portuguese had superior numbers in their ill-trained men on foot. The Portuguese drew up their line of battle in the place we mentioned. There they waited on foot for their adversaries, whom they now knew to be approaching. Then the Castilian forces appeared at the point where the water meadow began. Since they had been rampaging over the land for several days, fearlessly and at will, they were now transporting an astonishing amount of plunder: this consisted of men, women, youths, cattle, other livestock and many other things, with the result that over 700 pack mules made up their baggage train. It is true to say that, when the Castilians saw the Portuguese drawn up against them, they were troubled and wanted to avoid battle and make off in safety with their booty, even though it would have been a shameful act, had they managed to do so. Having all approached on horseback, offering a fine spectacle with their banners unfurled, they veered to the right, away from the water meadow, and in the direction of Ribeira de Frechas, in order to make their way along the slope of the valley, between the Portuguese and the rocky face of the hill. On seeing this, the Portuguese advanced and confronted them more closely at a place where there is a shrine dedicated to Saint Mark. Realising that there was no means by which they could avoid conflict, unless they decided to abandon their baggage train and escape over

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the hills, each man as best he could (which would have been shameful), the Castilians debated what they should do. Some argued that, since they had been advancing through Portugal for days and were transporting this booty, which was particularly good, they should continue on their way with it and as safely as possible, paying no heed to the battle line which the Portuguese had drawn up. If the Portuguese sought to wrest their booty from them and do battle with them, then they should indeed deal with them. This was good advice, for all that it was shameful; but it could not be done that way [because the Portuguese were blocking their path]. Others argued that it was very dishonourable, especially to men such as they were, to see their enemies drawn up before them, what is more, outnumbering them, and yet to shirk conflict out of fear. All those in Castile who found out about it would consider this event to be an act of immense cowardice, as a grave dereliction of duty, and would hold them in contempt. They all accepted this argument and agreed to fight. This was not done with courage and shrewdness, even though they had shown ample boldness in their discussion, but was forced on them by necessity. Then they all dismounted, except for the light horsemen, who remained in the saddle. They formed their battle line slowly and deliberately and made themselves ready. On seeing them ready to fight, the foot soldiers, farmworkers and others of that kind which the Portuguese had deployed on the flank of their battle line now began to run off towards the town, while others headed where best they could, without their men-at-arms seeing or hearing them. Observing them deserting the field, the Castilians gained more courage than they had first shown, considering it to be a good sign and the onset of a victory. Apart from the noble courage of the men-at-arms, their rapid and sturdy advance was carried out with such daring, such proud display and such trumpet blasts that it seemed that each man was keen to strike the first blow against their opponents, as they cried out ‘For Castile and Saint James!’ With loud whoops they shouted out the names of Castañeda and the noble houses to which each of them belonged. The Portuguese shouted back, ‘For Portugal and Saint George!’ Likewise, Martim Vasques repeatedly cried, ‘Cunha, Cunha!’ João Fernandes yelled, ‘Ferreira, Ferreira!’ and the rest shouted in a similar vein. When the battle lines clashed, there began between them a mighty and desperate struggle. Each side strove to get the better of their adversaries, resolutely smiting one another. Spotting the Portuguese foot soldiers running away, the Castilian light horsemen killed them at will, to the point where many of them lay dead. On seeing this, the foot soldiers rushed in fear back into battle, without their men-at-arms noticing. The morning was well advanced when the battle began, and it lasted for a large portion of the day, with both sides striving to continue fighting till death or victory. The torrent of blows inflicted was so powerful that could be heard in Trancoso.39 But, with all of 39 Trancoso, close to which the battle took place, is a village located some 20 miles (c. 32 km) to the north of Guarda.



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them stubbornly persisting in pursuing their objective, the Castilians were all defeated and killed, with the result that not one of the men-at-arms escaped, except for the light horsemen and many of the pages who were looking after the horses, as well as a few foot soldiers who ran off over the hills. Likewise, all their captains were slain, with the exception of Pedro Suárez de Quiñones, who was the captain of the light horse. All [the others] whom we mentioned met their death, along with the Commander of Las Huelgas; Lope González Pie de Hierro; Pedro Merchán from Ciudad Rodrigo; Rui García de Solárez; the provincial governor of Cazorla; Álvaro Cansado; Gutierre de Herrera; and many other gallant noblemen, as well as numbers of their sons and brothers. There also perished many valiant squires, who were accompanied by certain lances: all these lay dead where they had taken up position around their great lords. As for the Portuguese, thanks be to God for the great and wondrous miracle, in no chronicle did we find any mention that we might write about of the death of a single captain or any man of greater or lesser account. The exceptions were the farmworkers and villagers whom, as already stated, the light horsemen slew. It is important that you should be in no doubt that, throughout the entire war, no battle was more doughtily fought by a small yet honourable force than this one between the Portuguese and the Castilians; but Fortune, which does not give equal shares to those in contention, willed that it should be so on this occasion. Apart from the twelve leading Castilians who were killed, García Gutiérrez was taken prisoner and held by Gil Vasques, who chose not to kill him, so that he could supply evidence of who and how many had been killed and how everything had happened. In addition to this, the entire baggage train which they had brought was left behind there, consisting of many pack-mules and other livestock, along with many other things. Moreover, there was the plunder which they had brought along and which was very great indeed. Many of those who had been captives now recovered their property, plus what they could seize of the property of others. Some of them arrested those who had held them prisoner, as well as a number of the foot soldiers, for not a single man-at-arms remained alive. Once all the booty had been retrieved from the field, the Portuguese captains returned rejoicing, each man with his troops, to the places from which they had left at the beginning of the friendly alliance which they had formed at the time. Thereafter they remained great friends, although later on they were at odds again. The king was in Guimarães, as we have mentioned, when he received the message telling him of the noble achievement of the Portuguese in this battle, and was delighted at the news, profusely thanking God that it had pleased Him to help him in this way. While he was speaking to the messenger who brought him the news, and who told him that João Fernandes was the instigator of the action, the king answered with these words: ‘I knew only too well that that was what the noble João Fernandes would do.’

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Chapter 22

How the King of Portugal and the constable left Guimarães

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hile the King of Portugal was in Guimarães, rejoicing at the good news about the battle [at Trancoso], he received a reliable message which reported that the King of Castile, together with a very large force that he had assembled, was rapidly getting ready to invade Portugal via Badajoz. Furthermore, all his fleet was already at Lisbon, the city was under siege from the sea and the river was blockaded, with the result that the citizens of Lisbon could not use it. That was because the city was under surveillance by 40 great naos, 12 barges and 10 galleys, as well as 3 lenhatos40 and five small boats which were laden with supplies. Perturbed by this news, the King of Portugal discussed the entire matter with the constable. The constable, who had sought many ways in which he could fight against the King of Castile but had never had the opportunity, realised that the time was now ripe for him to achieve this. After they had first debated the question at length, they both came to the conclusion that the best way to proceed, in order to hinder these actions was, with God’s help, to launch an attack on the King of Castile, despite the immense forces which he was reported to be bringing with him. Having ensured due protection and equipment both for those towns which they had captured and for those in that region which had gone over to him, the king left at once for Oporto, intending to assemble his army and to await the King of Castile wheresoever he happened to confront him. From Oporto he made his way to Coimbra. While he was there, a knight arrived from the King of Navarre,41 in secret and dressed as a man of little importance, so as not to be recognised. By him the King of Navarre had sent a message to say that he wished to be the friend of the King of Portugal against the King of Castile and to wage war against him from his own kingdom while the King of Castile was in Portugal. He requested the King of Portugal to act in a similar fashion, should the King of Castile make war on Navarre, and urged that they be friends against their common foe. The king received the knight very well and gave him a warm welcome. He then sent him back with his reply and with one of his confessors to accompany him. However, since no further action was taken on the matter, there is no point in dwelling on it. The king stayed in Coimbra for a few days and then left. On the first day he reached Penela,42 which had now declared for him. Formerly it had been 40

Old kind of vessel of lower tonnage used in Portugal. Carlos II, nicknamed ‘the Bad’. 42 This village is located some 20 miles (c. 32 km) to the south of Coimbra. 41



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held by the Count of Viana who, when King Fernando died, had immediately declared for Castile and had received payment from the King of Castile at the time when he laid siege to Lisbon. While holding the town on behalf of the King of Castile, the Count of Viana left Penela in order to requisition supplies against the wishes of their owners, as was his followers’ practice. As he advanced with some forty horsemen, without any foot soldiers or crossbowmen in support, there gathered against him the inhabitants of the villages and surrounding areas in order to defend their dwellings from him, all of them on foot. As he tangled with them, they hurled themselves against his horse, and with it he fell to the ground. One peasant, nicknamed Cazpirre, then strode up impetuously, cut off his head, and thus the count met his end. On seeing him slain, his followers all fled. The inhabitants of Penela immediately declared for Portugal, and such was their allegiance at this time. Later the king gave the township to Diogo Lopes Pacheco. The king left Penela and journeyed to Tomar. There he was joined by a Gascon knight, who had come to serve him; his name was Sir Guilhem de Monferrand.43 The king received him very well and granted him favours. The king then headed for Torres Novas, which Alfonso López de Tejada held on behalf of Castile. On reaching the outskirts of the town, the king ordered his camp to be pitched around it. Once the encampment was in place, Alfonso López sent out foot soldiers and crossbowmen to start a skirmish. When the king’s men saw them, they rushed upon them, striking them down at will and breaking their resistance. The Portuguese burst through the gates of the town with them and locked them all up in the castle. They plundered the town as they saw fit and then made their way back to their encampment.

Chapter 23

How the king left Torres Novas and headed for Santarém

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hile the king was in Torres Novas, he decided to send the marshal of his army, Álvaro Pereira, to Lisbon. He was to be accompanied by a detachment of his troops and to bring back with him Fernão Rodrigues de Sequeira, who was in Lisbon as chief officer of the marches, as well as a number of the city community’s lances. However, those with whom the king discussed the matter argued that such a round trip was neither safe nor in his best interests, owing to the presence in Santarém of so many Castilian troops. 43 Although Fernão Lopes writes ‘Jean’, this Gascon knight is almost certainly Sir Guilhem de Montferrand; see P. E. Russell, The English Intervention, p. 396. Sir Guilhem is also mentioned in CKJ1, Chapter 47, and in Chapters 38 and 45 below. We have taken the liberty to correct the name in our translation.

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On hearing this and recognising the strength of their reasoning, the king decided to sally forth. Before he set out, he was joined by Afonso Vasques Correia, who held the castle of Abrantes on his behalf. The very next day he gave orders for the trumpets to be sounded, announcing the march on Santarém. He pitched his camp close to the ferryboat of Arraiolos,44 below Golegã. On the following day they began to advance, with the king heading his troops, who were drawn up in battle formation. Among the foreigners accompanying him were Bernardin Mensaport, Vulcom, Venor, Lille45 and others; among the Portuguese were Vasco Martins de Melo, Vasco Martins da Cunha, Rui Vasques de Castelo Branco, João Afonso de Azambuja (who later became a cardinal), Doctor Gil do Sém, Fernando Álvares, Antão Vasques and other honourable figures, making up a total of some 600 lances. The constable headed the vanguard, and the king the rearguard. When the constable’s advance took him close to the vineyards of Santarém, his troops came across Álvaro González de Sandoval, who was accompanied by Castilian troops, who were in that area to protect those out there [making hay]. Having received definite news that the King of Portugal was due to pass that way, the Castilians began to fight them but were unable to resist their attack. However, before they took refuge back in Santarém, they first killed two Portuguese squires, namely Fernão Pais and João Nogueira, who was one of the constable’s criados. They also killed a horse belonging to Antão Vasques and inflicted a grievous wound on Vasco Lourenço Meirinho, striking him in the chest with a spear thrust through his robust coat of mail, an injury which lasted a very long time. Two of the Castilians were killed as well. This rapid encounter on horseback took place before the Constable himself arrived on the scene. They then reached the Tagus, close to Santarém and over towards Little Santa Iria,46 where there was a shallow ford by which they could cross. Knowing about the king’s approach from Santarém, many Castilians were already patrolling the fields to protect the haymakers. While the Portuguese were crossing the river, with the king in their midst, there broke out a very fierce and hard-fought skirmish with those who were accompanying the haymakers on their way back to town, as well as with others from the town who emerged to receive them. Among the noteworthy things that occurred in this skirmish is the fact that Vasco Martins de Melo the Younger was one of the first in the vanguard to cross the waters of the Tagus. As a man of great 44 Arraiolos was the old name of modern Chamusca, near the mouth of a brook also called Arraiolos, where there was a boat to cross the Tagus. 45 These are probably Gascon knights, whose identity we have been unable to determine more closely. 46 The names both of this village and of the nearby town of Santarém derive from the name of Saint Irene, hence ‘Little’ in the case of the village.



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courage he hurled himself on horseback at the Castilians, of whom there were many, doing as much by his own hand as any valiant and daring knight could possibly do, until he was knocked off his horse and found himself on the ground; but he defended himself extremely well with his estoc.47 Indeed, had he not been so well armed, they would have killed him with their lances. Then Martim Afonso his brother, along with two squires, also dismounted to help him defend himself, so that both brothers found themselves in dire straits. However, the constable rushed up to their aid, and they forced the Castilians into the river, where numbers of them were killed or wounded. As for Vasco Martins da Cunha, he won great praise for his deeds in this encounter.

Chapter 24

How the king and the constable made their way to Alenquer, and how the constable then left for the Alentejo

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he king left that spot and went to spend the night at Lezíria da Condessa,48 which is situated below Santarém, and where they came across many cattle. This brought immense relief to those in charge of the encampment, as their stock of provisions was very low. Next day, passing close to Muge, the king crossed the Tagus, took the road to Lisbon and set up camp near the bridge that lies beyond Cartaxo. However, there was [still] a shortage of supplies throughout the camp, so much so that a horse was exchanged for five loaves of bread. While the constable was sitting eating, with five loaves on his table (that being all he had left in his bread store), there arrived five English knights, loudly complaining that they were starving and that they wished to drink with him. He answered that he was happy for them to do so, gave orders for water to be brought for [them to wash] their hands, and bade them sit down. However, they refused to sit down, preferring to drink standing up. Each one of them took his loaf and ate it, as well as swallowing four draughts each before they went on their way. Laughing and highly amused, the Constable was left without any bread and on that occasion ate his meat without it. The king next travelled to Alenquer, which was defended by Vasco Peres de Camões. He was a former vassal of the King of Portugal, as we mentioned.49 47 Thrusting sword; a more rigid and thinner sword with unsharpened edges used especially to thrust and pierce. 48 This toponym possibly corresponds to the modern Lezíria da Palmeira. 49 See CKJ1, Chapters 168 and 179.

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Camp was pitched in the market gardens by the riverside, at a good distance from the town, and where there sometimes took place well-fought skirmishes between those from the town and those from the encampment. It was from there that forage parties went forth into the area around Alenquer and Torres Vedras to look for supplies. In these circumstances it was decided that the king should remain there assembling the troops that were due to join him from Lisbon. When once he had them with him, he would go back to Santarém with them, and then on to Abrantes. Meanwhile, the constable would go into the Alentejo to muster as many forces as possible and then head back to Abrantes, where the king would be awaiting him. It is important that you should be aware that at the time when the king arrived at Alenquer, it came about that in the Alentejo the town of Arronches, which had declared for Portugal, was very short of supplies. However, Vasco Gil de Carvalho, along with other honourable squires from Évora, was working hard to deliver provisions to that township. Not content with accompanying their baggage train, some of them peeled away from it and launched an attack on Campo Maior. Don Alfonso de Montemayor, who was the great lord of Alcaudete, and Don García Fernández de Villagarcía, who was a Grand Commander of the Order of Santiago, found out about this in Badajoz, which was where they happened to be. They assembled their forces, along with the inhabitants of the town, and attacked those who [still] accompanied the baggage train. In the fight against those few whom they encountered, they routed them, killing and capturing part of their number and seizing everything that they were transporting; the survivors fled. The count set forth with his men, as decided, bound for the banks of the Guadiana, and crossed the Tagus by the ford at Muge. Here, a number of writers in their erroneous accounts state that the count left Alenquer with the 300 lances whom he habitually took with him; then, having forded the river at Muge, and out of fear of the Castilians who were in Santarém, most of them deserted him, so that he was left with no more than some thirty-five lances. Whoever wrote this down failed to examine carefully how sound the evidence was for it. That is because the count did not lead such troops as would desert him without good reason nor from whom he would suffer such a shameful desertion. Indeed, they were so loyal, so faithful and proven to be such gallant and daring men-at-arms that, even if confronted by all the might of Castile, they would all give their lives for their noble lord rather than forsake him for any reason whatever. Besides, if they say that they abandoned him, let them tell us where they went and what became of them, or whether they went back to the king, who would have given them a warm welcome for their achievement! For that reason, [the writer of] such a wretched and erroneous opinion, which is defamatory to the king’s gallant and loyal vassals, should get down on his knees and plead for pardon from the truth, which is as follows:



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At that time, just as earlier, the noble King João valued no less fondly the constable’s life and honour than his own. Thus, when the count had to set out, the king declared that, for the count’s greater safety and protection, on account of the forces in Santarém, it seemed to him reasonable that, in addition to the constable’s own troops, who would habitually and dutifully accompany him, he should take with him as many of the king’s troops as he saw fit. The count deemed this to be a very great favour but made excuses for not taking them with him. Nevertheless, the king obliged him to do so. As a result, apart from his own men he took with him some 200 lances, whom the king commanded to accompany him wherever he wished. However, he refused their company beyond the river crossing at Muge, and so these were the lances who parted company with him there and returned to camp, not his gallant and loyal followers. At night the count gave orders for his guards and scouts to be posted, as was his usual practice. The next night he spent at Salvaterra [de Magos], the following one at Montemor-o-Novo and then went on to Évora, where he encountered a number of those who had been present at the rout of the baggage train that was heading for Arronches. After they had told him all about it and the reasons for their loss, the count comforted them with gentle and wise words, telling them that bad discipline was a major reason for losses in war. Then the count set about mustering his men, writing to all the men-at-arms, foot soldiers and crossbowmen whom it was necessary to take with him to come and join him at once; and so they did. He then made his way to Estremoz, and did the same for them to join him as swiftly as possible.

Chapter 25

How the king left Alenquer for Abrantes and sent for the constable

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hen the king was in Alenquer, he decided to send for those noblemen of Beira who had won the Battle of Trancoso. He dispatched Diogo Machado to them, declaring that they should immediately make every effort to join him, as was very necessary in his interests, in the preservation of his honour and in the defence of the realm. At this juncture there arrived Fernão Rodrigues de Sequeira, the chief officer of the marches at Lisbon, with the troops he had there, as well as those from the city, who amounted to 100 lances, if we count 21 English lances who came with them. These had arrived on 10 July. When they had joined the king, he immediately set out with his army and that very day he pitched camp at Valada, which is very close to Santarém, where his enemies were. To enhance both security and preparedness he ordered

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a proclamation to be issued throughout the encampment that everyone that night should sleep fully armed. After his first sleep,50 the king walked through the camp and harshly rebuked all those whom he found to be unarmed, each one according to his rank. Next day he crossed the ford and went along the road he had originally taken. In front of Santarém he lingered a while, to see whether any Castilians would emerge to challenge him. However, realising that they were not keen for any further conflict, he went on his way and pitched camp at a place known as the estate of Rui Pereira. The following day he journeyed to the tower of Cardiga and the day after he reached Abrantes. Since he was there for several days, a number of those who have written books of fanciful accounts claim that, since the count had not arrived with his forces from the Alentejo, the king held a meeting of his royal council on a Sunday, and that some of his advisers agreed that, without him, he should launch an attack on the King of Castile, for it was being said that he was already in the kingdom, and that he should not wait for the constable any longer. Just consider what a nonsensical account that is for any rational man to have to believe! In due course the count arrived with his troops from the Alentejo, which was of immense assistance for any such undertaking, and he could not convince any of those exceedingly courageous men to do battle with the King of Castile! How could they be so bold as to claim they could go into battle without his assistance? Clearly, such a viewpoint is not worth listening to! Accordingly, you had better reject such erroneous accounts and now read what really happened.51 The count had not been away so long assembling his troops that the time he spent doing so was blameworthy. However, the king was in a hurry to assemble his royal council for three reasons: the first was that he was receiving reports that the King of Castile was already invading the realm; the second was that the count was the principal member of his royal council, and it was necessary that he should accompany him; the third was that he needed to see how many troops he would bring with him, in order to know how many he would have altogether. Once they had all agreed that they should send for the constable, Martim Afonso told the king that he would go to summon him, if the king would grant him that favour. The king declared that he was very grateful to him and that he should make ready at once. That very afternoon he sent for Martim Afonso and addressed him with the following words: 50

In medieval times it was common for people to sleep in two shifts, with a first sleep from dusk to about midnight, followed by one to three hours of activity, and then a second period of sleep till morning. 51 Fernão Lopes is referring, ironically, to the royal council held at Abrantes (see Chapter 30 below), where they discussed whether or not to go into battle and in which Nuno Álvares Pereira found himself alone in wanting to do so, everybody else being against, obviously out of fear.



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‘Tell the count that he is well aware how he has always served me loyally and that I, with God’s help, intend to do battle with the King of Castile, who, I am informed, is already invading this realm, and tell him that I have now been awaiting his arrival for several days. Tell him also that, as a battle is now inevitable, and that, if I emerge victorious, as is indeed my hope in God, and he were not to take part in it, he would greatly lose much of his honour. Therefore, I request him to make ready at once, along with the troops that he has assembled, however many they may be, and to come without further delay.’ However, the king did not say this out of any consideration that the count might do him a disservice. Rather, since he had to send him a message, he uttered these few remarks with a smile on his face when sending Martim Afonso on his mission. Martim Afonso set out on a Sunday afternoon and reached Estremoz on the Monday, just as the count was rising from dinner. In a private conversation he delivered the message that he brought, laughing as he did so and with the same good humour as the king had conveyed it to him. The count summoned the members of his own council at once and discussed the matter with them. As soon as the discussion was over, he commanded the trumpets to be sounded and set off. He spent the night at Avis and the next day at Ponte de Sor. From there he took up lodgings and dined 2 leagues short of Abrantes.52 After having had a meal, he set out from his lodgings, accompanied by sixty lances, and went to see the king at Abrantes, with the rest of his troops remaining behind where they had set up camp. When the king was aware that the constable was on his way to see him, he went out to receive him by the riverside, and was delighted when he saw him. He returned to his own lodgings, accompanied by the count. After they had discussed whichever matters pleased them the count went back to where he had come from. The next day he arrived with his forces, and they set up camp in some market gardens close to Abrantes. They numbered 600 men-at-arms, 2,000 foot soldiers and 300 crossbowmen. After the constable had encircled his encampment with mules, he went to speak with the king. There let them remain and do their talking, for they have much to talk about, and we shall in the meantime go and join the King of Castile and advance with him till he reaches Leiria, so as to give you a clear account of all that happened to him up to that point. 52 Abrantes was the meeting point the king and the constable had agreed upon: there to hold the royal council, and from where to set out to meet the Castilians. The constable’s men, whom he needed time to gather from the Alentejo, were to form the crucial vanguard of the king’s army (see Chapter 38 below). Meanwhile, other members of the royal council may have tried to influence the king, even to do battle without the constable, envious of the power the king invariably granted him (cf. CKJ1, Chapter 51). Yet even if that attempt was made, and was recalled in some account, Lopes is probably right in denying that the king complied with their absurd proposal.

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Chapter 26

How the King of Castile reached Elvas with the intention of capturing it but raised the siege and made his way to Ciudad Rodrigo

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hile the King of Castile was in Córdoba, as you have heard,531 he began his invasion of Portugal, filled with great rage and accompanied by a large army, for he was intent on bringing widespread slaughter to the Portuguese, in such a way that, through [punitive acts of] justice and any other means whereby he could avenge himself, he would not stop or leave the realm until he had taken it by force. He invaded via Badajoz and pitched his camp close to Elvas, which lies near the border, because he was given to understand that the town was short of provisions, to the point where the people were eating bread made from grape bagasse and other unpalatable ingredients. He was also told that, if he besieged the town for two weeks, he would starve it into submission. The king was very pleased at this, because Elvas is one of the nobler towns in the kingdom, and so he laid siege to it. In order to find out whether the hunger and thirst were as great as he had been informed, he besieged the town for a further ten days, thus twenty-five days all together. The people of the town kept the gates open and, whenever it suited them, fought skirmishes every day with those in the siege camp. One day the people of Elvas discovered that pack-mules belonging to the King of Castile were bound for the siege camp, bearing provisions and other materials, so they set up lookouts to keep watch for them. Then they emerged and seized the mules on the road from Badajoz to Elvas, bringing them into town, along with everything they were carrying. Next morning Gil Fernandes [of Elvas] arranged a detachment of thirty squires to accompany him on a skirmish, leaving foot soldiers close to the town to defend it. In full view of the King of Castile, who was lodging very close by, they launched an attack against the enemy in a gallant and valiant skirmish, from which Gil Fernandes emerged with great honour, [fighting on] despite a lance thrust which wounded his horse in one of its forelegs. As for his men, one of them died from an arrow shot, whereas six Castilians met their deaths. The King of Castile realised that he was wasting time in besieging this town, for he had spent more time there than had been predicted and in the end things had not turned out as he had imagined. Furthermore, when reports reached him concerning the defeat at Trancoso, in which so many of his troops had been killed, which rightly grieved him very much, he changed his mind about invading Portugal in the region he had planned to and made his way to 53

See Chapter 13 above.



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Ciudad Rodrigo, a town in his own kingdom situated close to the border. If he felt resentment towards the Portuguese, as we have said, that resentment was at this time even more intense, owing to the battle which his forces had lost. While [still] at Elvas, another report reached him relating how his men had seized the baggage train bound for Arronches and had brought down those in charge of it. In order to please him, those who informed him about it told him that many Portuguese had been killed and routed, though they were unable to name a captain. In fact, altogether they were ten muleteers, plus a few soldiers to protect them. Likewise, news reached him that twenty-six of his naos, which he had summoned from Vizcaya and Asturias, were now anchored off Lisbon. These naos bore supplies with which to equip the towns and castles in the Lisbon area which had declared for him, as well as plenty of timber for the construction of siege engines, plenty of horseshoes and many other things pertaining to warfare. In addition, there lay anchored off Lisbon the galleys and naos which he had summoned from Seville with other equipment: all was in readiness. The king was very pleased that the sea was of no avail to the people of that city. Before he left Elvas, he subjected one of the town’s inhabitants, whom he held captive, to punishment by amputation.54 He sent the mutilated man to Gil Fernandes with a note hanging from his neck proclaiming that the king swore that he would do the same to everyone from the town of Elvas whom he captured. On seeing this, Gil Fernandes was greatly disturbed at this act of cruelty and at once ordered that two noble squires whom he held captive be amputated likewise. One of them, a Basque named Pero Fernández, shouted out that it was a great wrong for him to mutilate two noblemen in reprisal for one peasant. Gil Fernandes replied to this by stating that matters could not be held up by giving weight to the nobility’s family relationships, nor could he give tit for tat. However, once they had been subjected to punitive amputation, he immediately dispatched them to the siege camp, with notes hanging from their necks, in which Gil Fernandes swore to God that, if the King of Castile mutilated any more of his people, he held eighty men from the encampment captive and would have them all suffer amputation. The king chose not to carry out any more punitive acts and left the next morning. While on his way he sent back one of his men with money to redeem the pack-mules which had been seized. Some of those who held them sold them back to him, whereas others kept theirs and refused to sell them. Before the king reached Arronches he seized seventeen men from the town and had them all punished with amputation. With such acts of cruelty he went on his way until he reached Ciudad Rodrigo. 54

The verb in the Portuguese text is ‘decepar’. As a rule this means to amputate a limb, or limbs, as a form of punishment, usually the hands, as in Chapter 29 below and also in CKJ1, Chapter 178.

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Chapter 27

Concerning the royal council which the King of Castile held with his advisers before he invaded Portugal

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hile the King of Castile was in Ciudad Rodrigo, determined as he was to invade Portugal, he learned that the King of Portugal had left Guimarães, crossed the Douro and headed for Coimbra. Once these reports had been confirmed, notwithstanding his intent, he chose first of all to hold a royal council with his advisers to decide whether it was right for him to invade Portugal in person or whether it was better to post officers of the marches along the border region and wage a different form of warfare. Indeed, on this matter there followed a major and most remarkable meeting of the council, in which many excellent arguments were discussed. However, of all of those that were put forward, let these briefly suffice: Some counsellors declared that their advice to the king was that he ought to invade Portugal with his entire force and strive to recover the kingdom, which belonged to him by right, since he already held such a large part of it and had so many good opportunities to gain the remainder. They urged that no sensible man could possibly believe or imagine how the Master of Avis, who called himself king, could make so bold as to stand waiting for him and do battle. Furthermore, even if the Master were so bold and wished to do battle, he did not possess as many troops as valiant as those the king led and so would not to dare to await him. Besides that, the king had ordered it to be proclaimed to the troops in Santarém and in the other towns which continued to declare their loyalty to him, when he had left Lisbon, that he would return very soon, God willing, in order to go to their aid and to reward them for their loyal service to him. However, if they saw that the king was withdrawing from that town back into his own realm, they would conclude that he either did not wish or dare to invade Portugal, which would greatly perturb them and cause them to lose their noble intentions of serving him. They added that he had received news that the city of Lisbon was in dire straits, both from its shortage of provisions and from the war waged against it by the surrounding townships which had declared for him; moreover, the bulk and best of its forces had left to join the Master, who called himself king, and there did not remain behind in the city any captain or similar persons capable of defending it, while the harbour was blockaded by a large number of ships which prevented the entry of any aid or provisions. For these reasons, if the king were to lay siege and strive to capture it, it would surrender to him, or he would take it by force, even against its will. When once he had captured this city which was stubbornly holding out against him, then all the other towns and villages, indeed the entire kingdom, would effectively be captured too.



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Furthermore [they maintained], if in that way he could bring the war to an end and recover all that he wanted to, then he should not hesitate to advance in person and invade the kingdom with all his forces, especially as he had already spent about a year amassing his troops by dint of much effort and expense, with all of them expecting that they would invade Portugal with him. Now that he had assembled them, both from his own kingdom and from elsewhere, he should not abandon such an invasion, come what might, because they would all become disheartened, were they to see such a withdrawal, and would think that he was doing it out of cowardice. In addition, if that was what he thought he should do, then he ought to have arrived at that decision before amassing such a large force. There is no doubt, with regard to the shortages that Lisbon was undergoing, that what they were saying was very true, because so great was the hunger in the year after the King of Castile raised the siege that anyone seeing how they grieved as a result of the oppression they were under would weep along with them, even if they were their enemies. Quite apart from this, the king’s advisers put forward the excellent and powerful argument that, as he was well aware, the Portuguese had sent a message to England requesting the aid of a large force, which was due to arrive at any moment. Indeed, if it arrived before he invaded, with them all gathering together and confronting him on the battlefield, then they could very greatly hinder his enterprise. Therefore, before it came, they urged the king to go into battle against the Master and set about finishing what he had begun, rejecting all contrary motives. Certainly, such advice as this, based as it was on sound arguments, was fit to be believed. However, many arguments were advanced by others who did not agree with this and who gave the king advice of a very contrary nature, as you are now about to see from what they had to say.

Chapter 28

Other arguments, contrary to those which you have heard, as to why the King of Castile ought not to invade Portugal

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nce those giving the foregoing advice had finished speaking, others responded from a very opposing viewpoint, stating that the king ought by no means to invade Portugal at that juncture, and putting forward the following reasons: the first was that the king was sometimes wont to fall ill from his frequently recurring ailments and that it was not very long since he had suffered from a serious illness from which he had not yet completely

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recovered. If he fell ill when invading Portugal, they said, this would be a very adverse factor in such an incursion, because there were now few captains or none in his army capable of directing a military campaign as it should be, since those who had been capable were all dead, either succumbing to the plague when the king was besieging Lisbon, or being slain in the Battle of Trancoso, which had only recently been lost. As a result, in these two events and in other adverse occurrences which had befallen the king, he had lost the best captains and men-at-arms in his entire realm, so much so that they calculated that some 3,000 had been lost. In addition, the captains whom he had with him in Ciudad Rodrigo were youthful men who had no experience of warfare or battle, and it was highly dangerous to submit them to the immediate test of a battle such as this one, since it was common knowledge that the Master of Avis, who called himself king, was determined to venture his entire enterprise in battle, recognising that this was his only way forward. All those whom the Master had with him, who amounted to some 2,000 men-at-arms, were equally resolved and firmly intent on this, as men whose only opportunity was to invest everything in the field of battle. This was also the advice of a number of archers who had joined the Master from England, though they were very few. Furthermore, the Portuguese had recovered the city of Braga, as well as towns and villages in the Minho, and victory in the Battle of Trancoso and other gallant achievements had made them arrogant and sure of themselves. In addition, the king knew well that for a long time the knights and other forces which he had left behind in Santarém and in other townships that continued to side with him had not received the wages due to them and were expecting the king to bring them all the payment that was owing. However, he had made no preparation for this, nor was he carrying any treasure from which to make such payments. Consequently, when any of them realised that he was in Portugal and was not paying them, then perhaps those who were natives of Portugal would stop supporting him, and those from Castile, who were occupying the fortresses, would consider themselves ill-treated and would say that they could not endure being there, since they lacked the wherewithal with which to support themselves. Therefore, in what remained of the year, it was better for the king to conduct a war of attrition in the border areas and to dispatch 1,000 men-at-arms to Badajoz, 500 to the province of Galicia and a further 500 to the area between Alcántara and Ciudad Rodrigo. As for the provisions which the naos and other ships that were anchored off Lisbon had brought to supply Santarém and the other towns which had declared for him, these should be distributed among them in lieu of the wages they were owed. They would willingly accept these supplies and would then be equipped to wage war against Lisbon, where there were no longer any provisions with which its population could support itself. If the king were to wage war according to this plan, the Master of Avis, who called himself king, would find himself in



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such dire straits that he would not know which decision to take, for, if he were to rush to the Badajoz region, then the officers of the marches who were in Galicia and in the area between Alcántara and Ciudad Rodrigo would invade the regions adjacent to those for which they were responsible, and would lay waste all the land there. If the Master wished to rush to any one of these areas, then those who occupied the other border regions would act similarly. With such a strategy, since the king controlled the sea, and since Lisbon was starving, in a very short time he would recover the whole of Portugal. Furthermore, those advisers who adopted this line of argument said that the king should by no means subject his enterprise to the test of the battlefield, for they were of the view that his feats in such matters did not turn out as well as they could reasonably be expected to, as had happened in the siege of Lisbon, in which God had brought plague, death and other adverse events, and in which, having begun this war, he had lost many of his forces; for that reason, he should wage it in the best and safest way he could. They added one further argument, namely that, if perchance he could come to some honourable pact with the Portuguese, then it was advisable that he should do so. If anyone writes at this point that the King of Portugal offered to give the King of Castile a considerable portion of the realm in return for his not waging war against him, you must reject that account as false, for he never made any such proposal to the King of Castile, nor agreed to any deal that was in turn proposed to him.55 Having listened to all the arguments from both sides and recognising that up to that point events had not worked out as he wished, nevertheless the King of Castile began to conceive a great dislike for the arguments put forward by those who advised him not to jeopardise his enterprise on the field of battle. Strongly hoping that he would swiftly conquer the kingdom and far from being convinced by any opposing view, he readily agreed with the former of the two arguments. However, he answered those of the latter viewpoint, in order to satisfy them, that it was his wish to make an incursion into the province of Beira and to inflict as much havoc and destruction as he could, but not to advance beyond the edge of Coimbra; he would then return to his own country and would from there install his officers of the marches according to the advice that they were giving him. They replied that an incursion of that sort was best avoided, for it was just a vulgar raid and unworthy of his royal rank. But the king refused to carry out either course of action,56 and instead went ahead with his [original] wishes and followed the advice of those who urged him to carry out an invasion. He decided to send for Prince João, whom he held 55

Though closely following the account of Pero López de Ayala (Crónica del rey don Juan, Year 7, Chapter 11), Lopes here dismisses Ayala’s assertion. 56 Namely, the incursion into Beira and the installation of officers of the marches.

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prisoner, as you have heard,57 in order to invade Portugal in his company and to create confusion among the Portuguese forces, causing some of them to go over to him. However, though he sent for him, he then chose not to wait for him and on this occasion invaded Portugal without him.

Chapter 29

How the King of Castile invaded Portugal, and concerning a number of events that preceded the battle

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ith the objective that we have mentioned, the King of Castile invaded Portugal via the province of Beira. He called no halt in any township but journeyed forward daily with his army, making advances which could not be extensive, owing to the considerable baggage train and large number of troops that he brought with him. Then he captured a castle, Celorico da Beira by name, and left troops there to keep guard over it. He continued on his journey, not too slowly, until he reached Coimbra. On the far side of the river [Mondego], in the direction of the Monastery of São Jorge, all his companies pitched camp, so many of them that it was a fearful sight to behold, with the result that there was not a man who saw them, who, considering the towns and villages which had already declared for the King of Castile, did not believe that the whole of Portugal would be lost within a few days. Since it was the month of August, and the water-level of the Mondego was low, the vast bulk of the baggage train was able to pass under the arches of the bridge. A number of troops who were making their way along the Rua Direita, in front of the gate of Almedina were involved in a skirmish with the local inhabitants, which led to a few dead and wounded on both sides. The soldiers began to spread out and commit acts of robbery everywhere, some down the riverbank to Montemor-o-Velho, then up to Aveiro, while others went to Soure. They brought away large quantities of booty, along with it a handful of farmworkers, and then the king had them all mutilated. It is important that you should know, according to what Doctor Christophorus writes in his chapter beginning ‘Truly, after …’, in the paragraph opening with ‘And before we continue, note …’,58 that, after the King of Castile on this occasion invaded the country and until he reached Leiria, he did not stop resorting to every form of cruelty, both to men and to women and children, 57

The arrest of Prince João ordered by the king is described in CKJ1, Chapter 53. In the original: Postquam uero and Et prenota; Christophorus was the author of an unknown Latin source several times quoted by Lopes, the first being in CKJ1, Chapter 175. 58



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ordering their hands to be cut off and their tongues to be cut out, as well as other similar barbaric acts. He likewise gave orders for churches to be set alight, especially the Church of São Marcos, where, as you have already heard, the Battle of Trancoso took place, and vehemently threatened people with imprisonment and banishment. Some authors assert that this was for two reasons: the first to avenge the deep grievance which he had suffered from the Portuguese when he raised the siege and left Lisbon, since not all of them obeyed him as he had wanted; the second because in the course of this invasion none had declared their allegiance to him, nor were they joining him to serve him. Consequently, he was resorting to excessive cruelty, which added little to his honour. The king left Coimbra and made his way to Leiria, a noble town with a mighty castle where the governor was García Rodríguez Taborda, whom we mentioned earlier.59 Though he did not welcome the king into the town or the castle, he nevertheless supplied his army with provisions in exchange for payment, offered the king his services and later accompanied him into battle [at Aljubarrota]. He was not alone in this; the swift advance of the King of Castile and the mighty army which he brought with him caused many to show clearly that the feeble will they had displayed before [about joining the Master] turned into a healthy desire to join the Castilian faction!60 As for the captains whom the King of Castile had left in the towns and villages of Estremadura, such as Santarém, Óbidos, Alenquer and all the others, on learning that the King of Castile was already in Leiria, and that the King of Portugal was getting ready to challenge him in battle, which was now unavoidable, each of them left their posts with as many men as could be spared, and went to join the King of Castile in order to accompany him into battle. So too did the captains of the galleys and naos which were anchored off Lisbon: most of them came together, men-at-arms, foot soldiers and crossbowmen, and went off to join the King of Castile in Leiria. As for the Portuguese, when they found out that so many troops were joining the King of Castile to help him in battle, which meant that his vast host would be all the greater and harder to withstand, they told their king that he would do well to block their path and hinder such an advance, lest more troops be added to those that the King of Castile already had. The King of Portugal listened to these arguments and understood their reasons for putting them forward but answered: ‘Never mind about that, let them go. Even though 59 In

CKJ1, Chapter 180. This is an allusion to the men (Portuguese or not, for García Rodríguez was a Galician) who, when approached by the Master (see CKJ1), did not want to side with him, saying they would rather wait to see the turn things might take, sometimes pleading they had paid homage to Leonor Teles, and who later did make up their minds to join the Castilian party (this is well illustrated in CKJ1, Chapters 179 and 180). 60

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they are all now gathering together and are off to join their great lord, I don’t believe you will find them to be so attached to him when they have to die at your hands.’ This he said to encourage them and stiffen their resolve, for all that he valued their arguments. It is important for you to know that, while in Leiria, the King of Castile found out that the King of Portugal was making ready with his army to await him in the field and do battle with him. Let the King of Castile remain there, preparing for his exploits as he sees fit, and let us return to consider the discussion which the King of Portugal held with the constable after we left Abrantes and these few days elapsed.

Chapter 30

Concerning the discussion which the King of Portugal held with his advisers as to whether or not to go into battle, and concerning the arguments put forward

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hile the King of Portugal was in Abrantes, where we left him, he held a meeting of the royal council, which consisted of himself, the constable and others with whom he habitually discussed confidential matters. The council devoted itself to two issues: the first was whether the king should do battle with his enemies, or whether he should wage a war of attrition, since meeting them in open battle was very hazardous. Moreover, if we said that the King of Castile, before actually invading the kingdom, also held a major and noteworthy royal council as to whether it was better to invade or to distribute troops around the various regions, there was no shortage of words in the Portuguese council, nor of disputes between each and every counsellor and those who opposed them. However, in order to cut short what was said in the council, we shall limit ourselves to the following few points, so that you can understand what were the other issues which could also be mentioned. On one side the disagreements were very few, for the majority of the counsellors agreed that there should not be a pitched battle and put forward the following arguments. They declared that, since the King of Castile was invading the realm, the King of Portugal should head for the Alentejo and invade the province of Andalusia; furthermore, when the King of Castile found out about this, he would make his way there to track him down, in order to defend his own country, and in this way would be diverted from reaching Lisbon and inflicting damage on it. With the King of Castile tracking him like this, the King of Portugal would then head back into his kingdom by a different route. Thus he would avoid battle, which was a very uncertain and hazardous undertaking, because the King of Castile was arrogantly advancing with a mighty army,



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whereas he, the King of Portugal, as regards companies of soldiers and other matters, was in a very contrary position. In addition, if the war were waged in this manner, time would be gained, and in the meantime numbers of English troops could arrive to help him, for it was certain that they would come, and their arrival was expected daily. Alternatively, the two kings could reach certain agreements, from which peace and tranquillity could ensue. This was the decision of all members of the royal council before the arrival of the constable and, indeed, afterwards. When he heard it, the count was very irked at this decision, as one who wanted nothing more than to find himself in a pitched battle against the King of Castile. As for the King of Portugal, though he nurtured the same wish, he was confronted by so many reasons advanced by his counsellors as to why he should eschew that course of action that they caused him to entertain doubts and incline towards their viewpoint, and not without reason, for victory on his part was highly doubtful, since most Portuguese [nobles] were helping his enemies. However, in order to dissuade them, the count put forward many admirable arguments, showing them how profitable it would be to the realm and how it would bring great honour to the king to do battle with the King of Castile, for they had him there, close at hand, in their very own country. On the other hand, if they were not to do this, they would display their own shortcomings and great cowardice, which would truly break the hearts of those Portuguese, who expected to be defended by them, and would greatly encourage their enemies. Besides, if they allowed them to reach Lisbon, finding itself in dire straits, the city might well surrender to them. Once Lisbon was lost, the entire realm would also be lost. He said to the king: ‘Besides that, my liege, you are well aware that, when you wrote to the people of Lisbon, commanding them to send you the troops which they were due to send, you at once informed them that you had received reliable news that the King of Castile was approaching with a large army to lay siege to the city. You also commanded them, however, to summon up all their strength, for, with the help of God, the King of Castile would be subject to such harassment along his route as to lose the will to get there. In addition, you sent a letter notifying Álvaro Pais, as those here present are aware, about the business of Fernando Eanes, the former high steward of Count Álvaro Pérez de Castro, who had agreed, as you were told, to let the Castilians into the city through a postern gate, and about the way in which Álvaro Pais was to bring him to justice, along with the others whom he deemed to be guilty. Furthermore, the letters have been seized – and you, my liege, have seen them – which the King of Castile was sending to Diego Gómez Sarmiento, in which he mentions that he is sending a letter to Pero Afán de Ribera, his captain general of the fleet, commanding him to speak to some friend of his, to arrange that the letter should find its way into Lisbon, so that the people concerned should learn its contents.’ The constable then went on to say:

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‘When such things as this are to be found in the letter that can be read, what is the King of Castile likely to write in the other letters which accompanied it and which cannot be read? It would appear that in the city of Lisbon there is some poisonous seed among the good grain, seed on which the King of Castile places his hopes. Those hopes would be greatly increased and would more powerfully sway the hearts of those who are minded to commit some act of treason, if they were to see that our liege lord, the king, was not bold enough to do battle with the King of Castile and was heading for Seville to chop down two rotten olive trees. Even without that, such action ought not to be taken, in view of the trials and tribulations which the people of Lisbon have suffered in order to further our cause, both to the greater honour of the realm and in the service of the king, our liege lord. Yet now, as a reward for such impressive service, you are telling him that he should head for Seville and waste both time and troops without any real benefit, and that he should leave Lisbon at the mercy of its enemies, without any captain or troops to defend it, its people starving to death like dogs, as indeed they are doing daily! Indeed, the hunger there is greater than it was when the King of Castile was laying siege to it. Once Lisbon is captured, he will pillage it, as though it were a city of Infidels, killing and dishonouring all the people of stature he finds and treating the rest as captive slaves, as one who is quite certain that Lisbon has been, and is, the rallying point for all those throughout the country who rebel against him. ‘In such circumstances the king, our liege lord, would perforce become his vassal, and all of us with him. This is bound to be the outcome of the warfare which we plan to wage out there, against the people of Seville, were they to let us do so. In any case, Seville is not some one-horse town that would not put up a fight along with those in the area around it, the moment they saw what was happening. I tell you for certain, if my advice in this matter is to be believed, that I am not just talking about those few that you say that we are − as is true − but, even if we were far fewer than those present here [in Abrantes], I would never allow the King of Castile to reach Lisbon. Rather, I would go out to meet him on his route there and do battle with him, subject to whatever fortune Almighty God might grant me, firmly trusting that He would grant me good fortune, because I should bear in mind that I was fighting a man who, against all truth and the treaties which he had sworn and promised to uphold, was seeking to wrest away from me a realm to which he has lost all entitlement, if he ever had any. ‘As for the help from England, which you say we should await, I declare that it would be excellent if it arrived in time to be of any benefit, but I believe that it will only arrive in time to bind up our wounds. It is quite right that we should await the noblemen of Beira, whom the king has summoned, provided that they reach us before the King of Castile completely breaks through and hurls himself upon Lisbon. For once he lays siege to it, builds his stockade



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and prepares his equipment, with the mighty army he leads, we shall be in a poor position to go to the city’s aid, particularly a starving city without a captain, all the more so with the poisonous seed within it, as is apparent from these letters. Moreover, since the King of Castile hopes to capture the city as a result of such letters as he is sending out, just imagine what he will do, laying siege to it and freely communicating with those to whom he so secretly writes. Consequently, taking these things into account and carefully considering everything, I can only advise that we should waylay and confront him on the battlefield and seize the very great honour and good fortune that Almighty God is extending to us. ‘This has been my aim, and thus I expressed it to the king my liege lord, who is here present, when in Guimarães he first received the report that the King of Castile was intent on invading this country. That was the decision on which we then agreed, and I have always felt this was his wish. If, however, you now cause him to move away from his noble objective, and if he wishes to pursue what you want him to do, he can take the course of action he favours, but I intend never to move away from mine. Henceforth, do whatever you wish, for I do not propose to discuss this matter any further.’ The constable then left the royal council and made his way to his lodgings. The other members went on debating at length, discussing many arguments, all of which promoted and were based on the proposition that the battle should not take place.

Chapter 31

Arguments which the King of Portugal presented to his royal council, and how he summoned the constable

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ecause the royal council had reached no decision on that day, very early next morning, having attended mass as was his custom, the count ordered the trumpets to sound. Grimly resolute, yet abounding in virtuous daring, and without discussing matters further with the king or with anybody else, he set off with his troops for Tomar, which was where the King of Castile was heading. When the king discovered that the count had left his lodgings and sallied forth, he was quite astounded; he concluded, as was in fact the case, that the count was very displeased that everybody was determined that a battle should not take place. The members of the council began to say that the count was very wrong to leave in the way he had and that such a departure was a clear indication of his contempt both for the king and for all of them as well; indeed, they uttered these and various other arguments in order to set him at odds with the king, on the grounds that he had no respect for the royal council.

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However, the king, who placed great trust in the constable, owing to his splendid qualities and faithful service, rejected all they had to say, because he recognised the count for what he was. According to the learned scholar61 whom we mentioned, this is how he countered their arguments: ‘My friends, last night I pondered deeply on our quest and on the meeting of the royal council which we held yesterday. Having considered the arguments that were put forward here, as well as all others that came to my mind, it certainly seemed to me that those advanced by the count are the ones which we ought to pursue. From what is being said and according to the latest reports, the King of Castile is heading straight for Santarém, where he plans to spend several months consolidating his position and from where he intends to dispatch numbers of troops to Sintra, Alenquer and the other places which continue to side with him. Besides that, every week, both from Santarém and from all those townships, his troops go raiding up to the walls of Lisbon, and [the King of Castile has commanded] that all those Portuguese who can be hunted down should be captured or put to death, and that all their belongings and provisions which they can find should be pillaged or burnt, until such time as he launches his attack on the city. ‘By enforcing starvation and similar tribulations on the city he expects that it will give itself up to him, and he is convinced, as is true, that through the capture of Lisbon he will seize the whole realm, without any further battle or any other acts of war. As for us, no matter how much we will want to go to the city’s aid, once it is under siege, we shall be in a poor position to achieve this, in view of the huge number of forces which the King of Castile will have deployed in the siege both by sea and land. Let me also tell you this: suppose that we opt to go to the city’s aid, perchance after the King of Castile has advanced and is laying siege to Lisbon, it could come about that many of those who are now with me would make their way there very reluctantly, or would just head off back to their homes; similarly, suppose that we advance on Castile, as a number of you are suggesting, it is my view that such an advance can bring us neither advantage nor honour. Accordingly, as the count says, if our cause is not to be tested on the battlefield, then the whole country will be lost, and everything that we have achieved up to now will have been in vain; it would be far better not to have begun. ‘As for what gives us most pause, namely that they are many and we so few, let us counter this by saying what Judas Maccabaeus is reported to have said to his army, when the prince62 of the Syrian hosts assembled a great battle force against him; when Judas’s men, who were few in number, feared 61

Doctor Christophorus: see Chapter 29 above. King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, ruler of the Seleucid empire, 175–164 B.C., whose armies, though superior in numbers, were routed by the Jews under Judas Maccabaeus in 166–165 B.C. 62



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the vast numbers of the enemy and hesitantly declared to him “How can we who are so few do battle with such a huge and powerful army?” it is said that he answered, “It is a simple matter for Almighty God to surrender the many into the hands of the few, because victory in battle lies not in the vast size of an army; rather, winning depends on Heaven.” Then he attacked the enemy first, and the prince and all his host were routed by Judas and those few whom he had with him. ‘Therefore, I tell you that just because we are few and they greatly outnumber us, that is no reason for us to be afraid, for very often it has come about, and happens daily, that the few sometimes overcome the many. Moreover, we have a just complaint in defending our land and our possessions against one who wishes to seize them from us by force, against God and the law, by breaking the treaties and sworn promises which he made in this regard. In particular, I intend, first of all, to send him a message saying that I require him, in the name of Almighty God and his martyr Saint George, to return with his army to his own country, and not to seek to harm this realm to which he has no rights; otherwise, I shall entrust this cause to God’s judgement in resolving it on the field of battle, whichever side He chooses to favour. Furthermore, God, who knows about all these things and the havoc which the King of Castile is planning to inflict on us, will be our captain on that day and grant us victory over him, from which we all shall earn great honour and most noble repute. It will then please God that those who at this time contemptuously call me the King of Avis will soon call me the King of Portugal, much to their regret. ‘Were things to turn out differently – which God forbid! –, everybody would say that we had done what we ought to have done, and it would forever remain an act worthy of the highest value and of the noblest esteem. My trust is in God and in His Blessed Mother, who will be our advocate, in the hope that we will win this victory far more splendidly and readily than we [at present] imagine. Therefore, with the courage which comes from God, the Virgin Mary and the blessed martyr Saint George, let us all wholeheartedly summon the constable, for I am fully aware of his displeasure; indeed, let us duly prepare for battle, let us advance together at once and search out our enemies.’ These and other sound arguments, according to the aforesaid learned scholar, were advanced by the king in order to encourage his followers, and were uttered in such a way that, just as yeast ferments dough and causes it to rise, so the king’s valiant words aroused all of them, who, on recognising the strength of his will, agreed that a battle should take place. One of their number, Doctor Gil do Sém, among the others who spoke, said the following: ‘My liege, take the dice in your hand, imagining that you are playing against the King of Castile, and when you cast them on to the board, gamble our cause on the luck of battle. If it is favourable, you are casting the dice in the finest encounter that ever a king undertook in this land; but even if your cast is unlucky, you can only emerge with honour from this game.’

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The king and the others broke into a smile. At once he sent for the count, dispatching João Afonso de Santarém, a member of his royal council. He arrived at the encampment where the count was lodging with his men and informed him that the king had commanded him to request that he return to him, in order that they might receive his advice as to how their undertaking could best and most honourably be brought about. As the valiant and daring knight that he was, the count answered him publicly, in everyone’s hearing: ‘Tell the king, who is my liege lord, that I am not a man much given to offering advice. Moreover, since he has on one occasion already decided, as he well knows, not to allow the King of Castile to advance and to confront him in battle in whatever way, I have no intention of deviating from this objective, nor shall I take a single step backwards. Tell him, however, that I beg of him the favour of allowing me to go my own way, for, along with this handful of noble Portuguese who accompany me, I intend to do battle with the King of Castile. If it is his decision to head that way, let me know, and I shall wait for him at Tomar.’ How truly fortunate was this king in meriting so loyal and courageous a vassal, who with his few gallant companions had been willing to spare his liege lord such a great and uncertain conflict, had it been the king’s pleasure to consent to it! Nevertheless, the noble king, on learning of the constable’s remarkable and praiseworthy answer, sent back to him Fernando Álvares de Almeida, requesting him immediately to return, or, if he did not wish to, then to set up camp at Tomar, 5 leagues away; he, the king, would leave Abrantes at once and follow him there, so that they could prepare for battle. The constable was delighted at this news and set off at once for Tomar, which indeed lay 5 leagues distant from Abrantes. Next day the king did the same, and they all assembled at Tomar.

Chapter 32

Concerning the message which the constable sent to the King of Castile, and concerning the arguments which he commanded a captive to declare in the king’s presence

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hile they were assembled at Tomar, the king mustered his forces and established the number of men he had in terms of men-at-arms, foot soldiers and crossbowmen, which we will speak of later. At once the king and the constable drew up their battle formation, with vanguard, rearguard and wings to left and right, designating which soldiers and captains should be allocated to each of the latter, both to the van, which the count was to take, and the rear where the king would be.



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It is important that you should know that formerly in Portugal, in battle formations, the terms ‘vanguard’, ‘rearguard’ and ‘left and right wings’ were not used. Rather, the vanguard was called the ‘front’, the rearguard the ‘back’ and the wings the ‘sides’. It was only after the English came over in the time of King Fernando, as you have heard,63 that these terms were adopted. Once this task had been completed, the count immediately decided to do two things: one was to dispatch four light horsemen to capture one man from the enemy forces, in order to find out what troops the King of Castile had at his disposal, how he arranged his encampment and what guards he placed around it at night for his protection; the other was to send a written requirement to the King of Castile, which was delivered to him by a squire, as follows: ‘You will tell the King of Castile that my liege lord, the King of Portugal, and all his fellow-countrymen who attend him, declare unto him in the name of Almighty God and his martyr Saint George that he should renounce laying waste my king’s land; furthermore, in the service of Almighty God, if the honour of the king, my liege lord, is preserved, in remaining king, as he is, of the kingdom of Portugal, he will reach with the King of Castile an honourable, reasonable and appropriate agreement; and that, if he is unwilling to make such a renunciation to his claim, nor to depart from my king’s land, then the king, my liege lord, will place the entire matter in God’s hands, will seek to resolve it in battle and await God’s judgement.’ Having received the document and considered its contents, the King of Castile replied with a message of his own, which he gave to the squire, and that read as follows: ‘Tell Nuno Álvares Pereira that he must be aware that I married Queen Beatriz, the daughter of King Fernando, and plighted my troth with her in the town of Badajoz. The Master of Avis, who calls himself the King of Portugal, and all the grandees of the realm came to Badajoz and kissed her hand as queen and liege lady of the said kingdom, and kissed my hand as her consort [to rule] after King Fernando passed away; there were drawn up a number of treaties regarding this, which were duly sworn on the Sacred Body of Christ, according to which I have a rightful claim to this kingdom through the queen my wife; furthermore, if the Master of Avis and those who are with him wish to acknowledge me as their king, despite the great disservice they have done to me, I shall grant them many favours in this realm, both in land and in high and honourable offices, in such a way as to content them; on the other hand, if their sole wish is to persist in their rebellion and disobedience, and if they wish to resolve this matter in a pitched battle, I maintain that God will help me with the rightful claim that I have, and with that intent I shall go and seek them out.’ When this message reached the count, there arrived the four light horsemen whom he had dispatched. At a league distant from the encampment of the King 63 See

CKF, Chapters 150 and 153.

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of Castile they had seized a Portuguese squire who was wandering around the farmsteads in search of some food, as were others, and brought him to Tomar. Three of the horsemen stayed with him in the olive groves on the far side of the bridge, while one of them came to speak to the constable, telling him that they held this man prisoner. This took place on a day when once more there was a muster of the troops, in order to organise the battle array, just as they had done on the previous occasion. The count quietly went forth, accompanied only by the man who had brought him the message, and took him aside to acquire information about the enemy encampment, what forces were present, how many they were and how they were deployed. When he had learned all this, he told the [captured] squire that the king and his troops had already conducted a muster of his forces and were arranging their ranks ready to go [into battle]. He then asked, indeed commanded, him to declare, in the presence of the king and all the men-at-arms who were there, that the forces of the King of Castile were wretched, of little worth and at odds among themselves, whereas the troops that the king had present seemed to him to be such valiant men that just 100 of their men-at-arms were superior to 1,000 of the enemy. The constable told the squire that by saying this, he would reward him; but, if he discovered that the squire was giving a different account, he would have him put to death on the spot, without delay. The squire promised that he would say what he had been told and would say it much better if he could. They then headed to where the Portuguese troops were stationed. The constable went up to the king and informed him that his horsemen had brought back a captive squire belonging to the King of Castile’s army. The king then publicly asked for information about the Castilian forces. The squire declared in the presence of everybody exactly what the constable had told him to say, speaking very contemptuously about the King of Castile’s men, and praising those present, saying that the other army was as good as already defeated and that they were worthless, along with similar scornful remarks, at which the hearts of the Portuguese swelled with joy as they gained a greater desire to go into battle.

Chapter 33

Concerning the message which the King of Portugal sent to the King of Castile, and how he reached the field where his men drew up their battle formation

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imilarly, despite what that squire had to say, so as to be more positively informed about the forces which the King of Castile had at his disposal, the king dispatched to his camp, with a message delivered by mouth, a squire



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named Gonçalo Eanes Peixoto, to whom the king gave orders that he should closely observe what troops there were, how well they were prepared and equipped, and how they were organised. The squire arrived at the enemy encampment and, having been ushered into the King of Castile’s presence, he addressed him as follows: Sire, the King of Portugal, my liege lord, sends me to say that you will be well aware that on a number of occasions you have invaded this realm, causing havoc and destruction and doing as much harm to it as you were able in your efforts to seize it for yourself, as though it were property that you had inherited, while knowing full well that you have no rightful claim whatsoever; moreover, that if you formerly had any such claim, you have totally forfeited it by infringing and breaking treaties. Now you have come again, to bring the realm more havoc and destruction, which is something that if you reflect on it carefully, you ought not to involve yourself. Accordingly, should it please you, in order not to lay waste the land nor to bring suffering to all the people who may perish in such an undertaking, the King of Portugal, in due protection of his honour, is willing to be your friend and enemy of your enemies. In addition, this he proposes not out of fear or apprehension of your army, but solely to avoid the spilling of so much blood on both sides as is about to be shed, of which he does not wish to be the cause. He therefore requests you in the name of Almighty God and of the martyr Saint George not to pursue any other approach to this matter.

Having listened to these words, the King of Castile answered the squire as follows: ‘Tell the Master, who calls himself king of a realm that is not his, that I am very surprised that he persists in challenging me as he does and in declaring that he wishes to have the kingdom for himself, which is mine through marriage to my wife, and wishes to strive to defend it, which is something that he will never achieve. But tell me, before saying anything more, God save you, what is the meaning of “in due protection of his honour”?’ The squire answered as follows: ‘Sire, “in full protection of his honour” means that he should remain king, as that is the status granted to him by God and the people.’ The King of Castile was furious at these words and angrily retorted: ‘Tell the Master that never in his lifetime will he possess the realm, and that rather should Castile be utterly destroyed in this quest than that he should be king of a kingdom that belongs to me. Tell him, furthermore, that I require him, in the name of Almighty God and his apostle Saint James, not to seek to cause me any further trouble in this affair, and may God charge him and not me for all the havoc and destruction that may ensue from this.’ The squire replied: ‘Sire, since it is apparent that you do not wish to change your course, my liege lord the king commands me to tell you that he wishes to await God’s judgement in this affair, and that he wishes to resolve it on the

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field of battle, which he intends to contest with you on the day and in the place you choose, or on the first day that he thinks most suitable for the purpose.’ The King of Castile answered that he was content with that, and, having taken his leave, the squire returned to Tomar, where the King of Portugal was still stationed. On seeing him, the king was delighted at his return. After the squire had repeated his message, the king took him aside and asked him to tell him truthfully what troops the King of Castile had at his disposal and how well they were prepared and equipped. The squire replied as follows: ‘Sire, let me tell you that it is my intention to supply you with information that is so certain that, beyond what I say, you will not find that anything more or less applies. That is because, on the very day I arrived, the king was conducting a muster of his troops. It is my opinion, from what I saw and was able to estimate, that he possesses some 7,000 lances and 2,000 light horsemen. I would not dare to guess the number of crossbowmen and foot soldiers. As for pages and people in the baggage train, there is such a horde of them that not a soul could fail to be overawed. I saw many captains and other people of rank, for instance Don Pedro, who is the son of the Marquess of Villena, and Constable of Castile and, who they say, is leader of the vanguard. With him was Dom Pedro Álvares Pereira, who is now the Master of Calatrava and the brother of our Constable. As for Don Gonzalo Núñez, who is the Master of Alcántara, and Don Pero Díaz [de Iveas], who is the Prior of San Juan, they say that they are leading one of the wings. Pero González de Mendoza, who is the king’s chief steward, is accompanied by many troops, as are others, so that Juan de Velasco alone, who is the king’s principal page and bearer of his bascinet, leads 500 lances of his own. Also present is Juan Hurtado de Mendoza, the king’s standard bearer; Diego Gómez Manrique, Chief Provincial Governor of Castile; Don Juan, the son of Don Tello, the king’s first cousin; and others whom I’m unable to name. There are also captains who come from this country, for example Dom João Afonso Telo, who was [our] admiral, Gonçalo Vasques de Azevedo, Juan Duque and García Rodríguez [Taborda]. As for the governors of the townships in Estremadura which have declared for the King of Castile, I think I’ve seen them all accompanied by huge numbers of soldiers, so much so that the vast horde is sufficient to do battle with the greatest king and lord in the whole world.’ Having listened to this account, the King of Portugal showed that he paid no heed to it and told the squire: ‘Be warned that on no grounds whatsoever must I discover that you have divulged to anyone a single scrap of what you have just told me; rather, tell anyone who asks you that they are a small and poorly equipped force and that they all seem to you to be militiamen; tell them that most of them were formerly monks, that there are few foot soldiers, poorly trained, and that the crossbowmen are even worse, and so on. You will perform a great service to me in doing this, and I will reward you with many honours. By no means



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tell anyone, however great a friend of yours he may be, the opposite of what I command you to say.’ The squire answered that he would do so and that he would not say anything to anybody by which he would deviate from his intent to do battle. The king then set out from Tomar with the battle formation which he had drawn up there: the constable riding in the van and in the wings, the page bearing the guidon unfurled, the standard-bearer carrying the flag in its sling, and the king riding in the rearguard with those designated to accompany him. With this formation they arrived at Ourém, which lay 3 leagues away, where the count had already arranged a campsite for the army close to the town, on the side facing Atouguia das Cabras. Once they had pitched camp and the king’s tent had been erected, a roebuck sprang up in the middle of the encampment. It charged about, around the camp, with many chasing it on horseback, but they did not succeed in wounding or killing it until it made its way into the king’s tent. Everyone took this as a good omen, as it is the custom to say in such undertakings, with everybody eagerly declaring, along with other remarks, that, just as the roebuck had died, they similarly trusted in God that the King of Castile would be captured or killed in the king’s tent. The following Saturday the king left Ourém, with the constable ahead of him in the vanguard. All the army then pitched camp at Porto de Mós, which was 5 leagues from Ourém. While they were taking their ease there on the Sunday after mass, the count was dispatched by the king to Leiria with 100 horsemen clad in coats of mail, with vambraces on their arms and bearing long lances. They made their way up some lofty hilltops, to see whether they could catch sight of the King of Castile’s forces and the manner of their approach. However, since they did not succeed in seeing them, they returned to camp and told the king. Before dawn on the Monday, the day before the Feast of the Assumption,64 in the early hours, the count commanded the trumpets to sound. While it was still dark, he was already attending mass. In the tent where he was present, clergy stood ready to distribute the Holy Sacrament to all those who wished to receive Holy Communion. As day came, the entire army set out at once and headed for the field where the battle later took place, just a short league away. The constable was at the front, looking out for a suitable position, while the king brought up the rear, as was their practice. Once it had been determined where the battle should be fought and every detail had been planned out, the king duly arrived. He was very pleased at how everything had been arranged, and when he had dismounted, they began to draw up their battle array of the van, the rear and the wings, and with the pages and the baggage train further back, surrounded by foot soldiers and crossbowmen, to prevent them coming to harm. 64 The Feast of the Assumption is celebrated on 15 August. The date, therefore, is 14 August 1385.

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Chapter 34

How the noblemen in the King of Castile’s army came to speak to the constable, and concerning the conversation they had with him

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y the time the king had drawn up his battle formation facing Leiria, from where the enemy were due to approach, and which lay a good two leagues distant, it was already well into the morning, around ten o’clock. Meanwhile, as many as wished to be so were dubbed knight by the king, and he uttered to his men many words to build up their courage, telling them to be strong and daring and to trust in God, Who was bound to help them, for they were fighting to defend a just cause. While he was thus lying in wait, the King of Castile’s forces started to appear. There were so many of them spread across the land that anybody who saw them could not possibly imagine that the Portuguese could fare well against them. The foot soldiers, bearing their shields, and the crossbowmen led the way, resembling droves of cows and great herds of a variety of livestock so that hills and vales were hidden beneath the vast multitude of their ranks. With the sun beating down on their shining armour, they appeared to be far more numerous than people said they were, so that there is no point in asking whether the sight of them struck terror and awe into those who beheld them. Advancing very slowly, they reached a point close to the Portuguese. The sun now stood at noon. When they saw the Portuguese in position, right across the road on which the church dedicated to Saint George now stands, they chose not to confront them there, but started off towards Aljubarrota, to their seaward.65 The Portuguese concluded that they did not want to give battle and said to one another, ‘The Devil take them! They’re heading off and don’t want to fight!’ At this point, with the Castilian forces manoeuvring in this fashion, they started to come to a halt at a good distance from the Portuguese and there they rested and took their ease. In order to discover the disposition of the Portuguese, the King of Castile summoned Pero López de Ayala, Diego Fernández, who was the Marshal of Castile, and Diogo Álvares, who was 65 Aljubarrota lay about 8 miles (c. 13.5 km) due south-west from this point where the two armies faced each other. That is about half a mile due west-southwest from the present-day town of Batalha and the monumental monastery built to celebrate King João of Portugal’s victory. The exact place where Nuno Álvares Pereira challenged the Castilian army is now marked by the excellent interpretative museum Centro de Interpretação da Batalha de Aljubarrota, Primeira Posição, which offers a clear perspective of the first confrontation of both armies and an explanation of the military manoeuvres that followed.



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the constable’s brother, and enjoined them to go and raise a number of matters with the constable, demonstrating to him how they held this conversation to be of interest for both sides. In all, five of them advanced on horseback, including two Gascon knights who went along to see the constable and to evaluate the character of the man, owing to the great reputation he enjoyed among everyone. Once they had taken up a position from which they could be heard, subject to a sign of safe conduct, as is the custom, one of them began to call out that they should send for Nuno Álvares Pereira, because his brother wished to see him. On hearing that they were calling for the count, the King of Portugal, who happened to be closer to that spot, sent for him and said, ‘Get yourself a horse’ – because he was riding a mule – ‘and go and see what your brother wants from you, because I believe he’s there.’ The count did as requested and called on just one knight to accompany him, not wanting any more than that. On seeing him when they approached to parley, Diogo Álvares was overjoyed, hugging and kissing him on the cheek and saying: ‘Dear brother, I’ve really missed you, and it’s been so long since I saw you! And when I remember our upbringing together and then don’t find you on the side of my liege lord the king, I think I would rather die. Our brother, the Master of Calatrava, sends you warm greetings, and I assure you that he misses you as much as I do and would also like to see you on the side of my liege lord the king.’ The count answered him: ‘I, too, miss you and him. As for what you want from me, which is to see me in your company and on your side, I similarly want you to be on our side, serving the king, my liege lord. If you wish to say anything else to me other than that, you can say it now without further ado.’ Then Pero López spoke: ‘Nuno Álvares, as you are well aware, the Master of Avis, who calls himself the King of Portugal, along with all the noblemen who now accompany him, swore an oath on the Sacred Body of Christ to my liege lord the king that they would adopt and welcome Queen Beatriz, the daughter of King Fernando, after the death of the king her father, as their legitimate queen and liege lady, and likewise, my liege lord King Juan of Castile, by virtue of being her husband. The king asks you to tell the Master, who calls himself king, that he requires him, in the name of Almighty God and His apostle Saint James, to hold to this oath, otherwise, today let God be the judge in this matter.’ The count replied to these remarks: ‘It is true that certain treaties were made between King Fernando and the King of Castile, when the marriage took place to which you refer. These treaties were sworn on the Sacred Body of Christ by both parties. We maintain, however, that the King of Castile did not uphold them as he had promised. Rather, he circumvented and broke them, accepting new oaths of obedience and abolishing previous ones, which was wrong for him to do. Moreover,

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he seized the governance of the realm as held by Queen Leonor, which was strictly forbidden in the treaties. Accordingly, the people of this country took steps to have a king and liege lord who would defend them, and there he is at their side. For their part they believe that they have a just and legal cause, which they are prepared to test on the battlefield, trusting in Almighty God and in His martyr Saint George. They have no intention of deviating from their resolve. Therefore tell the King of Castile that the king, my liege lord, requires him, in the name of Almighty God and His martyr Saint George, to depart from his land and to seek no more to invade his realm, as he has already ordered that he be told.’ Then Pero López answered him, saying: ‘My liege lord the king is not forbidden to invade this realm, for he has a right to it through his wife Queen Beatriz. As for pledges and oaths of obedience, he has not abolished them, though many townships and castles have declared for him. Regarding the governance which you allege he seized from Queen Leonor, governance which she was duty-bound to hold for a certain period, let me tell you that the king did not seize it from her: she freely and willingly renounced it and gave him power to exercise it, when she first met him in the town of Santarém. Therefore those observations of yours are truly wide of the mark.’ The count replied: ‘What is certain is that the queen did not possess the power to release the governance of the realm, for she was indeed duty-bound to hold it for a certain period in accordance with what was laid down in the treaties, unless everyone in the kingdom willed it and agreed to that release. That is because that governance was required of her, so that she should favour and protect the realm, that it should always be an independent kingdom, and not be merged [with any other realm] or become the possession of the King of Castile. Accordingly, she was to maintain governance of the realm until such time as the King of Castile sired a son by his wife Queen Beatriz. We see, therefore, that in this clause, as in many others, your king has broken the treaties, and that, consequently, everything that he does is contrary to reason and the rule of law.’ Pero López said: ‘Very well, let’s not concern ourselves any further with those wretched matters; let’s move on to considering another subject that I have to put to you. My liege lord the king commands me to tell you, since you’re as noble a man as you are, and to urge this also on behalf of your brother, the Master of Calatrava, whom he greatly loves and prizes, as well as out of love for his wife the queen, who has so very earnestly requested this of him, that it deeply grieves him that you are present here with those troops who, you must surely see, can offer no defence. Therefore, he requests you, should it please you, to escape your perilous situation and go over to him, which is something that you can very readily do. He says that he will greatly reward you and will grant favours enough to satisfy you.’ This was repeated by Diogo Álvares on behalf of his brother, the Master of Calatrava.



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The constable answered: ‘Tell the King of Castile that he has no grounds for sending me such messages, because, whereas he thinks that we are bound to be defeated, I trust in God that today he will be routed or killed, or will become the prisoner of my liege lord, the king. As for what you say to me on behalf of my brother, the Master of Calatrava, tell him not to be concerned about me, but to watch out for himself, because today he will fare very badly as a result of not believing what I told him at the very outset of these events.’ Diego Fernández responded: ‘In truth, your intent is very strange, for you can see how few of you there are, how we have ten times as many men as you have, and how you haven’t the power to prevent our men from taking all of you prisoner, yet you say that you want to await battle against the army of my liege lord the king. I consider that you would do better to go over to him and to tell the Master to abandon the attitude that he has taken, for my lord the king will pardon everybody, regardless of whether the charge against them is great or small, and he will reward them with greater rank and honours, in such a way as to satisfy both the Master and all the others with him. That would be best for both sides, certainly better than getting involved in another battle or feat of arms, for you must see that it isn’t wise.’ ‘Have you finished?’ said the Constable. ‘Yes, I have, my lord Nuno Álvares’, he said. ‘As for me’, said the Count, ‘I have to admit that your troops are much more numerous and better equipped, but God is greater, and His might is greater than anything that you mention.’ Diego Fernández responded: ‘I’m not disputing God’s power. However, my lord the king is obliged to do nothing more than to put this request to you; and if any mishap befalls you later, let neither God nor the world blame him for it, because his vanguard alone, with its men-at-arms, foot soldiers and crossbowmen, is much greater than all your force combined. Furthermore, let me tell you that, over there, the foreign troops alone are sufficient to rout you, without anybody else getting involved.’ ‘Let me repeat what I’ve already said’, returned the Constable, ‘that in this regard I acknowledge all you say about your forces being much more numerous and better equipped; nevertheless, God’s might and help are greater.’ ‘Besides that argument of yours’, said Diego Fernández, ‘are you trying to say that we are heretics or infidels whom you will overcome and conquer?’ ‘I don’t know to what extent you are heretics or infidels’, the count answered, ‘but I do know that we have just cause and the rule of law on our side, and that you have not. I also know that your king would do better to extricate himself from his present unholy state, brought about by breaking the treaties which he has so frequently broken, than to send me messages urging me to go over to his side, for which he will grant me many favours. As to the favours and honours which he undertakes to confer on me for services to him, tell him to confer them on my brothers, because they are in his service

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and willingly so. For my part, I receive favours and honours from my liege lord the King of Portugal, with which I am well content, for I have no wish to receive or take them from any other king or great lord.’ ‘Enough!’ Diego Fernández said, ‘It would appear that you and the others with you have no intention of deviating from your objective. Such being the case, you can only derive honour from this encounter. Should you happen to win, you will be the most highly honoured men the world has ever seen; and, if you are defeated, you will be the most highly honoured men in the world ever to be vanquished!’ However, he said this with sarcasm and scorn in his voice and clearly did not mean it. Then they broke up and went their separate ways. As for the count, he relayed to the king all that he had discussed with them.

Chapter 35

Advice which the King of Castile took as to whether or not to go into battle

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he King of Castile was far from well, having already suffered from the ague for days, and it is said that it was so the day he was expecting to have the battle. Weak as he was, they took him from the litter in which he had travelled there, and he was leaning back propped up against one of his knights, when Pero López [de Ayala] and the others arrived, and was discussing with his advisers what tactics to adopt in the battle. Some said that they should attack the Portuguese at once, but others straight away rejected this. Nevertheless, they were making ready as effectively as they could. When the king saw Pero López and the others he was very pleased and asked for their opinion on the Portuguese battle formation. They said: ‘Sire, we told Nuno Álvares everything you told us to say, as well as all that we deemed to be in your service and best interests. However, his final reply was that the only relevant course of action was to place matters in God’s hands and to test them on the field of battle. As for your question as to how your forces should proceed, our opinion is that, subject to correction on the part of Your Grace and of all the noblemen and great lords here present, you ought to proceed as follows: the day is already well advanced, and it will soon be evening; most of your troops have had nothing to eat or drink and are disgruntled with the heat and the long march; besides, many of the foot soldiers and crossbowmen haven’t even arrived yet, because they’re accompanying the baggage carts and the army’s mule train. Moreover, in our opinion, though the vanguard of your battle formation is worthily and nobly disposed, the two wings, where many valiant knights are to be found, from what we can



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see of their deployment, will benefit you little, because they have two valleys ahead of them which they cannot cross, either to hold back the enemy or to go and help the vanguard.’ But that account was a trick to deceive those in ignorance, for there are no valleys or hills in the area which could have provided any hindrance to them. It is all open heathland, capable of containing ten armies of such magnitude. Even if there were such valleys and hills, the fault would lie with whoever drew up the battle formation! However, this they said in order to cover up their adverse fate and adverse events. For that same author,66 in the chapter that begins ‘The Master of Avis who calls himself king’,67 says that, after the King of Castile left Soure, he arrived at a position a league and a half away from the enemy. He says that next day he approached them, close to where they had drawn up their battle line, took up his stance nearby on a very level field and there set up his battle formation. However, since in one place he says ‘level field’ and in another refers to valleys where the ground was so uneven that they could not be crossed, let us deem his work to be of little value, seeing that in certain passages he conveyed the opposite to the truth, so as to diminish the victory won by his enemies. Now leaving this aside, he declares that the aforesaid advisers also spoke to the king as follows: ‘Sire, the Portuguese have a vanguard and two supporting wings in which there are ample numbers of foot soldiers and crossbowmen. Someone who has so many gallant foot soldiers as you have should deploy them in such a way that they can help one another. Moreover, since you are here present and have your battle lines so well drawn up, we believe that you should command them to remain at rest. Your enemies will do one of two things: either they will abandon the battle formation and advantageous position which they have adopted, in order to fight, or they won’t. If they abandon it, your troops will be able to support one another; and so let God be the judge. If, however, they refuse to abandon their battle formation, then doubtless they will reveal thereby just how very fearful they are. Besides that, night is approaching, and there is good reason to believe that many of them will slip away and abandon their army. Furthermore, we know that they have only enough food for today, whereas you, sire, here where you are, have sufficient food to sustain your challenge to them, even for several days. Accordingly, bearing these factors 66

The same Pero López de Ayala who had led the parley and whose account thereof appears in his Crónica del rey don Juan, Year 7, Chapter 13. 67 ‘El maestre Davis, que se llamaba rey’. Ayala is consistent in styling King João thus, in Chapter 13 and elsewhere in his chronicle. In Chapter 13, he details the deployment: ‘e puso su batalla a dos leguas dende en una plaza que de las dos partes era llana, e de las otras dos partes avía dos valles’; he also refers to the ‘two valleys’ in Chapter 14.

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in mind, it is our view that your forces should remain at rest in order to see what the enemy will do.’ Other knights were present who expressed the opposite view to the king, saying that he held many advantages over the Portuguese which were these: the first was that he was one of the world’s great princes and monarchs; another was his marriage to the daughter of King Fernando, through which he had the right to the kingdom; in addition, he was accompanied by so many valiant troops, along with many brave men of noble lineage, that therefore it seemed only right that the king should command them to attack, for they trusted that God that day would be on his side and bring him good fortune; as for his enemies, who had rebelled against him and had the audacity to challenge him to battle, they would do penance for the mistake which they had committed against him and Queen Beatriz his wife. While each group in turn was asserting to the king its viewpoint on these issues, there was present there a French knight, Jean de Rye by name, who was a chamberlain to the King of France68 and sixty years of age. He had come to deliver a message to the King of Castile on behalf of his liege lord and, when he understood that the king intended to invade Portugal and when he was told that a battle was bound to take place, he chose not to take leave of the king. Indeed, he accompanied him, was present there on that day and there he died. Having listened to the arguments put forward by both sides, he addressed the king as follows: ‘Sire, I speak as a knight of the King of France, your brother and your friend, and am of the age that you behold. I have witnessed many battles, both of Moors and of Christians, in the days when I lived overseas. I’ve learnt from what I’ve seen happen in them that one of the things that enables a man to hold an advantage over his enemy is to draw up a good battle formation, both in wars of attrition and on the battlefield. In two battles in which I have participated with my liege lords King Philippe and King Jean against the King of England69 and against his son the Prince of Wales,70 both were lost because of poor battle formation.71 For that reason, it is my view that you should order the pursuit of the case put forward by Pero López and those noblemen who support him in it.’ The king announced that he was pleased to agree. In a similar manner others said that their opinion was that under no circumstances should the king engage in battle and supplied the following reasons: ‘Sire, it is our view that on no account should you enter battle against those troops, because they are a handful of desperate men who have taken the field 68

Charles VI. Edward III. 70 The Black Prince. 71 Sir Jean is referring to Philippe VI’s defeat at Crécy (1346) and to that at Poitiers (1356), when Jean II was taken prisoner by the English. 69



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in order to promote the stubborn challenge which they had set in train and in which they persist, revealing such arrogance, according to what Pero López says, that they neither fear death nor value life; in this they are using sound judgement, in that their cause is thereby duly served. Therefore, we beg you, sire, to consider matters carefully and to take note of what honour you are likely to derive from fighting against such men as these. If you are victorious, you will derive no honour from defeating them, for on the contrary everybody will blame you afterwards, as though you were some great champion striving to fell a mere lad. If you should happen to be defeated, which God forbid, you will become the most dishonoured king in the whole world, with everyone seeing you as a man of scant account, who risked the noble force that you had with you in your company against a small force of wretched soldiers, an action from which you were bound to derive no honour whatever. In short, to run the risk of so great a loss, from which ensues neither profit nor honour, such an undertaking must be refused. However, in our opinion, it would be much better if you were to move on with your army, as was your plan, and head for Santarém, then on to Lisbon. Once you have departed, the enemy will then all immediately disperse, and it is very doubtful whether they would ever assemble again in their present fashion. Before they do so, you will have fulfilled the purpose for which you came, namely to capture Lisbon, whereby you will seize the entire kingdom. For that reason, sire, we beseech you not to put at risk what you have already gained for the sake of some trivial victory from which you will derive neither honour nor profit.’

Chapter 36

Advice proffered by Dom João Afonso Telo,72 urging that the battle should in any circumstances take place, arguments with which the King of Castile agreed

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om João Afonso Telo, whom we have already mentioned, was present at this debate and, having listened to the arguments which they had all advanced, he began to put forward a strongly opposing viewpoint, which ran as follows: ‘Let me tell you, sire, that I am very much opposed to this advice and to the arguments that these men have advanced, for it seems to me that those who advise you not to fight nor go into battle against the Portuguese have no love either for your honour or for serving you. This I say for two reasons: they 72

The Count of Barcelos and brother of Queen Leonor.

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declare that on no account should you get involved in fighting them, urging that by defeating them you will derive neither honour nor praise. They put forward two arguments to justify this: the first is that they consider the enemy to be already defeated, not just by feats of arms, but also because they will overcome them with their bare hands; the other is that, by defeating them, as I said, neither honour nor praise will ensue. I take the very opposite view. As for the victory which they deem to be already achieved, in view of the small numbers of the Portuguese and the vast multitude that is your army, I believe that this outcome is not as straightforward as they think. That is because those very men who have taken up their positions there know full well how few of them there are, and how many of us there are and how we are better prepared than they are; for that very reason they are wholeheartedly determined to go ahead with what they have begun. Moreover, since they have sought us out and are now there waiting for us, I do not believe that it will be as swift a matter to dislodge them as these noblemen imagine. Indeed, anyone who does succeed in dislodging them will find that it will not be done without great cost.’ He was answered by Don Pero Díaz, the Prior of San Juan, who said, ‘You’re saying that because they’re Portuguese, just like you.’ ‘That’s not my reason for saying it’, the count replied. ‘I say this because I know most of them, and because I do not believe that they will be as easily captured as some people say. As for the king defeating them, let no one say that he would derive no honour or profit from so doing, for thus he defeats a king, even if you won’t give him that title, who, along with all his might, defends against this king a kingdom which belongs to this king by right and causes him to toil as much as you see that he does. As for your assertion that I’m Portuguese, indeed I am and do not regret so being, nor do I consider myself any the worse for it; nor do I believe that today you will outstrip this Portuguese or win any advantage over me.’ He then turned to the king and said: ‘Let me tell you, sire, that once you have defeated and routed this man, his cause will be lost, he will never again raise his head and will leave the realm to you unobstructed, nor will it suit him to go on living here. Once he has left it, the whole realm will be there for you to do as you see fit. Should you not wish to do this, then it would have been better to have remained in Castile than to journey so far to make a demonstration of cowardice. Moreover, if these men say, as is true, that you are one of the lofty kings and princes of the world, what do you think those who hear about it will say, when it becomes known that, despite the superior numbers of troops which you had at your disposal, you did not dare to do battle with him? Already those who find out about it will regard it as a shortcoming on your part to have found their battle line drawn up yet not to have fought with them head on, not forgetting this royal council in which you are delaying matters; and on top of that, to say that you passed them by but dared not fight? If you consider this carefully, you will see for sure that



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this is a great shortcoming. If you made your way through an area where you did not see them, even if they were nearby, then we could say that you were under no obligation to seek them out, nor would we know whether their numbers were large or small. But to have them before your very eyes, waiting for you, all singing and dancing, yet not to dare to go and overcome them with our own bare hands, as these noblemen say, that strikes me as being a contemptible argument and shameful to relate. ‘If you wish to subjugate a king and his kingdom and you have them corralled like cattle, then why delay their subjugation? Rather, you should heartily thank God for putting them in your hands and enabling you to take revenge on all of them, both great and small. Otherwise, if now they are boldly challenging you, showing no fear at your threats, then they will be all the bolder later, once they see that you were afraid of them and didn’t dare fight them. If we, who at present are numerous and well prepared, are afraid to fight troops who are few and poorly prepared, then with all the more reason should we be afraid of others who equal us or perchance might outstrip us both in numbers and gallantry. If the noblemen from Beira should arrive, for they are expected daily, and join up with our present enemy, then anybody who currently fears them will become all the more fearful thereafter; and that is not to mention the English, whom they are also awaiting. If they too arrive and all join together, then, indeed, you will need prudent advice! As for men who at this time are fearlessly awaiting you, as you can see, just imagine what they will be capable of, when in due course they have these two sources of help available to them! You dispatched Pero López to strike fear into them because of the vast army you have with you, not to mention the foreign contingent, which he and his party said were alone sufficient to destroy them, and now we, being that many, are claiming that it is inadvisable to fight them. ‘Yet, sire, one way or another, you will have to fight them, because, even though you are passing by, avoiding battle, do not suppose that they will let you advance on Lisbon, despite what some people claim. On the contrary, they will hound and bark at you till you turn round and engage them in battle. To tell the truth, sire, it would take a very odd sort of man who, having been acclaimed king by such a city, a city which has undergone so much hardship on his behalf, then allowed you to capture it – and by losing it totally lost his kingdom – without fighting to the death for it along with all his men. Indeed, that is exactly what in due course he will do with you. Where else will you be able to fulfil your wishes better, where else will you have a better opportunity to do what you yearn for than here on this field, where you have them in a tight little group and where all your own forces are gathered to attack them? You must see what inevitably will happen: later on you will wish you were with them on this field, just as you now are. Truly, I swear to you, sire, that, in your position and without intending to do any more in this matter than it seems to me that you wish to do, I would rather be at ease in my own land and

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never have left it, as I’ve already said, than assemble such a mighty army as you have gathered together and then advance with it merely to earn contempt for myself in the presence of my enemies. This, I say, is my advice, but from this point on you must do as you see fit.’ Undoubtedly, truth to be told, such was very sound advice; but Dame Fortune, who is free not to obey any advice, had already ordained that matters should take a different course. Now, though we sometimes refer here and in other passages to Dame Fortune, it is, however, important that you should understand thereby the workings of a profound divine judgement, the causes and reasons for which we cannot comprehend. A number of noblemen took the same view as the count, even though some wished to postpone the battle till the following day. However, the king considered that the count’s advice was excellent and issued orders that all his men should get ready and complete the deployment of their battle array. His command was followed without delay.

Chapter 37

Concerning the forces which each king had at his disposal

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hough our account is rather lengthy, since you have heard about the council held by each king as to whether or not to engage in battle, and how they both decided to go ahead, it is right to consider what troops each of them had on his side and how they were arrayed and deployed. Having seen what many have written on this subject, despite the fact that some of their comments were somewhat rough and ready, we are particularly displeased at those who, in favour of one of the parties, have sought fraudulent reasons to justify their adverse fortune. As for us, however, as we have already indicated elsewhere,73 while not attending to differences among authors, let us seek to know what ought to be known, indeed, how many men went into battle and how it was won, which captains took part, how long it lasted and which soldiers were killed. In such an account it is inappropriate to parade ornamented arguments or to utter embellished remarks; rather, on behalf of both kings, one should offer a straightforward and truthful account of what took place. It is important, therefore, that you should know that all those who have compiled accounts of battles, some more so, some less, mention the forces

73 The announcement that this information would be given is made in Chapter 32 above.



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which each king had available, in order to know how many there were and to give praise to whosoever might appear to deserve it; otherwise the vanquished and the victors would receive neither glory nor opprobrium. This is what many have done in their accounts of this battle, for some have said in detail that the King of Castile availed himself of 8,000 lances, whereas others claimed 9,000 plus 3,000 light horsemen, 15,000 crossbowmen and 20,000 foot soldiers. Others have asserted that his army amounted to 60,000 all told, others that it was as many as 100,000. Yet others have calculated from the various groupings that there was such a multitude of them that there were 100 Castilians for every one Portuguese. Certain others calculated that there were more, some less, depending on their impressions or on what it suited them to write. Nevertheless, it was not so. Such discrepancies between writers is quite excusable, because some wrote what was believed about the forces which the King of Castile had brought with him and no more, whereas others added those who joined him when he reached Leiria. What follows is the situation. When they all became fully aware that the King of Portugal was going to come up and stand in his way, and that battle between the two kings could not be avoided, immediately all the governors who had sided with the King of Castile throughout Estremadura, in places such as Santarém, Óbidos, Torres Vedras and other townships in that region, hastened to join him with the additional troops which each of them managed to muster, both foot soldiers and horsemen, in order to accompany him into battle. However, they did not just come from those townships, for Pero Afán, who was the captain of the fleet, along with the admiral of the galleys which were at anchor off Lisbon, took as many men as they managed to relieve of duties with the fleet, and they all hurried to join the king in appreciable numbers. They did this, not because they believed that he needed their help, but in order to see him win and to be with him as their liege lord on such an honourable occasion. Thus, by adding these men to those he already had with him, such writers produce such a vast multitude of them as to cast doubts about how many of them there were. Others,74 in order to favour the Castilians, took a different approach, which was as follows: they gave the Portuguese a much higher total than they amounted to, and supplied no figure at all for the Castilians, so as not to reveal how much the latter fell short [in battle]. Consequently, by inflating the number of Portuguese, they diminished both their battle honours and any stigma attached to their enemies, the Castilians. If they had indicated the vast numbers in the army from Castile and the small numbers at the King of Portugal’s disposal, then the stigma attached to the Castilians and the honours accruing to the Portuguese would have been all the greater. Therefore, these writers, while knowing for certain how many their own men amounted to, 74 That is, once more, Pero López de Ayala, quoted from Crónica del rey don Juan, Year 7, Chapter 13.

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chose not to supply their numbers, whereas, though ignorant of the number of their opponents, they recorded specific figures. This they did, not in order to make the reading shorter or the talk more brief, but in order to diminish the battle-honours earned by the other side, by saying that the Portuguese consisted of 2,200 lances, and 10,000 foot soldiers and crossbowmen. This fanciful account has caused us a great deal of work in seeking to determine the truth of the situation, because one should not assert as true whatever lies in doubt, nor conceal whatever is quite certain. It would assuredly be quite wrong for us to inflate enemy numbers in order to disparage them, just as it would be wrong to reduce Portuguese numbers so as to earn them greater praise. The chronicler needs to be very certain about what he sets down; that is why, in the past, nobody dared to write history without witnessing events or having a clear knowledge of them, since history must both maintain the light of truth and bear witness to the past. In our case, though we did not see these occurrences, it was only after much laborious and diligent poring over books that we have put together accounts closest to the dictates of reason and on which most authors agree. For that reason, we condemn, reject and regard as valueless all chronicles, books and treatises that fail to agree with the present volume. Consequently, setting aside such divergent historical accounts, so that the truth of these matters be better lodged in the memory, and so that the valiant prowess of the Portuguese be not destroyed by the writings of their envious enemies, as if thereby to avenge themselves, it is important for you to know that the numbers of troops on each side were as follows, and no more: the King of Portugal had 1,700 lances, some of whom were not fully equipped, 800 crossbowmen and 4,000 foot soldiers; all together these amounted to 6,500. As for the Castilians, though some say there were so many that they could not be counted, this is not, however, the case. They numbered no more than 6,000 lances, including Frenchmen, Gascons, other foreigners and all those from the fleet and other places who had joined the Castilian king. They had 2,000 light horsemen, 8,000 crossbowmen and 15,000 foot soldiers; all together this came to little more than 30,000. As for the baggage train, which some calculated as consisting of many thousands of carts, there were only 700 of them, along with large numbers of pack mules bearing provisions, arms and armour, as well as objects for sale which belonged to certain merchants. Livestock came to over 8,000 head, what with oxen, cows and sheep, most of which had been looted in Portugal. As for cannons and bombards, which were said to be very numerous, they came to no more than 16. There were so many pages, muleteers and other servants that the sight of the entire army was quite frightening.



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Chapter 38

How the two kings drew up their battle formations, and with which captains

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ach king drew up the forces he had with him, forming battle lines in accordance with the practice in Spain.75 Let us begin at once by describing the formation adopted by the King of Portugal, who was the first to do so and was ready waiting in the field. On level terrain, covered by green gorse, athwart the road along which the Castilians were bound to pass, he drew up the meagre force at his disposal in two small formations because there were not enough troops for any more. In the first formation or vanguard was the constable, with his flag unfurled and with two squires next to him to guard both himself and the banner. In this formation there were just 600 lances. On the right wing, which began at the tip of this formation, were Mem Rodrigues, Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos and a cheerful company of other gallant noblemen who, on a point of honour and in defence of the realm, were intent on defending the position where they were drawn up. This flank was known as the ‘lovers’ wing’ and numbered some 200 lances all together. They displayed a huge green flag, designed by mutual agreement. On the opposite flank, on the left wing, there mingled with Antão Vasques and other Portuguese a number of foreigners, like Sir Guilhem de Montferrand, Martin-Paul and Basquin de Sola,76 as well as others, such as English archers and men-at-arms; all together they numbered another 200. As a result, to be fully drawn up, these wings lacked a further 200 men-at-arms, because in normal formations there should be as many on the wings as in the van. Those on the left wing bore a towering flag dedicated to Saint George, as well as other pennants. Accordingly, both the vanguard and the wings amply displayed a medley of banners and pennants to suit a variety of preferences, for at the time there was no king of arms or other herald to prohibit such displays. In addition, there were trumpets in certain spots, wherever required. Behind the men-at-arms in both wings were stationed crossbowmen and foot soldiers, drawn up in such a way as to enable them to assist the men-atarms and hinder their enemies. However, there were none in the foremost rank, as it was inappropriate for them to be deployed in such a position. Here, no coats of arms were on display by which the count or other noblemen could be recognised, because at that time it was not yet the custom. However, the count wore a jacket of green woollen cloth, embroidered all over with rosiers, as well as a haubergeon, a breastplate, vambraces, greaves and gauntlets, as 75 76

See Chapter 3, note 10 above. Identified by Russel in The English Intervention, p. 396.

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was his regular practice; he also wore a sword at his belt and a dagger, as he always did, except when attending mass. Between the vanguard and the formation behind, known as the rearguard, there was an appropriate gap, as was possible with a small force, so that, in dire straits and if needed, the rearguard could quickly go to the aid of those in the van. In the rearguard, the tips of which made contact with the vanguard, and which was reinforced with foot soldiers and crossbowmen, there were 700 lances, and the king was present there with his standard. This was held by Lopo Vasques da Cunha, standing in for his brother Gil Vasques [da Cunha], who was standard-bearer to the king but was in Beira with the other nobles.77 Right by him was the king’s royal guard, as well as those whose duty it was to protect his standard. The defensive armour worn by all of them comprised bascinets with camail, some of them with visors, some without, coats of plates, jupons, haubergeons, faulds78 and plackarts79. Their weapons were lances and iron or lead battleaxes. Some of them had managed to obtain poleaxes. The king was clad in armour necessary for his defence, over which he wore a jupon strewn with embroidered wreaths, some of which bearing the escutcheon of Saint George80 at the centre. Behind this rearguard was a spacious enclosure for the baggage train, namely pages, horses, mules, provisions, servants and all the other things needed to service an army. All these were surrounded by foot soldiers and crossbowmen, so that nobody could break through to inflict havoc on the back of the rearguard or on the baggage train, for nowhere would they find lack of preparation for defence. When the king and the count had drawn up their battle formation in this way, the sun had reached midday, which was still a reasonable time for joining battle, for they thought that, once the Castilians caught sight of them, they would immediately move to attack them. Yet the latter skirted their left wing, so that, as we have indicated,81 they faced Aljubarrota. For this reason the king and the count were forced to alter their original battle position facing Leiria [to the north], and swing round to confront the enemy. The vanguard and the rearguard exchanged places, so that the front formation now faced in the direction from which the Castilians gave signs of approaching. Whatever choice of position on the battlefield the Portuguese took, there was no improvement gained by this, nor any hills or valleys to trouble their opponents, as some authors82 wish to assert in the false accounts which appear 77

Named in Chapter 20 above. Protection for the hips and lower back made of mail or a series of waist-lames. 79 A plackart, or placard, was a half-breastplate serving as a belly guard. 80 Apparently, many men-at-arms in his army wore some kind of token of St George at the Battle of Aljubarrota. 81 In Chapter 34 above. 82 Pero López de Ayala, Crónica del rey don Juan, Year 7, Chapter 14. 78



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in their books, because the terrain was level and presented no obstacle to either side.83 Indeed, the trampling by the horses and the tread of men’s feet made the ground so flat and smooth that it resembled a plain square, without any grass. The advantage which the Portuguese had was that, when dawn began to break, the king had already drawn up his battle formation: they stood there, fully armed, throughout the blazing midday heat of the sun and well into the late afternoon. Most of them had not had anything to eat or drink, because it was the eve of the Feast [of the Assumption], and their faces were exposed to the sun and the wind-blown dust. Yet, despite these adverse conditions they stood there cheerfully awaiting the enemy! With this in mind, Sir Guilhem de Monferrand addressed the king as follows: ‘My liege, you can be sure beyond all doubt that you are bound to win this battle. You see, sire, this is how I regard the matter. I have already been present in seven pitched battles, and this is my eighth; let me tell you that never have I beheld such cheerful countenances as I see on these men, despite their small numbers and their having to await so many troops in order to do battle with them.’ ‘I have that very trust in God and the Blessed Virgin’, said the king, ‘that things will be as you say, and I promise you a very handsome reward for your noble prophecy.’ Since on such great occasions some people customarily make solemn commitments which they are duty-bound to honour, we have found written references to just three that were made on the occasion of this battle: Vasco Martins de Melo the Younger undertook to capture the King of Castile or lay hands on him; Gonçalo Eanes of Castelo de Vide promised to strike the very first blow with the lance; and Martim Afonso de Sousa promised that, if God brought him through the battle safe and sound, he would go and spend forty days with the Abbess of Rio Tinto, who at that time was his mistress.84 When once, for his part, the King of Castile had given the order that battle should take place, his men immediately set about completing their battle formation, in addition to what they had already begun. They laid it out by drawing up their battle lines at two crossbow shots’ distance between themselves and the Portuguese. The front rank of their vanguard was two men deep and comprised 1,600 lances. On one wing, in which the Master of Alcántara was present, there were 700 men-at-arms, composed of Gascons 83 This information is not quite correct. In fact, at either side of the plateau chosen by the Portuguese for their battle formation, there is a watercourse which would make any attack from either flank very difficult for the Castilians. At this point, the Portuguese are facing south and, as will be seen in Chapter 42 below, the Castilian army, with its wide flanks, will be literally funnelled towards the much narrower Portuguese vanguard, which will cause a ‘pile-up’ before they can reach their opponents. 84 The comparison of forty days with his mistress to the forty days of Lenten abstinence is plainly intended as a joke.

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and other foreigners. On the other wing, captained by Dom Pedro Álvares Pereira, the Master of Calatrava, there were a further 700 [lances]. In the front rank rode Don Pedro, who was the son of the Marquess of Villena and was the Constable of Castile, and Diego Hurtado [de Mendoza], who was the son of Pero González de Mendoza and who was the king’s standard-bearer, carrying a standard with the signs of Castile impaled with those of Portugal. On display were many other flags and banners of great lords and noblemen, such as Don Pero Díaz, the Prior of San Juan; Don Juan, son of the king’s first cousin Don Tello; Juan Fernández de Tovar, the high admiral of Castile; Álvaro González de Sandoval and many other great lords and nobles whom it would take too long to mention. In like manner all the [renegade] Portuguese were present in this front rank, to show they were honourable servants and loyal vassals of the King of Castile. These included Count João Afonso Telo, whom the king had made Count of Mayorga; Dom Pedro Álvares Pereira85 and his brother Diogo Álvares; Gonçalo Vasques de Azevedo, with his son Álvaro Gonçalves; García Rodríguez Taborda, who was the Governor of Leiria; Vasco Peres de Camões; João Gonçalves, who was the Governor of Óbidos, and others. In the rearguard, likewise, in which there were 3,000 lances, with 1,000 in each wing, there were also great lords and captains, such as Don Fernando, the son of Count Sancho; Diego Gómez Manrique, Chief Provincial Governor of Castile; Pero González de Mendoza, the king’s chief steward; Diego Gómez Sarmiento, Marshal of Castile, and many other great lords and noblemen, all resplendent in their shining armour, with plumes on their bascinets, and a handsome sight to behold. Crossbowmen, foot soldiers and all other troops were drawn up where they could be at best advantage. Carts, mules, pages and all other elements in the baggage train were placed at the rear, as suited each one of them, for there they had nothing to fear from Portuguese light horsemen and other mounted soldiers. If their battle formation was badly drawn up, as a number of authors have claimed as an excuse, then it was the fault of all the honourable great lords present, as well as of all the foreigners, whom Pero López praised to the count for their knowledge of warfare! However, since nothing is so welldemonstrated by the representation of things as by the thing itself, we, who cannot produce an account as accurate as what actually took place, will show here in a drawing what the battle formations were like.86

85 There is clearly some confusion here, as it has already been stated that Pedro Álvares Pereira was the captain of one of the wings. This may be due to some inconsistency present in the chronicle of Ayala and, possibly, in other sources used by Lopes for this chapter. 86 Presumably illustrations accompanied the original manuscripts but are now lost.



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Chapter 39

Concerning the names of certain men in the King of Portugal’s army, and which of them he dubbed as knights

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hen the battle lines had been drawn up in the manner you have heard and seen depicted,87 and since we have named a number of the great lords who fought on the side of the King of Castile, it now becomes necessary to indicate in this chapter those whom the King of Portugal had on his side, whose names it is appropriate to set down here, even though they are recorded elsewhere. Their numbers were certainly very small, for nearly all of those great lords had deserted to the enemy, as you have heard at the beginning of [our account of] these events. Some of them had already died, like the admiral,88 the Count of Viana, Aires Gomes da Silva and other great lords; others remained in Castile, like Fernão Gonçalves, Gonçalo Rodrigues de Sousa, Fernão Gomes da Silva, his brother Afonso Gomes and yet others. Some of them were to be found in the very townships which had declared for the enemy, for example Martim Gonçalves de Ataíde in Chaves, João Afonso Pimentel in Bragança, Álvaro Gonçalves de Moura in Moura, and others throughout the regions of the kingdom. Many accompanied the King of Castile and were present there with him, such as Dom Pedro de Castro, who was the son of Count Álvaro Pérez [de Castro], Dom Pedro Álvares Pereira and his brother Diogo Álvares, Gonçalo Vasques de Azevedo and his son, plus García Rodríguez Taborda and the others whom we have already mentioned.89 Since all those had gone over to Castile, who, then, were those who accompanied the King of Portugal in order to help him? Why, there were with him honourable and loyal Portuguese, even though not all of them were of such a lofty rank and status: the most praiseworthy Nuno Álvares Pereira, Constable of Portugal; Álvaro Pereira, marshal of the army; João Rodrigues Pereira; Diogo Lopes Pacheco; his sons João Fernandes (who came later) and Lopo Fernandes; Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos and his brother Rui Mendes [de Vasconcelos], who was chief justice of the province of Minho; Lopo Vasques 87

See Chapter 38, note 86, above. Lançarote Pessanha, third admiral of Portugal, was killed by the local people in Beja (1384), suspecting that he would support Queen Leonor’s party. See CKJ1, Chapters 49 and 124. 89 After announcing he will mention those Portuguese who remained by King João’s side, that is only done in the second paragraph; in the paragraph ending here Lopes lists some of those who, either from the start or from some point along the process, joined the Castilian faction. 88

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da Cunha; Martim Afonso de Sousa; Vasco Martins de Melo the Elder, Vasco Martins de Melo the Younger, Martim Afonso (along with his sons); João Gomes da Silva; the Archbishop Dom Lourenço; Doctor Gil do Sém; Doctor Martim Afonso de Lisboa; Doctor João das Regras; Fernão Rodrigues de Sequeira, grand commander of the Order of Christ; João Rodrigues de Sá, grand commander of the Order of Avis; João Afonso de Santarém, Afonso Eanes das Leis and many others whom we do not mention here. Of those who accompanied him, the king dubbed the following as knights: João Vasques de Almada, Afonso Peres da Charneca (who was the brother of Doctor Martim Afonso), Lopo Dias de Azevedo, Gonçalo Eanes of Castelo de Vide, Antão Vasques de Lisboa, Pedro Eanes Lobato, João Lobato, Lopo Afonso da Água, Álvaro do Rego, Gonçalo Peres, Rodrigo Afonso de Aragão, Pedro Afonso da Âncora, João Gonçalves Vieira, Diogo Lopes Lobo,90 João Fernandes da Arca, Martim Gonçalves da Represa (who was the uncle of Count Nuno Fernandes de Morais), Vasco Leitão, Martim Gonçalves de Faria, Vasco Lobeira, Lourenço Mendes de Carvalho, Pero Lourenço de Távora, Lopo Soares de Mourão, Estêvão Vasques Filipe, Vasco Martins de Gá, Estêvão Fernandes Chamorro, Rodrigo Afonso Lobo, Nuno Viegas the Younger, Rui Vasques de Castelo Branco, Martim Ichoa and Rui da Cunha (both of whom were commanders of the Order of Santiago), Martim Gomes (the commander of Aljustrel), Vasco Gonçalves Teixeira, Pedro Botelho, Vasco Lourenço Meirinho, James Lourenço Cabeça, Álvaro Garcia de Faria, Estêvão Lourenço Gaio, Estêvão Fernandes Lobo, Diogo Lopes Lobo, and Fernão Lopes Lobo. The king was very well served by these and by others who are not mentioned here; and God helped him on that day and thereafter, as you will see in due course.

Chapter 40

How João Fernandes [Pacheco] and Egas Coelho came from Beira in order to be with the king in the battle

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e have already mentioned in its due place91 how the king, when he dispatched the count to the Alentejo and decided to leave Alenquer, sent for the noblemen of Beira, namely Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, Martim 90 The name Diogo Lopes Lobo reappears further down together with the names of two other Lobo brothers: Estêvão Fernandes and Fernão Lopes Lobo. This was an important family that celebrated its lineage by preserving the same combination of names and surnames for several generations. Most likely, this Diogo Lopes Lobo is a close relative of the others mentioned in the present chapter. 91 In Chapter 25 above.



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Vasques da Cunha, Vasco Martins [da Cunha], his brother Gil Vasques, who was standard-bearer, João Fernandes Pacheco, Egas Coelho, and others. In particular he wrote to João Fernandes that, owing to the great trust which he placed in him, he was requesting him to urge them to come and join him, as it was so necessary; and just as he had directed so honourable a feat as the battle which in that place they had fought with the Castilians,92 he should now arrange for those others to join him in this battle, which would bring great honours to them all and be of great service to the realm. With the king writing to them very frequently and sending forth squires to them, their spoken and written reply was always that they were busily getting ready to go and join him at once. However, most of the messages which the king received from them came from João Fernandes, who was earnestly striving to complete his task. As a result, there was talk about these noblemen every day and the king continuously received news from the squires he sent there and from the noblemen’s letters that they were ready to leave. Other messengers, in order to please the king, led him to believe that they had already left. Owing to the immense delay and the doubts about whether they would come, the king sometimes declared, when discussing the matter, that he was very doubtful as to whether they would arrive and that he was inclined to believe that they would not, because more than a month had passed since he had sent for them. Diogo Lopes [Pacheco], when present, answered him as follows: ‘I cannot speak about the others, but if João Fernandes is a son of mine, I’m certain he will come.’ João Fernandes worked as hard as he could to get the others to come. Their answer to him was that they wished to make the journey together rather than separately, the occasion being what it was, and that for them to do so properly they could not do things in haste, especially in view of so important a battle. That, however, was an excuse and expressed a disinclination to come, for they found it very odd that the king, with the few forces that he had, should risk fighting against the King of Castile with all his mighty army. Since the affair was so much in doubt, they calculated that, if the King of Castile were victorious, which they all expected, they would be in a better position to negotiate terms in the townships where they were than anywhere else; if the King of Portugal, instead, were to win the battle, then they were all his vassals, and their failure to come would have made no difference. Such was the impression given by Martim Vasques, when the King of Castile passed by and sought from him the town of Guarda, of which he was the governor, for he sent the king’s messenger back with the following reply: ‘Tell the king to come afterwards to speak of his achievement, for the one in whose favour God grants his verdict shall gain Guarda and all the other townships.’

92

The Battle of Trancoso (see Chapter 21 above).

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However, it made very good sense for the King of Portugal to want them to come and join him, because they were gallant and worthy noblemen and could bring with them at the very least 400 lances and 2,000 foot soldiers, quite apart from their crossbowmen, all of whom would be of great assistance to the small force that he led. In view of the anxious letters that the king so frequently sent to him, João Fernandes felt that the time for the battle was fast approaching, and that the arguments advanced by Martim Vasques and the rest were false and a pretext for further delay. At that juncture he and Egas Coelho, together with 70 lances and 100 foot soldiers bearing shields, set off on their journey. Owing to their failure to make the same journey, the other noblemen earned the contempt of valiant men, especially in the case of Gil Vasques da Cunha, because, despite being the king’s standard-bearer and despite the importance of this event in which honour was at stake, he did not manage to carry out his duties. By their failure to be present, these noblemen greatly diminished their own standing and added to the honour of both the king and the constable, for if they had come with all their troops, it is certain that Portuguese and Castilians alike would all have said that the battle would never have been won without them, and that they deserved all the praise. This would have come in the wake of their former reputation, earned in their earlier victory at Trancoso. Indeed, if they had known what the outcome of the battle would be, in the way that God willed it, nothing in the world would have deterred them from taking part in it. It is said that, at this juncture, with the battle formations disposed, the battle about to begin, and with the king past worrying whether any of them would come to join him, the valiant and praiseworthy João Fernandes had marched 20 leagues all the previous day and right through the night in order to arrive in time for the battle. The pace was so hard that some of his men, unable to keep up, were left behind and were scattered along the roads. However, marching onwards to take part in the conflict, he passed through Porto de Mós and, having climbed a nearby hill, suddenly appeared above the battlefield, close to the tip of the Castilian right wing. The Castilians were unaware of which troops they were, or of who their captain was; had they known, they could have inflicted grave harm on them. As for the Portuguese, they believed that they were the noblemen from Beira and were very pleased. João Fernandes, fully recognising how small the Portuguese force was, ordered the trumpets to sound and, with his flag unfurled, rushed to join them. The king was delighted at his arrival, and all those in his army even more. On seeing his father Diogo Lopes – because advancing years reject the labour of fighting in battles – he embraced him, saying, ‘Father, my lord, what are you doing here?’ His father’s brusque answer was, ‘This is a fine time to arrive, but at least you’re here! Anyway, where else would you have me be, or what else would you have us do, other than help this man to defend this realm?’



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João Fernandes then turned to the king, to encourage him, saying; ‘My lord, be mightily strong and fear nothing from this great host, as I know you don’t. Let me tell your men to harbour no fears just because the enemy are so many, as you can see. If you knew them as I know them, having recently washed my hands in their blood, you’d have little regard for any terror they may arouse. There’s only one thing that you greatly need to fear and that’s the huge labour of having to kill so many of them! Remember how God with His mighty power chose to kill all those who died in the siege of Lisbon; now He has sent you these others who survived, so that you can slay them at will and so that they can come to seek their death by their own hands.’ He uttered these words so freely and with such a countenance as to imply that the battle was already won. The result was that his highly laudable arrival inspired much greater courage in all of them than had been the terror caused by the enemy’s huge numbers. Then he and Egas Coelho took their places alongside the king in the rearguard, and his foot soldiers joined the others.

Chapter 41

Concerning which people chose to appeal to Almighty God to intervene on behalf of the respective kings

I

t is reasonable to believe that these forces, massed together on one side and the other, in order to engage in battle, would have people who would utter prayers and entreaties imploring God to intervene on their behalf and help those who were on their side. Anyone pleading on behalf of large numbers would certainly believe that his or her prayers would be more swiftly heard by God and more easily answered. That was, indeed, the case with Queen Beatriz, the wife of the King of Castile. After her husband left the realm in order to invade Portugal, she learned that a battle was awaiting him, one that he could not avoid (which greatly pleased her, as she believed that he would win it, thus seizing the entire kingdom and completing his quest). While in a town named Ávila, with the Archbishop of Toledo to protect her, she gave orders that certain ladies and damsels, whom she specifically chose, should be given the task of praying continuously for a specific period, so that day and night their prayers would never cease. Furthermore, if any one of them was found to be missing, she immediately ordered her meals to be cut back and sternly rebuked her. Indeed, she visited them regularly, lest they failed to do what she had requested. The King of Portugal was not married, nor had he any female relative or sister to pray for him, or to feel any concern for his undertakings, other than his most faithful servant, the city of Lisbon, which was very solicitous

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and caring about his health and the state of the realm. Just as a mother who feels the pain of her son, and the nurse who rears him, feel greater pity than anyone else, that city, which was the mother and nurse of these events, felt more intensely the weight of this great enterprise than any other town in the country. In fact, quite apart from the prayers and intercessions which the people had decided to offer up daily, the people of Lisbon assembled in the city’s council chamber, where they habitually discussed the king’s actions, and sent for respected religious figures, doctors and masters of theology, in order to consult with them as to how they should call on God’s help and assuage any anger He might harbour against them because of their sins. After these matters had been discussed at great length, the men of letters replied that the people were taking up weapons of self-destruction and providing their enemies with very great assistance by persisting in their evil ways, because, if they carried on doing so, they would forfeit God’s mercy and call down His wrath upon them, especially when urged by Him to mend their ways. Yet a people takes up weapons of sure defence against its enemies by living in the fear of the Lord and following the example set by the righteous, especially in times of great danger, for then God is appeased, and the people receive mercy and help from Him. Having listened to these Dominican friars, the officials and high-ranking members of the guilds were anxious to follow their advice and recognised that for many years the people of the city had been admonished in the friars’ preaching to abandon sundry sins and damnable heathen practices which for a long time had been rife in their city, particularly idolatrous errors, for which, as evidenced by Holy Writ, God punishes the people with utmost severity. They also recognised the many tribulations which had befallen the city; how at that time it was besieged both by land and sea; how the King of Castile had invaded the realm in order to do battle with the King of Portugal, an event which they daily expected to take place; and how God alone was able to rid both the city and the kingdom of such peril. Therefore, they firmly decided and ordered, while promising God to keep to this for ever, thus binding both themselves and their successors, that from this time onward, either in the city or in its outlying areas, no person should use magic spells, resort to sorcery, summon up devils, chant incantations, deal in witches’ brews, use magic cyphers, interpret dreams, dance in magic circles, wield objects of wizardry, or turn to anything that the art of medicine does not allow. Moreover, no person should sing songs hailing January, May or any other month of the year, nor steal special waters, cast lots, or observe any other wicked ritual of that kind. Indeed, since bewailing the dead is an unseemly practice passed down from pagan times and is a form of idolatry forbidden by God’s commandments, they also directed that no man or woman should bewail or lament out loud any departed person, even if it were their father, mother, son, brother, husband or wife, nor should they bewail any other loss or disaster; rather, they



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should control their grief and do their weeping in a seemly manner. Anyone breaking that rule would be subject to a fine and required to house the dead person for a week.93 Furthermore, since pagan practices were adopted on certain days in the year, such as New Year’s Day, May Day and Holy Cross Day,94 they decided that every year from then on there should be processions on all three days: the first of these was to take place in the cathedral to celebrate Our Lord’s Circumcision; the second would be to the Church of Santa Maria da Escada,95 in honour of Mary, the Mother of God; and the third would be to the Church of Santa Cruz, in honour and exaltation of the Cross. These, then, were the particular people who pleaded on behalf of each king. As to which of them to favour with victory, however, that decision remained with Almighty God.

Chapter 42

How the battle was fought between the two kings, and how the Castilians came to be defeated

I

n the discussions of which you have heard, and which took place in the King of Castile’s royal council, so much of the day was wasted that it was approaching evening when the Castilians were completely ready and their battle formation drawn up. Indeed, that formation was so immense and striking to behold that, by contrast, the Portuguese resembled nothing more than the light of a feeble star in comparison with the full moon on the days it shines most brightly. The Constable of Portugal rode his horse at the head of the vanguard and the two accompanying wings, bearing on his arm a shield to ward off the bolts that were raining in from certain quarters, not simply reaching that far but even crossing the lines and striking the men, boys and animals in the baggage train. This the constable was doing in order to check that every man was fully at the ready in the valiant and shrewd formation in which he had deployed them. He told them that they should all advance very slowly when the Castilians moved forward and that, at the joining of battle, they should calmly stand firm, holding their lances straight ahead, tightly gripped under 93

Normally the dead had to be buried within 24 hours. 14 September. 95 Saint Mary of the Stairway to Heaven (Santa Maria Scala Coeli, as the church in Rome). There was a strong devotion to this representation of the Virgin Mary during the Middle Ages, especially on the part of the Avis dynasty. See CKJ1, Chapter 153. 94

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their arms, yet extended forward as far as they could. He added that, when the enemy arrived, they should thrust their lances into them in such a way as to catch them and then push forward with all their might; as for those behind them who could not reach the enemy with their lances, they should push the others forward. He praised and stimulated them with his courageous gallantry and cheerful countenance, encouraging them not to fear the enemy host, or the threats which they uttered with their hooting and whooping, for it all was just a bit of wind which would very soon have to cease. They should be strong and of good courage, placing great trust in God, in Whose service they had come, in order to defend a just cause on behalf of the realm and Holy Church. Besides, the Mother of God, Whose feast fell on the following day, would be their advocate, and the blessed martyr Saint George would be their captain and helper. He told them that this was the great and glorious day which they all so longed for, both in order to achieve great honour, and on which their noble endeavours were bound to end in victory. With such warm words, filled as they were with his enormous courage, he never once stopped going round to them while the battle lines were at rest. The constable was busy with this task, before battle was joined, when Count João Afonso Telo, who was in the Castilian vanguard, ordered a squire to deliver to him an ornamented battle sword as a gage challenging him to do battle. Nuno Álvares cheerfully accepted it and in return sent the count a sturdy lead battleaxe.96 Similarly, as reported by the learned doctor97 in the chapter Post haec Rex Portugaliae, the King of Portugal was in his position in the rearguard and had made his confession very early, receiving the Blessed Sacrament and a benediction from the archbishop. The king devoutly took the bright red emblem of the Holy Cross, placed it on his breast and commanded all his men to do the same. Then, in pursuit of the example set by Judas Maccabaeus, as the doctor says, he began to encourage his men, declaring to all of them, ‘My friends and great lords, for all that our enemies approach us in vast numbers, as you can see, you have no need to be frightened of them, as I have already said; rather, be strong and fear nothing, for it is an easy matter for Almighty God to bring down the many at the hands of the few. Besides, since they are coming at us, bursting with pride and contempt, and intent on destroying us, robbing and seizing our wives and children and anything else they can lay their hands on, let us do battle with them in defence of ourselves, the realm and Holy Mother Church. You shall see this day how they will all be vanquished and laid low at our onset. Therefore, in God’s name and in the name of the Blessed Virgin, Whose feast it is tomorrow, let us all be strong

96

The symbolism of this exchange is strong: the constable replied with a heavier and less refined weapon to intimate that he was more than ready for the battle. 97 Christophorus.



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and ready to take our revenge on them, a revenge which, as you can all see, lies so clearly within our grasp.’ Likewise, the Archbishop of Braga, who was himself in full armour and bearing aloft before him the silver cross with which he customarily visited his churches, did not cease to attend the men, going round to them all in their groups, encouraging and absolving them all, and confirming the pardons which Pope Urban VI was granting to those who opposed the schismatic unbelievers and rebels against Holy Church. He told them all that, the moment they began to smite the enemy, they should remember to keep repeating the words et verbum caro factum est.98 However, a number of ignoramuses, who failed to understand this, asked what it meant, and others jokingly replied that it meant ‘this is a very expensive business!’99 ‘True enough’, said some of them, ‘but, God willing, today He’ll make it a very cheap one!’ In the King of Castile’s army, matters were quite the opposite, for among his troops there was no need to encourage anybody or to make them bold enough to fight, because they all regarded the battle as already won and considered the Portuguese to be stupid and desperate men for lying in wait for them. Their only thoughts were about how they were going to kill them and what they would do with those they took prisoner. Two bishops who accompanied them, as well as a number of Dominican friars, went round granting indulgences from the Antipope to all those who took up arms against the Portuguese or who from their own resources assisted in warfare against them. Before the battle lines began to be joined, some thirty Portuguese foot soldiers, who had been posted amid the baggage train in order to protect it, lost their courage, took fright and ran off in the direction of Porto de Mós. The Castilian light horsemen, who were circling the baggage train, spotted them leaving and gave chase. Thinking they were getting away, the fugitives took refuge in bramble-covered hollows, but there they were killed like pigs trampled down by the horses’ hooves, and not one of them escaped. This incident caused the other soldiers guarding the baggage train to summon up their courage and not to run away, declaring to each other that they would rather die like men than be slain like those who had fled. At this point, the enemy vanguard, swollen with troops and stronger than was really needed, began preparing to advance its line of battle at a time when the day was so far gone that evening was already falling. Yet, notwithstanding their numbers and their fine equipment, they still held back from attacking the Portuguese without first firing at them from a line of cannons,100 installed in front of their own battle line, with a view to shocking them into taking flight. 98

Latin from the Vulgate: ‘and the Word was made flesh’ (John, 1. 14). A play on words: Latin caro (flesh) and Portuguese caro (expensive). 100 Cannons were not very effective or accurate at this time. Their use was often to intimidate the enemy, as evident in this passage. 99

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The cannons fired rocks at the Portuguese, some of them landing harmlessly, while others inflicted considerable damage. One rock struck the constable’s vanguard and in the same moment killed two squires, who were brothers, while another struck a foreigner. The death of all three from this attack greatly scared the Portuguese, who saw it as a grim beginning. One squire from the Portuguese army, on seeing the fear that this caused them, declared that they had no reason to take fright. Instead, they should see it as a sign that God wished to grant them victory in this battle, because he was able to tell them for sure that only a week earlier he had seen those two men enter a church and kill a priest who was vested and in the act of celebrating mass. Since, therefore, they had no reverence for God, He had expressed His due judgment in not wanting such evil Christians to have any share in the victory which He had granted to the Portuguese. When all those present heard this, recognising as true what the squire said about the wicked deed the dead men had committed, they drew great encouragement from this judgment of Our Lord God and were vastly emboldened to carry through, against their enemies, the enterprise which they had begun. Then, with loud blasts on the trumpets and with mighty hooting and whooping, the Castilian forces all shouted, ‘At them! At them!’, and the ground began to disappear beneath the dense mass of their advance. Charging full tilt in a scornful and haughty gallop, all the [renegade] Portuguese led the way, headed by Count João Afonso, a full lance’s length in front of the rest, grasping his own lance like the valiant knight he was. As they advanced, some fell behind the others, both from the front lines and the wings, with the result that their vanguard, which with its vast flanks was so long as to be well capable of surrounding the Portuguese battle formation, became so foreshortened that the Portuguese vanguard now held an advantage over it. The Castilian troops became so densely compressed that a mere stone’s throw separated those at the front from those at the rear. This was particularly the case along the main road normally used by travellers, so that the van and the rear nearly merged into one. On seeing them charging, the Portuguese began to stiffen their courage to take the impact. With brave blasts on their trumpets, they moved forward, step by step, in a valiant, ordered formation, with the constable ahead of his banner and with each man doing as commanded. Their loud battle cry was ‘For Portugal and Saint George!’, whereas the enemy shouted out, ‘For Castile and Saint James!’ To the front of the Portuguese rode Gonçalo Eanes of Castelo de Vide, who had promised to strike the first blow with his lance, but he was felled, then received help and got to his feet. When the front lines clashed, the knights jabbed their lances at one another, wounding and thrusting with all their might, while from both sides the foot soldiers and crossbowmen hurled rocks and shot bolts [into the fray]. At this point, the Castilian light horsemen made repeated attempts to penetrate the Portuguese baggage train but they found everything so well protected that they were unable to inflict any damage.



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If you find it written that at this stage the Castilians cut their lances shorter than when they brought them, you should consider it to be true and have no doubts about it, because many of them, though expecting to fight on horseback, when once they saw that the battle was being fought on foot, cut down their lances so as to wield them to better advantage, an act that was to bring them more trouble than benefit. Once they had let fly their lances, which caused little havoc to either side, and many of them heaped up in a trench101 between the two battle lines, they resorted to axes and swords. These swords were not as big as those used nowadays but were thick and narrow and known as ‘estocs’.102 The first spot where the battle was joined was close to the constable’s banner, where there now stands the chapel dedicated to Saint George and which he later ordered to be built. There a grim and implacable contest was fought, with blows struck as men habitually strike them and not as in the accounts of some writers. What would be the point in speaking of blows, or great strength, or other features, set down in praise of certain figures, or why should we embellish a tale which sensible folk will never believe, and why, instead of true accounts, should we make up preposterous fables? Suffice it to say that on both sides such mighty blows were struck as each man could best inflict on the opponent whom it was his lot to strike, with the outcome that the many, in order to lay low the few, and the few, in order to rid themselves of their foes, fought with all their might. Since the Castilian battle formation was as dense as described, the Portuguese battle line, being small and not very deep, was unable to withstand it, and their vanguard was forcibly broken apart and heavily penetrated by the enemy. That huge swirling mass of troops, of which we have spoken, opened up a vast and wide gateway through which most of them poured, with the King of Castile’s banner close to that of the constable. Here the battle was the most fiercely fought. On seeing this, the two wings led by Mem Rodrigues and Antão Vasques turned in on the enemy and thus found themselves between the vanguard and the rearguard. Both sides fought with might and main, and the clashing of their blows could be heard over a wide area around. The ‘lovers’ wing’, which the enemy imagined they would totally rout, was here found to offer 101 This

is Fernão Lopes’s only reference to the constable’s strategic preparation of the battlefield, digging trenches and shallow pits into the ground along which the enemy was expected to charge. In correspondence, Jorge Almeida, editor of Crónica da Regência e do Reinado de D. João I (Famalicão: Húmus, 2016), put forward the theory that Fernão Lopes either feared that such strategy might diminish the valour or the Portuguese victory, or that it might be used by others, considering that he wrote his chronicles only sixty years after the royal battle. 102 An estoc, also known as a ‘tuck’, was a sword with a triangular blade used in the 14th century. Wounds were normally inflicted only by the point. Fernão Lopes is contrasting such swords with the broad-bladed, often two-handed, swords used in his own time.

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twice the challenge that the enemy expected as they fought. Mem Rodrigues was badly wounded, as was his brother and other noblemen, more in that sector than elsewhere. The King of Portugal, on seeing his vanguard broken open and the constable in such a tight spot, was greatly worried, as were all those with him, and charged ahead at all speed with his banner, crying out with mighty valour, ‘Forward, my lords, forward! For Saint George, for Saint George! For Portugal, for Portugal! I am your king!’ As soon as he reached the spot where the harsh and unremitting struggle was taking place, with lances abandoned as of little use in such a mêlée, he began to strike out with his battleaxe with such lack of restraint and such determination as though he were a mere knight anxious to win renown. Álvaro González de Sandoval chanced to attack him; he was a comely and well-built young man and a valiant knight who had married that very year. When the king raised his axe and brought it down to smite him, he parried the blow, seized the axe and yanked so hard that he tore it from his hands and brought the king down on both knees. He was, however, at once lifted to his feet. When Álvaro González raised the axe to strike him with it, the king awaited the blow and seized the axe back from him in the same way. When the king was trying to strike at him again, however, the young man already lay dead, slain by others present who had not managed to do so more swiftly, because each man had to look after himself. With the battle growing in intensity and with blows raining down on both sides, it pleased Almighty God for the banner of Castile to be brought to the ground, along with the pennant with its heraldic device, whereupon some of the Castilians started to give ground. The Portuguese youths who tended the animals, along with many others who were with them, began to yell out at the top of their voices, ‘They’re running away! They’re running away!’ As for the Castilians, as though not to prove them to be telling lies, they increasingly began to flee the field.

Chapter 43

How the King of Castile fled the battlefield and reached Santarém

A

s he watched the battle, the King of Castile saw that Dame Fortune totally favoured the Portuguese, with the result that his banner had been brought down and many of his troops were in retreat and mounting what horses they could find, so as to hasten their flight. Consequently, despite his illness, he hurriedly made ready to leave at once, to avoid seeing the complete loss of the battle. He got down from the mule on which he was sitting and



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was placed astride a horse, on which he swiftly set off, terror-stricken and with few companions, and made his way straight along the road to Santarém. The valiant Vasco Martins de Melo [the Younger], who had vowed to capture the King of Castile or to lay hands on him, chased after him for about a league in order to make good his promise. To reach the king, he rode on his own into the group of men accompanying him, but was recognised as a Portuguese man from his cross of Saint George and was slain for his foolhardy daring. The king proceeded on his journey without a single stop, wore out his horse and was given another one. Having travelled for 11 and a half leagues, which is the distance to Santarém, from where he set off, he reached this town at midnight, astride the very horse on which he had entered Santarém when he had first seized it. Few of his men were with him, because their horses were exhausted. When his men banged on the castle gates for the king to be let in, Rodrigo Álvarez de Santoyo, the nephew of Diego Gómez, who had remained there as his uncle’s deputy, was incredulous. He hesitated, not wanting to open up, until the king told him to open the gates because it was he, the king, though he rather wished he had never been crowned. Rodrigo Álvarez recognised the king’s voice and made haste to open the gates. The king entered with his face hidden, just as on his journey, and slumped down on a bench, exhausted, his face devoid of all pleasure. Since he was suffering from the ague and had experienced attacks of it that day, the pain heightened the sombre sadness of his countenance. After sitting there a while, without any of his men daring to speak to him, he rose abruptly and started to walk about, talking to himself and moaning. ‘My God!’ he said, ‘What a bad king I am and how unlucky! Lord, strike me dead where I stand, for I lacked the good fortune to die with my men!’ As he drew near to a wall, he clapped his hands to his cheeks, covered his face with the palms of his hands, leaned his head against the wall and wept. These were his words: ‘Oh, gallant vassals and friends, what a bad king, what a bad companion you have had in me, bringing you all to your deaths and failing to help and succour you! Oh, my God, why did it please You to forsake a king, leaving him so alone, so bereft of so many valiant men as I have lost? I shall spend the rest of my days in sorrow, and death would have been kinder to me than life! Lord, why did You let me be defeated? And why by him? Why did You allow so many valiant noblemen to be killed? And at his hands? I can truly say that it was an evil hour when I came to Portugal, an hour that left me a king without an army!’ As he said these words, he turned to face the others and seemed about to pass out. They rushed to his aid, saying, ‘Sire, what pitiful courage are you instilling into those of your troops who have survived? Do you think there are no longer any noblemen or troops in Castile with whom, together with God’s help and your own, you will be able to regain the honour you have lost?’

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The king, however, believing that all his men had been killed, answered, ‘If Castile were lost, and all my vassals survived, I would expect to gain the whole of Castile and Portugal. But, since all my nobles have been killed, I have totally lost Portugal and have placed Castile in such jeopardy that, for a king who is so disgraced as I am, death were better than life.’ Having said this, he sat down again and asked them to heat a bowl of soup for him to eat. Gómez Pérez de Valderrábano, who had charge of the other fortress, which is known as the Alcáçova, hastened there at once when he heard the news. When he saw that the king was so deep in care that he could barely eat his soup, he said to him, ‘My liege, why are you in such despair and why are you so sad and showing such a miserable countenance to your men? Do you really think that what has befallen you has not happened to other kings and great lords in this world? Assuredly, you are not the first to whom this has happened. What reason can there be for such an excessive display of sadness that cannot bring you any redress? What reason can there be for such a lofty sovereign as you to desire your own death and to break thereby the hearts of all those who listen to you and who serve you? I would wish you to show greater courage than that. Follow the example set by King Enrique your father, who, though he was vanquished, as you well know, never lost courage on that account but totally disregarded it and took steps to avenge his dishonour by combating the forces of his brother King Pedro, by whom he had been defeated when present on the battlefield. He routed them all, King Pedro fled, and your father seized the kingdom from him, the kingdom of which you are now the king and liege lord. This is an example that you must follow. Though you have just now been defeated, do not allow the strength of your will to die but strive to avenge your dishonour, as others have done after undergoing a similar disaster.’ On hearing these words, the king answered in a scornful manner: ‘Do you really think you can console me now by what you’ve said? Why, you’ll never be able to give me comfort, not you nor however many of you here present, and however many arguments you advance, because some things are just not like others. Do you really think I’m unaware that what has just happened to me has befallen other kings and great lords? I’m not so simple that I can’t grasp that! And if you say that such a thing befell my father, that’s certainly true. But tell me, I ask you, by what men and by what forces was my father defeated? He was defeated by the Prince of Wales, who was a great lord and so blessed that he fought against the King of France, defeated him and took him as a prisoner back to England.103 But by what forces was my father defeated? He was defeated by the English, who are the flower of the world’s knighthood, so that, despite his defeat at their hands, he didn’t cease to be

103 See

Chapter 35, note 71, above.



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honoured by them. But, as for me, by whom was I vanquished and defeated and dishonoured? Why, by Portugal’s Master of Avis, who never in his life has achieved any feat worthy of note. And by what forces was I defeated? By a bunch of chamorros.104 For my disgrace, I would not be avenged, even if God granted me the great favour of roping them all together and beheading them by my own hand. For that reason, I ask you not to try to comfort me, nor to compare me with my father, because there is a great difference between the two events.’ They then stopped talking about this, and the king arranged to leave immediately.

Chapter 44

How the King of Castile left Santarém and returned to his own country

S

ince those suffering from misfortune are more beset by fear than are other men, the King of Castile was afraid, indeed he was quite sure of it, that, if he stayed in Santarém any longer that night, great harm could befall him. For that reason, he ordered a barge to be prepared at once to take him swiftly to Lisbon and without further delay he boarded it with a number of his companions. He kept his face hidden, and four torches, burning low, lit his way. Next day, which was the Feast of the Blessed Virgin, he reached the city at nine o’clock in the morning; that day and the following day he spent aboard the nao under the command of Pero Afán [de Ribera]. On Thursday, 17 August, with four companions, he departed for Seville on board a galley, whereas the other naos and galleys remained there, with the order from him that they should sail back to their home ports once they saw that the weather was propitious. The king entered Seville by night, for fear of the clamour and lamentations of the people. However, once it became known next day that he had arrived and in what manner, many of the city’s high-ranking gentlemen and ladies wept so much for their sons and husbands, relatives and great lords, that it was a sorrowful sight to behold, to such an extent that, with the continued loud clamour day after day, the king was so stricken with sadness and distress that he left for Carmona, which lies 6 leagues away.

104 This Spanish word originally applied to livestock with short hair and was used by the Castilians in the 14th century as a derogatory term for the Portuguese.

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It is important that you should know that on the day he reached Seville there were held captive in the city’s shipyard a number of Portuguese who had been taken prisoner from the Oporto naos at the time of the Lisbon naval battle.105 Those who were charged with such matters ordered them to sweep and clean the palace where the king was due to lodge. While the Portuguese were sweeping a chamber where the king happened to be at the time, one of his squires strode up and kicked one of them, saying, ‘Hurry up with your sweeping, you cuckolded sons of whores!’ But on seeing this, the king rebuked him severely, saying, ‘Leave them alone, confound you! The Portuguese are honourable and loyal, and you’ve no grounds for hurting them. Indeed, those Portuguese who fought on my side I saw die before my very eyes, whereas my own troops stole the very crown from my head!’ Nobody replied to this, nor did they inflict any further harm on the Portuguese. Next day the king gave the order for their release, which was carried out at once. He was dressed in black from head to foot, and his bed and table had no adornments, for he considered himself to be the most wretched king in the world. If any people, men and women alike, who had suffered some loss in the battle approached him, they received comfort and favours from him. It so happened that, once the battle was lost, the bad news (which swiftly spreads everywhere) very soon reached the place where Queen Beatriz had taken up lodging. Indeed, all Castile was horrified. When the queen heard the news, along with those people who were charged with praying, they left off their prayers at once and started to wail and lament. The queen fell to the floor as though dead, and lamentations rent the air. On hearing this, the townspeople were also grief-stricken. Not just in that township, but also throughout Castile, the turmoil and grief were so intense that not a single man or woman failed to share in it, weeping both for the living and for the dead, for they did not know who had died and who had escaped. Once the mourning was over in the township where the queen was staying, the people became aroused in an ugly manner, showing little restraint and displaying angry impulses. Since many of them asserted that the king was dead, they declared that they should immediately kill the queen and all the Portuguese in her retinue. Taking their stand on this and swayed by emotion and the many tears shed by the people due to the loss of the battle, numbers of them were moved to consider that this was right, while others hesitated, not sure what to do. At this point the archbishop106 arrived and said: ‘My friends, in the name of God, calm yourselves and reject any such action, because the news that 105 See CKJ1, Chapter 134. The Taracena at Seville was one of the most important shipyards in medieval Europe. 106 The Archbishop of Toledo, Don Pedro Tenorio, who had stayed behind with the queen in Ávila. See Chapter 41 above.



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some are saying is by no means certain. Moreover, if the news is untrue, then the consequences of such actions would be very grim and dangerous. This is the situation: if the king is alive but a captive, then something can be done about his captivity, and he will deem it better if his wife and her retinue are alive than if you kill them out of spite and without their having any blame for what has happened. If he is dead, as they say, and there is no need to seek his release, then you have ample time to do what you intend, and no harm can ensue from it. Therefore, calm your hearts until we know for certain what the outcome is. That way, we shall do whatever seems to us best for the benefit and honour of the realm.’ With these words and other sound reasoning which he put forward at that time, the archbishop succeeded in calming the people’s agitation, and the matter was dropped. The knights and other people who did not accompany the king into battle, along with many of those who were present in the battle but had escaped, all gathered in Valladolid, where the king had summoned Cortes. There he decided to seek out troops wherever they could be found and to inform the King of France of what had befallen him, requesting his help both with troops and financial aid for the defence of his realms107 and to enable him to invade Portugal once again. The King of Castile hurried to put these matters into effect, because he had learned that immediately after his defeat the King of Portugal had sent letters to the King of England and especially to the Duke of Lancaster. The duke was married to Princess Constanza, the daughter of Pedro, the former King of Castile, on which grounds he called himself the King of Castile. In these letters the King of Portugal informed them that the King of Castile had been vanquished on the field of battle and that there he had lost most of his very best men; the duke now had the opportunity to seize that realm, since his enemy had been routed and was short of troops. This opportunity was all the greater because he had Portugal to help him with many troops and ample goodwill. Moreover, as in this way he could rapidly achieve his entire objective, he should avoid further delay. That, as we have said, was why the King of Castile hurriedly sent messages both to the King of France and to the Antipope, conveying everything that had happened to him. Let us leave him there, awaiting replies and assembling his troops until the end of the year,108 and let us return to the King of Portugal, whom we left still fighting, with the battle not yet over.

107 Castile 108 1385.

and León.

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Chapter 45

How the battle was finally won, and which men died in it

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ith the battle still raging and the fighting very intense when, as we said, the King of Castile fled, it began to become clear that the battle was being completely won, with the enemy banner brought down and large numbers of the Castilians being killed, as well as most of the renegade Portuguese who constituted the front ranks of the vanguard. With the king and the constable pressing forward in pursuit of a victory that was now obvious to all, the king told the constable that the foot soldiers in the rearguard were in great danger from the large numbers of Castilians who were harassing them and that he should go to their aid. This was in fact true, because Gonzalo Núñez, the Master of Alcántara, accompanied by a group of light horsemen, was riding into the Portuguese rear and was vigorously attacking the foot soldiers and crossbowmen posted there to protect the baggage train. They were defending themselves with arrows and darts in such a way that those on horseback could not inflict any damage on them but were actually damaged by them, with numbers of them dying from crossbow shots or lance thrusts. This attack benefited the Portuguese, because the foot soldiers in that sector, though they wanted to flee, were unable to do so, and thus they were forced to defend themselves. Afterwards, the Castilians realised that this had been an unwise tactic, because they had not left their enemies an open escape route. At once the constable, fighting on foot as he was and acting on the king’s orders, turned towards the rearguard, but owing to the great travail that he had undergone, he was unable to make as much headway as he wanted, nor had he a mount to ride. However, Pedro Botelho, grand commander of the Order of Christ, who was riding a fine horse, spotted that the constable was on foot, and so he dismounted and presented it to him. The count thanked him most warmly, mounted up and galloped to the aid of the foot soldiers fighting in the rearguard. He found them in great peril, as they were being hard pressed by large numbers of Castilians, to such a degree that they were anxious to scatter when he arrived. But, the moment he did so, it pleased God to give the foot soldiers such courage that they withstood the Castilians much better, to the point where they no longer dared to attack. Shortly after, João Rodrigues de Sá and others came to join the constable. At this juncture, when the Castilians realised that their liege lord had fled and that the battle was being lost in every sector, they lost all hope and the very will to carry on fighting. They started to fall back and to abandon the battlefield. Thus, in a short period of time there drained away the valour of



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such a vast multitude of soldiers, for the battle had not lasted a brief half hour before being given up for lost. If you were there, you would have seen some of them riding off on any horses they could catch, without asking whose they were, in their haste to make a safe getaway. Others were divesting themselves of their armour, in order to run away less encumbered, while some of those fleeing on foot were jettisoning their weapons to make their escape easier. Many others reversed their jacks, turning them inside out [so as to disguise their allegiance], but later on the very utterance of their native tongue betrayed their nationality and led to their demise. Those on horses unfit for riding, plus others who from sheer exhaustion were unable to make their escape as they wanted to, abandoned the roads in their terror and plunged into the thickets. Not knowing their way, they blundered about, this way and that. Next day the locals appeared in large numbers and massacred them. If some of the fugitives tried to defend themselves, other locals came up to block their path and completed the slaughter that the first locals had begun. Vain were the efforts of those who sought to hide, because there were neither thickets dense enough nor any other place where they could conceal themselves, since all that area consisted of open country. Consequently, by lying in wait for them across some of the thoroughfares, so much slaughter was inflicted on them by those from the area around Alcobaça and from the outlying villages, especially on those fleeing on foot, that as many were slain as in the battle itself. They lost their lives in a variety of ways, for not one of them received pardon. Indeed, a country villager was able to capture and kill seven or eight Castilians, and there was no means of stopping him. Were anyone to try to spare the life of someone he knew, either Castilian or Portuguese (namely those [renegade] Portuguese who had attacked their own country), he was unable to do so, even if he wished to, because that person would be killed even while in his hands. This applied not only to men of lowly status, but also to those of high rank, for this was what they did to Diogo Álvares Pereira, once in the hands of Egas Coelho. After he had won the battle, the King of Portugal was striding over the field when he saw in front of him Diogo Álvares Pereira, the constable’s brother. Since he was not wearing his bascinet, the king recognised him from behind and twice called him by his name. Hearing his name called, Diogo Álvares turned his head to see who it was. The king hastened towards him and grabbed him round the chest, saying, ‘Aha, Diogo Álvares, so this is where you are! This day I intend to be a greater friend to you than you have been a servant to me!’ At this point, a shout went up, claiming that the constable was being killed, though this was not true. However, the king hurried off in that direction, leaving Diogo Álvares with Egas Coelho to keep guard over him, but a group of villagers spotted that he was wearing the insignia of Castile and for no reason at all they immediately slew him.

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Exhausted from his exertions, the king lay down for a brief rest on a makeshift pallet, waiting for a suitable horse to take him further on his way. Close to him and held captive were Pedro de Castro and Vasco Peres de Camões. While he was lying there, a knight arrived: it was Antão Vasques, who was wrapped in the banner of the King of Castile and who, when once in the king’s presence, started to dance with glee, though without any music. Tiring of this, he then unwound the banner and placed it in the king’s lap, declaring, ‘My liege, receive this banner belonging to the greatest enemy you have in the whole world.’ Smiling, the king gave orders for it to be stowed away but made no reply to the knight’s words. Lourenço Martins do Avelar, who was present there, announced that he was the one who had brought it down, but others too made the same claim; the fact is that nobody knew for certain who it had been. While this was under discussion, the king’s page arrived with his horse; he was also leading a mule with a captive Castilian squire astride it. The squire’s spurs were on his arm, and his jupon was worn inside out to avoid being recognised and put to death. On seeing the approach of this man of rank and fine bearing, the king asked him why he had allowed himself to be taken prisoner by a mere youth, to which he replied: ‘It was preferable to be taken prisoner by this youth than to be slain by the best man-at-arms in your entire army.’ ‘Let me tell you that what you say is very sensible’, said the king. ‘It is now my wish to favour you with greater honour than you received from him when he took you prisoner.’ He then ordered that he should ride the mule with the page behind him; the page would point out the dead as they went along and thus discover whether he recognised any of them. When they turned the corpses over, and he recognised any of the great lords and noblemen from Castile, he dismounted and shed tears over them. The king accompanied him for a while, pointing out those with whom he was acquainted. In such a way, as we have said, it pleased Almighty God and His Most Blessed Mother that the battle be won and that the Portuguese be rid of their enemies. The Castilians, on seeing that their sovereign’s baggage train had been abandoned and the way in which certain men were already starting to loot it, galloped towards it in large numbers in order to rescue the silver plate used at the royal table and at mass. As they fought over it there ensued a great turmoil in which several Portuguese were killed. Among those were Mendo Afonso de Beja and others who had survived the battle, and there they met their end. The Castilians made off with most of the silverware, though some of them dropped certain pieces along the way. Then the Portuguese began to seize various objects without any further hindrance. Indeed, some of them busied



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themselves with turning over lifeless corpses, in search of anything from which they could profit. Many of those who lay dead displayed no wounds.109 There they found a vast wealth of gold, silver and precious stones, as well as adornments of sundry kinds, of the sort you might well imagine such a king and great lords as accompanied him to bring with them, not intending to take them back after winning the war they had begun but to remain in the kingdom and take their ease there as though it were already theirs. Similarly, they seized horses, mules, pack animals, weaponry and many other things which it would take too long to mention. Furthermore, the king took nothing away from those who had taken possession of this booty. Castile suffered very great losses in this battle, not just counts and masters and great lords, but also noblemen, gentlemen of lesser rank and very large numbers of soldiers of humble origin. However, owing to the fact that sundry authors disagree about the numbers of those who died, writing about many thousands of the fallen, including a large number of captains, but without supplying their names, we are keen to set down the truth without favouring either side; nor do we concern ourselves with the totals they have adduced, except for the smallest one which the king conveyed in writing to the city of Lisbon, stating that there died in the battle up to 2,500 lances, plus the bulk of the captains there present. These included Pedro, the son of the Marquess of Villena and legitimate great-grandson of the King of Aragon; Juan, the great lord of Aguilar and Castañeda and son of Count Tello; Fernando, the son of Count Sancho; Pero Díaz, the Prior of San Juan; the Count of Villalpando; Juan Fernández de Tovar, High Admiral of Castile; Pero González de Mendoza, chief steward to the king; Diego Gómez Manrique, the Chief Provincial Governor of Castile; Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba; Pero González Carrillo, marshal of Castile; Juan Pérez de Godoy, son of the Master of Calatrava; Sir Jean de Rye, a knight of the King of France; Fernán Carrillo de Mazuelo; Juan Álvarez Maldonado; Diego García de Toledo; Juan Ramírez de Arellano; Álvaro González de Sandoval and his brother Fernán González; Fernán Carrillo de Pliego; Juan Ortiz de las Cuevas; Ruy Fernández de Tovar; Gutierre González de Quirós; Gonzalo Alfonso de Cervantes; García Díaz Carrillo; Pedro de Velasco; Gonzalo González de Ávila; Lope Fernández de Sevilla; 109 The same was observed in the battles of Dupplin Moor (1332) and Roosbeeck (1382). João Gouveia Monteiro attributes such deaths to the compression suffered by combatants, asphyxiated or crushed in the tight melee of a battlefield too exiguous for a vast army. In fact, Nuno Álvares Pereira’s preparations, with the choice of a plateau limited longitudinally by the two small rivers, and the use of abatises and ditches funnelling the wide Castilian vanguard into a narrower Portuguese front, created the conditions for such a tight crush. See Chapter 38, note 83 above, and also João Gouveia Monteiro, ‘The Battle of Aljubarrota (1385): A Reassessment’, Journal of Medieval Military History, 7 (2009) 75–103, at pp. 99–100.

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Juan Alfonso de Alcántara; Diego Gómez Sarmiento; Juan de Velasco; Sancho Carrillo; Diego de Tovar; Ruy Barba; Juan Duque; Aires Peres de Camões110 and Ruy Vásquez de Córdoba. All these were killed in the battle, as well as others, whose names, if known, would constitute an enormous list. Likewise, there perished numbers of the [renegade] Portuguese who supported Castile, namely Count João Afonso Telo, who had promoted the battle; Pedro Álvares Pereira, the constable’s brother, along with Diogo Álvares, his other brother; Gonçalo Vasques de Azevedo and his son Álvaro Gonçalves; also García Rodrígez Taborda; João Gonçalves, the governor of Óbidos, as well as others, whom we shall not mention. As for those of humble origin, we are unable to give the exact number of those who died, but it can be assumed, as we have already suggested, that there would be an immense host of them, because the townships where they could take refuge lay a long way distant from the battle site, places such as Torres Novas, Santarém and similar towns. Moreover, they first had to pass through villages that were opposed to them, as well as walk along dangerous mountain paths totally unfamiliar to them. Besides, however much since ancient times and by their very nature the Portuguese have been charitable both to one another and to foreigners, nevertheless, bearing in mind the huge ravages and many cruelties that they had suffered from the Castilians, they were unable in their hearts to refrain from redoubling their vengeance upon them. On the Portuguese side, the following died in battle: Vasco Martins de Melo, Martim Gil de Correixas, Basquin de Sola, and Sir Guilhem de Montferrand. As for those of lowly origin and foot soldiers, there died about fifty, including those who at the outset deserted the rearguard, as well as those who took part in the looting of the [royal] carriage, when the Castilians turned about to rescue the King of Castile’s silverware. The battle took place on Monday, 14 August 1385.

Chapter 46

How the King of Portugal left the battlefield and made his way to Alcobaça

O

nce the battle had been fought in the way we have described, and since the evening was drawing on, the count was very keen to install guards around the camp for the night, nobody else having thought about it. He went

110 Strictly speaking, the name of this renegade Portuguese should appear in the next paragraph.



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about, so busily making these arrangements that it was well into the night before he went to see the king in his tent. Those present were discussing many aspects of the feats achieved in the course of the battle and how they had been brought about; all of them regarded the outcome as miraculous and were expressing their deep gratitude to the Lord God for the favour He had granted them. The count then asserted to the king that among the Castilians he had seen a man who was well armed and on horseback and who, from his garb and from the manner in which he was regarded by his companions, appeared to him – and he had no doubts about this – to be his brother Pedro Álvares Pereira, the Master of Calatrava. While he, the constable, was advancing with the rest of his men, he had seen a lance hurled from the Portuguese side, and, travelling not very high off the ground, as high as a crossbow bolt, it had struck that man, whom he believed to be his brother. He had at once fallen to the ground, and the constable had not seen him again. The king and all those who heard this considered the incident to be highly significant and afterwards retold it as a miracle, because never again was that man found, dead or alive, either on the battlefield or anywhere else. The count had not yet had anything to eat, nor could they find his packanimals in order to prepare a meal for him. Learning of this, the king ordered a fine supper for him, one that could be described as most delicious and full of good cheer. Next day the count went on a devout pilgrimage to the shrine of Santa Maria de Ourém. He immediately took possession of the place, for the king had already granted it to him, when promising to make him the Count of Ourém.111 He then returned to the encampment. People said that he had gone to bury his brother, but this was not true, for his brother was never seen again, dead or alive. The king remained for three days on the battlefield, as is the custom in such battles, but owing to the huge stench of dead bodies and because there was no further obligation to linger there any longer, he then decided to leave immediately. Before doing so, he ordered the burial of Count João Afonso Telo, who had been the one who had caused the battle to take place, but of nobody else. The remaining corpses lay on the field of battle, many of them naked, because the villagers and people from that area had stripped them of everything, yet quite a while would have to pass before the birds, wolves and dogs would come and devour them. The king then left with his army, which had greatly enhanced its possessions, both with provisions and with horses, pack-animals and weaponry, as well as much gold and silver jewellery, all coming from the vast and 111 See Chapter 5 above. Strictly speaking, Nuno Álvares does not become the Count of Ourém till Chapter 52 below.

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immensely rich spoils which they had found left behind by their enemies, not just in the King of Castile’s pavilion, but also in those of the nobles and great lords who accompanied him, and, indeed, throughout that vast encampment. This was the result of what each man happened to find, for the king and the constable had ordered that, whether genuinely requested or against their will, nobody should take away anything, even if it were an object of great price or value. An exception was the wood of the True Cross, taken by Álvaro Gonçalves de Alfena, one of the constable’s squires, who had found it in a chest, along with many jewels. This occurred when he helped to plunder the King of Castile’s chapel, for the wood was set within a gold cross, which bore four precious stones on one side and on the other a smaller cross in the middle of the larger one. As soon as the squire prised off the smaller cross, he caught sight of the wood of the True Cross set within the larger one. He immediately knew what it was, because it was rumoured in the Portuguese encampment, before the battle, that the enemy king had brought with him, in his chapel, the True Cross, which was normally kept in Burgos. Since the count bore before him on his banner, as his one true victorious and most prized emblem, the image of Jesus Christ on the tree of the sacred True Cross, it pleased his Holy Lord that he should learn that his squire had it in his keeping. The count, who was most anxious to possess it, sent for him at once and with gentle words and kind treatment earnestly pressed him to give him the holy relic, while promising to grant him many favours. The squire presented it to him with the same kind demeanour as that with which the constable had sought it from him. Thus he came to have it in his possession. The king took the road to Alcobaça, which lay 3 leagues away, and set up camp at the bridge at Chacuda, not far from the monastery, and there they found many corpses of fugitive Castilians, because men sent by the abbot, Dom João, had intercepted them at that joining of the ways. In fact, numbers of squires and men-at-arms from the region around the monastery had rallied to the abbot and from the castle of Alcobaça were waging war on their enemies in those places where they could most safely do so. On the day of the battle, the abbot had sent a brother of his with certain men-at-arms, foot soldiers, crossbowmen and pack-animals laden with bread, wine and other provisions to the field where the king was encamped. Once he learned that the battle had been won, he ordered those who had remained behind with him to lie in wait there for the Castilians. They were the ones who inflicted great damage upon them, among whom there lay dead, covered with hideous wounds, one Ruy Díaz de Rojas, a Castilian knight, whose wife was a lady-in-waiting in the King of Castile’s own chamber; indeed, both she and her husband enjoyed great access there. She perfumed the king with choice scents and, whenever certain great lords entered the chamber at the moment when she was doing this, she would lift the folds of their clothes and perfume them as well, saying, ‘You will go forth perfumed with the choice scents of my liege lord the king,



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so as to mask the foul stench that arises from those wretched chamorros, from the houses they live in and from the villages where they dwell.’ Diogo Lopes Lobo held this lady captive and, when he sought to take her across the bridge, she caught sight of her husband’s severely mutilated corpse. Though he was brutally disfigured, she recognised him at once and started to sob and weep over him. A Portuguese foot soldier, who knew her by sight very well, on seeing her weeping over where her husband lay, began to address her as follows: ‘Tell me, dear lady, what has become of those scents which you were wont to place under the folds of knights’ garments? Your husband certainly needs some of them right now, because lying there he emits such a foul stench!’ Sobbing, she uttered no answer, but he continued to mock her. In that monastery [of Alcobaça] the king gave orders for the burial of Vasco Martins de Melo the Younger, Martim Gil de Correixas, Basquin de Sola, Mendo Afonso de Beja and Sir Guilhem de Montferrand, as well as other Portuguese who were among the missing and whose corpses had been recognised. He buried them with great honours, as was only right.

Chapter 47

How the people of Lisbon discovered that the battle had been won and how they reacted

S

ince we have set down in its due place how the Queen of Castile reacted on learning that the battle had been lost and that her husband had been routed, let us now report the reaction of the loyal city of Lisbon when it heard similar news. Since the city was gripped by both hope and doubt, in the knowledge that battle between the Portuguese and the Castilians could not be avoided, a battle in which the realm would be won and lost, save only if the King of Castile chose not to go ahead (which was unthinkable, owing to the vast army he had with him), the people made [solemn] vows and participated in [religious] processions, earnestly beseeching Almighty God and His Blessed Mother to assist them against their enemies. As though in a miracle, we know not how, at the very time when the battle was fought, there broke out in the city a piece of most welcome news, worthy of reward, yet nobody discovered how it was announced, or who disclosed it first. That news was that the King of Portugal had won the battle. On hearing such a wonderful report, the people were moved by a keen desire to be certain of it; they stopped whatever work they were doing and charged in droves through the city, asking one another who it was that had said this. Some answered that it was a man dressed in red, who was lodging at so-and-so’s

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house, which was a clue to who it was. They rushed to that person’s house but found no news of such a man. Others, however, repeated, ‘But he’s lodging with such-a-body’, and off they went there. But he was not to be found in that place, either. Thus they made their way through the streets, tirelessly asking one another who had first told them the news. After spending a great deal of time on this, their tumult subsided. Indeed, they regarded it as a good beginning and carried on with their prayers and devotions on behalf of the state and defence of the realm. Every day in the churches they chanted the devout prayer Salve Regina in honour and praise of the Mother of God. Since the Tuesday was her feast-day, many people were present in the city’s cathedral that evening, ready to intone the Salve Regina, as was their custom. At this moment, there arrived a youth named João Martins Cozinho, who lived in Alenquer and who announced to the city folk that they should be overjoyed and acknowledge as a certainty that the king, their great lord, had entered the field of battle against the King of Castile, and that there he had routed and vanquished him. On hearing this, the people were so joyous that it would be impossible to describe it. So great was their happiness that they hesitated to believe it, firstly because the message had come so swiftly, though the field of battle lay 22 leagues away, and secondly because the extent of their good fortune led them still to think it could not be true. Once the prolonged hubbub had died down, all of them, in their immense happiness, set about what they had assembled to do: shedding tears [of gladness], they completed their devotions and then went back home. Next day, on Wednesday, very early in the morning, a man appeared from a place known for its threshing floors, which lies 3 leagues from the city, near the mouth of the Tagus. His name was Martim Mealha, and he brought definite news that, after his defeat, the King of Castile had arrived that night at Pero Afán’s nao and that he had seen him, because he, Martim Mealha, was a prisoner aboard that ship, and, amid the confusion when the king arrived, he had managed to escape. This news redoubled everybody’s pleasure, for they now firmly believed what they had previously doubted. That very day they organised a general procession, in which they all walked barefoot, men and women, clergy and friars. In the procession they bore aloft the image of Saint George with the greatest honour possible. They arrived at the Church of Santa Maria da Escada,112 where mass was celebrated, and where homilies were preached, before they returned contentedly to their homes. Thus, whereas in Seville and throughout Castile there was much lamentation and great sobbing, in Lisbon and throughout the realm there was immense pleasure and jubilation.

112 See

Chapter 41, note 95, above.



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Chapter 48

How Lisbon’s inhabitants went to receive the flags which the king sent them, and concerning the homily that a friar preached

A

mong the noble objects that were found in the battle, there were also found others of little intrinsic value yet which were highly prized, namely the flags and banners of the King of Castile and of the great lords and captains who accompanied him. Of these, King Juan had brought four displaying his undifferenced arms, that is to say castles and lions, impaled with those of Portugal, placed on the side of the flagpole, as we have already indicated113 – and that was because he called himself king of both kingdoms. These were found among his baggage. Indeed, these four flags, along with another one which was captured on the field of battle, were sent to Lisbon by the King of Portugal, as well as two of the King of Castile’s pennants. One of these bore his personal emblem of a field vert, bearing a falcon in abyss holding a scroll with a motto displaying the French words En bon point.114 The other was fully taken up with two bars, one or and one argent, and several people who saw it asserted that this meant that King Juan was the liege lord of two kingdoms, the gold representing Castile, whereas the silver represented Portugal. When the city folk learned that the king was sending them these highly prized artefacts, they were extremely pleased. They made their way out of the city to receive them, all armed and in a great procession. Then they took them to where the King of Castile had pitched his encampment, when previously he had laid siege to the city, because it was in full view of the enemy fleet. A flag bearing the arms of Portugal was borne aloft at the front, whereas, one after the other, the remaining flags and banners were trailed along the ground. When they marched directly opposite the ships and galleys, they joyfully hooted at them as loudly as they could. They then proceeded to the cathedral, where the flags and banners were due to be placed. There they listened to a homily from Friar Pedro of the Franciscan Order, who was a great theological scholar and renowned as a fine preacher. He took the following text as the theme of his sermon: A Domino factum est istud et est mirabile in oculis nostris, or, in the vernacular, ‘This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.’115 He began with a warning that the full meaning of his theme 113 In CKJ1, Chapter 66. See also Chapter 55 for the earlier attempt of the King of Castile to proclaim his entitlement to the crown of Portugal by displaying the arms of Portugal below his own. 114 I.e. in excellent condition. 115 Psalm 118. 23.

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would emerge only gradually, through the arguments advanced in his sermon; however, leaving aside the texts that he quoted, we can summarise the basic sense of it as follows: After he had sagely explained what was a miracle, a marvel, and a sign, arguing each point at length and making much use of scriptural texts, and had shown that the things the Pharaoh’s sorcerers did were not miracles but marvels, he then began to relate, from many places in the Bible, the ancient marvels which God had worked on behalf of the children of Israel. An example was when they had to cross the river Jordan, with Joshua, their guide and leader, saying to them. ‘Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’116 Then he related the tale of what happened. He also told them how Joshua had discovered the ruse of five kings, who with their armies had laid siege to the city of Gibeon, and how God had sent down hailstones, from which many more died than from the sword.117 He told the story of the people of Midian and Amalek, how they crossed the Jordan to fight against the children of Israel, and how Gideon with no more than 300 men had slain that entire people, who were like grasshoppers for multitude.118 He narrated similar other stories to support his argument in the first part of his sermon. And he said: So, then, as we have seen a number of marvels that God worked in times gone by on behalf of the Jewish people, let us now examine whether in our present times he has performed any on our behalf and whether they are “marvellous in our eyes”, as our text proclaims. We shall most certainly find that he has. Not only has he worked marvels, but also he has prophesied them in advance through the mouths of certain people, showing a sign of what was to come. Consider just how this has happened. Let us not concern ourselves with a number of matters which men are in the habit of calling miracles but which are nothing of the kind, for example the plague which beset the Castilians, when this city lay under siege, yet which never infected anybody within the walls, despite the encampment being so close by. Now that we are talking of marvels, it was indeed a marvel that, neither in the encampment nor in the fleet, not one of the captive Portuguese fell ill while such a death toll struck the Castilians. Yet they maliciously put the captives with those who were plague-stricken so that they would die alongside them, but, thank God, not one of them was infected. Let us not concern ourselves with the domain into which the Portuguese squire Gomes Rodrigues entered in his contention with the other squire, belonging to the King of Castile, over whether, when King Juan had laid siege to this city, the conflict between the two of them could prove whether 116 Joshua

3. 5. 10. 1–11. 118 Judges 7. 12. 117 Joshua



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the cause to which we had committed ourselves was just or not–nor yet with the fact that the Castilian squire was killed, and Gomes Rodrigues not even wounded. Nor am I speaking about the youths who went out to greet the king on his visit to Coimbra when he was still the Master, when they all cried out, “For Portugal, Portugal! Welcome to our king!” That is because people will say that they were put up to it. Nor am I taking into account the lad whose horse dragged him away by the stirrup in the presence of the King of Castile, when he was leaving Leiria for the battle, a horse which they did not manage to catch or kill until the lad himself was completely dead. Nor do I concern myself with the news announced here at the very time when the battle was won and which stirred up this city so much; nor with those devout servants of God who some say went to aid the Portuguese; nor with the white doves which, they say, on the day of the battle were seen hovering above the flag of our liege lord the king. That is because some of these matters have no reliable authors, and because others may say that they were invented, or are wont to happen and therefore are not marvels at all. However, let us relate those cases which are true and which cannot be gainsaid. Let us consider, therefore, who it was who told Friar João da Barroca, our neighbour who lives nearby, to tell the king, when he addressed him while still the Master, not to leave the kingdom, for it was God’s pleasure that he should be its king and liege lord? What about the swordsmith of Santarém who tempered the sword of Nuno Álvares, when he went there at the beginning of these events: how did it come about that he told him that he wanted no payment for the sword, but that when he came back as the Count of Ourém, he could then pay him for his work? Who so influenced the mouth of the daughter of Estêvão Eanes Derreado, a citizen of Évora – a baby girl no more than eight months old and lying in her cradle – causing her to sit up three times and to proclaim, with her hand raised, “For Portugal, Portugal, for King João”? What can we say about the tale told by the noble lord Nuno Álvares Pereira, the constable of this realm, about the lance which he saw flying through the air on the day the battle was won and how it struck the knight who he thought was his brother, at once knocking him to the ground, and who was never seen again, nor found on the battlefield, nor beyond it, as you have all already heard? Assuredly we can say what our theme states, namely that all these things were brought about by Almighty God and are marvellous in our eyes. Let me also tell you that, if we wish to consider these events carefully, you will find that the King of Castile chose the king, our liege lord, when still the Master, to be King of Portugal, and granted him the rights which he held in the kingdom; moreover, God has confirmed him in this. Consider just how: it is true that, if the King of Castile had kept the treaties in accordance with the conditions set down in them and if he had not set about entering the kingdom before the time duly arranged, then it would never have occurred to the people to make him ruler or king. Later he could have sent his wife to this country and gradually could have softened the people’s hearts, in such a way that perchance he might have seized the kingdom quite soon afterwards, as was his great wish, for the people were uncertain about making anyone king or ruler over them.

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In great haste, however, much earlier than he ought to have done, the King of Castile entered the realm, as if to fulfil as a prophecy the advice given to Vasco Martins de Melo when the king first invaded this kingdom and lodged at that time in Guarda. A number of town councillors arrived there to talk to the king about his arrival. Present there was also Vasco Martins de Melo, chief cup-bearer to the queen, his wife; he was a native Portuguese but a supporter of the Castilians by inclination, as he revealed by his deeds. One day, as he was keen to tell them things which would persuade them to accept the king’s great wish, he sent them all invitations to dine with him. While they were eating, from time to time they discussed the king’s arrival and the manner of his invasion, for it seemed strange to them that he should break the treaties without offering any reason why, and they maintained that it were best if he returned to his own country and avoided breaking the treaties in that way. They also advanced other arguments, with which they took up the entire meal. Once dinner was over, Vasco Martins de Melo spoke to them as follows: ‘Let’s not dwell on such matters, for I ask you to tell me who will prevent my liege lord the king from being King of Portugal, for that is his right.’ He thought they would answer, ‘The Master will prevent him, because he is charged with ruling and defending the realm.’ But they came out with other bland answers, which he did not like, and to which he kept on replying, ‘Let’s leave aside such issues and confront what I’m saying. I’m asking you to tell me who will prevent my lord the king from being King of Portugal, for that is his right.’ This he said so many times and so loudly that eventually one of them answered him and said, ‘Who will prevent him? Who will prevent him? Why, God will prevent him, for He will be able to do more than he can.’ And thus it has turned out, for when Almighty God saw his evil intentions and perverse attitude, on the day of that great battle He wrested from him both his honour and the kingdom and gave it to the king our liege lord, who truly deserved it owing to his virtues and chivalrous courage, for that is marvellous in our eyes. Moreover, if we wish to ponder on how this is a marvel, we shall find that it is so in a variety of ways, not only on the part of Almighty God, but also on the part of men. This I shall keep brief, so that we can get away! A marvel on God’s part is like this: every day we see that victory in battle is a dubious and frightening issue, even when the armies are evenly balanced in numbers; yet when we see that one side has more and better troops, reason tells us that they are bound to be the winners. Nevertheless, when things turn out differently, we say that it is God’s work. If we were to say that the Portuguese were equal to the Castilians in numbers and equipment, that would be like saying darkness were equal to light, for the Castilians are great in numbers and well equipped, in arms and armour, in horses and in any other relevant items. The Portuguese are very much the opposite, for, quite apart from their small numbers and some of them being advanced in years, they were poorly and badly accoutred, because where one had a haubergeon he had no jupon, and where one had a paunce he had no vambraces, and because many of



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them wore bascinets without visors. Consequently, if all their armour had been properly distributed, it would not have armed one third of the army, so much so that those who saw them say that our troops in comparison with theirs could only seem an object for scorn. With their being so few and so badly equipped, what was it that made them dare to do battle with such a vast and well-accoutred army? Why, it was the steadfast hope which they had in Almighty God and His Blessed Mother, believing, as is true, that they were correct and had every right to defend their land against those who wanted forcibly to wrest it from them; moreover, they did it to preserve the honour of Holy Church. In other words, let us not say that to vanquish such immense encampments of soldiers was a work of human strength, for it was the outcome of divine judgement, whose pleasure it was that it be so, and it is greatly marvellous in our eyes. Besides, if anybody says the opposite in order to belittle what I say, asserting that the king our liege lord merely awaited them at that time quaking with fear, being unable to do anything else, and therefore does not merit the praise about which I am preaching, what happened was very much to the contrary, and the praise he earned is thereby all the greater. Just as, in other times, Moses, the guide of the people of the Jews, sent forth spies into the Promised Land to discover what people were there and what they were like,119 similarly the noble King João, the guide of the Portuguese, first gave orders that the Castilian hosts be reconnoitred, in order to discover what they were like and how they were equipped. Nevertheless, though he was told for certain about the huge multitude of the enemy force, about its strength and vast accoutrement, he refused to be alarmed at this. Rather, as a great lord of immense courage and lofty daring, he told the messenger to keep quiet about it, the better to encourage his men. Therefore, I can make so bold as to describe him and the constable his loyal companion, who knew about this, in the words commended by Holy Writ, where it proclaims: ‘Let us now praise famous men from the beginning of the world, great in virtue and wise in ruling their people, and who, earning renown in their days, deserved to be praised; and the seed of their children shall endure from generation to generation.’120 Thus, for the praise and great renown they have earned, our king and his constable should forever shine brightly among the kings and princes of the world. Nor let it be said either that they vanquished and routed them by some extraordinary ruse, for in the battle there was no resort on their part to any new tactic that had never been employed in former times. However, the Castilians, despite their vast numbers, even brought to bear a line of cannons and bombards, with which they cruelly began to fire [at our men]. Yet, though he knew of this, and with all the Portuguese noblemen in the vanguard advancing, grimly determined to fight with honour, our noble and courageous king showed no fear in the face of this arrogant and overweening 119 Numbers

13. Fernão Lopes is paraphrasing Ecclesiasticus or the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, 44. 1–15. 120 Here

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contempt. Instead, they all called on the Mother of God and on the blessed martyr Saint George, as, like wild lions, they began to confront those two battalions launched against them, one of [renegade] Portuguese and one of Castilians. They fought the enemy till they could do no more and in a very short space of time they gave fortune its chance. The King of Castile, who was watching how his men were fighting, when once he saw them turn tail and his standard brought to the ground, was both alarmed and terror-stricken at such a vast army being slaughtered in such a brief hour before his very eyes. Then he hastily mounted up and fled, making his way straight along the road, poorly accompanied by his men, and took refuge in Santarém. Oh, what a great marvel this was, what a judgement was delivered by Almighty God, that a man who led such a vast multitude of soldiers and thought he could lay waste this land and seize this realm, which was not his, should flee from it in dishonour and as fast as it was possible to run! As for the Portuguese, they earned from their enemies such honour, fame, and noble renown as great longevity will never erase from our memories! Accordingly, if you consider all these things wisely and sensibly, you will find that they were all the work of our Lord God, marvellous in our eyes. Therefore, I can say unto you: Oh, city of Lisbon and realm of Portugal, what gratitude and praise could you give to your God in return for such marvels and benefits as these, which, however many praises and thanks there might number and however much you might redouble them, would prevent you from seeming ungrateful? We are certainly unequal to that, owing to our multitudinous sins. Who, then, will give such thanks and praise on our behalf, if human praises are unequal to this? Let His saints give Him thanks, let His angels praise Him, and may the ranks of the powerful, to whom this most pertains, declare in the name of all of you: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, the image of God the Father, powerful in virtue and mighty in battle, we give Thee many thanks and praises for the infinite compassion which Thou deignedst to show for the Portuguese on the day of their great travail, and for granting them the honour of victory over the wrath of their cruel enemies! We humbly beseech Thee, in Thy Majesty, to keep this devoted city of Thine and the realm beyond it, its helper, forever in Thy grace and protection, as its captain and fortress.’ On which account, in oft-repeated prayers, let us say what we say habitually, ‘May the Immaculate Lamb receive glory and praise, blessing and power, grandeur and exaltation in every tongue and from every nation, both now and for ever and ever. Amen.’121

After the people had listened to this homily, shedding tears and sobbing, a solemn mass was said, and then they strung the flags on ropes across the nave of the cathedral.

121 Fernão

Lopes was presumably familiar with the prayer that the Friar invites the congregation to join him in saying, but it remains unidentified. It seems to relate most clearly to Revelations 7. 12 (the petition) while verses 9–10 refer to the Lamb.



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Chapter 49

Concerning the everlasting vows taken by the city in commemoration of this battle

O

n the day after this homily, the city’s high-ranking residents, as well as others from the people, all assembled in the council chamber, which was where their affairs were normally discussed. Present there were numerous learned men, along with other religious figures from local monasteries. They discussed the great benefits and many favours which they had received up to that point, amid all their strife and tribulations, from Almighty God and His Blessed Mother. Indeed, they had received them in unimagined ways and without deserving them, and this most recent benefit which the Lord God had conferred on all of them they judged worthy to be commemorated in a very special way. Even though in such a case few comparisons were relevant, they nevertheless related from ancient times those instances which for the moment they were able to recall. In particular, Friar Pedro, who had preached the day before, told them how the Jews and the Gentiles, to commemorate victories over their enemies, organised festivities and erected temples to the gods in which they believed, adding that the commemoration which ought to be made needed to be carried out in such a way that it could never sink into oblivion, especially as it was a tribute of necessity owed to Almighty God. Among other examples he told them how Hezekiah, when he defeated King Sennacherib,122 even though he offered sacrifices to God, failed to sing unto the Lord a new song,123 as was the practice in such cases. For that reason, God had struck him with such a grave sickness that he remained ill until he died. By contrast, after their victory, when Judas Maccabaeus defeated the vast army of Lysias,124 despite the small numbers in his own force, his men blessed and praised the Lord God for granting them such a successful outcome and held festivities for a whole week. Judas commanded them to celebrate the victory with great rejoicing every year of his life. ‘Thus, by following such an example’, said Friar Pedro, ‘as well as others I’ve mentioned, let us fulfil the prophet’s advice when he tells us in the psalm to “Sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvellous things.” Otherwise, we would greatly err against God, falling into that base and vile sin called ingratitude, if we were not to commemorate in a new and solemn fashion such an immense marvel and benefit.’ 122 II Kings 19. 35–6; Isaiah 37. 36–7 and 38. 1 & 20. In fact, Friar Pedro’s account is a distortion: Isaiah’s counsel led to Hezekiah’s recovery. 123 Psalm 98 (97). 1. 124 I Maccabees 4.

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Then they decided that, just as it had pleased Almighty God and His Blessed Mother to confer on the king such a great and outstanding victory on the eve of the Virgin’s most solemn feast-day, at the hour in which throughout the entire kingdom Her praises were sung, thenceforth and forever, in that week of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, the whole city should gather together in three processions, one after another. The first would be made, barefoot, to the Monastery of the Trindade, and after the sermon three masses would be sung in honour of the Holy Trinity. The second would be made, likewise barefoot, to the altar of the Saviour at the Monastery of São Francisco, and after the sermon five masses would be celebrated in praise of the five wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the third procession everyone would assemble and make their way, fully shod, to the chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Grace in the Monastery of Santo Agostinho; this would take place with all the solemnity and festive ritual that it was their practice to carry out on Corpus Christi Day; after the sermon seven sung masses would be celebrated in honour of the seven joys of the Virgin Mary. They also decided that on the feast-day of Saint Vincent, the city’s principal patron saint, by whose prayers to God they considered themselves to be greatly assisted, a procession should take place in the cathedral church to the spot where his body lies, and there every guild should present a holy candle to him. Similarly, another procession of honour should be enacted on the feast-day of Saint George the Martyr, advancing to his church in recognition of his great courage and the appeals to his name on the field of battle. These devotions, which they decided to carry out in their time, were at once written and set down in statutes which they promised to keep forever. Such, then, was the way in which the very noble city of Lisbon, in its concern for the well-being of the kingdom, decreed the commemoration of such great favours and benefits as in that battle everyone had received from Almighty God.

Chapter 50

How Santarém was abandoned by the Castilians, and how its inhabitants expressed their allegiance to the King of Portugal

Y

ou have already heard125 how the Master of the Order of Christ, as well as Prior Álvaro Gonçalves and Rodrigo Álvares [Pereira], the constable’s brother, were taken prisoner at the Battle of Torres Novas and were being 125 In

CKJ1, Chapter 170.



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held in the castle of Santarém. When the King of Castile arrived at midnight, as we mentioned, and when they heard excited voices stating that the battle had been lost, and how he was a fugitive, they were perplexed, not knowing how the king wished to proceed with regard to the defence of the town and their own imprisonment. That was because they knew that the king held this town in high esteem, as was quite right, higher, indeed, than any other town which had declared for him. This was so much the case that, when Diego Gómez Sarmiento, its governor and principal officer of the marches in Estremadura, made his way to join the king in Leiria, where he then was, in order to accompany him into battle, the king said to none of those present what he said to him with a stern face and in the presence of everyone, ‘What’s this, Diego Gómez? What have you come to do here, and why have you left Santarém like this?’ ‘Sire’, he replied, ‘I’ve come to serve you and to be present wherever you are.’ ‘Go back’, said the king, ‘I’m displeased that the town is left without you [to guard it].’ ‘Please don’t tell me to go back’, he replied, ‘because the town is well protected, and I would not consider myself a nobleman, nor would anyone else, with the knowledge that my king would be going into battle, even very far away, if I were able to get there and yet did not go to join him – and all the more so, with me being as close as I was. Let me tell you that to do otherwise would be a shortcoming of which I am not capable.’ The king made no answer to this, but his face showed displeasure. Whereas the master and the prior knew very well that the King of Castile valued this town, they were unaware whether it suited him to remain there, notwithstanding his defeat, or whether he would leave it well defended, as it was the front line of his invasion. Likewise, they were uncertain about their own imprisonment, wondering whether the king would order their execution out of vexation at losing the battle, or whether he would order their captivity to be made harsher, or whether he would take them to Castile just as they were. Consequently, with these and other similar thoughts they were unable to sleep that night, at such a juncture, not knowing whether the king would be leaving nor in what circumstances. Before the king went down to the riverside,126 Rodrigo Álvarez [de Santoyo] told him that, since it was his wish to leave at once, he wished to accompany him, for he saw no point in staying in the town to defend it at that time with the few troops that he had available. He added that this was especially the case with so many Portuguese being there, for, though they had declared for him, the great encouragement deriving from the battle would very soon lead

126 To

cross the Tagus en route back to Castile.

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them to change sides. He would be lost, and the town, and all those in his company. However, if the king were to choose to stay, he would help him to defend the town unto death, but if he were to leave there and then, he would immediately leave with him. The king declared that it was inappropriate for Rodrigo Álvarez to stay there, for he did not consider it to be a point of honour. Rodrigo Álvarez then requested him, since that was so, to relieve him of the duty of protecting the town. Recognising this, the king absolved him of that duty and told him to bring with him, on his departure, the Master of the Order of Christ, Prior Álvaro Gonçalves, Rodrigo Álvares [Pereira] and Gonçalo Eanes Vieira. He replied that he could not take such people with him, because they were men on whose account some Portuguese might cause him harm, or even, perchance, they themselves might kill him. ‘If that’s the case’, said the king, ‘then the Devil take them! Just leave them!’ With which, the king departed. It came to pass that Gonzalo Núñez de Guzmán, the Master of Alcántara, had been present in the battle with certain light horsemen, fighting with those in the baggage train, as we said.127 After he realised that the battle was lost, and that they were all scattering as best they could, he hurried off after the king, along with many horsemen who believed they would be safer with him. Owing to the great haste of this retreat, many of the fugitives’ horses baulked, and so they decapitated them, lest they should be of use to the Portuguese. As for the weaponry which they could not carry, they slung it round their necks, in the quite reasonable belief that, as Santarém had declared for Castile, they would find a welcome refuge there. The master reached Santarém late in the morning; there he learned that the king had left and in what manner, and so he delayed there no longer, crossed the Tagus and headed for Castile. Rodrigo Álvarez [de Santoyo] and Gómez Pérez de Valderrábano, who were in charge of the town’s two castles, on seeing the master [of Alcántara] passing through as he did, and that all those who were fleeing the battle were accompanying him for greater safety, left the town themselves and went after him. So too did all the horsemen in the town who learned of this and were in a position to do so. Consequently, the people jeered at those accompanying the master, who amounted to some 3,000 on horseback, not including many who left on foot. It is no surprise that there were so many of them, for in Santarém, there were more horsemen, men-at-arms, foot soldiers and crossbowmen than in any other town in the country. Of the Castilians who escaped from the battle each man fled as best he could. However, most of them made their way to Santarém for two reasons. The first was that they believed the town was on the side of Castile, and that it was a place where they could be safe and find welcome refuge for themselves

127 In

Chapter 45 above.



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and their animals. The second was that they believed, quite rightly, that the King of Castile had passed that way and wherever their liege lord was, they ought to be too. That was why so many fled via Santarém. When the prior and the master [of the Order of Christ] realised that Rodrigo Álvarez and Gómez Pérez were departing in that way, they strove to break the chains, which nobody had removed from them. Others say that the chains were released before their departure, and that they exchanged promises to act honourably. Whichever was the case, the prior, who was more experienced in warfare, immediately told the master that it was advisable to place a guard on the town’s gates, to prevent the Castilians who were fleeing the battle from seeking refuge there. Therefore, very early that morning, they hastened to the gates, bearing aloft a banner. Many Portuguese, as well as Jews and Moors who dwelt there in their midst, began to shout at the top of their voices, ‘For Portugal, Portugal! For King João! Death to the treacherous schismatic Castilians!’ As for the Castilians, when they heard this battle cry, which they were unaccustomed to hear, and believing that King João or Nuno Álvares were entering the town, they started to flee, though they knew not whither. The hurly-burly was immense, and in a whirlwind of confusion they fled, some of them over walls, others down a variety of routes, each man as best he could. Those who did not have time to get dressed, scurried into the churches in order to have a better chance of escaping [retribution] there. They did things this way, because few knew about the arrival of the King of Castile, or the nature of his departure, or about the departure of the governor while all of them lay unprotected in their beds. The Portuguese slew some of them, as many as they could, but they busied themselves in the main with looting what property of theirs they could find; not just the men, but also the women helped to steal from them and seize them. As a result, from those who fled from the battle, as well as from those [Castilians] who were in the town, they stole a vast amount of booty. As for the town, it declared its allegiance to the King of Portugal.

Chapter 51

How the king arrived at Santarém and dispatched back to their own country the Castilians he found there

T

he king left the monastery [of Alcobaça] and arrived at Santarém, which lay 10 leagues away, and found the town rid of such Castilians as could cause him trouble, though many others still remained there. The Master of the Order of Christ, the prior [Álvaro Gonçalves] and Rodrigo Álvares [Pereira], as well as all the other people of the town came out to welcome him with

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immense pleasure and joy, and they all gave profuse thanks to Almighty God for granting him such a blessed victory, by which He had delivered them from the power of their enemies. On his arrival, the king lodged in the castle. He found out that all the churches and monasteries were full of troops from Castile and that they dared not emerge for fear they would be killed. That was in addition to many who were taken prisoner, over 1,000 people, and whose thirst they could not quench, since the water supply came from a distant and rocky source. Instead, chained and roped together like dogs, these captives were taken down to drink from the Tagus. One day, when a numerous gang of them, in chains, was coming up the street, returning from having a drink of water, they encountered Fernando Álvares, a comptroller of finances in the royal household, whose name we have mentioned from time to time. One of them, who was a knight, addressed him, ‘My lord, we’ve been told that you’re an honourable man with a respected position in the household of the king, your liege lord. We beg you to persuade him either to have us put to death or fed, because we’re all starving.’ On hearing of this, the king sent for the town’s officials, whose concern this was, and told them that at the very least they should be given bread (for they could not be given anything else), lest they starve. It was found, however, that this could not be done owing to the scarcity of [food] supplies, brought about by the lengthy duration of the war. ‘As for me’, said the king, ‘neither could I willingly agree to see them all die of hunger. I’d rather send them back to their own country.’ Then, setting aside all vengeance which he could exact from them, he gave orders that nobody should harm them but that they should be released and allowed to go back to their own parts of Castile. An exception was Pero López de Ayala,128 an honourable knight and a highly respected Castilian nobleman who, adopting the guise of an ordinary man, had fled with others to Santarém, where every day he received alms along with those whom the aged Countess Guiomar129 ordered to be fed out of the pity she had for them. One of the men who took the alms to them recognised him and told the countess. She gave orders for him to come and see her, but he made all manner of excuses to avoid doing so, dissembling as much as he could to escape this. When he realised that he was being forced to go, on the way there he revealed himself to his escort, promising them riches and honours, as well he could, urging them to go with him to Castile instead of taking him to the countess, because he feared what later befell him.130 The men escorting Pero López discussed his proposal at length but did not agree to it and handed him over to her. 128 See

Chapter 35, note 66, above. was the widow of Count João Afonso Telo. 130 He was held captive by the Portuguese for about two and a half years, mostly in the castles of Óbidos and Leiria. 129 She



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When she recognised him, she was delighted, owing to the immense profit that might ensue from holding such a personage. After she had placed him under a secure guard, the king found out about it and requested her to hand him over. But she begged the king to favour her by granting Pero López to her, so as to receive in return for him recompense for the damage inflicted on her property by the Castilians in Santarém. The king replied that this could not be done, because it was his intention to exchange him for [Portuguese] prisoners held in Castile. Thus he refused to grant him to her, which much aggrieved the countess. The king left Pedro de Castro to the Gascons who had taken him prisoner, because there was no profit to be had from him, even if he had wished to buy him from them, for he had taken all his possessions, as you have already heard131 and, therefore, there was nothing to be done with him. Two prisoners fled to Castile with Dom Pedro, who promised to give them 2,000 doblas each, yet they were poorly rewarded for their pains, for he did not have the wherewithal to give them anything. A number of other Castilians were at that time detained by certain Portuguese, but these were so few as to be of little significance. As for the great bulk of them, the king ordered that they be freely allowed to go, considering that choosing not to take vengeance when the opportunity arose was the greatest vengeance of all. Not only did he exercise this act of kindness, but he also charged a number of Portuguese, who wanted to leave for the areas near to the border where they lived, men such as Gonçalo Eanes of Castelo de Vide and several others, with taking those Castilians along and not allowing any harm to befall them. Accordingly, at this juncture we can truly say that, if certain princes of yore are praised for not taking vengeance, men such as Honorius, Vespasian132 and others, thereby accounting them as highly virtuous, a large measure of such praise is due to the noble King João. That is because he could have avenged himself blamelessly on the enemies who had come to destroy and kill him, had they been able, but the noble nature of his charity led him to treat them with amity and compassion, not just in sparing their lives, but also in not subjecting them to servitude, or in not seeking a great ransom for them, which at that time could have been exacted. Similarly, he sent for several Portuguese ladies who were there in Santarém 131 In fact, though the capture of Pedro de Castro is recorded in Chapter 45 above, no reference is made to the sequestration of his possessions. 132 The 5th-century child-emperor Honorius responded with clemency to appeals from both Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine. Honorius sometimes referred to himself in documents as ‘my Clemency’. The first-century emperor, Vespasian, was best-known in late medieval Iberia for his largely legendary role in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem – not one in which clemency particularly featured. Nonetheless, Suetonius lists it among his virtues.

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and whose husbands had sided with Castile, some of whom had died in the battle. Such were Inês Afonso, the wife of Gonçalo Vasques de Azevedo; Doña Sancha, the daughter of Juan Fernández Andeiro and wife of Álvaro Gonçalves, the son of the aforesaid Gonçalo Vasques; Countess Maria, who had been the wife of Count Álvaro Pérez de Castro; and other ladies. He asked them what their intentions were or what they wished to do. They answered that they would do whatever he wished. The king uttered a number of comments on this matter and then said to the wife of Gonçalo Vasques, ‘Tell me, Inês Afonso, in what Burgos or in what Córdoba was Gonçalo Vasques born for him to ally himself with the Castilians instead of with the Portuguese?’ ‘He was born for a very great misfortune that awaited him’, she answered, ‘and that was what led him to an evil death.’ ‘Then may you too die an evil death’, said the king, ‘for you killed both your husband and your son.’ This he said because he knew that on her account they had sided with the King of Castile. ‘Sire’, she retorted, ‘I’ve never seen or heard of a woman who willingly killed her husband or her son.’ ‘That’s enough!’ said the king. ‘Let’s not discuss this any further. If you all wish to go to Castile, then go. But if you all wish to stay, then stay.’ Their answer was that they wished to go. Then the king gave them safe conduct and commanded that no harm should befall them. Some of them boarded the Castilian fleet, which still lay off Lisbon, and left by sea; others later left by land, which was what Countess Beatriz did, who had been the wife of the Count of Barcelos, and Dona Maior Portocarreiro, who had been the wife of the Count of Viana, who was killed near Penela,133 as is recorded in its due place.

Chapter 52

How the king gave the constable the county of Ourém and other places, and how the constable paid the swordsmith for the sword which he had tempered for him

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hile the king was in Santarém, as we have indicated, this great blessing which God had vouchsafed to him did not bring about any change in his personality; where previously he had been companionable and generous to his men, so very much more so was he after the battle, revealing to everybody

133 See

Chapter 22 above.



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that fondness and warm welcome which till then he had habitually shown in any matters that required them. He immediately gave the castle to Vasco Martins de Melo, to whom were handed over Count Gonçalo and his son, Aires Gonçalves [de Figueiredo] and others. He raised in rank many of those who had taken his part, not only those whom he had recently dubbed knights, but also others whom we shall not bother to name, granting them lands, possessions and property. Moreover, he granted them large gifts of money from his personal treasury, both to those who were wounded in the battle and to others who were not, without there being any other document or decree requiring that they should receive such monies. In addition, if he distributed such property in this kingdom as was owned by some monastery in Castile, as was the case with the Monastery of Sancti Spiritus [el Real] in Toro and others of that kind, he instructed that in the relevant charter it be stated that, since the King of Castile and all his native Castilians were subject to the excommunication decreed by the Pope in Rome,134 to whom he, King João, owed obedience, then they thereby lost all claim to the property which they had in his kingdom of Portugal, and he could give it away. Among all those whom the king was keen to reward with higher rank was Nuno Álvares Pereira, his noble constable and most faithful servant. Talking with him privately one day, he told him that it was his wish and intention, in view of the many remarkable services which he had done him and which he hoped to continue to receive, to raise his standing in name, income and the dignity of honourable rank. Moreover, since he was his official constable in the wars fought to defend the realm, thenceforth it was his pleasure that he should also become the count of a certain county, which he at once wished to grant him in accordance with what he had already discussed with him. Nuno Álvares replied to this very calmly and bowing low, declaring that he considered it a very great favour but that it was not his wish to accept such an honour and high rank, unless the king first promised him that during his lifetime he would raise no one else to the rank of count, for otherwise he would not wish to be a count. The king answered that he was very happy to agree to this and undertook to do as requested. He then made him Count of Ourém in the normal way,135 granting him all the revenue, lands and townships which Juan Fernández Andeiro, whose county it had been, had possessed at the time of his death. He also gave him Borba and Vila Viçosa, Estremoz and Evoramonte, Portel and Montemor-o-Novo, Almada and Sacavém (along with its royal estates and the royal services owed by the Jews of Lisbon), Porto de Mós and Rabaçal, Bouças and Alvaiázere, the regions of Pena and Basto, 134 Urban VI, as opposed to the ‘Antipope’ Clement VII in Avignon, to whom Castile had declared obedience. 135 Even before this point in the chronicle, the author has been referring to Nuno Álvares indifferently as ‘the count’ or ‘the constable’.

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Arco de Baúlhe and the region of Barroso, as well as granting him all the revenue and dues belonging to the king in the towns of Silves and Loulé in the kingdom of the Algarve. Indeed, it was said by those who witnessed it that this was the richest and most bountiful gift which any king in the Spanish Peninsula had ever bestowed on a vassal with whom he had no family ties, for they calculated that the income from these fortified townships and rolling plains went beyond 16,000 dobras. Now it so happened, as we mentioned in its due place,136 that, when Nuno Álvares reached Santarém in the company of his brother the prior, at the beginning of these events and before Count Juan Fernández was slain, he had ordered his sword to be tempered by a swordsmith. Once it had been tempered just as he wished, the swordsmith refused payment, even though Nuno Álvares was very anxious that he be paid forthwith, but said that, whensoever he returned as the Count of Ourém, he could then pay him for his work, to which he agreed. This swordsmith was a man of noble character but had very friendly relations with the Castilians who were in Santarém, as though he were not a Portuguese, for which reason the townsfolk called him a schismatic, as was their practice with sundry others. Therefore, when the king arrived at Santarém, a certain squire was not lacking in comments which he made about this swordsmith and which led the king to grant him all the swordsmith’s possessions and indeed his very person as his prisoner. When his wife saw that her husband’s possessions had been confiscated and that he had been flung into prison, she went to the constable’s lodgings and reminded him of what had been agreed when he tempered his sword, refusing for the time being any payment until such time as he returned as the Count of Ourém. She added that, since it had pleased God that he was now the Count of Ourém, and since her husband was a prisoner and his possessions had been confiscated, he had sent her to entreat of him that, in payment for the sword which he had tempered for him before these events, he should persuade the king to have him released and hand back his property which had been confiscated as a result of false information. The count remembered well all that had happened, mounted up at once and went to see the king, telling him what had been settled between him and the swordsmith and pleading with him, so that he, Nuno Álvares, could be discharged from his debt and obligation, to order the release of the swordsmith and the restitution of his possessions. The king was very happy to do this, and the swordsmith was immediately set free and his property was handed back to him. Thus his prophecy was fulfilled, a prophecy greatly cherished by all those who talked of it.

136 In

CKJ1, Chapter 36. The source for this episode is the anonymous Estoria de Dom Nuno Alvrez Pereyra, commonly known as the Crónica do Condestabre, possibly written by a close friend shortly after the count passed away.



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Chapter 53

How the count made preparations for the incursion into Castile and how he went about it

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his incursion which the count launched into Castile has not been overlooked by the historians, but what persuaded him to do so immediately, with the victory in that mighty battle still so fresh and tender in men’s eyes, is something about which they disagree. That is because some say that the king, considering that the Castilian fleet would already have left its anchorage off Lisbon, gave orders that the count and Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo, the Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers, and other accompanying knights, along with some 800 lances and 6,000 foot soldiers, should conduct this incursion into Castile. However, we should in no way approve of this viewpoint, because it is unbelievable that at this time the king would pile even more work on the count after the long period in which he had been so busy. Others relate that, since he was the officer of the marches for that region [the Alentejo], the king dispatched him there, and that, while the count was in Évora, he learned that a number of Castilians had furtively entered the country as a raiding party, as a result of which he decided to rectify matters, and that this was the reason for his incursion. We, however, believe that a truer explanation was another objective that he is reported to have had, when they say that the count, being a man of wisdom and preparedness, an expert in the art of war, recognised the great turmoil and confusion in which the King of Castile and people of his realm found themselves at that time. He recognised that, for as long as their anguish at that great defeat lasted, some through having experienced it and others by hearsay, and for as long as they continued to be sadly disheartened and heedless about such a thing [as he intended], then he could meanwhile effect an incursion, much to his own honour, to the service of the realm and also to the benefit of his men. We believe that, when he left for Évora after taking his leave of the king, he went there with this immediate objective. Whatever his intention was, not many days after the victory, at the beginning of September, while the count was in Évora, he summoned troops from around that area, giving them no opportunity to relax, not just men-atarms who, with him, were in a continual state of preparedness, but also foot soldiers, crossbowmen and other worthy soldiers who served in his company. He commanded them all to head for the township called Estremoz, which lies 6 leagues away, where there assembled up to 1,000 lances plus 2,000 foot soldiers and crossbowmen. Moreover, since men of virtue and courage like to consult others, the count discussed matters with those with whom it was his habit to do so. He concluded by remarking that it was his wish to invade

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Castile in the service of the king and the realm, and all agreed that this was the right thing to do. At this point, however, we first need to consider whether he and his men invaded Castile furtively and as secretly as they could, with their enemies [eventually] becoming aware of his advance, or whether they found out about it beforehand and were already prepared when he invaded. It is important that you should note that his courage and daring, which never knew fear, was expressed in the boldest way possible, for he first of all gave orders that the Castilians be alerted, saying that he wished to invade and planned to roam all over their territory. They made ready at once, and all the townships and villages in that region were duly called to arms, for otherwise their liege lords could not have assembled so many troops in such a brief space of time, had they not been alerted in that way. They had three reasons for mustering their forces so swiftly: the first was the message they received from the count, indicating that he wished to invade, for they believed, as was in fact the case, that their honour would be greatly diminished if they did not respond to this in accordance with their duty; the second was that these great Castilian lords had not been present alongside their liege lord in the battle [of Aljubarrota], and now put on a show of great indignation at the outcome, censuring those who had fought in it for not fighting as they should have done, adding that, if they had happened to be there on that occasion, they would have captured both the King of Portugal and his constable; the third was that, since the constable was about to invade their lands, he was revealing his contempt by informing them in advance. For these reasons a vast force was assembled with great lords as their captains, whose names it is appropriate that you should be aware of, to wit, the Count of Niebla, Juan Alfonso de Guzmán; the Count of Medina, Gastón de la Cerda; the Master of Santiago, Pero Muñiz; the Master of Alcántara, [Gonçalo]137 Martim Eanes de Barbuda, a native of Portugal; Fernão Gonçalves and Gonçalo Rodrigues de Sousa, both also Portuguese; the Master of Calatrava, Gonzalo Núñez de Guzmán; Pedro Ponce de León, the Lord of Marchena; Alfonso Fernández de Aguilar; his two brothers, Diego Fernández and Gonzalo Fernández; Martín Fernández Portocarrero, one of the ruling magistrates of Seville, parading the city’s banner and proclaiming throughout the land and all Andalusia that every man able to take up arms should come forward. All these great Castilian lords and their troops were keenly at the 137 Since this is the only instance in the chronicles where ‘Gonçalo’ is associated to the name of Martim Eanes de Barbuda, it may derive from a scribal error in the manuscript used by Entwistle, as suggested by Jorge Almeida by digital correspondence. Barbuda’s predecessor, Gonzalo Núñez de Guzmán, became Master of Calatrava in the same year of 1385, after Aljubarrota. We have taken the liberty of using square brackets to indicate the undue use of the name.



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ready for when the Count made his incursion, declaring, along with further bravado, that they would go and confront him on the border the moment he invaded the realm. Furthermore, when those who had not participated in the battle [of Aljubarrota] revealed their vexation at not doing so, a certain squire present there, Juan de Carranzo by name, spoke up as follows: ‘My lords, you state that you are aggrieved at not taking part in the battle alongside the king, our liege lord, and that, if you had happened to be there, things would have turned out differently and not as they did. Moreover, if that is your view, now is the time to put into effect your noble intentions, for you can be sure that against such a knight [as Nuno Álvares] it is essential for you to be duly warned.’ ‘How do you know that?’ asked the Count of Niebla. ‘I know it because I was present in the battle close to the frontier where the Master of Alcántara was killed.138 At the time I was living in the household of Pero González de Sevilla, who perished there too. As for the recent battle in which the king was present with his vast army, I took part alongside Fernán Pérez, the son of Pero González, who happened to be in the vanguard against Nuno Álvares, who was in charge of the Portuguese vanguard. We were so many, and they were so few, that I truly believe that there were a hundred of us for every one of them, yet our troops did not succeed in driving them back even a single step.’ ‘That pleases me all the more’, said the Count of Niebla. ‘I’d rather confront him than any other man. Would to God that the Master of Avis were alongside him, so I could avenge the dishonour suffered at their hands by my liege lord the king and the whole of Castile.’ Thus the great lords mentioned here and other great captains and knights of the marches, from border areas and their towns and villages, all assembled to await the constable and prevent his invasion.

Chapter 54

How the constable invaded Castile, and how the Master of Alcántara, Martim Eanes de Barbuda, advanced towards him but dared not do battle with him

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hile the constable was preparing to invade and his enemies were in readiness to confront him, the constable left Estremoz for Vila Viçosa, and then made his way to Elvas, bound for Castile. On Monday, 2 October, he 138 Diego

Gómez Barroso, killed at the Battle of Os Atoleiros. See CKJ1, Chapter 95.

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journeyed alongside the River Guadiana, close to the enemy town of Badajoz, 1 league from the border. There he lodged that day, without anybody from that town hindering his approach. While he was setting up his tent, a huge boar appeared in his encampment and was swiftly killed. Everybody was delighted at this, regarding it as a good omen, as is the practice, declaring that some great Castilian lord was bound to die during the invasion, as indeed happened later. Next day the constable left and went to spend the night at Almendral in the Badajoz area, a village of 300 inhabitants situated 6 leagues away from the town. That night there was a mighty commotion among the troops in the camp, as a result of the many wines which they found there. This greatly displeased and worried the constable. The following day, before leaving, he drew up his battle array, with vanguard, rearguard and left and right wings. In the vanguard he placed men on whom he could rely and nobody else. In the rearguard were posted the Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers, along with certain knights and other troops. One of the flanks was led by Gonçalo Eanes of Castelo de Vide, and the other by Martim Afonso de Melo. The baggage train was located in the middle, with foot soldiers and crossbowmen duly drawn up in their places. Thus arrayed, they all advanced at their ease wherever the constable chose. He then left Almendral and arrived at another village, named Parra, located 11 leagues from the border, a very attractive township of 400 inhabitants, lying on a hillside. While he was in that spot, there suddenly arrived in the vicinity the Master of Alcántara, Martim Eanes de Barbuda, who took up his position with 300 lances half a league away in the castle of Feria, showing that he was intent on attacking the pack animals of the [constable’s] army, which were out grazing. The constable immediately emerged from the village, where he was already lodged, accompanied by a small number of his men. He made for the Master of Alcántara [and his lances], but the master chose not to await their onset and took refuge on a high ridge close to the aforesaid castle. The constable left Parra with his forces and made his way to Zafra, which lies 3 leagues away and is a large village of 400 inhabitants. While he was crossing the meadowland which lies between Feria and Zafra, the Master of Alcántara began to advance at speed down from the ridge, where he had been with his troops and many others who had now enhanced his numbers, threatening to attack the constable’s force. On seeing him making his way down, the constable headed uphill to attack him, causing him to turn about abruptly and move more swiftly than when he had begun his descent. He went back to the ridge, taking up a position on the highest point. The constable left Zafra and made his way towards Fuente del Maestre, 2 leagues away, a fortified village with a goodly number of inhabitants, but went past it and other villages and reached Villagarcía, the town of García Fernández, who later became Master of Santiago. There they found the castle undefended, because all the townspeople had fled in fear, leaving behind



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many of their possessions, despite the castle’s great strength, afraid that it would be taken by force. The constable made his way in to see what there was, and they found a huge, very fine cauldron, which the constable ordered to be taken to his kitchen. After it had been there for 17 years, he found out that it had belonged to a parish of São Pedro; for that reason he immediately had it returned from Portel, where it was then, to the place from which it had been seized.

Chapter 55

How the Master of Santiago and the great lords who accompanied him sent a challenge to the constable, and concerning the answer that he gave to it

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trumpeter arrived at the town of Villagarcía with a message for the count from his enemies; he also carried in his hand a bundle of rods. After a courteous reception, he knelt before the count, who was seated, and addressed him as follows: ‘My lord Constable, the Master of Santiago, Pero Muñiz, having heard that you are in his territory and are causing much damage and havoc there, sends you a challenge along with this rod.’ The count answered, saying that he was most welcome, having brought such news, and took the rod in one hand before transferring it to the other, realising that he was going to give him all of them. After he had given him the first rod, the trumpeter spoke again, saying, ‘My lord, the Count of Niebla, Juan Alfonso de Guzmán, having heard that you were advancing through the lands belonging to the king his liege lord, plundering and destroying as you should not do, sends you a challenge along with this rod.’ Then he gave him another rod. Continuing, he said, ‘My lord, the Master of Calatrava, Juan Núñez de Guzmán,139 on learning that you have invaded the territory of the king his liege lord, in order to damage and lay it waste, sends you a challenge along with this rod.’ In this way he gave him all the rods, each one in the name of the respective captain till there were none left. When he had received them all, the count answered him, saying, ‘My friend, you are most welcome in bringing such news as this; indeed, at this time you could not have brought me any other news that would have given me so much pleasure, other than if you were to bring me a challenge from the King of Castile himself. Kindly tell the Master of Santiago, my lord and friend, that I could hardly allow you all to pass through this territory without 139 There

seems to be a clerical error. The Master of Calatrava at this time was Gonzalo Núñez de Guzmán, not Juan.

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joining battle with you. It’s now essential that we should make ready to do just that. As for the man who brought us such welcome news, it’s only right that he should receive a handsome reward.’ He then gave orders that the trumpeter be given 100 dobras, saying, ‘Kindly tell the Master of Santiago, my lord and friend, as well as the other great lords who accompany him, that I’m very grateful to them for their challenges. Furthermore, I’m even more grateful to them for sending me these rods, which I hope to use to punish them all.’ The trumpeter then took his leave and conveyed this message to the great lords who had sent him, a message which caused them the greatest surprise. From Villagarcía, despite the challenges, the count had wanted to go on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Santa María de Guadalupe. However, he set it aside, because he was told that this [change of plan] was necessary, owing to the havoc that his men were inflicting on that area. Consequently, he turned back and took a route close to Magacela, where there is a very difficult pass to go through. This spot was reached also by the Master of Alcántara, Martim Eanes, along with other great lords and knights who were all together with him, amounting to a considerable body of men. They came within view of the constable’s army, ready to attack it. But the constable headed towards the master’s forces and caused them to go back up the ridge to the place they had left. The count then went on his way, reaching Villanueva de la Serena. He left again next day, arriving at a point 2 leagues from Mérida, on the way to a village called Valverde. The Master of Alcántara, Martim Eanes, advanced to that area to view the progress of the count’s forces, but he already had with him many more than those he had previously brought. We mention his name more than those of any others, because he was the main one making these sorties. All that day they remained in view of the count’s forces; they did not, however, get close to them, held back as they were by fear, except for a handful of minor skirmishes of no account. So the constable and his men continued to make their way till close on nightfall, when he pitched camp with his forces beside the River Guadiana and posted his guards around the camp.

Chapter 56

How the constable and the Castilians converged on Valverde, and concerning the fighting which took place between them on crossing a ford

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hile the constable was encamped with all his men, when he realised that the enemy force was advancing in his pursuit, he was assured by prisoners captured by his army and by some others who were very well



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informed, that the following day the whole of Andalusia was due to assemble its troops, with men from Seville, Córdoba and Jaén, along with more from Las Manchas in Aragon and all other areas, for they had been making preparations for days and had been called up for that purpose. Although they had had ample time to achieve what they had promised to do, when they boldly declared that they would lie in wait for the constable when he crossed the border, they did not carry it out. The reason was that previously, when they [first] assembled and sent scouts to find out whether the constable was launching an invasion, he had already advanced 14 leagues into Castile, freely and with great ease, with only Martim Eanes, the Master of Alcántara, moving against him and being the first to do so, as we have indicated.140 The forces which assembled were so many that, on a sound calculation, according to some reports, they outnumbered the Portuguese by more than 50 to 1; other reports state that there were no more than 33,000 of them all together, counting both foot soldiers and horsemen. Even though such estimates do not constitute definite numbers, nevertheless all writers assert that there were many more of them than in the royal battle [at Aljubarrota]. They were not, however, such great lords, nor such an elite force, nor as well equipped [as on that occasion]. Having been assured of their vast numbers, the count discussed the matter with the captains and knights in his army, stiffening their resolve as to what they had to do and explaining to them what tactics to adopt. Once again he drew up the vanguard, rearguard and the wings, so that each of them should be reminded of where they had to go and what they had to do in the battle which next day they expected to engage in; this brought great satisfaction to them all. While the Count was discussing these matters with them a squire arrived. He was known as Afonso Peres the Black and was a very fine man-at-arms, always ready for anything. He addressed the count openly, with the result that everyone heard him, saying: ‘My lord, I know nothing of your plans, nor what you intend, but of one thing I am certain: that tomorrow morning we shall see who cherishes your service and his own honour, because the Castilian forces are so many compared with yours; they number more than the grass in the field. Besides that, let me also inform you that they have already made off with large numbers of the livestock in your army.’ In answer to this, the constable said, ‘Afonso Peres, my friend, would to God that all the soldiers in the kingdom of Castile were here now, for by God’s grace that would bring us even greater honour. As for their theft of a few cattle, that’s of no great concern to us, because we’re in the territory, thank God, that we shall be able to win for ourselves.’ Later that same day, after night had fallen, with the count encamped there in the dark, the entire Castilian force that was seeking him out – an incomparably 140 In

Chapter 54 above.

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huge army – actually passed close by. He had wanted to move against them at once but, as it was very late, he decided not to do so. Next day the count set out for Valverde,141 which was where the Castilians had headed, in order to ford the Guadiana, which lay one and a half leagues away at a very dangerous and difficult river crossing, for there was no other available. Before he reached the crossing, all the Castilians were encamped there, in numbers that were alarming even to behold. Some of them had already forded the river, while others remained on this side of it, intent on blocking the Portuguese from crossing and on defeating them at that point. When the constable arrived, the Castilians at once surrounded his entire force with such an enormous mass of troops that amid their enemies the Portuguese resembled a tiny patch of land in a vast field. Once the Castilians had encircled the Portuguese in this way, they began to skirmish with one another, in mighty and valiant encounters, in which injuries were inflicted on both sides. Nevertheless, the Castilians were forced against their will to make a wide opening through which the Portuguese could pass. However, fording the river presented them with a very great uncertainty, owing to the presence on the other side of some 10,000 Castilians (horsemen, crossbowmen and foot soldiers), quite apart from the many Castilians who were still at their rear, as we have explained. When the count realised what they were planning and that by this means they thought they would defeat him, he concentrated his vanguard, rearguard and wings, with the baggage train, livestock and all their captives in the middle. In this dense formation, with the help of Almighty God, he effected that tricky river crossing with his vanguard, very much in spite of those [encroaching] forces, and then went back for the rearguard, baggage train and all he had left [on the near bank], so that nothing failed to cross over. However, when the Castilians then abandoned the ford, they did not do it so lightly that there was not first of all a furious battle in which many lances, arrows and hefty stones were doughtily hurled by one side against the other, causing much death and injury, though, to tell the truth, the Castilians suffered many more casualties. It is, therefore, important that you should understand that the aim of these great lords, as they revealed by their deeds, was not to engage in an honourable battle with the constable, all together as when they arrived – something which they could have done, given their vast and impressive resources; rather, they contrived that assemblage of their forces simply to make a display and cause alarm. That is why numbers of them who joined Martim Eanes, the Master of Alcántara, bragged out loud about skirmishes of little distinction, without daring to do anything more. The same applied to those who surrounded the 141 This village is situated on the banks of the Guadiana, 6 miles (c. 10 km) to the east of Mérida.



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Portuguese at the river crossing, as we have mentioned. For that reason, they took up positions on lofty hilltops, keeping safe and out of reach, fearing the judgements of Dame Fortune, with whom at the time they were not on good terms, lest she judge against them, despite their vast numbers.

Chapter 57

How the count began fighting against the Castilians before engaging with them in battle

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he count carried out that tricky river crossing with immense effort and zeal. The wisdom of his thoughts led him to understand both that the Castilians were afraid of him and the strategy with which they were seeking to defeat him. At once he advanced with his vanguard towards a hilltop ahead of him, where there were positioned many more [Castilian] troops than those who remained behind on the banks of the river. The count headed towards them and forced them to abandon the hilltop. He then advanced to another hill, further ahead, on which there were many more troops than on the first one; again he forced them to abandon it against their will. He then headed for another hill beyond the second one; here there were so many troops that one could hardly estimate their number. After he had attacked these hills, everywhere there lay many dead and wounded. While the count was on this third hill with his vanguard, resting from his arduous encounters, he looked back at his rearguard, which was behind his position, and saw that it was in dire straits, because the Castilian forces were attacking and harassing them. Forthwith, he commanded those around him to come to a halt, likewise halting his flag, till he had gathered up the rearguard and the baggage train. He went back to them at once, drove all the Castilians away and got the rearguard to advance. At that point, Gil Fernandes of Elvas, whom we mentioned earlier,142 who was there with the flag and men from his own town, shouted to the count in a jocular fashion and loud enough for everyone to hear, ‘My lord, why did you desert us like that? Let me tell you that we got very anxious when you took so long to come back. If you’d taken any longer, you’d perhaps never have found us!’ The count gave no answer to this and returned to his vanguard, where he had left the flag. Further ahead of him, on a sort of ridge, he saw many Castilian troops, so many that it was a remarkable sight to behold. Among them were

142 In

Chapter 26 above.

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the Master of Santiago, Pero Muñiz, the Master [of Alcántara], Martim Eanes [de Barbuda], and other great lords and captains. At once he commanded that his flag should lead the way. As he rode uphill, both sides ruthlessly hurled at their opponents many lances, arrows and plenty of stones flung both by hand and from slings. At that point the count was slightly wounded in one of his feet by an arrow. Amid this turmoil he looked back at the rearguard and saw that it was in much greater danger than on the previous occasion when he had gone back, so much so that it appeared to him to be completely routed. He therefore gave up battling where he was, left the flag and the vanguard and went back to give new courage to his rearguard, uttering valiant yet gentle words and telling them what they should do. It was here that Gonçalo Eanes of Castelo de Vide called out to Diego Fernández, the captain of the young [Castilian] noblemen, whom he caught sight of among the enemy forces in a spot where they could hear one another. This he shouted, ‘Diego Fernández, my friend, what a pleasure it is to see you here! I regard it as a good omen!’ ‘Why’s that?’ he asked. ‘Because on the three occasions when I’ve been present [in a battle]’, said Gonçalo Eanes, ‘you’ve been there as well, and your side has always been defeated. Yet God has rescued you from all those battles owing to your noble prayers and qualities, and I trust that He will do the same on this occasion.’ ‘Bravely spoken!’ said Diego Fernández, ‘You’d better console yourself with those words before you’re defeated, because afterwards you won’t be able to say them.’ At this point the count came up and found some of his men in low spirits, some even sitting down, which greatly disturbed him. He made them get up and restore their battle formation to what it should be. While he was moving back and forth, encouraging them with fine words, he disappeared and could not be seen among them. But who then could read this passage and not be dismayed at his leaving them? How can the mind of any reasonable man fail to be perplexed at this account? What prince in days of yore was the subject of such a tale, or what captain has been written about in such a way? To leave the business of battle at its very height, and to separate himself from his men to go and pray, without first uttering a single word of explanation! If he’d even said to them in advance, ‘Hold on a little while, I’m going to go and pray’, they would have gained new ardour in their hearts and great courage to fight on. But in his absence and with none of his men knowing what to do, they meanwhile suffered an onslaught of lances, darts and many bolts, which caused many in the battle line to be wounded and numbers of them to be killed. Not daring to make headway, without any order from their captain, they said that he should be sought and brought over quickly to tell them what to do, lest they should die, standing there motionless.



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At this point, one of those on horseback, Rui Gonçalves by name, made efforts to find out where he was. Moving swiftly in his search, he found the count outside the body of his men but quite close by, between two convenient large rocks, kneeling on the ground, with his hands and eyes raised towards heaven. Near at hand was his page, astride a mule and bearing his lance and shield. When Rui Gonçalves saw him like that, so unconcerned about the fear and turmoil in which they found themselves, he did not know what to do. Hesitating to speak to him, he plucked up courage and went up to him. In a few brief words he explained the havoc which the enemy were inflicting on them. Remaining tranquil, Nuno Álvares turned his face towards him and gently replied, saying, ‘Rui Gonçalves, my friend, it’s not yet the time. Just wait a moment, and I’ll finish my prayers.’ Rui Gonçalves then moved aside and remained there motionless. Nuno Álvares was then approached in the same way by Gonçalo Eanes of Castelo de Vide, the noble knight whom we named earlier, begging him to leave off praying for a moment and to set their flag in motion, because numbers of his troops were badly injured or killed, and they could suffer this no longer. The constable made no reply to this, nor did he react in any way to what was said, but remained motionless and very calm, as if he were speaking to God and were bound to win the battle using prayer as his weaponry. Who then would not have been alarmed at all this praying and at the answer that he gave to the squire, saying, ‘My friend, it’s not yet the time.’ It resembles a divine mystery. What a strange withdrawal [from the battle] that was. Surrounded by his mortal enemies, he behaved not as a leader of his troops, but as a simple hermit detached from the world, abandoning his men in the straits in which they found themselves and going off to pray! And if prayer, to be praiseworthy, must be delivered unencumbered by any [human] cares, what can one think of this remarkable nobleman, and where he was directing his thoughts at such a moment? Where was his spirit at that time? Why, armed with virtue, it was with God, to Whom he was praying to grant him victory, just how and in what way we cannot be sure: Almighty God [alone] knows that. Indeed, if anyone chooses to say that Moses prayed like this, when the Jews fought with the Amalekites, such a comparison is not an exact one, because Moses did not fight at that time, nor did he go on to fight. It was Joshua who fought, and Moses prayed to God to help him.143 While Moses was holding up his hands in prayer, the people of Israel prevailed, but when his hands got tired, and he lowered them, then his enemies prevailed. But the count was not like that, for he was made resolute by the mighty task of combat, especially on that day, and, while he prayed, his men were being

143 Exodus

17. 8–13.

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wounded or slain. On that account, though he was aware of it, he did not cut short the prayers that he had begun.

Chapter 58

How the battle between the count and the Castilians was fought, and how the Master of Santiago was killed

A

fter this it was not long before the count completed his devotions. He rose sharply to his feet and with a cheerful countenance, greatly emboldened by Almighty God. With a face both joyous and full of daring, he rejoined his men, who, on seeing him, were immensely encouraged. At once he called for his gallant and proven lieutenant and said, ‘Diogo Gil, my friend, can you see those flags on the top of that hill, as well as another that’s even higher, which, I suppose, belongs to the Master of Santiago?’ ‘Yes, my lord, I can’, he replied. ‘Off you go, then, with this one belonging to me and plant it next to his!’ ‘With the greatest pleasure, my lord’, he said. Then the count looked round at all his men, with a mature and venturesome expression on his face, saying, ‘Now, my friends, forward, all of you, at full speed!’ All of them then headed up the slope into battle, eager to reach where those great lords were posted, and those who formerly put up so much resistance, to their regret were now forced to yield to them. As they climbed up in this way, many Castilians headed down towards the count, among whom, as the gallant knight he was, there came towards him Pero Muñiz, the Master of Santiago, accompanied by many foot soldiers and horsemen. The master did this because he saw that, of all the great lords who till then kept on surrounding the count, not one of them dared to attack him. The count and all his men were fighting on foot and willingly received their onset, and, since they were so few and the Castilians so many, the master pressed them hard. The battle was nobly fought by both sides, but the Portuguese forced the Castilian troops to break ranks in such a way that the master realised that his men were anxious to flee. While, as a valiant captain, he was extricating himself from the conflict, his horse was killed under him; he too at once fell dead. His head was swiftly cut off and later taken to Portugal. Many of his troops were also killed there alongside him, as were numbers of Portuguese, though their losses were very few. The hill was seized by force, with all the enemy retreating before the Portuguese troops and scurrying away as best they could. The masters [of the various Orders] and the great lords who were not fighting but were gathered in groups at some distance away were dismayed to



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see the others in full flight and the Master of Santiago’s flag brought down and trampled, along with other flags. Not knowing what to do or say, they were considering the matter when there arrived a squire belonging to the Count of Niebla, Alfonso Martínez de Aliava by name. Hastily he spoke: ‘My lord, what are you doing? Take refuge as fast as you can, for your kinsman, the Master of Santiago, is dead, as are all the gallant men who fought at his side, for not one of them survived. Those whom you can see running away are soldiers from the townships and farmworkers from his lands who came with him.’ ‘It need not be so’, declared the Master of Alcántara. ‘I’ll attack them from one side, and you others from the other side with the men you have with you. With their small numbers and owing to their being tired, they are bound to be defeated.’ So saying, without awaiting a reply as to whether they agreed or not, he swiftly charged at the constable’s baggage train and began to attack it. Seeing this, Alfonso Martínez addressed the Count of Niebla as follows: ‘What’s more, my lord, I ask you whether it is your wish to do what the master said to you and in that way.’ ‘Why not?’ he answered. ‘Why not?’ said the squire. ‘Don’t you know that the Master of Alcántara is a Portuguese pig, who has brought with him lots of his friends and kinsmen and wants to lord it over you by what he says on occasions like this? Allow me to advise you that you shouldn’t get caught up in this affair.’ On hearing this, the Count of Niebla started to make off as fast as he could, accompanied by all the great lords and men of rank present there, along with the banner of Seville, the ruling magistrate and the troops from that city, with the result that in a very short space of time no Castilian was to be seen. When the constable saw his enemies scattering away in this fashion, he commanded his men to follow hard on their heels. He himself pursued them for about a league. With night coming on, he went back to his encampment and took up lodging in the village of Valverde, rejoicing as much as you can imagine and giving thanks to God for granting him such a great victory over his enemies on their very own soil. Next day the count headed back to Portugal. He passed close by to Mérida, where there were many Castilian fugitives from the battle. These emerged from the town to watch them all go by. The count dispatched some of his troops in their direction, but the Castilians chose not to await their arrival, making their way back into town. That night the count slept at a place where the River Botova flows into the River called the Severa.144 Many people from nearby Badajoz came out to this spot to see the count’s army, though without seeking to do anything. 144 Both the Botova and the Severa are small tributaries of the Guadiana between Mérida and Badajoz.

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The following day the count left to go and spend the night at Elvas. He left his vanguard and went back to the rearguard and stayed with it, as he suspected that the Castilians might want to mount another attack. Once he realised that they were making no attempt to interfere, he reached Elvas, having devoted eighteen days to his invasion of Castile, much at his ease as earlier, after seizing ample numbers of livestock and horses and capturing many prisoners. His men shared these out among themselves, without the count taking his fifth or any other share other than the immense honour he had won for himself in Castile, for it was always his custom that it should happen in this way. His men received everything else, with which they happily returned to their homes. You have already heard about Fernão Gonçalves de Sousa, that witty Portuguese from whom Portel had been captured,145 who was on the enemy side when they fled and was later in Castile. Whenever he was asked how he had got on with the constable, he always answered, ‘Very well. We offered him that immaculate sacrificial lamb and went off home.’

Chapter 59

How Antão Vasques invaded Castile, and what happened to him there

T

here is no reason to remain silent about another noble deed which the Portuguese accomplished shortly after these events, namely the raid which Antão Vasques made into Castile. Even though certain writers146 do keep silent about what follows, it is not surprising if they never heard about it, for it would have doubled their sorrows. It is important that you should know that, when the constable decided to invade Castile, prior to the battle of Valverde which we have just narrated, one of those whom he summoned to join him was a certain Antão Vasques, a very valiant knight of his following. However, at that time he was in Lisbon and did not manage to get ready swiftly enough to join the constable before he invaded Castile. On reaching Estremoz, he learned that the count had already left. He had wanted to go after him, but the people of that town advised him not to do so, because the count had given them instructions not to let anybody go after him, owing to the presence of the Master of Alcántara, Martim Eanes, who was roaming around that area with a large force which could possibly 145 See

CKJ1, Chapter 158. Lopes is of course referring to writers with Castilian sympathies and notably Pero López de Ayala. 146 Fernão



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harm them. Therefore, the people of the town told Antão Vasques that on no account should he proceed further. This Antão Vasques was a very gallant and courageous knight and was one of the valiant men-at-arms with whom the count kept company. When he realised that he would be unable to accompany the count and participate in any honourable feat which might arise, he deemed his journey to be a great loss, turning back without achieving anything which would add to his honour. He made his way back to Évora with his men and had a proclamation sent out that anyone wanting to invade Castile with him should come and talk to him. He would share with him anything he might seize, other than his own portion [as leader] from the raid they planned to make. There came forward to join him 300 foot soldiers. He ordered his silver to be sold off, so as to divide the proceeds among them. Next he went to Beja, where he did the same thing; more troops came to join him. In that way he assembled in all 400 foot soldiers, 15 men-at-arms and 20 crossbowmen, plus 40 horsemen to be used as scouts. With his force he set off and reached a township named Serpa, which lies 4 leagues distant from Beja. While he was there, the count was returning from the battle he had won at Valverde. When the count arrived at Elvas, his men heard that Antão Vasques was in Serpa with a view to invading Castile. At this, a number of squires, with the count’s consent, set out to go and join up with Antão Vasques. Among these were Álvaro Vasques de Alenquer, Aires Martins Gavião and João Esteves Correia, plus others, making eight all together. When they reached where he was, he was delighted with them and gathered them all into his force. They left Serpa on a Tuesday night, so as not to be spotted by spies, if there were any. They crossed the border, which lies 5 leagues away from Serpa, and headed for Aroche, which is a town and castle without outlying dwellings, but with some 300 inhabitants, and is situated on a motte at the foot of a high ridge. Intending to scale the castle, when they were 2 leagues away they fashioned two ladders from plough beams, lashed tightly together; these they carried on their backs to the village. Next morning found them at the place, after they had marched nine leagues that night. Orders were given to Lopo Afonso Adaíl and all the horsemen to ride round the village and steal what they could. Meanwhile, the ladders were set against the castle wall, and they began to ascend them. When eight foot soldiers were already on top of the wall, the townspeople awoke to the din made by the horsemen galloping around the village. They dashed to the walls and forced their assailants to jump down, without giving them time to descend the rungs of the ladders. They then moved back outside the walls, a full bolt’s shot away. However, those on horseback seized plenty of cattle and took many prisoners. They then all reassembled and made their way to Cortegana, 2 leagues from Aroche. Cortegana is a castle located on a motte; the town of some

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sixty inhabitants is situated outside its walls. When they arrived close to two farmsteads a league away from Aroche, where they found plenty of wheat and barley stored in them, they pitched camp. There they ate and took their ease, before making their way to Cortegana. As soon as they got there, the village’s inhabitants emerged at once to man the barricades around the outlying dwellings, in order to defend them against the Portuguese. But the Portuguese began to fight with them and forced their way through the barricades. The inhabitants fled into the castle, which the Portuguese immediately attacked. The villagers parleyed with their assailants, saying that, if they left and refrained from burning down the outlying dwellings, they would give them 20,000 reais in silver, along with other things which they promised to the captain, and that they would pay them over at once that very day. For that reason the Portuguese held back from setting fire to the houses, but they found plenty of bread, wine and other things for their sustenance. All this was done because the Portuguese thought that the villagers would give them the sum of money to which they had agreed, but the villagers wrote at once to Aroche and Aracena (which lay 5 leagues distant), and to all the region around, urging them to join forces and to advance on the Portuguese that same night. The Portuguese grew somewhat suspicious and that night they installed a strong guard around their camp. Next morning they captured the messenger, who was on his way back to tell those in the castle to make their way to La Corte147 (where the Portuguese would spend the following night), and there they would all attack them. Having seized the spy, the Portuguese sent a message to those in the castle, telling them that, if they failed to hand over what they had promised, they would burn the village down. The villagers, still living in hope, told the Portuguese that they could do their worst. But then the Portuguese approached and said, ‘You’re well aware of what you agreed with us, and now we’re returning your messenger to you, who is bringing a certain reply.’ This was in accord with what they now knew. ‘Since, therefore, you resort to treachery and falsehood and don’t wish to hand over what you promised, let this be his immediate reward.’ Then they at once cut off his head, stole from and laid waste the outlying dwellings and set fire to them. They left, taking with them plenty of cattle and many prisoners and went to spend the night at La Corte, half a league from Cortegana, arriving at the dead of night and in very wintry weather. What else would happen to them? When those in the surrounding region, as we said, saw the message dispatched to them by the inhabitants of Cortegana, they sent two scouts to La Corte to spy out what troops they were and where 147 This is probably the village Fernão Lopes is referring to. In the manuscripts there are several scribal variants of the name of this village (Cortedalaã, Cortechã, Cortechaã). La Corte lies 2 miles (just over 3 km) to the north-west of Cortegana and 3 miles (just under 5 km) to the north-east of Aroche.



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they had pitched camp. When the Portuguese arrived, they found the spies sleeping under a cork oak and seized them. The spies informed them about all the forces that were intending to attack the following day and said they should make themselves ready. Since the Portuguese were keen to find people with whom to fight, they were so pleased at this that, as a reward for such information, they released one of the spies, ordering him to go and tell the other forces that they would happily wait for them there or wherever they chose and would do battle with them. They kept the other scout back, to take him with them as their guide, and slept the night there.

Chapter 60

How Antão Vasques engaged the Castilians in battle and defeated them

N

ext morning, on the Thursday, they all left and began to proceed on their way, seizing whatever cattle and prisoners they found wherever they went. They went to sleep the night on the bank of the River Chança, on the Portuguese side of the border, at a spot 5½ leagues away from where they had left. Then they all declared, ‘Now let anybody attack us, and let’s fight, because we’re now on our own soil.’ Then they apportioned those on sentry duty to guard the encampment, and at some distance, on various watches throughout the night. The early morning watch fell to João Esteves Correia, whom we mentioned,148 and to other squires with him. João Esteves moved away from the others and went over to the other side of the river. Advancing a little bit further, he heard the sound of marching men and plunged into a clump of wild pear trees. Quite close by, a large mixed troop of foot soldiers and horsemen was making its way along the road. Next he mingled with them to find out what they planned, sometimes uttering just a few words in Castilian, though as few as possible. In this fashion he crossed the Chança back into Portugal, a little beyond from where his companions were at rest, and listened to the opinions that the Castilians were offering about the Portuguese and how they were going to rout them and the punitive acts they would inflict on them. After the Castilians went past them, they made their way up a hill and saw where the Portuguese were at rest as morning began to break and said, ‘Here we’ve got the Portuguese pigs. Let’s now draw up our battle line, because they’re bound to come this way.’ But others said, ‘We needn’t do it that way.

148 In

the previous chapter.

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Let’s charge at them headlong; it would be better to take the battle to them.’ When the squire realised that they were preparing to do battle, he spurred his horse and emerged from their midst, uttering a few insults as he went. The Castilians were riled by his scorn; they jeered at him and shot their crossbows at him, but he came through safely and rejoined the Portuguese, finding that they were already springing to arms. He cried out, ‘Antão Vasques, here you’ve got what you want, for the Castilians have drawn up their battle line across the path you’re due to take. Look, there they are: you can see them from here. You have there 40 mounted scouts, 60 crossbowmen, 70 pavisers149 and other foot soldiers, amounting to 800 all told.’ To this Antão Vasques answered, ‘My brother, God be praised for protecting and bringing you back safely, for we thought you’d been killed on the way or had been taken prisoner. Welcome back with your good news, and, if we’d been in the right place, I’d have richly rewarded you. I promise you that I’ll do so when we’re in Portugal.’ That, indeed, he did later, presenting him with a very fine horse and other gifts. ‘Now, my friend’, said Antão Vasques, ‘as for this booty we’ve got, let’s send it off to the right, away from the enemy. Those who go with it should immediately hurry back to help us in the battle.’ And that was what they did. Then they all advanced with their flag unfurled towards the Castilians, positioning themselves on a hillock that was lower than theirs, so that in effect there was a shallow valley between the two forces. They observed how the Castilians drew up their battle formation: all the pavisers were at the front, with a crossbowman between every two of them, the other foot soldiers behind them and the horsemen around them. Once the Castilians saw how many the Portuguese numbered and how they were equipped, they began to shoot their bolts at them. One poisoned bolt struck the forehead of the mount ridden by the very squire who had mingled with them earlier. Hurriedly pulling it out, he called out, ‘Antão Vasques and the rest of you, what are you doing? You can see all those crossbowmen where they are, all shooting their bolts at us like this one. What’s the point of waiting for daylight? If we stand here any longer, they’ll wound us all with their deadly poison. Let’s go at them, or see what else you want to do.’ Even at this point in the action, the sun had not yet risen. ‘Very well, then, forward!’ cried Antão Vasques. Then they advanced, with their flag at the fore, trumpets blaring, down into the valley then up the slope, till they reached the flat area on top of the hill on an even footing with the enemy. As they advanced, they started to strike out with their lances and arrows before battle was fully joined. Then Antão Vasques hurtled forward along with seven men-at-arms. Gripping their lances, they attacked the pavisade, and each one of them at once felled one 149 Soldiers bearing large shields, pavises, used to provide protection. A group of those side by side could form a pavisade, a protective wall.



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of the pavisers. The rest likewise joined them, wielding their weapons to best advantage, so that the Castilians endured the fight for so short a period that it was shameful to behold. They soon turned tail and began to flee. The Portuguese took to their horses and chased them as far as La Corte, killing and capturing as many as they could. The outcome was that they slew 260 men and took 140 prisoners, both foot soldiers and crossbowmen. They also won from them five horses, as well as other pack animals. Of the Portuguese, three suffered injuries, and one was killed. Rejoicing at their noble prowess, they reached Serpa, which had been their starting point, along with all the booty which they had seized, namely 4,000 cows, 5,000 sheep, up to 1,000 pigs and ten prisoners, among whom was Asensio Martínez de Aroche, a farmer, who paid 100,000 silver reais to ransom himself. Then they all departed in good humour and jollity and happily returned to the towns and villages they had come from.

Chapter 61

Concerning which townships King João went on to seize from those which had declared for Castile, and how the Castilian fleet raised its blockade of Lisbon and left

W

e now return to relating the activities of King João, whom we left in Santarém. During this period of time, events occurred to him in the following manner: just as Almighty God bestowed on the Portuguese the courage and daring necessary to defend themselves from their enemies and to await them with noble valour on the day of the great battle [of Aljubarrota], He correspondingly struck many of their adversaries with fear and alarm, causing them to abandon the towns and villages which they held on behalf of Castile in this realm [of Portugal], without anybody forcing or constraining them to do so. The outcome was that in a few days King João regained the majority of them. That was because the troops who occupied them, not daring to defend them, sent messages to the king, begging him to give them safe conduct, for which they would hand these places over to him. The king was pleased to do this, and thus these towns and villages were freely left to him. The Pope in Rome, Boniface IX, had previously issued a proclamation150 stating that, inasmuch as Queen Leonor, the mother of Queen Beatriz, her 150 This

reference to Boniface IX is confusing because he became pope only in 1389, after his predecessor, Urban VI, passed away. The events in this chapter, however, took place in 1385.

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son-in-law and all persons linked to them had been publicly condemned by his predecessor, Urban VI, as children of perdition for being schismatic heretics, all those who wished to reject them were, therefore, absolved by him from all solemn promises, oaths and fealty which they had sworn, under whatever circumstances, to the above-named monarchs. Nevertheless, not a single Portuguese handed over to King João a township or a castle on the basis of that advice. But now the Castilians were leaving them to him and offering them of their own free will. It is possible that such townships, if they chose to defend themselves, would have been very difficult to capture and would have brought much travail and danger to the [king’s] troops. An example was the town of Santarém, which Rodrigo Álvarez de Santoyo did not dare to defend, as you have already heard,151 not to mention the Alcáçova, perched as it was on such a defensible hill, which was abandoned by Gómez Pérez de Valderrábano. Other examples were: the strong township and castle of Leiria (likewise difficult to seize), which García Rodríguez Taborda, who died in the battle [of Aljubarrota], had entrusted to his son; the township and castle of Óbidos, held by Vasco Gonçalves Teixeira, the son of João Gonçalves, who was the governor thereof when he left to take part in the battle, in which he died, as we have indicated;152 the township and castle of Alenquer, which were held by Gonçalo Tenreiro, who was left in charge by Vasco Peres de Camões when he departed for the battle, in which he was taken prisoner; the township and castle of Torres Vedras, which were abandoned by the troops whom Juan Duque, who died in the battle, had left behind there to defend the place; then there was Alfonso López de Tejada, who had been in Torres Novas; the strong, impregnable, lofty castle of Sintra, perched upon its crag, which Don Enrique Manuel had handed over to the king, remaining there as his vassal and under permission to retain all that he had held beforehand. The same applied throughout the other regions of the kingdom; there were, for instance, the township and castle of Crato, which the troops left there by Pedro Álvares, the constable’s brother, abandoned when they fled; there was Martim Eanes de Barbuda, who held the castle of Monforte and who, on learning that the battle had been lost, at once abandoned it and made off; Vasco Porcalho too, who was the Grand Commander of the Order of Avis, left the township and castle of Vila Viçosa; likewise there was García Pérez, cellarer of the Order of Alcántara, who held the township and castle of Marvão; and there were others whom we shall not mention. There were also many who held townships and villages with which they rose up in support of Castile, but chose not to go off to the battle, waiting to 151 In 152 In

Chapter 50 above. Chapter 39 above.



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see which side would win, in order to join the victor. After parleying, some places surrendered; others were besieged and forced to surrender, as, for example, Chaves, which was held by Martim Gonçalves de Ataíde, as well as Monção and Melgaço. Álvaro Gonçalves handed Moura over to the king, João Afonso Pimentel handed over Bragança, João Rodrigues Portocarreiro left Vila Real, and the king received other places in a variety of ways which we do not need to relate. As for the fleet that was blockading Lisbon, the decision was taken that it should leave and head for the places from which its ships’ companies had originated. On 13 September the entire fleet left its position close to the city, went to cast anchor at Restelo and was boarded by all the Castilians who were in Sintra and those who journeyed from Torres Vedras and other places which had declared for Castile and which the king had secured. Next day the naos and galleys set off on their voyage beyond the river mouth, taking with them the hostages who had been taken from among the residents of Almada, and delivered into their custody when the King of Castile first laid siege to the city, as we related in its due place.153

Chapter 62

How the king left Santarém in order to make the pilgrimage which he had promised to undertake

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hile the king was in Santarém, after he had safely secured the townships and villages in Estremadura which had formerly declared for Castile, and after he had granted the governorships to certain people – for example, the major [joint] governorship of Lisbon and Torres Vedras to Antão Vasques, the governorship of Óbidos to Martim Vasques Vilela, and so on to others, – he decided to leave Santarém, in order to undertake the pilgrimage which he had promised to make before going into battle [at Aljubarrota]. The promise was that, on winning the battle, as he hoped God would grant him, he would go on foot to [the shrine of] Santa Maria da Oliveira, which is to be found in the town of Guimarães, 40 leagues away. Before he left Santarém, however, he arranged for 100 crossbowmen to accompany him all the way. He then set out and reached the battlefield of Aljubarrota, where he attended mass, made his prayers and began his pilgrimage. Arriving at Leiria, he pardoned the Portuguese who had declared against him and took possession of the castle, which had been abandoned by the Castilians. There he found 153 In

CKJ1, Chapter 165.

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many household appurtenances which had belonged to Queen Leonor. When everyone had kissed his hand and welcomed him as their liege lord, he installed there, as governor of the town, his criado Lourenço Martins, to whom he handed over Pero López de Ayala, whom we mentioned earlier.154 While we are on that subject, for it is not a matter that could be expressed better elsewhere, let us briefly narrate what ransom Pero López promised for himself, in order to bring about his more speedy release. Lourenço Martins opened a discussion with him in respect of his ransom, about which Pero López greatly dissembled, saying that he could not offer what, in their view, would be a reasonable sum, promising for his own ransom 2,000 doblas, and then 3,000, that is to say a trivial amount, which Lourenço Martins held in contempt until one day he approached Pero López and asked, ‘Why do you linger here like this without offering a sum which you could reasonably give? Surely you don’t think people believe you’re incapable of giving what you can actually afford! If you weren’t the well-known man that you are, it would then make sense to be secretive and present yourself as you do. We know very well, however, that you hold an important and respected position in Castile; you’d do well to believe that the king, my liege lord, knows everything about even the smallest bull that consorts with your cows. For that reason, the attitude you’ve adopted is of no avail. If I see you still stubbornly persisting with this, then I shall subject you to such ill-treatment that you’ll lose your life, and the king will lose the ransom which he could have received from you.’ After the matter had been discussed a number of times and with Lourenço Martins beginning to adopt towards him a more severe manner than he normally did, Pero López finally agreed with him and promised to ransom himself for 30,000 crossed doblas and 30 Castilian horses. This he later did, but with 10,000 being deducted in exchange for [the release of] certain Portuguese prisoners; 20,000 doblas were paid over in gold, along with the horses. The king left Leiria and reached the city of Coimbra, where he received an honourable welcome. He then made his way to Oporto, where his arrival was greeted with as much honour as could in truth be brought to bear. Continuing his journey, he arrived at Guimarães as he had promised, where he was welcomed with immense courtesy by priests, friars and all the other people of the town. Once he had knelt in prayer and made his offering, he distributed abundant alms and then returned to Oporto.

154 In

Chapter 51 above.



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Chapter 63

How the king left the city of Oporto, intending to lay siege to Chaves

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hile the king was in Oporto, he received definite news about how Nuno Álvares, his constable, had made the incursion into Castile which you have heard about and how he had killed the [Castilian] Master of Santiago in the battle which he had joined with him. He also heard about everything that had happened during both his advance and return journey. The count sent him a request for clemency, begging him to be forgiven for making such an incursion without his permission. The king was delighted at the news, declaring that it was an error truly deserving of his gracious pardon and awarding him the county of Barcelos with due jurisdiction and rights therein. This took place in October [1385]. The king then decided to head for Trás-os-Montes, which is a Portuguese province, in order to recover a number of townships and villages in that area which were still in rebellion against him, and thereafter with a view to invading Castile. Since winter was coming on, his troops were apprehensive about setting out on this campaign but decided to go along with what the king wanted. The king set forth from Oporto with his troops and numerous carts bearing siege engines, provisions and other things pertaining to warfare. He made his way into the province of the Minho and sent out a message throughout all the land that any squire or nobleman who had already received pay from him in this war but who failed to join him in the advance on Castile which he intended to make would lose all honours, privileges and favours which the king had granted him. Moreover, he would lose all his property or would pay 100 dobras for it, whichever he chose. This same penalty would be imposed on any man who left the army without the king’s permission or that of those holding that power on the king’s behalf. Afterwards the king gave out such property as [accrued from] this. The king reached Vila Real, from where João Rodrigues Portocarreiro had taken his leave. While there, the king sent a message to Martim Vasques da Cunha and his brothers, as well as to Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho and other vassals of his, bidding them join him. There he assembled his army and set out for Chaves, intending to lay siege to the town.155 It was already December, and on Christmas night he reached a village which he planned to seize called São Pedro de Agostém, which lies a league away from Chaves. There he celebrated Christmas and stayed for a few days, rallying his army. From the 155 Chaves

is situated 40 miles (c. 64 km) to the north-east of Vila Real.

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village they launched skirmishes against Chaves, in which raids there died a knight named Álvaro Dias de Oliveira, who got his horse bogged down, and was killed because he could not extricate himself. On the day this happened, a number of the town’s defenders were gathered on a bridge, when João Gil Sapo (whom we have previously mentioned)156 got down from his horse, on which he was advancing fully armed, placed his bascinet on his head and, with a battleaxe in his hands and well ahead of his companions, killed three townsmen by his own hand before they could take refuge from the bridge. For this he won great praise. Chaves is a Portuguese town, where an honourable and gallant nobleman named Martim Gonçalves de Ataíde dwelt.157 His wife was named Mécia Vasques Coutinho and was the sister of Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, who took part in the Battle of Trancoso.158 In Chaves there were eighty lances, consisting of gallant squires, as well as goodly numbers of crossbowmen and foot soldiers. He was joined by a Galician knight from the area around Orense, whose name was Vasco Gómez de Seixas and who brought with him thirty lances, some foot soldiers and fine crossbowmen, with the result that the town had sufficient men with which to defend itself. They had ample provisions, sulphurated water as in a hot spring, though unpleasant to drink, and good access to the river running nearby, outside the town. They possessed a small cannon and a catapult, as well as other weaponry in equal abundance pertaining to their defence.

Chapter 64

How the king pitched his siege camp against Chaves

I

n January 1386, having spent Christmas nearby, the king decided to lay siege to this township. Before he set out to go there, he sent a message to Martim Gonçalves, urging him to hand the town over to him and to declare his allegiance to him, for which he would grant him many favours. Martim Gonçalves did not consent to this, saying that he would on no account do so. When the king realised that he was unwilling to agree, he went to take a look at the town before besieging it, and it was at this juncture that Martim Vasques and others were wounded in a skirmish. Coming back, the king pitched a siege camp before the town and allotted a spot to every man, as befitted such a siege. After the king and all his men had taken up their positions in the camp, he gave instructions for the siege engines to be equipped and for them to aim missiles at the town and its castle. They 156 In

Chapter 18 above. was actually the governor of the town. See Chapter 64 below. 158 See Chapter 21 above. 157 He



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smashed the greater part of two towers that overlooked the River Tâmega, which runs alongside the town. Then the king ordered a siege tower to be erected close to the bridge to prevent access to the river and to attack the town. The siege tower had three storeys; in those days such towers were called ‘wooden castles’. As is the normal practice, this tower was lined with [intertwoven] reeds and gorse as protection against the rocks and stones [hurled at them]. Inside it were posted men-at-arms and crossbowmen who used this protected vantage point to prevent the townsfolk from getting water from the river. Out of his fond regard for her brother, Gonçalo Vasques, every day the king had a jug of water sent to Mécia Vasques, the wife of the town’s governor. As for the siege tower, it was watched over in turns by certain men to whom the king entrusted it. One day, when the watch was being kept by João Galego, a captain in charge of foot soldiers, a number of Galicians from inside the town began to exchange remarks with those outside, as is the custom in such places. João Galego, who knew one of them, began to call out, ‘Hi there, So-and-so’, calling him by his name. When the other man answered, João Galego began to tell him that, if he joined the king, his liege lord, to serve him, he would grant him many favours. To this the man inside the town retorted, ‘Listen, brave lad! To Hell with you and your king and the favours he’ll do me! What favours will he do me in these bad times when he won’t even spare me any of that water of mine that flows down the river? I tell you, nobody who keeps so tight a hold over that water is ever going to give me anything from the money he has in his treasure chest.’

Chapter 65

How the townsfolk [of Chaves] burnt down the king’s siege tower, and concerning the message which he received from the Duke of Lancaster

O

ne day, while the siege tower was being defended against those who were in charge of the town, the watch was being kept by Vasco Peres de Sampaio. While he was eating his evening meal in the siege camp, which lay some distance away from the tower, and heedless as to whether the townsmen would dare to attack it, there emerged from the town a detachment of soldiers, many of them carrying burning brands, each man as best he could, and despite those on watch, before help could reach them from the encampment, which was quite distant, they set fire to the tower, completely destroying it. From then on, the townsfolk had free access to all the water they wanted. The king was extremely angry at this and made bitter complaints against Vasco Peres for the way in which it had come about. He realised that, even if

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he gave orders for another siege tower to be constructed, it would be difficult to guard it against damage, not only because of what had happened, but also because of the two [town’s] towers which were very near to that spot, even though they had started to batter them down. He decided, however, to construct another siege tower, closer to the encampment and near to one of the town’s gates, where there stood a fine tower which was not so close that much damage could be inflicted from it. The siege tower was so powerfully held together with beams, reeds and lengths of rawhide that, though on one night the defenders inside the town had an engine from which they had hurled thirty rocks, of which twenty-seven had struck it, not one of them caused it any damage. From this siege tower, which was higher than the town walls, they never stopped shooting from their crossbows and hurling stones at those who wanted to walk along them, with the result that nobody dared to be on it for fear of the injury they could receive from the tower. Likewise, frequent shooting from the [other] siege engines took place day and night, and they brought down many houses in the castle and the town, killing the soldiers and wreaking immense havoc. The townsfolk also brought to bear their crossbows and shot back with their cannon and trebuchet, but these were incapable of inflicting any perceptible damage on the encampment. Skirmishes took place many times too, in which men on both sides were injured. It is important that you should know that this siege which the king commanded to be imposed on Chaves brought considerable advantages to many people in that area, because most of them were short of food, owing to the recent war and the King of Castile’s invasion of the realm, with the outcome that many people voluntarily joined the King of Portugal in his siege, in order to obtain food. The king frequently sent out foraging parties, which invaded Galicia for 8 to 10 leagues, making for Porquera, Sandianes, Allariz and other places in that area. Worthy captains were put in charge of the pack animals, for there were always a good 2,000 of them and sometimes more. They came back laden with grain, meats, chestnuts, walnuts and other foodstuffs, but only a little wine, because not much is produced in that region. On one occasion they went foraging around Viana del Bollo, and on the way back to camp, so much snow fell up in the hills that many men, young and old, died of the cold. Since the siege was taking place in wintertime, most of the king’s men were lodged in straw huts. While a forage party was away in the Orense area, a fire broke out in the camp near where Friar Fernão de Astorga, the king’s confessor, was encamped, and much of the camp went up in flames, in which individuals lost many provisions and weapons. This occurrence was a source of great concern to the king, not only because of the defence of the realm, but also in relation to the recovery of a number of towns and villages in that region which were rebelling and waging war against him, for instance Bragança, Vinhais, Outeiro de Miranda159 and others which 159 Known nowadays as the parish of Outeiro, district of Bragança, in the far north-east of Portugal.



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there is no need to name. However, since he was very close to Galicia and, indeed, to Castile, he pondered on whether the King of Castile might choose to come and deliver Martim Gonçalves from the siege and whether he might do battle with him. Were he to choose not to come, then with his assembled forces he could better conduct the war against his enemies [in the above towns and villages]. He then sent out a call to the communities of Lisbon, Coimbra, Santarém and other towns and villages throughout the realm, urging them to rally to his service. While the king was involved in his concerns about these matters, there unexpectedly arrived an English knight who had disembarked in Oporto, bringing a message from the Duke of Lancaster, who had told him to say that, since he had received definite news via messages from his emissaries that the King of Castile had been defeated in the battle King João had fought with him, it was his determined intent to head for Castile, to take control of it for himself, because it rightfully belonged to him by virtue of his marriage to Princess Constanza, the eldest daughter of King Pedro [of Castile], to whom the kingdom rightfully belonged; he added the request that the king send him a number of ships, including galleys, to facilitate his journey across the sea. The king was delighted at this message owing to the war in which he was embroiled, reflecting that, with the duke waging war on one front and him on another, this would greatly improve his chances and safety in the conflict, since the King of Castile could not so easily conduct his defence on two fronts as on one. He then gave orders for six galleys and twelve naos to be fitted out in Lisbon, two of which were those which King Fernando had commanded to be built, one of 300 tuns160 burden and the other of 150. He appointed Afonso Furtado as captain of the galleys, a post which he held at that time and which he continued to hold right up to his death.

Chapter 66

How a number of troops which he had summoned reached the king, and concerning the truce entered into by Martim Gonçalves

T

he king’s letters reached Lisbon in February of the aforesaid year [1386] and were received and read out in the presence of large numbers of people. From these letters they learned that it was vital to the service of the king to dispatch at once to his present encampment significant numbers of men-atarms, foot soldiers and crossbowmen. If the message was sent to them in great haste, then with even greater and more rapid determination did those in charge 160 One

Portuguese tonel is roughly half a tun.

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of the governance and direction of the city’s affairs strive to carry out what it requested. These included João da Veiga the Elder, Afonso Gonçalves and João Anes da Pedreira, along with Estêvão Eanes, Vasco Martins and others from the guilds, plus their associates and many honourable citizens whom we do not need to name. It was at once agreed by all of them that in the service of the king and for the honour of the city they should make haste to send the king 210 wellequipped lances, the 200 coming from the city and the ten from the township of Sintra, which then lay within the Lisbon city limits. In addition, they would send 250 crossbowmen and 200 foot soldiers. The captain of these forces would be the city’s lieutenant, Gonçalo Vasques Carregueiro, accompanied by Estêvão Vasques Filipe, who was the kingdom’s commander-in-chief of the crossbowmen. They were to take with them two trumpeters, two farriers, two blacksmiths, two saddlers, two liverymen and a single minstrel. All of them were to receive three months’ pay, namely for March, April and May, with each lance getting 300 libras for that period, that is to say 270 in cash and 30 in cloth, so that they should all wear the same agreed livery. A similar payment was made to those from Sintra for riding under the city’s banner. The crossbowmen were paid 25 libras (or 5 dobras) a month, and the foot soldiers received 20 libras (or 4 dobras). They decided that on account of his captaincy Estêvão Vasques should be given 5,000 libras (which at that time were worth 1,000 dobras, one dobra being valued at 5 libras). This was for the purchase of pack-animals and to ensure that he maintained fitting standards. Silvestre Esteves, who accompanied them as the city’s proctor, received certain monies on deposit for him to hire scouts, should they be needed, and for similar matters, should they be deemed advisable. Those who were about to depart also agreed among themselves that they should all wear a silver chain bearing the letter L161 round their necks and on top of the livery which they were due to wear; furthermore, each man would arrange that his emblem should be as decorative as possible. They arranged to have this done at once; some had them made from gold with precious stones, and all the letters measuring a good finger’s length. The king also sent for the constable, urging him to join with as many troops as he could bring, because he was being told that the King of Castile was preparing to come and relieve Martim Gonçalves from the siege imposed on him, though this was not the case. The king also sent for Vasco Martins de Melo, who was in Santarém, as well as for others. On hearing the king’s message, the constable immediately summoned his troops to accompany him on a given day. When they were all assembled he left the region between the Tagus and the Guadiana, taking with him no more 161 Standing

for ‘Lisbon’.



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than twenty mules, and headed for Oporto, leaving behind a message to all others to follow him and to be in that city on a given day. When they were all there, the constable set out with them, bound for Chaves, but travelling towards Bragança. In a village reputedly of Castilians he left his troops and his banner under the command of Martim Gonçalves do Carvalhal, his uncle. As for him, he left for Chaves, protected by no more than eighty lances. The king heard of his approach and went out to meet him, a very long way from the camp. At that point the Lisbon contingent also arrived, and the king was very pleased at how well equipped and orderly they were. The king then returned to his siege camp, and the constable went with him. A number of noblemen addressed the count as he was on his way, and one of those present declared, ‘Immense thanks be given to God, my lord, for granting you such a noble victory over your enemies, and for protecting you from such a perilous and fearful situation in which you found yourself.’ ‘Immense thanks to God, indeed’, answered the count, ‘that such was His pleasure. Others have already said to me what you are now saying, but I never saw any reason to be fearful.’ Estêvão Vasques then went to speak with the king and presented a letter to him from the city of Lisbon, the contents of which conveyed the following: His Grace would be well aware that he had confirmed and sanctioned the conferment upon the citizens of Lisbon of all the privileges, freedom, rights and customs which they had received from earlier kings. One of these was that, when the city’s troops went anywhere on His Grace’s service, the captain who accompanied them held jurisdiction, in both civil and criminal law, over all those who came from the aforesaid city; and that, if any person committed a misdemeanour, either in the king’s army or in the town or elsewhere, he should be immediately handed over to the captain, who would apply the force of the law to him; and that, when any person deemed himself aggrieved at the captain’s verdict, he should appeal to the king; and that the city’s notaries, acting on the king’s authority, should act reliably and responsibly wherever the city’s contingent went, both in this realm and beyond it. Accordingly, the citizens entreated him graciously to authorise that such jurisdiction be held by the captain whom, on his service, they were sending forth with these troops.

The king declared himself very pleased with this arrangement and gave orders for a charter to be issued to that effect. It is important that you should know that, while these events were taking place (not to mention others which it is unnecessary to relate), the siege engines [at Chaves] never stopped hurling missiles by night and by day and were creating great havoc in the town. Likewise, from the siege tower, they were already starting to batter down the barbican and were trying to drive

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holes through the walls. In addition, the king prepared a most mighty ladder to be placed against the town’s walls, such as had never before been seen in the Spanish Peninsula and at which everyone was filled with dread. Observing all this and afraid of a forced entry, against which there was no possible defence, Martim Gonçalves entered into a truce with the king, according to which the king would give him forty days in which to inform the King of Castile; and, if help did not come by the end of that time, he, Martim Gonçalves, would surrender to him both the town and the castle, and he and his men would depart, together with their animals, weapons and possessions. For all that, certain advisers urged the king not to agree to this, on the grounds that he already held his adversaries in dire straits. Nevertheless, out of regard for the brothers of Mécia Vasques and because of the safety afforded to his men by not losing numbers of them in attacking the enemy, the king considered the proposal made by Martim Gonçalves to be more advisable. The latter handed over one of his sons as a hostage to guarantee that, if by the final day no help were to come, then he would surrender the town to the king. He immediately sent a message to the King of Castile, explaining all the circumstances and how he was subject to a truce. While the forty days were elapsing, numbers of those within the town went to speak to the governor and to Mécia Vasques at their convenience. Among these was a squire named Afonso Madeira, who went to see Martim Gonçalves and his wife, being well acquainted with them. In their conversation with him, they began to adopt a disdainful tone when they asked him, ‘So, what’s your Master of Avis up to out there?’ ‘What’s he up to?’ he replied. ‘I don’t know. But I think he’s devising all sorts of pills and potions to get you out of here!’ ‘Well, to Hell with him and his potions!’ they retorted. Then they talked about other matters. Now, we told you elsewhere162 that the King of Castile had sent a message to the King of France asking him to help by sending troops and money, and that he had notified the Antipope of all that had happened in the battle [of Aljubarrota]; moreover, you have not heard what the King of France’s reply was. For those reasons we deem it right, before we narrate other matters and while Martim Gonçalves’s squire is travelling back and forth with his message [to the King of Castile], that you should listen to two brief chapters which can be read out to you while the squire makes his way to Zamora. After that we shall tell you what reply the King of Castile sent back to Martim Gonçalves.

162 In

Chapter 44 above.



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Chapter 67

Concerning the reply that the King of France gave to the King of Castile’s messengers whom he sent to him after the battle [of Aljubarrota]

W

e have already mentioned elsewhere163 how the King of Castile, after losing the battle, sent out from Valladolid for more troops, wherever they could be found. He also sent a message to the King of France requesting help, both with troops and money, to enable him to continue with the campaign which he had begun. His messengers reached Paris, which was where the king then was, and, having handed over their letters of credence, they informed him by word of mouth about everything that had happened to their king in losing the battle and how he was now very short both of troops and financial resources. In addition, they informed him that the King of Portugal had sent letters to England to the Duke of Lancaster, telling him that the time was ripe for him to come and seek the kingdom of Castile, which rightfully belonged to him, and urging him to make every effort to come as swiftly as possible. The King of France made the messengers very welcome, declaring that he deeply regretted the adverse occurrence that had befallen their liege lord. However, he would discuss the matter with his uncles, the Dukes of Berry, Burgundy and Bourbon, as well as with the great lords and noblemen, of which his royal council was composed, and would give them his answer. Then he spoke with his council, and they agreed that it was right to assist the King of Castile in all possible ways. King Charles summoned the King of Castile’s messengers to his Council and in the presence of his uncles and all those there assembled he spoke as follows: The King of Castile, who is my friend and brother, has sent you to me with his letters of credence, along with other matters which you have expressed to me on his behalf. I have truly understood all these things and have discussed them with my royal council. You are therefore to tell the King of Castile, who is my friend and brother, that I deeply regret and deplore the loss of the battle which he suffered in Portugal. That is because I consider that honour and gallant achievements, when they are his portion, are just as much mine as his; moreover, when the opposite happens, that too affects me. Therefore, you are to tell him to take comfort and be of great courage in these circumstances, for victory in battle is in God’s hands, and no one can speak against His will. The King of Castile is well aware that we read in our chronicles and histories and see it come about every day that very great princes and lords have waged wars and engaged in battles with their

163 In

Chapter 44 above.

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enemies and at times have been vanquished. Nevertheless, they have not lost their honourable intent but have returned with even greater courage to the war in which they were involved; they have recovered their honour and gone on to accomplish great deeds. Consequently, the King of Castile should not give in to an excess of dismay at his loss; rather, he should consider beyond doubt that Almighty God, Who brought it about, can now bestow great good fortune upon him, giving him victory over his enemies, owing to the rightful claim he has against them. Likewise, as to his message to me requesting help with troops and monies for the undertaking to which he is committed, you are to tell him that with all I have I am truly ready to help him with his forces and bolster his honour; I also assure him that I shall at once dispatch to him 2,000 lances from the finest knights and squires in my realm, and that I shall give him 100,000 gold francs as pay for these troops. Indeed, let them receive their pay as of now, to make them ready all the sooner and brook no delay. In addition, if any greater need for help should arise, you are to tell him that I am ready to make it available to him, even with my own life, were it necessary.

On hearing this, the messengers answered him, saying, ‘Sire, in the name of the King of Castile, our liege lord, who is your friend and brother, we give you profound thanks and gratefully acknowledge your noble goodwill in choosing to support him in this way. For these good works both he and all his realm will be forever beholden to the Crown of France, to do whatever it pleases and to extend to it whatever help it can offer.’ It is important that you should know that in the treaties which had been signed between Castile and France, in a certain chapter it was laid down that, if either of them needed help from the other one, by land or sea, then, at his own expense, the king receiving the request would send all necessary help and assistance to wherever the other king was; such was the reason for the King of France’s reply. However, though he said he would at once dispatch the 2,000 lances, that undertaking was not so swiftly carried out as to be fulfilled before the end of 1386; indeed, it was 1387 when they arrived in the kingdom of Castile, as you will hear in due course.164

Chapter 68

Concerning the letter which the Antipope sent in reply to the King of Castile

T

he message from the King of Castile was delivered to a town called Avignon, which was where the Antipope named Clement VII resided, to whom the king had declared his allegiance and paid obeisance. When the 164 In

Chapter 114 below.



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Antipope learned about how the king had lost the battle [of Aljubarrota] and been defeated by the King of Portugal, who was their common adversary, he was profoundly dismayed. To console the King of Castile he sent him a letter, which, when translated [from Latin], reads as follows: Clement, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the much beloved and Christian son Don Juan, King of Castile and León; health and the spirit of strength be unto you in your adversity. I have received news which has disturbed my heart and caused my lips to tremble. For that was a day of mighty wrath and dread rage against Your Royal Majesty, when your resplendent highness, feared by everyone from the rising to the setting of the sun, was brought down so swiftly by a slight event, scarcely begun, that the news is terrible to hear. Nevertheless, most high prince, do not be so fearful or downcast, for often we read that the victor can be vanquished by one lower than himself. We read that the Ark of the Covenant was stolen by those who did not believe in God and held in their power;165 and that Saul and Jonathan, his son, were both vanquished and slain by the Philistines.166 It is written that the great city of Rome, mistress of the whole world, was at times conquered by her enemies and adversaries. Nor do we doubt, indeed we know for certain, that King Rodrigo of Spain was defeated and persecuted by the Arabs.167 We know that it was not long ago that the Englishmen’s noble Fleur de Lys was brought down.168 You are well aware that the outstanding prince among this world’s noble knights, your father King Enrique, who gave evidence of his immense courage amid the greatest perils and defeats, though formerly routed, went on to victory. Thus, the one whom God loves is also punished and corrected by Him. Indeed, if He has at this time wounded and injured your foot, He it is Who will cure you of your injuries. Moreover, if you patiently bear the mighty scourge of His punishment, your pain will turn to pleasure, and your sorrow will turn to joy. Just as you have a great pain in your heart at this time, so the consolation for your soul will also be great. God is applying his mercy to you and thus is chastising and afflicting you in your temporal affairs, so that you will later not have to undergo the anguish of everlasting death. For it is written that in the construction of the Temple all the stones were first of all hewn with powerful iron chisels, so they could be gently laid in an edifice which had to last. Thus, those who are to be sent from this world to be set in the wall of that heavenly temple known as Jerusalem are first of all tormented and afflicted by misfortune here below, so that hereafter they may be most peacefully and gently transferred and laid there above. Thus, since that is so, why is it that you, noble lord, in whom there has never been any deceit, torment yourself so much? Although there is good 165 I

Samuel 4. Samuel 31. 167 Rodrigo (or Roderick) was the Visigothic King of Hispania in or around A.D. 711, when he died as a result of the Arab/Berber invasion. 168 A reference to English naval defeats in the 1370s at the hands of French and Castilian fleets. 166 I

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reason for your pain, discretion obliges you to hide it and not to make it public, for making it public to the common people causes the anguish of your friends to increase and creates immense joy and pleasure for your enemies. Accordingly, dearly beloved son, I implore you with all my might not to allow your pain to become so great as to thrust you beyond the limits of sound sense. Clothe yourself in the apparel of health and strength and place your trust in that Lord Who aids and helps those who put their trust in Him. Given in Avignon etc.

Chapter 69

How the King of Castile sent a message to Martim Gonçalves telling him to surrender the town in accordance with what had been negotiated in the truce

M

artim Gonçalves’s squire reached Zamora, which was where the King of Castile was to be found, and chanced to arrive, with no specific intention of doing so, so late at night that the king was already in bed with the queen his wife. Owing to his anxiety to know the king’s wishes, he felt obliged to go at once to the palace. He told the guard on the gate that, despite the fact that the king had already retired, he should go and tell him directly that a squire from Martim Gonçalves de Ataíde had arrived and that he requested the favour of being heard at once, for it was a matter which greatly affected his interests. Having been told this, though he had retired, the king rose from his bed. The squire entered his chamber and told the king about the siege, the events relating to it and all that Martim Gonçalves had done up to the point where he had entered into the truce. The king gave the following answer: ‘I am well aware of his difficulties and readily accept all those that you have described to me. I am also under a great obligation to grant Martim Gonçalves many favours in return for all the excellent service he has done me in defending that town for so long, under such pressure and without the advantages which others have had, for he does not simply defend Chaves, but [thereby] defends a large part of Castile as well. That I say, because the man who has laid siege to him could in the meantime have caused great devastation in my kingdom, something which he has not done, and for that very reason. However, since I am at this time in no position to go to his aid in a fitting manner, and since that man is so ready for war, tell Martim Gonçalves, therefore, to surrender the town to him and that I fully release him from his sworn obligations to me.’ Next day the king wrote letters to Martim Gonçalves, telling him that he was releasing him from the sworn undertaking which he had given in respect of Chaves, and urging him to head for Castile, where he would heap favours



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upon him and give him lands which would enable him to spend his remaining days honourably. The squire left and went back to Martim Gonçalves with the message. When the end of the truce arrived, Martim Gonçalves sent a message to the King of Portugal, saying that he wished to surrender the town and castle to him, as he had agreed; almost four months had passed since the king had begun his siege. Before this, however, he had already dispatched his wife and children to a township named Monterrey, which lies in the kingdom of Castile, some 3 leagues distant. In their company, and in honour of his wife, there travelled for a large part of the journey her brothers Gonçalo Vasques and Fernão Martins Coutinho; thereafter they made their way back to the siege camp. Vasco Gómez de Seixas, who was with Martim Gonçalves, went to speak with the King of Portugal, in order to take his leave, going to where he was sitting in his tent. Martim Gonçalves, however, chose not to speak with him. On the day after the truce ended they both left still armed but their men were on foot. Some of them who had pack-animals had kept them outside the town. The youths and foot soldiers yelled and jeered at them, as it is customary to do to those who leave a town after a siege. The king made his way to the town and entered the castle; there he attended mass and created three knights of the Order of the Hospitallers. He made Egas Coelho his master of ceremonies and gave the town to the constable. Some people said that this was his reward from the king for winning the Battle of Valverde, which had happened only a short while before. The count placed a guard on the town, leaving Vasco Machado, a gallant squire of his, as its governor. Then he departed to go and rejoin his troops, whom he had left behind in the Bragança area.

Chapter 70

How the count ejected from among his forces all the women whom his men had brought with them

W

hile he was in that region, the count sent a message to João Afonso Pimentel, who held Bragança on behalf of the King of Castile, urging that they should speak together openly and freely. João Afonso was the husband of Dona Joana, the bastard sister of Queen Leonor and the aunt of Queen Beatriz, as you have already heard.169 While the count was passing close to that town, João Afonso came to speak to him at a spot they had

169 In

CKF, Chapter 65.

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both arranged. When he began to discuss matters with him, the count put forward many arguments to persuade him to hand the town over to the king his liege lord and to declare his allegiance to him, assuring João Afonso that he would receive many favours and an increase in his standing from the king. Nevertheless, João Afonso refused to give ground, however much the count sought to say to him, and made his way back into town. The count then left that place and went on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Santa Maria do Azinhoso, to which he owed particular devotion. When he had attended mass, he made an offering of a reliquary that was held to be of great value. Since he was in the Bragança area, he gave orders for a plan to be put into effect which he had wanted to carry out for a long time, for he considered that the prevailing situation was dangerous for men who were to continue fighting a war. This matter was as follows: since all the men in his forces had their concubines with them, not just those who were married, but also those who were not, he commanded that thenceforth no man should be accompanied by a woman, and if any woman were found in the encampment, he would at once publicly flog her himself. So greatly did this order displease all those who had women with them, that not one of them had the patience to tolerate it; rather, when discussing this with the constable, each man put forward so many arguments as to why he needed to have a woman’s company, that it appeared clear to everybody present that not one of the women would be ejected from the count’s forces. As for him, since he was fully open to reasoned argument, he gave courteous answers to all of them, uttering many noble words. Nevertheless, when everything had been said, since he was unwilling to allow women to continue with his forces any longer, he was unable to mollify his men. Some of them declared that they preferred to lose his favour towards them. Others got angry with him, declaring that they would no longer serve him. Yet others threw their weapons to the ground, uttering words and displaying attitudes that it would take a long time to describe. This reached such a point that afterwards the count sometimes said that he would rather wait for a battle, even if it were against a huge force, than wait to reply to so many and such varied arguments as each one of them had advanced in his own cause as to why he was obliged to have his woman with him. But, however much they were all able to reason with him, he did not refrain from proceeding with his objective, maintaining that it was in the service of Almighty God and for the good of those in his forces. All the women then left, not one of them staying behind, and his men were prevented from having their company anymore; moreover, not a single man left his force on that account. When the king arrived from Chaves, the count told him what he had done and his reasons for doing so, urging the king to make the same prohibition throughout his encampment, arguing that otherwise he would not be able to maintain good order in his army, were this prohibition



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not enforced. Consequently, the king prohibited any man in his forces from bringing his woman along with him, subject to the same penalty that the count had laid down. The count also persuaded the king to prohibit foul language and gambling with dice, as a result of which the king thereafter often said that every worthwhile custom in Portugal had been initiated by the constable. As for us, we do not attribute any praiseworthy practice to him which he did not totally practise himself.

Chapter 71

How the king held a muster on the bank of the Vilariça Brook, and concerning the troops that he found there assembled

T

he count headed for Torre de Moncorvo and reached the bank of the Vilariça, which is the boundary of that township, and, as we have said, the king also arrived there with his army.170 It was at once decided to organise a muster of all the troops that were there. The vanguard held its own muster, as also did the rearguard and the wings. This was the finest muster ever seen in Portugal until then, for in it were those who had participated in the battle [of Aljubarrota], as well as those who had not managed to be there, such as Martim Vasques da Cunha, his brother Gil Vasques, Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, the Master of the Order of Christ Lopo Dias de Sousa, the Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers Álvaro Gonçalves and others. They were accompanied by large numbers of valiant troops, which amounted to 4,500 lances. All of them, both knights and squires, were well armed, having in past battles collected many fine weapons from their enemies. However, they were not all well horsed, because they had seized more weapons than horses. Also present were large numbers of foot soldiers and crossbowmen. If anyone were to say that a fine muster cannot be held with only 4,500 lances, he would reveal just how little he knows about these matters and about warfare in former times. The reason is that Portugal, at a rough estimate, never assembled more than half the troops assembled by Castile. Consider the case of King Fernando: when he and the Earl of Cambridge were ready to engage in battle between Elvas and Badajoz with the King of Castile, who had 5,000 lances, not counting the light horsemen, King Fernando had little more than 3,000, other than the English.171 As for the royal battle [at Aljubarrota], the 170 In

Chapter 70 above. CKF, Chapter 153.

171 See

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King of Castile had 6,000 lances, and the King of Portugal had managed to muster, at the most, a few more than 3,000, though he had his entire kingdom with him. Therefore, those who have written that this was a fine muster of large numbers of troops, both mounted and on foot, are quite right. However, do not believe the lances found there to be the king’s vassals as they now are. The reason is that at this time the king had not set up the system of life service allowances;172 he had not adopted this system, unlike other kings, owing to the vast turmoil of warfare into which he had been thrust from the very moment he had begun to rule and reign. Nevertheless, each man served alongside those in whose company he was best fitted to serve, were they men-at-arms or foot soldiers, and there was pay for all of them. In the time of other kings this was not the case: the noblemen received their life service allowances and were known as the king’s vassals. Each nobleman was commanded by the king to serve him with a certain number of lances whenever needed. According to the rank or standing of that nobleman, the king determined the number of lances he should have, and for that number he granted him an allowance which he received every year. Up to that number, the king could add or take away any lance he wished, excluding the allowance for the vassal’s service in person. Furthermore, if any nobleman had more lances than the number allocated to him, he received no pay for the extra men. A charter was immediately dispatched at birth to all the legitimate sons of noblemen. Once the king learned of the birth, or his father arranged for the king to be informed, the charter awarding the life income – which was known as the maravedis – was at once sent to the child’s home, indicating the quantity which he was due to receive, at the same rate as that of his father, without requiring further mention or indication thereof from the king. The man delivering the charter habitually said, ‘So-and-so, the clerk for the maravedis sends you this charter concerning the life service allowance pertaining to your newborn son, and he also requests that I receive a reward for the good news.’ He would then place the charter on the infant’s chest, where he lay in his cradle, or in the lap of the nurse, if she happened to be tending to him at the time. All the sons born to the nobleman were sent charters after this fashion. The father would take great pleasure in this and each time would reward the messenger. When the king later took into his service a number of these nobles, he would favour them by increasing their life service allowance, and, if the father died, the eldest son inherited his service allowance. This was the practice at the time of earlier kings and during the life of King Pedro [I of Portugal]. If we stated in his chronicle that he added to the life service allowance of his 172 A

life income was given by the king to noblemen and their eldest sons from birth, in exchange for their permanent availability with a certain number of men, arms and horses.



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noblemen, what we wrote is the truth, for he added to the number of libras paid, but not to the gold and silver which they could exchange for them.173 The reason is that formerly the vassal had a life allowance of only 75 libras, that is to say the vassal had no other lance except himself, as set down in the king’s register, and he could exchange those libras for five silver marks or more. Previously, however, when [his father] Afonso IV changed the coinage and issued the coins known as ‘new dinheiros’, he commanded that nine of them should be worth one soldo, when previously one soldo had been worth 12. The value of gold and silver immediately shot up, with the result that they lost a quarter of their pay. Later into his reign, King Pedro recognised the loss which his vassals had suffered and corrected that increase [in the value of gold and silver] by commanding that the vassals should receive 100 libras, which was the equivalent of the life service allowance which they had formerly received. All the vassals listed in the king’s register kept their horse and hauberk when they died, but not those of the lances who served with them. When King Fernando came to the throne, he changed this worthy custom and ordered that the charter of life service allowance should only be awarded to the first son and no other, though, if the first son died, it would pass to the second son or to another son born later. On the death of King Fernando, from what you have seen of subsequent events, these arrangements completely ceased. Now, while reviewing the muster, and having already seen part of it, the king ordered Gonçalo Peres to inspect all the captains closely to see whether each of them seemed to have the men for whom he was carrying the pay. Proceeding with the inspection, he reached Antão Vasques, who had more than seventy lances, some of whom were well armed and others less so. When Antão Vasques saw him, he immediately asked, ‘I say, Gonçalo, what’s your opinion on this man?’ – for he was well armed – ‘This is Saint George himself, not a man-at-arms. Have a dragon brought to him and just see him slay it!’ These and other words of praise he uttered for each and every well-armed man. As for those who were less well armed, he would say, ‘Do you see this man, Gonçalo? He doesn’t really need the weapons, because he’s so battlehardened that his body is covered by scars from all his wounds.’ Then, against the man’s will, he would get him to show an arm or a leg and from some trivial scratch he would relate the great blow he had supposedly suffered as though it were a remarkable feat of arms. Then Antão Vasques would say, ‘Don’t you see? I don’t want a man like this to kill any fewer than six [of the enemy], for he’s already experienced the effects of cold steel. Tell any Castilian to come and fight this man and he’ll find more than he has bargained for.’

173 See

CKP, Chapter 1.

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In this fashion he praised both these men and others in ways which Gonçalo Peres carefully noted. Once the muster was over and everyone had dispersed, a number of noblemen from among these captains, including Antão Vasques, then went to the king’s pavilion. The king discussed with each one of them the nature and state of their equipment, to which Gonçalo Peres answered as follows: ‘My liege, let me tell you that in this muster I haven’t seen any soldiers, or troops so well prepared for action, as those of Antão Vasques, who is here present.’ ‘And let me tell you all’, said the king, ‘that Gonçalo Peres has inspected them well. But we’re unaware of what the troops of Antão Vasques are like.’ ‘Indeed, Sire’, said Gonçalo Peres, ‘you’ve never seen the like. What kind of men do you imagine they are? This is not a matter to be taken lightly! Antão Vasques claims that his well-armed soldier is a Saint George and would kill a dragon if presented with one. He also claims that his less well-armed soldiers don’t need more weapons, and those they have are more than enough, because these soldiers are as well-proven as gold, and that one of them would kill ten Castilians. He had them reveal their arms and legs to show me where they had been wounded and even got them to remove their breeches.’ The king began to laugh at this and praised such troops as were ready for anything, to which Antão Vasques hastened to reply, saying, ‘But, Sire, ask him if he saw the scars from their wounds.’ ‘Oh, it’s true I saw scars on several of them’, said Gonçalo Peres, ‘but I think they are all from boils.’ The king laughed heartily at these remarks and at the way Gonçalo Peres had presented the tale. Indeed, they spent the evening in this merry mood.

Chapter 72

How João Afonso Pimentel joined the king and handed Bragança to him

J

oão Afonso Pimentel, who, as we said,174 held Bragança, chose not to join the king and refused to declare allegiance to him despite the arguments which the constable put before him, as we have related. In time, however, he realised that the king had regained Chaves despite Martim Gonçalves’s resistance. He realised also that the King of Castile, though informed about the siege of Chaves, had sent a message to Martim Gonçalves during the truce, stating that he did not care to go and seek to raise the siege, a decision

174 In

Chapter 70 above.



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that had forced Martim Gonçalves to abandon the town after great travail and with little personal honour. With these factors in mind, he reflected that the same fate could befall him too and considered that the King of Portugal would continue to recover his kingdom in this way, step by step, especially as several people were already snarling that Bragança would also be besieged. Accordingly, to protect his honour and standing, he decided to enter into a parley with the King of Portugal with a view to his holding Bragança with all that it contained, and to his declaring his allegiance to him. While the negotiations were in progress, many Castilian muleteers and merchants happened to pass through the Bragança area, bound with their merchandise for Saint James’s feast-day in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, which was due in July. Since Bragança had declared for Castile, they were confidently travelling that way, by which they intended to come back. Maliciously, João Afonso gave them all a warm welcome, making it clear that, if they came back that way, he would be very pleased and would treat them honourably and buy some of the goods they brought with them. Believing matters to be as he said, they all returned the same way that they went, bringing with them more money from what they had sold than any remaining goods. However, João Afonso had them all arrested, seized their pack-animals and everything they had with them, and held prisoner those whom he saw fit. He then declared his allegiance to Portugal and went to join the king. The king, however, did not approve of what he had done, nor did all those who heard about it.

Chapter 73

How the king regained Almeida, though he had not intended to attack it

T

he king left the area around the Vilariça Brook, which was rich in grain when he arrived there, stretching out for up to a league, as it was the month of May. But although the king had commanded that the crop should not be damaged, his order was followed only for a very few days, because the pressure from his many troops was so great that they could not be prevented from availing themselves of the crop, with the result that all the corn was used up, and nothing was left over. The king and the count set off with their troops, crossing the Douro into the province of Beira. When the king reached the foot of the hill on which stands Castelo Rodrigo, which had declared for Castile, he ignored it, as it is strong, and chose not to tarry there, because he was in a hurry to invade

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Castile. He headed for Almeida,175 which had also declared for the enemy. When the king arrived there, the township of Almeida was held by a Castilian governor named Lope González Pie de Hierro,176 who was waging war from there against Pinhel and other places which claimed allegiance to Portugal. The king set up camp with his troops near Almeida, not intending to attack it, but just to sleep there that night. While the king was settled in his encampment, a number of foot soldiers, porters and muleteers spotted some beehives close to the town’s fortifications and had a good mind to go and seize them. They started calling out to one another, ‘Aha! Martim Eanes! It’s Martim Eanes!’ For these beehives which they wanted to seize indeed belonged to Martim Eanes. So they began to cry out, chattering and shouting, and set off to seize them. The inmates of the castle emerged to defend them, and so intense was the contest between the inmates and those from outside that it soon turned into a skirmish. The king sent orders telling them not to skirmish in that fashion, since it was not his intent to attack Almeida, but rather to proceed on his way as he had been doing. Nevertheless, the skirmish flared up so vigorously that several valiant squires joined in, and the numbers of soldiers from the encampment grew. When the king saw them getting involved and already seizing the beehives, he ordered the trumpets to sound and his banner to be unfurled, and headed into the fray with his troops. When they passed the entrance to a strong bailey close to a powerful and very defensible tower, they placed sturdy beams against the centre of the tower and began to chip away at the wall of the bailey. Beholding the valour of his troops and how the attack was intensifying, the king gave orders not to relent. The onslaught lasted from midday to sunset, when they were obliged to leave off and go back to camp, but the king ordered Rui Vasques de Castelo Branco to keep watch that night with troops at the postern gate, lest anybody tried to enter the town. Next morning, after masses had been attended, orders were given to let the trumpets sound. Then they all advanced on the town. On seeing the king approaching in this manner, and since the Portuguese had previously begun to hack away at the walls of the bailey and, once in, would inevitably set fire to the gates of the tower, the governor requested that hostages be given to ensure his safe conduct, declaring that he would go and speak with the king. Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho was handed over to guarantee his safety, and the governor negotiated terms with the king by which he and all those in the township would be allowed to leave with their possessions; in return he would surrender it to him. The king welcomed this and in that way he regained the

175 Almeida

is located some 25 miles (c. 40 km) east–north-east of Guarda. with the same name was declared dead at the Battle of Trancoso (May 1385). See Chapter 21 above. 176 A person



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township of Almeida, which he then consigned to the aforesaid Rui Vasques de Castelo Branco, who would remain there as governor. It is important that you should know that this township of Almeida had been besieged in the days of King Fernando by this very King Juan of Castile of whom we spoke.177 Furthermore, though he besieged it for seven weeks, assailing it with his trebuchets and crossbows and constantly attacking it, he had nevertheless failed to force a way in, despite the area being flat, owing to its sturdy defences. Yet the King of Portugal had taken it by shield and lance, between eating his midday meal and nightfall, and without having planned to do so.

Chapter 74

How the count ordered a squire to be burnt for stealing a chalice from a church, and how Afonso Peres was taken prisoner

I

n the incursion into Castile which the king now made, he divided his troops up into three sections. In his own contingent he retained those who suited him best, whereas he sent the constable forward with his vanguard. As for Martim Vasques, Gonçalo Vasques and others, they were to form the third section elsewhere, since envy led them to be at odds with the count. Before the count left, Martim Vasques and Gonçalo Vasques advanced with their troops to capture Hinojosa [de Duero] and San Felices [de los Gallegos], two small villages on their route that had weak fortifications and poor defences.178 This they did in order to gain the honour for their capture before the count arrived. First they seized Hinojosa, which was a very small village. Then they went further ahead, intending to capture San Felices, though it proved not so easy to seize; the villagers, however, realising they would be unable to defend themselves against such a large force, declared that they preferred to surrender the place to the constable. After the Master of the Order of Christ and Martim Vasques and all the others had set up camp, the count arrived, and the village surrendered to him. Thus both villages were captured, looted and left bereft. However, we do not intend to make much of certain arguments, alleged by other writers, between these nobles and the count, for no great commotion took place. Departing from there, the count headed for Fuenteguinaldo, which 177 In

CKF, Chapter 127. border villages lie to the north-west of Ciudad Rodrigo in the direction of the Douro (Duero). 178 These

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is located just within the limits of the area pertaining to Ciudad Rodrigo, and there he stayed for some three days.179 While he was there, he was informed that a squire, Gonçalo Gil de Veiros by name, had stolen a chalice from a church, for which the count at once had him arrested. After a careful investigation had established the truth, for the constable was greatly astonished that anyone could steal anything from a church, he gave orders for the squire to be burnt. When once the firewood had been piled up and the fire lit, all the captains and knights in the army went to the constable and begged him not to put the squire to death, but the count was unwilling to agree. However, they pressed him so hard that he gave way to them against his will. Instead, he expelled him from his contingent, and thus the squire escaped. The count left Fuenteguinaldo and headed for another village, known as Robleda.180 It rained unusually heavily on the night he arrived, and the storm was so great that the main pole of the tent where he lay snapped with such force that he thought he was going to be killed. All his men feared that the wrath of God was descending on them, so powerful and treacherous was the storm. Next day it pleased the Lord to put everything right again. Despite the rains, the corn that had been harvested along the Vilariça Brook recovered so well that most of it could be put to good use later. From Robleda the constable sent out forage parties into the villages in the Arrago valley,181 a very beautiful valley noted for its many vineyards. From there they brought back many wines and numerous cattle, for both these things were in very short supply in the encampment. Near to that valley stands the castle of Santibáñez, which is a commandery of the Order of Alcántara; the commander and governor was a brother knight of that Order, one Rodrigo Eanes, who had served alongside the constable in this war, before going over to Castile and to the Master of Alcántara, Martim Eanes. While the said Rodrigo Eanes kept the constable’s company, he had always lodged with another gallant squire named Afonso Peres, a man whom the count held in warm regard. They were both such firm friends that the strength of their friendship never seemed to falter. It came about, however, that Afonso Peres was among those foraging in the Arrago valley. When Rodrigo Eanes, the governor of Santibáñez, discovered that Afonso Peres was a member of the foraging party, he sent him a message asking him to go and see him, assuring him of a safe journey there and back and of his safety while there, for he was unable to leave the castle to go to him.

179 Fuenteguinaldo lies 15 miles (c. 24 km) to the south-west of Ciudad Rodrigo, close to the frontier. 180 Robleda is located 5 miles (c. 8 km) to the south-east of Fuenteguinaldo. 181 The valley of the River Arrago lies some 12 miles (c. 19 km) to the south of Robleda.



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Trusting in their former friendship and in the fact that Rodrigo Eanes was, like him, a Portuguese, and relying on the promise of safe conduct, Afonso Peres boldly set off to see him. But when he arrived there, Rodrigo Eanes arrested him and took him prisoner. Since the Master of Alcántara, Martim Eanes, held a grudge against Afonso Peres as a result of a former quarrel with him, when he, Martim Eanes, was the commander of Pedroso, a quarrel of which Rodrigo Eanes was aware, Rodrigo Eanes dispatched him at once to the master with a view to his execution, which the latter was keen to carry out. On hearing of this, the constable was furious and wanted to go and lay siege to the castle at once. However, since it was inopportune to besiege the castle, he hurriedly wrote to the master, demanding that Afonso Peres be sent back to him, with which the master immediately complied, despite his ill will towards Afonso Peres. We have set down this incident as a warning that at a time of war nobody should trust a friend of any sort. The constable then left Robleda and advanced with his vanguard on the township of Coria and pitched his siege camp there before the king arrived.

Chapter 75

How the king reached Coria and laid siege to the town

T

he king left Almeida, which was where we left him, and advanced towards Ciudad Rodrigo, without encountering any resistance, though that town had gallant troops to defend it. Then he passed through Gata, which is a village lying on the flat, which was pillaged, along with other villages that lie at the foot of the mountain range, until he reached the brook which runs through Coria. From that point his forces attacked Plasencia, Galisteo and other townships in the area. When he approached Coria, he found the constable already there and dined with him that day. They pitched their siege camp close to Coria in a large meadow nearby. The River Alagón, which runs by the town, flowed between them and Coria.182 As soon as the troops arrived, they at once took prisoner some seven or eight farmworkers who were working outside the town. They spoke to one Gonzalo Bermúdez, who was in the town, telling him to give them bread and other provisions in exchange for the farmworkers. He promised certain food items to be given in ransom for them, but those in discussion with him demanded that he should hand over more. His answer was that, if they did not wish to hand them back for what he had promised to give them, then they could take the farmworkers away and eat them, making of them three dainty 182 Coria

is located some 42 miles (c. 67 km) to the north of Cáceres.

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dishes, boiled, roasted and cured for slicing, ‘for I swear to you’, he said, ‘that, if I could deprive you of the water of this river and prevent you from drinking it, then I would do so, especially as I do not want to give you even more food.’ So, they took what he was giving them, for they had no further choice in the matter. At this time, the King of Castile was in the city of Burgos, not daring to attempt raising the siege [laid by the Portuguese] besetting Coria. Since Martim Vasques and the other nobles in the third section that we mentioned had not yet arrived, the Archbishop of Toledo mustered 1,500 lances to advance on them, believing, according to the reports he had received, that they would be some 300 lances or not many more. However, when he actually saw them and realised that their numbers were in fact up to 800 or so, he did not dare to engage with them in battle and made his way back to Salamanca. The aforementioned township of Coria is small, and the king [of Portugal] had wanted to capture it, not because of any riches or great profit it might bring him, but simply because it lay close to the borders of his own kingdom. Ready to defend it stood the aforesaid Gonzalo Bermúdez of Coria, who was a gallant knight and native of the town and who was earnest in its defence, along with the men he had with him. While the king was lodged in the encampment, troops left it in a foraging party, planning to make for a village called Hervás, which lay 13 leagues away [to the north-east], because they were told that it had plenty of wine, of which the camp had run very short. Intent on this, when they were passing close to Granadilla, which lay some 8 leagues distant from their camp, around sunset they came across pack-animals laden with wines from Hervás and bound for Plasencia. The captains in charge of the forage party decided not to go any further and made their way back to the siege camp with these pack-animals, arriving there next day, along with many cows and pigs.

Chapter 76

How the king attacked Coria, and concerning the observations made by Rui Mendes183

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fter the arrival of Martim Vasques and the other nobles, along with the Lisbon contingent and other troops, the king resolved to launch an attack on the town. Since it was June, with very hot weather, and since numbers of 183 Perhaps owing to a scribal error, Rui Mendes here is confused with his brother, Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos, as the text of the chapter reveals.



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his troops were falling sick, the king accordingly moved his encampment, pitching it on the near side of the river, closer to the town, and from there he ordered his attack. Then they sent for and reassembled a ladder with no protective covering, which was not ideal for such an attack but which the king had devised for the assault on Chaves.184 Then they set to work. As for Antão Vasques, he was in the spot where the king and his companions were attacking. Demonstrating his daring and shouting out his battle cry, ‘Hack them down! Hack them down!’, he got so close to the walls – which at that point had no barbican – that he struck them with his dagger as much as he pleased, not because he lacked a better weapon for the job, but because the dagger was more effective at close quarters.185 Similarly, his lieutenant got so near to the walls that he was assailed from above with a huge boulder, which killed him. Several men bearing shields approached the spot, much to the chagrin of those on the walls; despite the many boulders they hurled down at them, they were able to retrieve the body [of their companion] and take it away. At another point the attack was being led by Martim Vasques da Cunha, along with other noblemen, the Lisbon contingent and other forces. As for the constable and his vanguard, they took up arms but did not participate in the attack, because the count did not agree to the attack on the town and was greatly vexed about it. He declared that since they did not have the equipment with which to mount a proper onslaught, such an assault on the walls was more likely to lead to soldiers being killed than to any honour or benefit; furthermore, he had no wish for troops to be slain pointlessly like this, except in circumstances where honour could be gained, which he felt to be impossible in this attack. The town possessed very sturdy walls and towers and valiant defenders, and the attack launched at it at that time was of no avail whatsoever. The assailants backed away and returned to their siege camp, numbers of them suffering from injuries inflicted by bolts and boulders. Antão Vasques was yelling out, ‘Cappadocia! Cappadocia! Let’s make the king the emperor!’186

184 See

Chapter 66 above. seems illogical that Antão Vasques should strike the wall with his dagger, exposing himself to such great risk. However, he is acting out of bravado, and his action may serve as a distraction to the defenders while the assailants attempt to establish an attack elsewhere. 186 The severely wounded Antão Vasques was presumably delirious, uttering a battle cry used in the Crusades. Significantly, Cappadocia (in present-day Turkey) was the birthplace of the legendary Saint George, who came to be invoked by the Portuguese when going into battle, particularly in contrast to the Castilian devotion to Saint James (Santiago), in earlier times also invoked by the Portuguese. 185 It

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In his pavilion the king was apparently disappointed with the failure of numbers of his men to come forward as he had wished. Indeed, speaking about what had happened in the attack, he wryly declared, ‘Today we greatly missed the gallant Knights of the Round Table, for if they had been here, we would surely have captured the town.’ Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos, who was present with other nobles, became impatient at these words and could not resist replying at once, ‘My liege, the Knights of the Round Table were not missing, for here stands Martim Vasques da Cunha, who is as valiant as Sir Gawain; here stands Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, who is as gallant as Sir Tristan; and, behold, here is João Fernandes Pacheco, who is as noble as Sir Lancelot’; and he spoke in the same vein of others whom he saw nearby. ‘As for me, I’m worth as much as Sir Kay;187 so the knights Your Majesty mentions were not missing. However, we greatly missed the gallant King Arthur, the knights’ liege lord, who was wont to acknowledge his honourable servants, granting them many favours, which led to their desire to serve him.’ Realising that his words had been taken as an insult, the king answered him, saying, ‘I wasn’t leaving him out either, for he too was a Knight of the Round Table, just like the others.’ Laughing the matter off, along with other concerns, they dropped the subject and discussed the excessively hot weather experienced in that area.

Chapter 77

Concerning the discussion that the king held with the constable about laying siege to towns

T

he count heard about these observations which the king and his noblemen had uttered. However, since he did not agree to the besieging of townships, as he had said from time to time, and since none of his men had made any effort to attack [the town of Coria] as the other troops had done, he well understood that, because of this and other matters which the king had noted and found displeasing, the king had come to make such comments. When next day he deliberately went to see the king in order to discuss the matter, he became involved in the discussion started by several people on whether it was preferable, indeed more honourable, for a king to lay siege to towns 187 This could be construed as a modest, or even ironic claim, indicating that Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos did not want to seem arrogant to his companions in battle. Far from being the perfect knight, Sir Kay the Seneschal, formerly King Arthur’s foster-brother, as in the French Arthurian tradition that circulated in Portugal, was known for the flaws in his character.



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and villages loyal to another king who was his enemy, even if he did not succeed in capturing some of them, or to roam at will with his army all over the enemy king’s territory. Hearing that they wished to debate this subject, the king argued in favour of besieging the towns and villages, asserting that this was preferable and more honourable, and expressing many reasons for this which it would take too long to write down. However, the main reasons were these: he said that it brought the king more honour to besiege a town belonging to his enemies than to roam over their land and pillage it, because by besieging a town or city he demonstrated his superiority over them, causing them to be trapped and famished, and killing them with his trebuchets and siege engines. Moreover, when in their anxiety those inside the walls wrote to their king, urging him to come to their aid, and he did not dare do so or send any help, the king laying siege would seize them either by force or through a truce which conformed to his wishes; once captured, the town would be held as part of his kingdom, and then he could with impunity go off and roam over the land laying it waste right up to its bounds. ‘Once that township has been captured’, said the king, ‘you will not find anyone who afterwards would come to seize it back by force, because by then they will have handed themselves over by treaty or other agreements, as we have seen on a number of occasions. Besides, the more this diminishes and offends the king to whom the town belongs, the greater is the honour and praise earned by the king who wrests it from him. Accordingly, I declare that, for as long as Almighty God gives me the opportunity to do so, it is my intention constantly to go ahead with this form of warfare.’ ‘My liege’, said the count, ‘I well understand all that you say and I have at times expressed my view on this matter; however, quite apart from a king making war in order to achieve a peace which is truly just and honourable, that war must be waged in such a way that it brings neither dishonour nor loss but honour and benefit to the one waging it. Having given much thought to this matter, I consider that such an outcome is not derived from laying siege to places in the way Your Majesty describes: the principal reason is that the king needs to assemble large numbers of troops to go and lay such sieges, for which he needs to amass large sums in wages which are not easy to come by, without first imposing taxes or devaluing the currency, which causes great losses to the common people.188 Apart from that, the king needs a vast baggage train to transport all the necessary siege equipment and food supplies, with large numbers of oxen and the men to drive them, with all the skill and effort that is involved. On top of that, there are places like this one, where there is a shortage of water and food and where men are obliged to eat such things

188 The

nobility were exempt.

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as bring about great pains in their innards, as, indeed, here, where they are already starting to fall ill. Just imagine what kind of service your men would perform for Your Majesty, once they were sick and unhealthy!’ ‘How could they fail to fall ill’, said others, ‘when there are already many here who eat nothing but wheat cooked with pork and drink water instead of wine, all the more so when the water is so filthy from the excrement of the animals that nobody should drink it? Nor is there much of it, and men go off a league and a half in search of it, and even by night, as if they were thieves. And if anybody here can acquire wheat and wants to turn it into flour, he hires the grindstone from him who has brought it, leaves two parts with the owner of the grindstone and keeps only one himself. How’s that for a poor cut!’ ‘In addition to that’, said the Count, ‘there’s another factor you haven’t mentioned, because in sieges you’ll always see cases of diarrhoea, ague and other unhealthy pains, as well as pestilences from which the troops suffer very greatly, not to mention the circumstances of the present attacks in which certain noblemen happen to get killed who are worth more than the entire township. Other men also get killed by some townsman shooting his crossbow or hurling a boulder down from the walls, without any benefit coming from that action. When a king has laid siege to a town which for the time being he cannot capture, he loses face, gets blamed and derives little honour from it; for every ten townships he besieges, he’ll capture only three. Besides, once they are captured after great travail and long delays, the troops leave so wearied after the conclusion of such sieges that they are very difficult to reassemble later on, should the king need to do so. Furthermore, after such towns and villages have been maintained for a lengthy spell at great trouble and expense, they are returned to those to whom they belonged as a result of treaties or other means, to which kings agree out of a weariness which they will already have felt in their regard. As for those who roam over their enemies’ territory’, continued the count, ‘it is reasonable to believe that they are no less engaged in warfare against them nor deserving of any less honour than those who besiege and capture their townships. Firstly, the king does not need so many troops or equipment, nor does he incur as much expense. His troops come together in a better frame of mind for such warfare because of the following advantages: they have bread and wine, wheat and barley, water and fruit, and plenty of other food supplies; indeed, some places hand over some of their own supplies, in the belief that they are about to be taken by force; other places make them ample gifts, both in money and food, lest they should burn down their outlying properties. Consequently, these troops are always cheerful and well provided for, and their animals are fat and well fed. This is not the reaction of some random township but that of all those through whose area our troops pass. It is merely the township that is besieged that is the exception. So then, when the troops go off foraging, it is because of great shortages, and they have to travel considerable distances, for close at hand



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everything has already been laid waste. They also need many soldiers to stand on guard duty to keep the camp secure. Meanwhile, out in the open fields, all troops need their captain to be prepared for anything that may happen. ‘With regard to the honour which you say accrues [to a king] from capturing a town and enclosing it within his kingdom, I consider that just as much honour is to be derived from roaming over and pillaging an area, with great profit to my men, and with nobody coming forward to prevent me from taking that profit. Besides that, in sieges it sometimes happens that the troops run so short of their basic needs that there are certain men who will give a month’s pay for a canada189 of wine, and the same applies to other things in which the camps are lacking. Just imagine then how little inclined to fight are troops who are both famished and bored to death! Therefore, when they abandon sieges, they plead to God never to involve them in any ever again, so wearied are they and so bereft of what they need. ‘But, as for those who roam the countryside, they all profit greatly thereby, eating for free and saving up their wages. Nor are they any the less involved in warfare than if they were laying siege to a town; indeed they are probably more involved. Furthermore, all this is apparent from the answer that the King of Castile gave to Martim Gonçalves’s squire, saying how well he had served him by defending Chaves for such a lengthy period: that is because, while Your Majesty was held up there, you could have inflicted very great damage on his kingdom, which he would have regretted more profoundly, as it would appear, than the capture of such a town as that, for all its importance. Also bear in mind what the King of Castile said when he arrived in Santarém after fleeing from the battle [of Aljubarrota], namely that, when speaking of the defence of that town and of the others which continued in his allegiance and of how Rodrigo Álvarez had not dared to remain there, he then declared to everyone, “With things as they are, let the one who controls the countryside also have the towns.” In addition, Sire, if you had not engaged in the battle [of Aljubarrota], I believe you would still be trying to take Leiria; but as soon as you came out victorious, all the people have gone over to you on your terms.190 Accordingly, my own intent is that, whomever I can wage war on in your service should always encounter me in the countryside whenever he might wish to seek me out. However, though I say this in respect of my intentions in serving you, nevertheless, Your Majesty, I carry out all that you wish to do, and I shall serve you wherever you send me.’ Many of those who heard the count’s observations agreed with what he said, but others praised what the king had to say, in order to please him, though against their better judgement. This debate went on so long that the king was obliged to attend mass and to dine much later than he was accustomed to. 189 An

190 See

ancient measure, roughly equivalent to 2.5 pints (c. 1.5 litres). Chapter 41 above.

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Chapter 78

How the king raised the siege of Coria and went back to his own kingdom

T

he king prolonged his siege of Coria for only a very few days after the attack which had hindered him somewhat, as we described it, when Gonzalo Pérez de Goyáis broke into the town with thirty men-at-arms belonging to Rodrigo Álvarez de Santoyo. However, if certain authors write that the king raised the siege on that account and because of a poorly guarded tunnel which he had ordered to be dug, put no trust in such scribblers, because they have no knowledge of the truth.191 The king would not have raised the siege on account of thirty men forcing their way in, nor did he order any tunnel of that sort to be dug, for, if he had, he would not have begun it in such a spot where the defenders could see it or know about it, because it would have been of little use to him. Rather, he had wanted to carry on with the siege, for he had only spent three weeks doing so. Nevertheless, his men were beginning to fall ill, some from the ague, while others were ailing for lack of food, especially bread and meat, of which there was a great shortage in the siege camp. They were eating wheat boiled like rice because they did not have the wherewithal to buy anything else, as a result of which more men were sick than in good health. The healthy ones were anxious to be ill in order to get the opportunity to leave the army, and others pretended to be ill, tying bandages around their heads, because the king was ordering the sick to be taken to a village in his own kingdom called Penamacor, which lay 13 leagues away from Coria, and placed men-at-arms on guard around them. Some of them made off without permission and headed back home. On learning of this, the king began to check them individually and readily spotted that many of them were not sick at all. Realising this, the count and members of the royal council spoke as follows: ‘Sire, how can Your Majesty trust men like these to serve you? How can you expect them to perform well in action, when they put on a show of great sickness, despite not being sick at all?’ Acknowledging this and realising that for lack of siege equipment the siege was not of much avail, the king decided to abandon it and head back into his own kingdom. On the return journey the king chose not to arm himself in any way and was asked by a number of his men why he wore no armour, nor even a haubergeon. He replied that there was no reason to do so, for he was returning to Portugal. He reached Penamacor and from there he dispatched the troops from individual 191 Fernão Lopes particularly has in mind Ayala’s Crónica del rey don Juan, Year 8, Chapter 5.



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communities back to where they came from. The Lisbon banner reached that city on 15 July, gallantly escorted by those who brought it back and by many others who emerged to welcome it with great festivity and rejoicing. The count then set off for the River Guadiana, and the king left on foot for the shrine of Santa Maria de Guimarães, where he had vowed to go. On this return trip [from Coria], Álvaro Pereira, the marshal of the army, died, and the king gave that post to Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo, the Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers. While the king was on his way, he received a message, as is reported by some, to say that the King of Castile was preparing to come and seek him out and engage him in battle, since in his own kingdom there were assembled 2,000 French lances under the captaincy of the Seigneur de Longueville.192 But this was not the case, and you should not concern yourselves with such accounts. Moreover, if you believe that the 2,000 lances were those that the King of France had promised to send,193 this was not the year in which they came. In fact, the King of Castile was in Zamora, suffering from a great dearth of troops from his own kingdom, owing to the large numbers he had lost since the beginning of this war. Moreover, he was very little inclined to engage the King of Portugal in battle just because a number of Frenchmen – foreigners – were willing to come and join him. If anyone chooses to say at this point that, irrespective of the troops he had lost, the king had gathered together other forces from his realm, with which he would mount an even greater battle if it suited him to do so, the truth is that he had indeed ample numbers of troops. However, kings, when they make war, especially where they choose to go in person, always take with them the best troops they have, but should they happen to lose a battle with those troops, they are disinclined to go back into battle with those who escape and are even less inclined to do so with those whom they left behind. That is the reason why they send for foreign troops, placing greater confidence in them than in their own, which was exactly what the King of Castile did at this time. It is clear that the King of Portugal received the report that the King of Castile was preparing to go and seek him out, even though it was untrue. Reacting to this with due concern, he sent for all his forces and left at once for the town of Lamego. Let us leave him there for the present, sending out messages to whomsoever he sees fit. We shall cross the sea, as it is summertime, to go and see what the king’s envoys are up to in England, for they have been there for close on four years.

192 Olivier

du Guesclin, brother of Bertrand du Guesclin, Count of Longueville. The title is passed on to Olivier on his brother’s death in 1380. 193 See Chapter 67 above.

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Chapter 79

Concerning the message which the king sent to his envoys, and how they found out in England that he had been made king

Y

ou will do well to recall that at the outset of these events, when, before he became king, the Master took charge of the kingdom as its ruler and defender, he sent his envoys to request the King of England194 to give the opportunity to troops from his kingdom, should they wish to do so, to go and assist the Master, at the latter’s expense, in the war in which he was engaged. They were also to say that, if his uncle the Duke of Lancaster195 wished to come and claim the kingdom of Castile, which was rightfully his, then they would offer him every assistance by land and by sea and in whatever way he wished. You will remember too that the envoys he sent for this purpose were the Master of Santiago, Fernando Afonso de Albuquerque, and the Chancellor of the Great Seal of the Realm, Lourenço Eanes Fogaça. They had left Lisbon on the last day of March, 1383,196 though they had been preceded by others. You will also recall the answer that was sent back.197 Later on, in Coimbra, when the Master was raised up as king, he sent a further message and a letter of proxy to these messengers, who were still occupied in England in dealing with these matters, by which he granted them sufficient authority to negotiate with the King of England, the Duke of Lancaster, and indeed, with other people regardless of their rank and status, about such alliances and friendly agreements as they deemed to be of profit and service to his kingdom and personal honour. Moreover, he confirmed everything that he had done previously and all that they might do in future, as well as other similar matters, as necessary. The messengers spoke with the King of England about these matters, explaining to him all that the people had achieved and held to be good, and how the Master, their liege lord, had been raised up as king by both the noblemen and the common people of the realm, and how they had sent envoys to the Holy Father, entreating him to confirm the Master’s election and to approve all that they had done in bringing this about. 194 Richard II, who was the son of Edward the Black Prince and reigned from 1377 to 1399. 195 John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, was the fourth son of Edward III and a younger brother of Edward the Black Prince. 196 In fact, they had left in 1384. 197 See CKJ1, Chapter 47.



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It was, indeed, true that, as soon as he was raised up as king, the prelates, great lords and nobles, and all the people of the towns, large and small, which had declared for Portugal, resolved at once to inform Pope Urban in a long letter of supplication borne by Dom João,198 Bishop of Évora, and Gonçalo Gomes da Silva. In brief it concluded as follows: Action was taken to avoid great harm and danger to souls, bodies and property, when the realms of Portugal were left, on the death of King Fernando, without a king or ruler who would dare to defend them against that schismatic rebel, who called himself the King of Castile and who had forcibly invaded them to subjugate and destroy them. The realm had neither duke nor captain who was responsible for its governance, as a result of which the people were in great fear and tribulation. Therefore, they besought the very noble lord, Dom João, Master of the Chivalric Order of Avis, and brother of the aforementioned King Fernando, to deign to take charge of the realm and provide such remedies as would lessen the effect on them of their enemies’ attacks. Aided by God’s right hand, he had supported them with great distinction and made his name most renowned. Moreover, since there could be found no other appropriate way of remedying such evils in the future, both by land and by sea, than by providing the realms with a king, for a king they had always had, they all assembled in the city of Coimbra to find some great and magnificent lord, born of royal lineage, to assume charge of the kingdoms. They could see no such personage among them other than the one who already ruled and governed them. Then, after due and careful consideration, he was acclaimed as king by the grandees and the common people, who swore obedience to him as their sovereign, to the greater consternation of their enemies. It was the universal wish and resolution of all of them that he should become the liege lord and king of the aforesaid realms, and this they celebrated with all the great festivity and rejoicing that befits a new king. Throughout all this he conducted himself most wisely and with great readiness to serve. Since he deserved to be granted worthy favours and appropriate assistance, they therefore humbly entreated His Holiness that, as these matters were done out of necessity rather than by law, he might in piety deign to grant him a dispensation by which, notwithstanding that he was a professed knight of an Order which had to conform to the Cistercian rule, he might freely and without reservation assume and hold the honour and title of king and be absolved by apostolic authority from all contrary restraints.

198 João

Eanes do Amaral, Bishop of Évora 1382–1404.

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Chapter 80

How the Master of Santiago and Lourenço Eanes Fogaça went to speak with the Duke of Lancaster, and concerning the matters they discussed

N

ot many months after the news was received in England that the Master had been raised up as king and how this had been done, further news arrived, even better and very pleasing, which the messengers hastened to convey to the king. They told him that their liege lord, the King of Portugal, had defeated the Castilians in a pitched battle and they handed over letters to him about this. They also went at once to give the same news to the Duke of Lancaster, in the presence of his wife the duchess,199 and related to them how everything had happened, in accordance with the information contained in the letters received. They explained in their report that since the duke had a right to the kingdoms of Castile and called himself the king thereof, now was the time for him to gain them once and for all; for, since the King of Portugal had won such a triumph over his enemies, he would have in him as good a friend as he could ever imagine; furthermore, at no other time than this could the King of Portugal work so effectively to help him to achieve what he so keenly desired. Besides that, it would greatly enhance his honour and profit to arrange to bring it about. The duke agreed with what the King of Portugal was saying but, because of the House of England’s affairs, in which he had up to that point been so deeply involved, he presented his excuses as to why he was unable to proceed. Then, while they were discussing these matters, the duchess fell to her knees, along with her daughter Catalina, and began to speak as follows: ‘My lord, despite all the great triumphs which God has afforded you in this world in your wars and in your striving on behalf of the causes of others, it seems to me that you have even greater reason to strive for your own honour and that of your daughter, and to regain the inheritance which is both mine and your daughter’s and from which we have been disinherited. For the kingdom of Castile rightfully belongs to me and not to the children of that bastard traitor who wrongfully slew my father.’ As she said this, both mother and daughter sobbed. Seeing this, the Master of Santiago began to address the duke as follows: ‘Truly, my lord, it seems to me that these ladies are very right in putting this request to you. Were I to say that they had not so strong a link with you as they have, and were they just two foreign ladies with whom you were not 199 Princess

Constanza, the daughter of Pedro I of Castile and of María de Padilla.



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acquainted, coming to plead with you to help them regain the property which has been wrested from them, you would surely strive to give that help, both in God’s service and in order to show what you are capable of. In that case, how much more should you strive, and with how much greater determination, to recover the rights of your own wife and to establish fully the title of king which you have already assumed, particularly now, when such a good opportunity comes to hand?’ All that you say is true’, said the duke, ‘and I have been giving this matter thought for a long time. However, owing to the war against Scotland, from which I could not withdraw, I have been unable to do anything about it, because twice I have been there on the orders of the royal council of England, which requested me to bring the war to an end, since the king was at an age where he could not do so in person. But now, thank God, since the war has reached a stage which brings honour to the House of England, I can be excused. It is my promise to you that I shall make every effort to travel to Spain very soon in order to claim the kingdom that is mine, so that neither these ladies nor anybody else may have reason to raise this matter with me again.’ Then the duchess and her daughter thanked him most warmly for this, as also did the envoys, who then went back to their lodgings.

Chapter 81

How the Duke of Lancaster spoke with the King of England and his royal council about his journey to Spain, and how he was given leave to go

A

fter this, in the presence of the King of England, his royal council and other great lords, who had assembled that day for the purpose, the duke described his many services to the realm, how he had always played his part in major undertakings, both in the life of his own father the king and ever since his nephew had begun his reign, and how he had done these things in order to further the honour and noble standing of the House of England. Although he was right in doing so because of the strong family ties which bound that house and because the king was not as yet of an age as to become personally involved, at this point, he did not believe he was acting wrongly in any way for presenting his record of these services to win the king’s favour. The duke then went on to say that everyone was well aware that he was married to the elder daughter of Don Pedro, the former King of Castile, and that the realm rightfully belonged to her and not to the man who held it by force. Accordingly, some days previously, he, the duke, had taken on the title

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of King of Castile and his wife the title of queen, determined as she was, with the help of God and of her husband, to go and conquer that realm. However, because of the aforesaid wars, in which till then he had been involved, he had been unable to do so. But since his affairs were now, thank God, more settled, it was his wish to go and claim the realm which belonged to him and his wife. This was something he could well achieve, because he had the assistance of the King of Portugal, who was at war with their adversary. Consequently, he was requesting King Richard’s gracious permission and help, so as to enable him to go to Spain and bring this undertaking to a conclusion, for this would bring great honour both to him and to the House of England. The king, who at that time would have been little short of twenty years of age, discussed the matter with those most fitted to do so. They agreed that it was appropriate to grant what the duke requested and that, in order better to bring these matters about and set the duke’s enterprise on the right track, it was a good policy, first of all, to negotiate an alliance of friendship with the King of Portugal, from whom great assistance was available for the duke’s objective. The king then ordered two honourable knights from his royal council and a doctor of laws to negotiate on his behalf. Together with the Master of Santiago and Lourenço Eanes Fogaça they were to agree the terms of this treaty of friendship in whatever way they thought best and in order to further the honour and peaceful well-being of both sovereigns. Meanwhile, the duke should prepare both his men and vessels for the voyage and should send a request to Portugal, asking for a number of naos and galleys to accompany his fleet. That, then, was the message received by the King of Portugal while he was laying siege to Chaves, as you have already heard.200

Chapter 82

Concerning the treaty of friendship which was negotiated between the King of Portugal and the King of England

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hile the duke was preparing everything for the voyage, the Portuguese envoys negotiated with the men whom King Richard had chosen to arrive at an agreement, to which they devoted a fair amount of time in order to ensure that it was truly amicable. Then, one day, on 9 May 1386, at Windsor Castle, which lies some 7 leagues from London, in the chamber where meetings were customarily held, in the presence of three honourable 200 See

the end of Chapter 65 above.



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bishops, the Duke of York, who was the king’s uncle, and other great lords and noble barons who had been summoned to hear this, the aforementioned doctor of laws, Richard Ronhale, made the following proclamation in a loud, clear voice before all those present: It should be the official aim of all those who rightfully reign, and the ultimate objective of all who are legitimate lords, to cherish the common good of their subjects much more than their own, and to put the common good before their own private interests. They should ensure that the nation which is subject to them be equipped with such defences that, once they have removed all stumbling blocks of a contrary nature, their loyal people, protected by such princes and great lords, should not only see their good fortune increased, but should also enjoy the pleasures of peace, which all men should desire, as well as being protected and defended against adversity. It is certainly expected that this should be put into effect all the sooner, when such Christian kings and princes, acting out of sheer humanity and perfect obedience to Holy Mother Church in Rome, willingly unite in agreement because of their undivided love. Accordingly, the most high and illustrious prince, worthy of being feared and honoured, King Richard, our liege lord, having seen and fully examined all relevant aspects of this matter and having received the agreement of his royal council, is pleased to negotiate and sign, along with the most noble King João of Portugal and the Algarve, his kinsman and good friend, the following treaty of friendship: Firstly, for the public good and for the contentment of their realms and subjects, let there be, between them and between their heirs who come after them, an honourable and secure peace forever, in no way to be broken, and let them succour and assist one another against any other people save only Wenceslaus, King of the Romans,201 and John, King of Castile, Duke of Lancaster, uncle to our liege lord the king; this shall not be against these, nor against the current Pope Urban, for both men must live in obedience to him and to his canonically elected successors. Similarly, let each and every vassal in the aforesaid realms, ecclesiastics, prelates, dukes, barons and any other people, from the highest rank down to the humblest, be permitted to journey freely and safely from one realm to another, to travel in the lands, lordships and regions thereof, in order to buy and sell, and to stay as long as they wish or depart at will; let them be received and honestly treated with honour and hospitality according to their rank; and let such people pay to the kings and great lords of the aforesaid realms whatever dues or levies are customary in the places where they happen to go. Likewise, in no way whatever should the said kings or any of their subjects of whatever rank or dignity they may be, give any advice, favour or help, on land or at sea, to any nation that is in rebellion against or hostile 201 King Richard’s cousin, who had been elected King of the Romans, i.e. next heir, as yet uncrowned, to the Holy Roman Empire, in 1378.

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towards either of the said kingdoms; rather, let both kings and those who come after them be bound and obliged to assist each other with all their might to destroy each other’s adversaries. Furthermore, if any subject should seek to go against this, let him be duly and immediately punished without further ado by any great lord who so chooses, no matter against which of them the offence was committed. There is one further matter: if in times yet to come either of these kings or his heirs should desire the assistance of the other in whatever fashion, let him be given six months’ advance notice; and let the one in receipt of the request be bound to give the best assistance within his power without dissembling or long delay, asking for his men such pay as is reasonable or as may be agreed by those chosen to decide the matter.

The above, and further other clauses for a permanent alliance were negotiated there [at Windsor], along with others which there is no need to see.

Chapter 83

How the Duke of Lancaster left England and landed in Galicia

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ith the treaties signed and the alliance made, the duke was getting ready to go to Spain with a powerful force. At this point, the Portuguese Captain General of the Fleet, Afonso Furtado by name, arrived one day with the ships and galleys which had left Lisbon while the king was laying siege to Chaves. He landed at a place known as Fowey, where he encountered Lourenço Fogaça, who had gone there to deal with a number of matters relating to his mission, and he returned with him to London in the galleys. A great fleet of naos and other vessels was assembled at Southampton and Plymouth for the duke’s voyage, and all his men made for these places in order to embark. The duke left those shores and set his course, intent on landing in Galicia, which lies in Castilian territory. Finding himself sailing into a headwind, he was forced to put in at a place called Brest, a very strong castle in the Duchy of Brittany, which Olivier de Clisson, the Constable of France, was at that time besieging with a mighty force. Close to the castle he had ordered the construction, a mere crossbow shot away, of a wooden fort, as sturdy as it was possible to build, in which his troops took shelter and kept all their supplies. When the French saw the fleet arrive, they realised only too well that they were English, for rumours about them had been widely aired beforehand. Recognising also that the duke was approaching, most of the assailants began to flee, and many of them took refuge in the fort. The duke landed with his



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troops, and they began to attack it. Fearing for their lives, the defenders fought hard but, when they saw that there was no means of holding out, they pleaded with the duke to let them live in exchange for his seizure of the fort and all it contained. The duke was content to do this and had the fort destroyed. By this the English gained large quantities of provisions and other items that the enemy kept in the fort and thus they were safe for the time being. From Brest the duke sailed in fair weather throughout the remainder of his journey and reached the town of La Coruña, where it was his intention to moor his fleet. He landed on the feast of Saint James, 25 July 1386. All together his fleet consisted of 130 well-armed and well-supplied vessels, among which were 12 great naos that had come from Portugal with the galleys. It was said that the duke brought with him 2,000 lances and 3,000 archers of the highest quality, not to mention many others that he also had. Their captains were very honourable lords and noblemen, including Sir John Holland, the constable of this army, who was a brother of the reigning King of England through his mother and who was married to Elizabeth, the duke’s daughter; Lord Scales; Lord Poynings; Sir [Hugh] Hastings; Lord Ferrers and his brother Sir Thomas Fichet; Sir Thomas FitzSimond; the marshal, Sir Richard Burley; Sir Richard Percy; Sir Thomas Percy the Younger; Sir [John] Mauburney; Sir John Falconer; Sir Baldwin Freville; and many others whom it is not necessary to mention. It is important that you should know that six Castilian galleys which had been marauding along the English coast while the duke was assembling this fleet, knowing that he was due to set sail but uncertain as to which port he was bound for, had made their way ahead of him to Galicia and were lying at the mouth of the River Betanzos, 3 leagues from La Coruña, not expecting that this fleet would arrive so soon and consequently believing that theirs was a safe haven. On the day the duke arrived, since it was the feast of Saint James and a day of great pilgrimage throughout that area, all the masters of those galleys and many others went off to visit the saint’s church, which was 10 leagues away.202 When they espied the enemy galleys, the Portuguese galleys and other smaller craft made their way up river. Before these Portuguese vessels arrived, the oarsmen in the [Castilian] galleys, realising that they were without their masters and men-at-arms, abandoned ship at once and fled as best they could. The Portuguese found in them all manner of practical items which these galleys had plundered while roaming along the coast of England, as well as from shipping which they had captured at sea. The duke then ordered all the vessels that had accompanied him to return home, except for the naos and galleys that had come from Portugal.

202 At

Santiago de Compostela.

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Chapter 84

Concerning the message that the duke sent to the King of Castile, and the reply the king forwarded through his messengers

I

t is important for us to continue this narrative a bit further, following the most appropriate order, rather than keeping to the order that we had originally intended to observe. The reason is that, in relating everything that befell the duke in Spain, which needs to be set down in detail, it is necessary for us to mention forthwith all that happened to him regarding the King of Castile. After that, we shall turn to his dealings with the King of Portugal and how they both invaded Castile and how long they stayed there. Then we shall mention how the duke came to terms with his adversary and returned to England. Since a person of discernment and intelligence wishes to know the whole truth, our narrative would be difficult to follow, were we not to present it in this way. Therefore, the first of the above four accounts, which we now offer you, truly happened in the following manner. As soon as the duke arrived in Galicia, he sent a message to the King of Castile; not by means of his brother, as some would have it, for he had not brought him along, but rather through another messenger. He informed the king of his arrival in the country, as he surely had already heard, adding that he had brought with him his wife Queen Constanza, who was the daughter of Don Pedro, the erstwhile King of Castile and León, in order to win back those kingdoms which were rightfully hers. She intended to regain them because they belonged to her, and, if he, King Juan, insisted that they were not hers and sought to prevent her from doing this, then he, the duke, was determined to resolve the issue between the two sides in a pitched battle. The King of Castile received the messenger well and gave him some jewels. In reply he sent Don Juan Serrano, who was the Prior of Guadalupe and Chancellor of the Privy Seal, along with a knight named Diego López de Medrano and a doctor in canon and civil law, whose name was Álvaro Martínez de Villarreal. Having first obtained a safe conduct, they made their way to the town of Orense, where the duke was at that time. As soon as they appeared before him and had been amply welcomed, they requested that he grant them an audience. He answered that such was his pleasure and inquired of them whether they wished it to take place in public or in private. They answered that they would prefer it to be in the presence of his advisers, and to this the duke consented. On a given day, when in the company of the captains and leaders of his forces, he summoned those messengers before him and told them to present the message they had brought from their great lord, because he was now ready



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to hear it. Indeed, neither fear nor apprehension should cause them to leave out any part of it, for he assured them that they could safely say anything they deemed appropriate to the service of their great lord. For this they expressed their gratitude, and so the prior began as follows: ‘My liege lord, the King of Castile, León and Portugal, who is my master, sends me to say that he was told some days ago that you had landed in his kingdom on the shores of Galicia at a town named La Coruña with a vast fleet of naos and other vessels and bringing many troops. He has also learned that you call yourself King of Castile and León and that you display a coat of arms and insignia to demonstrate this, declaring that these realms rightfully belong to you through the inheritance of your wife, who was the daughter of King Pedro and whom you have brought with you. He has been told that you wish to join with the Master of Avis, who calls himself the King of Portugal, in order to enter my lord’s kingdom, while making it clear that you intend to conquer and possess it. With that in mind you sent him a message, indicating that you were determined to resolve the issue between the two sides in a pitched battle. My liege lord answers you in the following manner: he holds and possesses the kingdoms of Castile and León by just title and rightful inheritance, and states that you were ill informed by whomsoever told you that your wife had a better right than he has. Moreover, if you wish to lodge your claim with the one who is truly able to pass judgement on such a matter, He is ready to apply the law and do justice by His own hand. Since your lord wishes to do that, mine requires you in God’s name not to enter his kingdoms nor to lay waste his land. If you choose not to comply with this, then he will conclude that you are acting out of overweening pride and not because of any rightful claim you may think you have, and he calls upon Almighty God to be the judge in this matter.’

Chapter 85

Concerning further observations made to the duke by the other two envoys

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he prior brought his remarks to an end and fell silent without adding anything more. Thinking that the prior had spoken on behalf of all the envoys, the duke had been keen to give an immediate reply, when Diego López added, ‘My lord, since the doctor and I have accompanied the prior at the command of our liege lord the king, we beg your leave for each of us to express what we were commanded to say. Then, if your lordship pleases, you can reply to all of it.’

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The duke said that they should say whatever they saw fit, and that he would willingly listen to them. Thus, Diego López continued as follows: ‘My liege lord, the King of Castile, my master, sends me to say that you sent a messenger to him claiming that you have a greater right to the kingdom of Castile than he has, and that, if he were to deny this, you would engage with his forces in a pitched battle. To this my liege lord the king now replies that he has a more rightful claim to the realms of Castile than you have, and that, if you reject this, then he will fight you in single combat, or ten against ten, or 100 against 100, whichever you prefer, because in the service of God and to avoid the spilling of Christian blood, he is anxious not to enter a pitched battle.’

No sooner had Diego López ended his speech than Doctor Álvaro Martínez began to utter the following words: ‘My lord, on behalf of my liege lord the King of Castile, and in defence of his rightful claim, let me say this: as regards the kingdoms of Castile and León to which you are a claimant through your wife, alleging that she has a right to them because she is the daughter of King Pedro, with due respect, I must answer that claim, by saying that your wife Princess Constanza has no right to them whatsoever. The reason is this: King Alfonso, who was elected emperor,203 was the son of King Fernando,204 who won Seville from the Moors. This King Alfonso had two sons: the first was named Fernando de la Cerda and the second Sancho. Prince Fernando, who was the elder son and heir to the kingdom, died during his father’s lifetime but left behind a legitimate son named Alfonso like his grandfather. The second son, Prince Sancho, was afraid that his father might so arrange matters that his grandson, Prince Alfonso, would inherit the kingdoms of Castile and León as the son of Prince Fernando, his father’s first-born. Seizing the governance of these realms, Prince Sancho deposed his father, for which reason the king refused to give him his blessing when he lay dying. Rather, he thus deprived him of any inheritance in the said kingdoms which he might in some way have claimed. Indeed, King Alfonso set this down in his will, where it can be seen even today. At this juncture his father King Alfonso died without any reconciliation being reached between them. Accordingly, Prince Sancho could not rightfully succeed his father, because his father had disinherited him in his will, as has been said. Furthermore, there is another powerful reason, which is this: the kingdoms of Castile and León rightfully belong to the heirs of Prince Fernando, who was King Alfonso’s first-born son. Consequently, Prince Sancho could not 203 Alfonso X, ‘the Wise’, who reigned as King of Castile and León from 1252 to 1284. In 1256 he was also elected Holy Roman Emperor but was constrained to renounce that title in 1275. 204 This is King Fernando III, ‘the Saint’.



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rightfully claim the inheritance, nor could his son King Fernando, who came after him, nor his grandson Prince Alfonso;205 neither could King Pedro, nor your wife, who was his daughter. So, if she were to claim the inheritance, Princess Isabel206 would have a stronger claim on behalf of her son, because he is a male, than has Princess Constanza, though neither of them has a rightful claim. That I say, my lord, with all due reverence to your presence. For since it is my duty, to the best of my ability, to express and demonstrate, on his behalf, the rightful claim of my liege lord the king, it is appropriate also for me to mention your wife by reason of whom you consider you have a right to these kingdoms. Nevertheless, King Juan, my liege lord, has rightfully inherited them by virtue of his descent from the de la Cerda line, for his mother, Queen Juana,207 was the great-granddaughter of Prince Fernando de la Cerda, which makes him the legitimate heir to these realms. If there are present any learned men, my lord, who wish to refute these arguments, then I am prepared to dispute with them and to furnish them with legal proof of everything I have said.

The duke listened carefully to all that the envoys had to say. Once their messages had been delivered, he announced that they were conducting themselves as worthy and loyal servants of the king, their liege lord, in saying all that they thought best and had been commanded to say; since it was now time to eat, they should go and have a meal, and he would arrange for them to receive his reply afterwards. He then sat down and had them eat with him, making them thoroughly welcome and treating them most honourably.

Chapter 86

How the duke replied to the matters which the envoys raised

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orthwith, on that very day, after the duke had eaten, he consulted with the great lords and learned men who had accompanied him. Next day, he summoned the envoys into his presence and instructed a bishop,208 who was a 205 In

fact, King Alfonso XI, who reigned from 1312 till 1350. Isabel was the third daughter of King Pedro of Castile, after Princess Beatriz and Princess Constanza. In 1372, she married Edmund of Langley, First Duke of York, by whom she had a son, Edward of Norwich, Second Duke of York. See Chapter 87 below. 207 The wife of King Enrique II, who reigned from 1369 till 1379. 208 This is Juan Gutiérrez, Dean of Segovia and Bishop of Dax, 1380–1393. 206 Princess

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native of Castile, to reply to the messengers. This bishop had once been a criado of King Pedro, the father of the duke’s wife Princess Constanza; he had always accompanied her and was already fully able to give the following answers, which he conveyed to each of them in the order in which they had spoken: My lord prior, you are to tell your lord, who holds the kingdoms of Castile and León, that my liege lord, the King of Castile and León and Duke of Lancaster, here present, has come to this land, which belongs to him by virtue of his marriage to his wife, my lady Queen Constanza, the legitimate daughter of King Pedro. Your lord, who calls himself the king of this land, has held it by force for a long time, as indeed did his father. My liege lord the king maintains that your lord, who currently holds these kingdoms, is obliged to restore them to him, along with all the income and profits which your liege lord and his father have up to now derived from them. Moreover, he should pay for all the damage received and expenses incurred by my liege lord the king and which he still bears daily. However, for the love of God, he is willing to proceed as follows: your lord should hand back to him, forthwith and without further conditions, the aforesaid kingdoms that he holds, and my liege lord the king and his lady wife the queen will willingly exempt him of the repayment of all that he and his father have taken, as well as of the expenses that they have incurred and all the damages that they have suffered in this matter. If he declines to do this, my liege lord the king intends to leave these issues to the judgement of divine justice.

Having given this answer, he then addressed Diego López: Sir knight, you are to tell your lord that my liege lord, here present, informs him briefly that he, the king, has the right to the kingdoms of Castile and León by reason of his lady wife Queen Constanza, the legitimate daughter and heiress of her father King Pedro. Indeed, were this argument not valid, he has many other sound reasons that he could bring to bear, were he to choose to put this matter to the test, which is something he would prefer to avoid.

Chapter 87

Concerning the other arguments which the bishop added on the duke’s behalf

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aving replied to these two envoys as you have heard, the bishop advanced these arguments in response to the doctor:



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Doctor, you say in your lord’s name that King Sancho deposed his father King Alfonso, and that for this reason his father did not give him his blessing nor bequeath anything to him in his will, with the result that none of his descendants can inherit the kingdoms of Castile, since King Sancho himself did not inherit them. My liege lord the king, here present, answers this by saying that, to the best of his knowledge, King Sancho committed no such wrong against his father as you assert; for King Sancho never called himself king while the king his father was alive. However, when the noblemen of Castile and León realised how prodigal and wasteful King Alfonso was, how badly he administered the realm’s resources, and how poorly he meted out justice, they took from him the governance and administration of the said kingdoms and conferred them on Prince Sancho, who became king after his father’s death. It is said that, though King Alfonso found out that agreement had not been reached concerning his election as Holy Roman Emperor, with only a few votes being cast in his favour, he was still anxious to become emperor and [to that end] levied huge taxes on his kingdom. Accompanied by many supporters and at great expense, he went to Avignon, where the pope then was, requesting to be crowned emperor. When the pope209 refused to do this, he went back to his kingdom, which he had left so ruinously bereft. Furthermore, he married an illegitimate daughter, Beatriz by name, to King Afonso [III] of Portugal, the former Count of Boulogne. Because of this marriage he gave him certain townships now in that realm,210 and which Castile possessed, and waived the feudal dues which the King of Portugal was expected to pay for them. King Alfonso also failed to deliver justice when, without allowing them their right to be heard, he ordered the execution of his legitimate brother, Don Fadrique, of Don Simón [Ruíz] de los Cameros, a great nobleman, and of other nobles. For that reason, Don Nuño, who was the Lord of Lara, Don Fernán Ruiz de Saldaña and other great lords and noblemen left the kingdom and went to join the Emir of Granada. Accordingly, when the verdict was given against him in Valladolid, at the request of all his subjects, that he should lose the governance of the realm, one of the arguments advanced against him was this: that the sword of justice should be taken from his hand, since he had wielded it so badly – indeed, it is clear from this what his rule was like! – and this they did, giving it to his son, Prince Sancho, who reigned after him. This prince committed no act against his father for which he should choose to disinherit him. Rather, he was a very good king, who governed his kingdom justly and according to the rule of law; he waged war against the Moors, won from them the town of Tarifa and never called himself king while his father was alive. Likewise, King Fernando, the son of the said King Sancho, was a very good king and won from the Moors the town of Gibraltar and the town and 209 Pope 210 In

Gregory X (1271–1276). the Algarve.

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castle of Alcaudete. As for King Fernando’s son, King Alfonso [XI], there are many people still alive who knew him and acknowledge him to have been a good king. He vanquished the Emirs of Banu Marin and Granada at the Battle of Tarifa, which conferred great honour on Christendom; he also gained for Christendom the townships of Algeciras, Alcalá la Real and Teba, as well as other fortresses. As his heir he left behind his son, King Pedro, who at that time was little over fifteen years old. Peacefully and without any opposition, the whole kingdom, great lords, prelates, towns and cities of Castile, all recognised him as their king and liege lord. Even Don Enrique,211 who was the father of your master Don Juan – he who now holds the kingdoms of Castile and León – obeyed him at that time and acknowledged him as his king and liege lord. Therefore, my own liege lord, the king, asserts that the arguments you put forward have no basis in this case. Similarly, when you say that your lord is descended from the de la Cerda line and therefore has a rightful claim to these kingdoms, my answer to you is that it is well known in Castile that Don Alfonso de la Cerda, the legitimate son of that Prince Fernando of whom you speak, renounced any right to the kingdom, if he ever had any, in exchange for certain townships which were given to him, from which he could expect to receive a considerable income, and subject to his undertaking never again to resort to the [royal] coat of arms and seal that he had previously used. King Dinis of Portugal and King Jaume of Aragon acted as adjudicators on this issue, ensuring that there was very firm written evidence concerning the arrangement. Consequently, the issue that you now raise was resolved long ago. As for the inheritance of the son of Princess Isabel which you touched on, it is certain and recognised by everyone that, after the death of King Pedro’s son Prince Alfonso, whom the entire kingdom had sworn to accept as their liege lord, the king convoked the Cortes at which he declared that his heirs were to be his three daughters, successively in the order in which they were born. In that way they were to inherit his kingdoms, and he made his people swear to this. As a result Princess Beatriz would be the first in line and, were she to die without issue, then Princess Constanza would succeed to the inheritance. Therefore, in this dispute between learned scholars, my liege lord the king and his wife Queen Constanza have no need to lodge their case without the said kingdoms first being restored to their possession in the way they were peacefully held by King Pedro, their legitimate owner and father of my lady, Queen Constanza, here present, and by those kings from whom she is descended down the ages. Once the said kingdoms have been peacefully restored to the possession of my liege lord the king and his wife the queen, then it will be their pleasure to demonstrate their rightful claim before any judge equal to the task.

When they had heard all this, the envoys told the duke that they had clearly grasped all that had been asserted on his behalf, but that they firmly clung 211 Later,

Enrique II.



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to all that they had already said. Then they sought the duke’s permission to leave and went back to Castile. Now, at this juncture a number of writers have claimed that, after the Prior of Guadalupe had initially delivered his message, he spoke to the duke in secret, stating that the main reason why his king had sent him had been to tell him on his behalf that the duke had had only one daughter by his wife Princess Constanza, that daughter being King Pedro’s granddaughter, while his king had a legitimate son called Don Enrique. If it were the duke’s pleasure that these two should marry, then they would become [joint] heirs to the kingdoms, and this issue and dispute would come to an end. These writers also add that, when he had given his reply to the envoys, the duke ordered a knight named Sir Thomas Percy to go with them to Castile, and that he then held negotiations concerning the marriage of Prince Enrique212 to Lady Catalina, the duke’s daughter, discussions in which King Juan promised him a large sum of gold in return for his consent. Other writers reject this account and say that this did not happen. That is because, if the marriage had been firmly negotiated, the turmoil and disagreements which you shall see would not have ensued. The duke was keen to recover the realm, which would bring him more honour than would such a marriage, and it is inconceivable that he would abandon his quest at once and so swiftly when being urged to consent to it without any further assurances.

Chapter 88

Concerning what kind of man the Duke of Lancaster was and what kind of woman his wife Princess Constanza was

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o us it seems a great mistake on the part of those who wrote at that time about the arrival of the duke and the marriage of King João to his daughter that they did not set down what kind of man the duke was or anything about his lineage. Since the indolence of these writers was the mother of this error, and since with the swift passage of time such things are so easily forgotten, it is our wish at this point, in order not to lose all record of such matters, to remind you briefly, as far as it serves our purpose, who his father and mother were, owing to the major family relationship he has with the kings of Portugal. From what we have been able to ascertain so long after these events occurred, it is important that you should know that the King of England, 212 Later

(1390), Enrique III.

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Edward IV, had five sons by his wife Queen Elizabeth.213 The first of these, whom we customarily refer to as the Prince of Wales, was named Edward like his father. The second was Lionel, the Duke of Clarence. The third was called John, the fourth Edmund, and the fifth was Thomas Woodstock, the Duke of Gloucester. Let us return to the third and fourth sons,214 for it so happened that when Prince John was a bachelor, he married Blanche, the daughter and heiress of the most honourable and excellent Prince Henry, the Duke of Lancaster, who was very wealthy, of lofty lineage and celebrated for his acts of chivalry. As dowry for this marriage, since her father was already dead and had been succeeded by his daughter, Prince John gained the honours held by his fatherin-law and thus acquired the title of Duke of Lancaster. He had two daughters and one son by his wife Blanche. The first of these was named Elizabeth, who married Sir John Holland, the Earl of Huntingdon and brother to King Richard on his mother’s side. The second daughter was called Philippa: she married King João of Portugal as a consequence of the journey of which we are speaking. The son was named Henry, who was at first known as the Earl of Derby and later as the Duke of Hereford. Then, after the death of his father, he became the Duke of Lancaster and finally the King of England,215 as also were his son Henry and his grandson Henry after him. As you have heard,216 it came about that King Pedro of Castile was in Seville and learnt that his brother Don Enrique had been crowned in Burgos and had taken the title of king. Having been informed that Don Enrique was advancing to attack him, he fled the city and made his way via Portugal to Galicia and thence to Bayonne, which belonged to England, taking with him his three daughters, namely Princess Beatriz, Princess Constanza and Princess Isabel. Having come to an understanding with the Prince of Wales concerning the assistance the prince would give him, it was laid down in the agreements between them that, until the prince and his men were paid all that was their due, King Pedro’s daughters would be held hostage in England.217 After the battle [of Nájera] was over, as we narrated it,218 and with the king restored to possession of his kingdom, the Prince of Wales grew very dissatisfied at not having received payment. As you have also heard,219 King Pedro was subsequently defeated and killed, with the result that these princesses now 213 Edward 214 Prince

III in fact; his queen was Philippa of Hainault. Edmund, the fourth son, is not mentioned again until the very end of

the chapter. 215 As Henry IV. 216 In CKP, Chapters 37–40. 217 This is in Bayonne; see CKF, Chapters 3, 12 and 13. 218 In CKF, Chapter 9. 219 In CKF, Chapters 21–23.



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became orphans, totally bereft of lands, income and any other possessions they might have. After the death of Princess Beatriz, the other two were left destitute. At this point, Blanche, the Duke of Lancaster’s wife, happened to die also. Seeing these two princesses orphaned, the most powerful and excellent King Edward of England made a noble and gallant gesture by marrying the elder of the two, Princess Constanza, to John, the Duke of Lancaster. The younger princess, Doña Isabel, he married to his fourth son, Prince Edmund, the Earl of Cambridge, who later became the Duke of York and came to this realm [of Portugal], as we duly related at length.220

Chapter 89

How the Duke of Lancaster left La Coruña and captured the town of Santiago de Compostela

J

ohn, Duke of Lancaster, was a well-built man, tall and upright, yet his weight was not as great as his bulk might suggest. He would be about sixty years old but possessed fewer white hairs than is usual for a man of that age. In speech he was elegant and unrushed, courteous and affable. He brought with him his wife and children. In his letters and decrees he styled himself King of Castile and León and of the other places which are customarily cited in such documents. On his banners and seals he had castles and lions, though these were combined with the insignia of France and England. His wife was called Queen Constanza, and similarly his daughters were called princesses. In his letters and legal edicts the duke put the words ‘We the king’, and his wife Constanza wrote ‘The queen’. When the duke was at La Coruña, as we said,221 the guard of the town was entrusted to an honourable Galician nobleman called Fernán Pérez de Andrade, who had troops at his disposal but insufficient for confronting such a force [as the duke’s]. Realising that any defence he might undertake would be of no avail, he sent a message to the duke to say that he wished to obey him and do his bidding, adding that there were no grounds for tarrying there any longer and that the duke should go at once to Santiago de Compostela, the main town in that region. Once he had captured that town, all other townships would be his, and the same would apply throughout the kingdom, for it was incapable of putting up a fight. The duke was persuaded by this line of argument and set off for Santiago, which lay 10 leagues away. However,

220 See 221 In

CKF, from Chapter 128 and following. Chapter 83 above.

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since he had not made his way into La Coruña, nor taken possession of the town, nor left his own governor in charge of it, as is the custom, some said that he had not captured it, and attributed this to the great wisdom of Fernán Pérez and to the credulity of the duke. The duke swiftly seized Santiago and, in the main, the whole land of Galicia, without any more fighting or attacks on towns and villages. Many Galician and Castilian knights came over to him, promising him the towns and villages which they held and kissing his hand as their liege lord. Similarly, the people brought him ample supplies on their pack-animals and in their carts. The English bought these things at the usual prices and as quoted by those selling them, without cheating them of a single penny, for the duke had ordered that any man doing otherwise would lose his head. Having begun so well, the duke came to believe that the whole of Castile would pay him obeisance by virtue of his wife, as we have said. Thereupon, in the Cathedral of Santiago, he proclaimed his support for Pope Urban VI and abandonment of the man known as Clement VII. Since Don Juan García Manrique, the Archbishop of Santiago, was at that time absent at the court of the King of Castile and could not, therefore, prevent this happening, they elected a new archbishop and dean, though these honours were to be of brief duration.

Chapter 90

How the King of Portugal learned of the duke’s arrival and made his way to Oporto

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hile the King of Portugal was in Lamego, where we left him after he had departed from Coria, João Gil do Porto and Gomes Eanes, his groom, brought him news of how the duke had arrived in Galicia in the way we have described. According to what is claimed by some writers, the duke at once sent letters to the king, informing him of how he had come to Galicia and landed at La Coruña, bringing with him his wife and children, in order to gain the kingdom of Castile, which rightfully belonged to him, and adding that he would be very pleased if the two of them could meet. The king was delighted at this news and set off at once for Oporto. There he decided to dispatch envoys to the duke, to send for the constable and others from his kingdom and to make arrangements for when they were to meet. At this time, it so happened that Martín Rodríguez de Sevilla was sailing towards the city of Oporto. He had gone with other222 galleys to make

222 Other

than those mentioned in Chapter 83.



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marauding raids along the coast of England, and they had been the first to bring news to the King of Castile of the fleet that was being assembled to sail against him. Off Oporto he came across a number of Portuguese and English ships and felt his galleys to be superior to them. One misty morning his galley was in pursuit of a Portuguese vessel in order to harry it, and, when he had already virtually captured it, there appeared a nao full of Portuguese, borne by a following wind, which engaged with him, killed many of his men and forcibly seized his galley. The Portuguese nao set free the vessel he had taken and brought it into Oporto with all the wealth that was aboard. Martín Rodríguez was a prisoner in his galley but he later ransomed himself for 10,000 doblas. Once released, he immediately headed for Castile. There he acquired a horse and some troops and made his way to Olivença, which was held for Castile by Pero Rodrigues da Fonseca. He made a marauding incursion into Portugal, but people from the town of Redondo came out against him, gave chase and captured him. He was then killed by Estacinho de Évora. Only a few days after Martín Rodríguez had been captured, the Portuguese naos and galleys which had been in La Coruña arrived at Oporto, along with the Master of Santiago and Lourenço Eanes Fogaça. From the day they had left Lisbon till when they reached La Coruña these envoys had been away from Portugal for three years, three months and twenty-five days. On board one of these transport ships was the duke’s entire treasury; this he carried with him in order to strike coins and pay his troops, which he later did both in Galicia and in the city of Oporto. He minted silver reais worth 7 dinheiros each and others of 6 dinheiros, as well as other coins similar to the ten-soldos coin which was current in Portugal at that time.223 Its die, however, displayed the arms of Castile combined with other signs. He also struck another, smaller, coin convenient for use in money-changing. When the king learned that the Master of Santiago was approaching land, he went down to the riverside to welcome him. The master accompanied the king to his lodging, and there they discussed at length his mission [to England] and related matters. The master had come back well supplied with raiment, weaponry and household furniture. He had been in a good position to acquire these items owing to the powers he had while in England to borrow against [imported] Portuguese goods. Now he at once summoned men, horses and pack-animals from the lands of his order. Lots of these came, accompanied by many squires and friars of the order. Yet, though surrounded by worldly pomp and very close to the king, he was singled out and summoned by Death, who had need of him, and there he ended his days. The king was able to choose from his fine garments and other goods whatever he pleased to take. The master left

223 See

CKJ1, Chapter 49.

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a small daughter whom he had fathered on an English woman called Laura, and whom he had brought back with him. The king raised her and in due course married her to Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, the marshal of his army, who was at that time a widower after the death of his first wife. The daughter was called Dona Joana after her father,224 who was the Master of Santiago.

Chapter 91

How King João sent word to the duke, and where they agreed to meet each other

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he king ordered his envoys to be sent to the duke, dispatching Vasco Martins de Melo and Lourenço Eanes Fogaça with letters and a message, which ended by saying that he was greatly pleased at the duke’s arrival and at his object in coming. He added that it was important that they should meet in order to come to an understanding and consult each other about how best to prosecute the war against Castile. The envoys made their way to Galicia and reached the duke’s lodging just as he was finishing dinner. They received a good welcome from the duke and the noblemen present and forthwith handed the letters to him at table and explained to him all the reasons for their mission. Without further ado the duke held council that very day. With the envoys agreeing, they deemed it best if they were to meet at Ponte do Mouro between Melgaço and Monção, some 19 leagues from Oporto. The duke was requested to make his way there, and likewise the king would set forth from Oporto and head for the same place. Then in the duke’s dining hall, and in his presence, they ate the supper which he ordered to be prepared for them and for the great lords from his council. After taking their leave of him, they went back with his reply. Now, some say that the suggestion that the king might marry one of the duke’s daughters was already raised at this stage and during the envoys’ visit, but, whenever it was, the king held a royal council on the matter, in which many of his counsellors urged him to marry Princess Catalina, the granddaughter of King Pedro. They declared that in this way he might subsequently get the opportunity to govern the kingdoms of Castile. Others advised him to marry Princess Philippa, but the conclusion reached by everyone was that it was his prerogative to choose whichever of them he preferred. The king said that, since the choice was his alone, as was only right, he was disinclined to marry Princess Catalina because he felt such a marriage would 224 She was, in fact, named after her grandfather, João Afonso de Albuquerque, father of the aforementioned envoy to England, Fernando Afonso de Albuquerque.



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involve the turmoil of never-ending warfare for any man who married her, owing to her mother’s claim to inherit the kingdom of Castile. On the other hand, any man who married her and failed to do anything about that claim would be deemed to have fallen short and would be the object of censure for ever. Since, thank God, he, the king, was victorious over his enemies, he had no intention of waging any further war against them, other than to win back what they had taken from him and till such time as they made their peace with him. Then he would lead a tranquil life, ruling over his kingdom lawfully and justly. He went on to say that this would be all the better for the duke, for, if they were engaged in fighting a war, it was possible that the King of Castile’s wife might die and then the Castilian king could either marry this princess himself or marry her to his son [Enrique], who expected to succeed him. This would suit King João very well, enabling him to bring the dispute to an honourable conclusion for both parties, which was something he was unable to accomplish. Consequently, he had decided, God willing, to marry Princess Philippa.

Chapter 92

How King João and the Duke of Lancaster first met

S

everal days were spent discussing these matters, and it was already October. The duke reached the Benedictine monastery of Celanova, which is in Galicia in the bishopric of Orense near Milmanda, 10 leagues from Santiago. He arrived with his wife and children and part of his following. The king left Oporto fully accoutred and with a goodly body of men. Among the trappings he took with him were jupons of white fustian with crosses of Saint George, which he distributed to all those who accompanied him daily; these numbered some 500 lances. He himself wore a similar jupon made of white silk. With the troops serving his noblemen, the party comprised 2,000 men all together. He also took along a good 40 horses, mules and hacks, the latter as reserve mounts, and bedecked with his armorials and other examples of the finest adornment, as befitted meeting a great and noble lord for the first time. The constable was at his ease by the river Guadiana when these events began. There he received the king’s message informing him that the duke was in Galicia and how, therefore, it was important to go and meet him. In the message the king commanded him to make ready and head for the place where the discussions were due to take place, wherefore he at once set about equipping himself to go there, departing in the company of certain knights and squires, all well accoutred and horsed. He encountered the king in Ponte da Barca, where the king was very pleased to see him and gave him a warm welcome.

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While the king was travelling on this side of Ponte do Mouro, the duke appeared on the opposite bank close to Melgaço,225 a village which sided with Castile at that time. When the king saw the duke’s approach, he crossed the river, and they met one another on the hillside. The king was fully armed, lacking only his bascinet, and many of his men were similarly accoutred. The duke’s men wore haubergeons, vambraces and surcoats, some embroidered and others slashed, all of them a fine sight and well equipped. Mingling with them were a number of Galicians and Castilians who had gone over to join him and acknowledged him as their liege lord. There the two men welcomed and embraced each other with courteous greetings and with great pleasure and joy. They stood talking for a while before crossing over the river to this side, where the king had had his tents pitched. There they disarmed and sat down to eat, both of them on the same side of the table, without bothering about the right side or the left, as that was not yet the practice at the time. The duke’s followers did the same. This took place on the first day of November, the Feast of All Saints. After they had eaten, the duke went off to his own lodging, whereas the king remained where he was. Next day, they pitched a great pavilion on the bank of the river. The pavilion had belonged to the King of Castile and had been captured in the royal battle [at Aljubarrota]. In it the king and the duke later held their council.

Chapter 93

Concerning the agreements which the king and the duke negotiated together

S

ome writers have offered differing accounts of the alliances and agreements which the king and the duke negotiated, but the truth, which admits of no error, assures us that they were as follows: The king and the duke, together with the prelates and barons who were privy to their council, having discussed matters at length, joined in decreeing that, for the good and honour of their people and the well-being of their kingdoms, both of them and their successors and the people subject to them would be good and loyal friends, without malice or deceit. They also decreed that this alliance and friendship would be formed and confirmed in such a way that they would mutually assist one another, as would their heirs, against any people who sought to conquer their kingdoms, or any part thereof, and would do so as promptly and swiftly as they could. The King of Portugal would be bound to aid the duke in the war of conquest for which he had come, manifestly making war against the usurper of Castile, 225 Melgaço

is located some 23 miles (c. 37 km) to the east of Tuy, on the south (Portuguese) bank of the river Minho (Miño).



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and would openly proclaim his campaign against both him and his followers; under no circumstances would he cease to do so, nor would he make peace or reach a truce with him. This commitment would continue for as long as the duke or his successors were to remain in the land, in order to strive for and bring about its conquest. Likewise, it was agreed that the aforesaid lord duke and his heirs would openly make war on behalf of the aforesaid King João or his descendants against any people seeking to seize and occupy the kingdoms of Portugal. Furthermore, they decreed and set down in writing that the King of Portugal in person, with an army of 2,000 lances, 1,000 crossbowmen and 2,000 foot soldiers, would assist the duke against the usurper of the said kingdoms and against any of his supporters. This assistance which the King of Portugal undertook to provide would be entirely at his own expense, and it is incorrect to say that the duke would have to pay wages or anything else to the king and his soldiers, as some writers have erroneously alleged. The king was to be in readiness to set out on the campaign from the first day in the octave following Christmas Day until the last day of August, a period of eight months. Each of them would set forth from wherever he deemed best, and they would join forces to invade Castile at a place which they would indicate. From there they would ride forward, either together or separately, as they thought best. If, before the eight months were up, the usurper of the kingdoms of Castile were to install himself inside a town or city or any other place in that country, the King of Portugal was to take part in the siege along with the said duke until the usurper was captured, killed, or took flight. If perchance during those eight months news were received that the said usurper of the kingdoms of Castile wished to engage in battle with the duke, and if the day of battle fell outside that period, in such circumstances the King of Portugal would be bound to remain there for the whole of September at his own expense and to take part in the battle in aid of the duke. But, if the battle were to be fought during the eight-month period, the King of Portugal would [thereafter] return to his own kingdoms or to wherever he saw fit. If he returned under those circumstances, and if the duke needed his troops, then the king would give them leave to stay, but at the duke’s expense. Were it to happen that, after the King of Portugal returned to his kingdoms, news came that the usurper of the kingdoms of Castile wished to do battle with the duke, and if the duke sent a message urging the king to come and join him in that battle, then the king would be bound to advance with his army as quickly as he could and be there in person, with no pretext for delay. But even if on that occasion the battle did not take place, and the King of Portugal were to be summoned a second time, [then] he would no longer be duty-bound to respond to a further summons. In order to strengthen this alliance of friendship even further, they then decreed and promised that the duke would give his daughter, Princess Philippa, to the King of Portugal to be his wife, and that the king would wed her, once he had received a dispensation to indicate that such a marriage would be valid.

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Princess Philippa would swear to receive the King of Portugal as her husband once the said dispensation had been granted. By reason of this marriage and of the assistance which he was to receive from the King of Portugal at the latter’s expense, the duke and his wife decreed that both they and their successors, by virtue of the titles of king and queen that they bore, would grant and hand over to the King of Portugal an area of Castile and León which would forever pass under his crown and be part of his kingdoms. That area would comprise a number of townships and other places, namely the township of Ledesma and its outlying district, the castle of Matilla, the village of Monleón, then would continue along the so-called Silver Road, taking in the town of Plasencia, extending as far as the village known as Grimaldo and another called Cañaveral, then on to Alconétar, Cáceres and Alcuéscar; also included would be Almendralejo, Fuente del Maestre, Zafra, Medina de las Torres and then straight on to Fregenal. The area would embrace any other townships and villages which lay between these places and the kingdoms of Portugal, with all their outlying districts and hamlets, with the exception of the townships of Alcántara and Valencia de Alcántara. Moreover, since they said that these latter two towns and a number of other places among the foregoing belonged to certain orders of chivalry, the duke agreed that he would confer upon the orders to which they belonged other places which were of equivalent value, and that, wherever in some way he were unable to do this, he would recompense the king with other places of similar revenue and quality which lay close to Portugal and which he would receive from his father[-in-law]226 to hold for ever. The duke would carry out that transfer as soon as each and every one of them had declared their obedience to him, the duke, without the king ever being obliged to raise the matter with others. Such, then, and not otherwise, was the agreement which was signed between them.

Chapter 94

How the king left for the banks of the Guadiana, and how the princess was brought to Oporto

A

fter these talks and agreements had been carried out in the way we have described, letters suddenly arrived from the envoys who had left for the [Papal] Curia more than a year earlier,227 explaining how they had found the Holy Father in Genoa. They had presented to him the petition they had brought and expressed to him its content, and to all of what they sought from him he 226 That 227 See

is the Duke of Lancaster. CKJ1, Chapter 192.



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had given his gracious assent; moreover, that document had already been duly signed, and they would be taking steps to obtain letters of confirmation. The king was highly pleased at this, as, indeed, was the duke, who immediately agreed to send his daughter to Oporto, so that the king could welcome and marry her, once he was ready and disposed to do so. One day, amid these events, the king issued an invitation to the duke and all the English knights who were there, along with the Galicians and Castilians who accompanied him. He made for them a truly magnificent hall by joining the tent where the negotiations had been held to other tents which they pitched, in sequence, next to them. In the hall Nuno Álvares Pereira, the Constable of Portugal, acted as master of ceremonies, seating every man according to his rank at the tables where they were to eat, and where great nobles served them with napkins, cups and other items in keeping with such an invitation. After the meal was over, discussions continued for a long time, and then gifts were exchanged. Afterwards the duke took his leave and headed for Celanova, 4 leagues away. Next day, as had been agreed between them, the king sent his proctors to the monastery where the duke was lodging. These were Dom Lourenço [Vicente], Archbishop of Braga, Vasco Martins de Melo the Elder and João Rodrigues de Sá. Three days after their arrival, on 11 November, as we have said, Queen Constanza, along with her husband the king and Princess Philippa his daughter and many noblemen of his household, praised and approved the agreements (which we have described) on behalf of themselves and their successors, in so far as it applied to each of them, and they swore to keep them and to uphold what was written in the treaties. Following on from this, the king dispatched the constable back to the banks of the Guadiana to assemble as many troops as he could. The king himself journeyed via Oporto and then Lisbon with very few of his retinue, because he had left the rest of his men between the Douro and the Minho, with instructions to wait for him till Christmas. He spent seven days in Lisbon, and then from there he made his way into the Alentejo to give urgency to the assembling of troops. While the king was busy with this undertaking and staying in Évora, Princess Philippa was brought to the city of Oporto in a most honourable fashion on the orders of her father, as had been agreed and as we have said. There she was welcomed with great festivities and immense pleasure. She was accompanied by large numbers of Englishmen and Portuguese. These included Sir John Holland, the duke’s constable; Thomas Percy, the Admiral of the Fleet; Richard Burley, his marshal; Don Juan Gutiérrez, who was the Bishop of Dax; the Archbishop of Braga; Vasco Martins de Melo [the Elder]; João Rodrigues de Sá; and others who accompanied them. She took up lodging in the bishop’s palace, which stands very close to the cathedral of that city. The king left Évora with the constable in his company. On reaching Oporto he found that Princess Philippa, his intended bride, was there and he lodged

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at the Monastery of São Francisco. Next day he went to meet the princess, whom he had yet to see, and conversed with her for quite a while in the presence of the bishop.228 Then he took his leave and went off to dinner. After dining, the king sent jewels to the princess, and she sent some to him. Among the gifts sent by the king was a clasp which bore a cockerel, wondrously fashioned with precious stones and seed pearls. The princess gave the king another clasp, which bore a finely wrought eagle adorned with gems of huge value. However, the king stayed there for just a few days before leaving for Guimarães. He left behind Gonçalo Peres, at that time his comptroller of finances, whom he charged with providing everything that the princess and her retinue might require.

Chapter 95

How the king arranged to set up his household and wrote to the communities of his realm

W

hile the king was in that town [Guimarães] making due preparations for war, discussions also took place concerning his marriage. It was considered that, if the blessings [of the Church] were not to be conferred the very next day, then they might have to be postponed for a long time, because Septuagesima was imminent [leading to the beginning of Lent], when, according to Church custom, such a celebration may not be held.229 With everyone’s agreement the king wrote at once to the Bishop of Oporto, asking him to have everything ready the next day for the blessing, and this was what the bishop duly did. The king rode off the same afternoon and travelled all night, so that he arrived in the city early next morning, having covered 8 leagues. Dom João was already prepared, dressed in his pontifical robes, with his fellow clergy duly wearing the appropriate apparel. The princess was very ceremoniously brought to the cathedral from the palace, where she had been staying. There, in the name of the Lord God and in the presence of everyone, the king received her as his [future] lawfully wedded wife. This [betrothal] ceremony took place with the greatest possible solemnity and was enacted on 2 February, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, when the king was twenty-nine years of age and the princess, his wife[-to-be] was twenty-eight. After the blessing was over, the king immediately commanded that the 228 João

Domingues, Bishop of Oporto (1373–1389). Sunday is the third Sunday before Lent. In 1387 it fell on 3 February, the day after the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary. The two church ceremonies, the blessing of the betrothal and the subsequent sacrament of marriage, had to be completed before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, 20 February, or postponed until a week after Easter. 229 Septuagesima



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wedding ceremony and the setting up of his household be arranged for a week from the following Thursday.230 He wrote letters to the towns and cities of his kingdom, in which he declared it to be his pleasure that they should be represented at the festivities. The content of the letters, which he sent to all of them, was as follows: To the honourable community and citizens of our town or city of such a place. We, the king, send you warm greetings. We believe that you are well aware that we have sworn and promised to marry the Princess Philippa, the daughter of the King of Castile and Duke of Lancaster. Now, as we were in Guimarães, in readiness to continue our journey to a destination of which you are also well aware, we have been requested by the said King of Castile, her father, to take her as our wife, as we had agreed with him we would do before leaving this area. He said that such is his intent in service to God, in pursuit of his honour and in the advancement of our common interests. Since our Holy Father, the Pope, had already given us a dispensation enabling us to marry, we took counsel on the matter, and it was agreed that we should marry her before leaving this region. Accordingly, we went at once to the city of Oporto and our betrothal was blessed on the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary. That is because, if it did not take place on that day, then, according to the ordinances of Holy Church, it could not be solemnised until a week after Easter. We intend, God willing, to set up our household, in a manner which befits our station, a week from this coming Thursday, that is to say on 14 February. You may be certain that it would give us immense pleasure if numbers of you could be present at this ceremony and on all other occasions conducted in our honour. However, owing to our need to prosecute our military campaign at once, we are curtailing the period in which the ceremony is to take place. Since we understand that circumstances may well prevent you from attending, we are fully informing you of these arrangements, as we are confident that they will give you pleasure. Written, etc.

Chapter 96

How the king celebrated his marriage to his wife in the city of Oporto

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hough time was short for arranging such an important event, particularly of the kind which it was customary to hold in those days, the king gave instructions to certain members of his household and to the city officials with regard to what each of them had to do. With great diligence and sound sense they all devoted themselves to fulfilling his wishes, some of them decorating 230 That

is on Thursday, 14 February 1387.

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the squares and clearing the streets through which his procession was to pass, and others arranging games, tumbling and revelries to last late into the night. In great haste, from an area which was all gardens, they prepared a large open space between São Domingos and Souto Street. It was there that great noblemen and knights took part in jousting and tourneys, but only if they were skilled in the art, whereas others were excluded. In fact, the whole city was involved in different tasks preparing for the festivities. When everything was ready for the appointed day, the king set out from his lodgings on the Wednesday and made his way to the bishop’s palace, where the princess was staying. On the Thursday the city folk gathered in assorted groups to take part in games and dancing in every square, together with much tumbling and merrymaking. The main streets along which the parade was to proceed were all strewn with a variety of greenery and sweet-smelling plants. The king emerged from the palace mounted on a white horse and royally clad in cloth of gold. Most nobly arrayed, the queen, too, rode a white horse. They wore golden crowns richly inlaid with precious stones and seed pearls of great price. They rode, not in sequence, but alongside each other in equal status. On foot and wearing fine raiment, all the grooms led the horses of the most high-ranking people present, while the archbishop himself led the queen’s horse by the reins. Ahead of them went pipes, trumpets and other instruments making such a noise that nothing else could be heard. Singing at the rear, as is the custom at weddings, came both noblewomen and the daughters of city dwellers. The crowd was so vast that it was incapable of being directed or controlled, owing to the lack of space between the palace and the church. In this fashion they arrived at the cathedral door, which was very near there and where Dom Rodrigo, the Bishop [of Ciudad Rodrigo]231 stood in wait, festively arrayed in his pontifical robes, together with the clergy. He took them both by the hand and instructed them to utter those words which Holy Church has ordained to be pronounced in this sacrament. Then he said mass and preached a homily. When the bishop had completed this task, the king and queen went back, amid a similar festive display, to the palace from which they had come and where they were due to eat. The tables were already set with everything needed, not only the table where the bride and groom were to sit, but also the tables reserved for the bishops and other high-ranking people, nobles and city burghers, as well as ladies and maidens from the palace and the city. The master of ceremonies at the wedding festivities was Nuno Álvares Pereira, the Constable of Portugal. Naperers, cup-bearers and further officers 231 The western portion of this diocese was located on Portuguese territory, and its bishop, Dom Rodrigo, was an adherent of Pope Urban VI, unlike his schismatic eastern counterpart, who adhered to the Antipope Clement VII. Unusually, Dom Rodrigo officiated at the marriage, rather than Dom João, the Bishop of Oporto, who had officiated at the betrothal (see Chapter 95 above). In his turn, the Archbishop of Braga blessed the marriage bed.



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attending to other duties were great noblemen and knights, and there was an ample supply of choice dishes prepared from all manner of delicacies. While the meal lasted and in view of everybody present, skilful tumblers took part in a variety of games such as clambering up ropes, racing round tables, performing somersaults and other amusing tricks. When this was over, all the men got up and began dancing, with the ladies grouped round them, happily singing. Meanwhile, the king went to his chamber, and in the evening, after supper, the Archbishop [of Braga] and other prelates, bearing many blazing torches, blessed the marriage bed with those benedictory words which the Church has ordained for such occasions. Then the king remained there with his wife, and the others went off to their lodgings. Neither the queen’s father nor the duchess were present at these wedding festivities, because their entire concern was taken up with joining their troops at the place where it had been agreed with the king that the invasion of Castile should begin.

Chapter 97

How the king provided the queen with a household and with an income for her expenses

F

or a fortnight, both before and after the event, feasts and royal tournaments took place in honour of the marriage, just as we have described them. They occurred not simply in Oporto, but also throughout the towns and cities of the realm. Great junketing and tumbling took place, according to the resources of each township, as was the usual practice at that time. The king set up a household for the queen, together with a certain income for her expenses, until such time as he could give her, as he had promised, lands [providing revenue] from which to uphold her status. He also provided officials to serve her and appointed Lopo Dias de Sousa, the Master of the Order of Christ in Portugal, as her chief steward, Lourenço Eanes Fogaça as the comptroller of her finances, Afonso Martins (who later became the Prior of Santa Cruz) as the steward of her household, Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho as her chief cup-bearer and, standing in for him, Rodrigo Eanes, the king’s own criado. He also appointed Fernão Lopes de Abreu as the keeper of the queen’s wardrobe, as well as a naperer, a pantler and other essential officials. Assigned to her too were a head chaplain, a father confessor and other ministers of the divine office. Other appointments included both English and Portuguese squires, as many as he considered suitable, who were to attend her. Likewise, the king arranged for the following women to attend and serve her: Beatriz Gonçalves de Moura, the widow of Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, who was appointed her lady-in-waiting; her damsels were Beatriz de Castro, the daughter of Álvaro Pérez de Castro; Teresa Vasques Coutinha, the daughter

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of Beatriz Gonçalves: she became the queen’s mistress of the bedchamber and was the wife of Dom Martinho, the son of Count Gonçalo; her sister, Leonor Vasques, who later married Dom Fernando, whom they called Fernando de Bragança; Berengária Nunes Pereira, the daughter of Rui Pereira who had died in the sea-battle off Lisbon, and who married Afonso Vasques Correia; Beatriz Pereira, the daughter of Álvaro Pereira, the deceased marshal, who married Martim Vasques de Resende; and her legitimate sister Leonor Pereira, who was married to Gomes Freire. There were, in addition, other damsels and ladies-in-waiting, as befitted her honourable status. The king gave orders that, until the queen had lands of her own, she should receive, in order to meet the expenses of her household, the income from customs duty and toll charges, as well as from the Paço da Madeira.232 From these the total revenue could readily make available to her some 20,000 dobras, should she wish to spend them.

Chapter 98

Concerning some of the ways and good qualities of Queen Philippa

T

his Queen Philippa, the daughter of a noble father and mother, just as she had been praised, when a princess, for all the good qualities that befit a woman of lofty lineage, earned similar and even greater praise after she was married and raised to the rank of queen. Furthermore, God granted her a husband whom she found agreeable and by whom she gave birth to an illustrious generation of fortunate and virtuous sons, as you will hear in due course.233 For that reason, it would have been a most pleasant task to praise her virtues, if we were able to do so, but, since we are not equal to that, we must at least describe them briefly. In her youth this fortunate queen was devout and well versed in divine liturgy and became much more so after she took over her own household and arranged the divine office as she wished. She always prayed the canonical hours according to the Use of Sarum234 and, though it was not easy to arrange, she was so intent on this that her chaplains and other worthy people received training in it in order to serve her. Every Friday it was her practice to pray from the Book of Psalms, without speaking to anyone until she had completed the exercise. Whenever she was prevented from doing so through illness or 232 This

was a department of the Customs House dealing mainly with timber (madeira) but also other goods. 233 See Chapters 148 and 149 below. 234 The Roman office as used in Salisbury (Sarum).



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during her confinements, her attendants nearby prayed aloud the text which she would normally pray herself, and she would listen devoutly and without disturbing them in any way. There is no need to deliver a lengthy sermon about her fasting or reading Holy Scripture when time permitted, for all this was organised so sensibly that idleness never gained a hold over her imagination. She showed concern for the poor and needy, generously distributing alms to churches and monasteries. She loved most faithfully her truly noble husband, taking great pains never to upset him, and was keen to ensure the quality of the education and upbringing of her children. She never did anything out of rancour or hatred; rather, her every action was dictated out of love for God and for her neighbour. Her conversation was direct and beneficial to many people without her displaying pride in her royal rank, and her words were gentle, gracious and pleasing to all those who heard them. So as not to appear aloof, she sometimes much enjoyed playing games with the damsels of her household, games which gave no scope for cheating and which were suitable for any chaste person. Consequently, if the perfect habits, in which she so excelled, were to be set down in minute detail, all women would learn much from them, even women of lofty rank.

Chapter 99

How the king made excuses to the duke for not being ready by the time he should have been

W

hile the king was celebrating his marriage and spending a few days at his ease in Oporto, the time had elapsed which had been stipulated for him to join the duke and invade Castile, for he should have been ready on the day after Christmas Day. However, it was now already the month of March 1387, at which time the duke and his wife were staying in a village near Bragança. The king left Oporto, bound for Bragança, taking the queen with him, and ordering all his troops to follow him. He reached the Monastery of Castro de Avelãs, which stands less than 1 league from Bragança. Since the king, as we have indicated, was under an obligation to be in readiness earlier than that but, owing to certain hindrances, had been prevented from doing so, lest anyone should accuse him of breaking the agreement as a result of idleness on his part, he hastened at once to the village where the duke was staying. There, in the presence of Princess Constanza, Sir John Holland and other nobles, the king made the following statement to all of them. They were well aware, he said, that an alliance of friendship between them and their successors had been drawn up in various clauses and duly sworn to. Among those clauses it was laid down that he, in person, together with certain

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numbers of lances, crossbowmen and foot soldiers, would assist the duke in the war that they had declared; and that, because of the marriage which he had entered into with the duke’s daughter and because, too, of the aid which he was to give at his own cost, he was to receive from them certain towns and villages in Castile, once they had been captured by them, and which were named in the treaty. While he and his men were getting ready to start out on their journey as promised, certain impediments, such as his marriage to the duke’s daughter, entered into as requested of him, as well as other pressing matters, had meant that he had found himself unable to supply that assistance as readily as had been expected of him. Nevertheless, he was now there with his troops, ready to assist the duke and to carry out what he had promised to do. This he was telling the duke, trusting that he would be satisfied and contented with the explanation and would deem his aid to have begun with effect from the first day of Lent, which was when he had set out from Oporto with his troops, and no earlier. On hearing this, the duke and his wife declared that they were satisfied with the king’s explanation of the delays and with everything that he had proposed; they were pleased and contented with all he had done up to that point and in no way considered that the treaty between them had been broken; moreover, if he wished to have documents to confirm this, he could request as many as he wished. The king then returned to his lodgings and remained there several days, waiting for his forces to arrive. From there they struck camp and went forward to pitch it 2 leagues beyond Bragança, very close to the border [with Castile]. The king set up camp at a village called Babe, and the duke at another, half a league away. At this point, and before they set out again, the king and queen dined one day with the duke and his wife at the village where they were staying and very much enjoyed their company. Later, the duke and duchess, together with many nobles from their household, ate with the king and queen. After they had eaten and enjoyed themselves, the queen took her leave of her father and of the duchess. Two days later she went back to Coimbra, duly accompanied by the Archbishop of Braga, Gonçalo Mendes de Vasconcelos, Diogo Lopes Pacheco, João Rodrigues de Sá (who was not in good health) and other noblemen. The king commanded learned men and prelates to be there with her and transferred to Coimbra the court-house of the leading magistrates of the realm, where everybody could seek justice. When the queen was on the point of leaving, Gonçalo Mendes said to the king, jokingly, ‘My liege, in this kingdom the custom has existed since days of yore that in the year of his marriage a man was under no obligation to go off to war, nor be forced to do so. Yet Your Majesty, so recently wed, chooses to break this custom and go forth.’ The king answered, saying it was his duty to do so in defence of his country and in order to inflict harm on his enemies.



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At the close of this chapter, therefore, you have seen two things: what happened to the duke regarding the King of Castile as soon as he reached La Coruña; and the alliance which he made with the King of Portugal for the king to come to his aid.

Chapter 100

How the king and the duke set out and arrived at Benavente de Campos

A

fter the queen’s departure and with the council’s work completed, work immediately began on the construction of a great bridge of boats across the Douro at a place known as Barca da Régua,235 thus enabling troops from Beira to cross over without going via Oporto. The king posted no frontier garrison elsewhere in the kingdom, except between the Tagus and the Guadiana, where Vasco Martins de Melo was stationed with his sons Gonçalo Vasques and Martim Afonso, Martim Gonçalves, who was the Count’s236 uncle, Gómez García de Hoyos and others, numbering all together 250 lances. As for the troops in the king’s force, they came to 3,000 lances, 2,000 crossbowmen and more than 4,000 foot soldiers, apart from others who had at once come in answer to the general summons the king had made when besieging Coria.237 If anyone were to query whether the king should take so many men with him, more indeed than he was obliged to by the treaty, and were to argue that the increased expense would be an unwelcome payment of wages, then he would be quite right to do so. However, the king took counsel first. Some said he should not assemble more troops than he was obliged to. Others asserted that it was unsafe for him to set forth without extra forces, for, if he invaded enemy territory in that fashion, the duke might strike a dishonourable deal with the King of Castile; on that account he ought to advance with the greatest possible strength, so that he could safely counter any adverse turn of events. Moreover, it showed that he had sufficient forces to assist the duke and had additional troops if they were needed. Therefore, he took with him the [extra] numbers that we have mentioned. The duke took very few of his own troops, because many of them had died during the course of that winter he had spent in Galicia, including able captains, archers and other men-at-arms. Some relate that numbers of them died of the plague, and others from shortages of various kinds. Some of them 235 Nowadays

known as (Peso da) Régua, where there are two modern bridges. is Nuno Álvares Pereira, Count of Ourém. 237 See Chapter 78 above. 236 That

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were killed in the woods and on the heathland by those who found them out foraging for food, for, though some people in that region at first rallied to the duke, they later changed their minds and secretly inflicted much havoc on his troops. Consequently, the duke was left with fewer than 600 men-at-arms and only a similar number of archers. When ready to invade Castile, the king told the constable that it was his pleasure that the Duke of Lancaster, his father[-in-law], should lead the vanguard of the army, and he put forward many reasons why he thought this was appropriate. He explained that the duke had led the vanguard at the Battle of Nájera and that the man of highest rank in the army, after the king, should command the vanguard. Furthermore, since the duke was a king and a very great lord who indeed wished to command it ahead of him, then he, King João, ought to be pleased to agree to this; he advanced other such arguments as well. The constable answered this as follows: ‘Sire, my steadfast wish is that, for as long as God allows Your Majesty to wield the power that you now hold and allows me to accompany you, [command of] the vanguard should never be passed to anyone but me, nor indeed in any other place where I am present with my men.’ In fact, it was always the count’s custom to lead the vanguard in battles wherein he fought in person and never to entrust it to anybody else; he maintained that he did not want the concern that the vanguard might be defeated and have to be rescued by the rearguard. In recognition of his loyal and faithful wish, the king conceded to him what he wanted and chose not to press him any further on this. They then advanced with their army, the duke taking his wife and offspring with him, and they crossed the River Maçãs,238 which forms the frontier between Portugal and Castile, on 25 March 1387, and reached the area around Alcañices, where Castilian territory begins. This they then left and made their way as far as a stream called Tábara. As it was the eve of Palm Sunday, they celebrated the feast day at that point. Next day, they resumed their journey and headed for Benavente de Campos. On the Tuesday, 2 April, they reached it, a fine township with solid walls and a large number of inhabitants, which is located some 14 leagues from the frontier. As they advanced towards Benavente, those on horseback were drawn up in battle formation. In the vanguard were Nuno Álvares Pereira the Constable of Portugal, Sir John Holland, who was the duke’s constable, and the Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers.239 On one of the wings was Martim Vasques da Cunha with his brothers Gil Vasques and Lopo Vasques, along with the forces of the Master of the Order of Christ, including the knights of his order and men from his lands. As for the master, he was ill and could not take part. Instead of a banner, they bore aloft a large plume 238 Known 239 Álvaro

as the River Manzanas in Spain; both names mean ‘apples’. Gonçalves Camelo.



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on a battle lance, because the master had not borne a banner ever since he and the Prior of Crato had been taken prisoner at Torres Novas, as you have heard.240 On the other wing were Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho and Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos, together with other members of their company. In the rearguard came the king and the duke, along with many men-at-arms and with all the baggage train in their midst. Such was the great swathe of territory taken up by these battle lines that they were a fine sight to behold, though frightening to their foes. In this formation they advanced until noon, when they pitched camp very close to the town, but beyond the harm that could be caused by bolts from crossbows. Indeed, from within the walls no cannon or trebuchet could inflict any damage upon them.

Chapter 101

How Castile was prepared for where the king and the duke invaded the country

A

s we said, the King of Castile was in Zamora when the duke landed at La Coruña and received from him the message which you heard.241 The duke’s arrival troubled him greatly, for the king was fearful of what the duke intended, owing to the great shortage of soldiers at that time in his kingdom, because he had lost the best and indeed most of them in the recent war. Having found out that King João and the duke had planned to invade his country via that region, he dispatched many companies of foreign troops to defend it, sending them to Benavente, Villalpando, Valencia de Don Juan, Castroverde and other townships in the area. He ordered certain low-lying places that lacked fortifications to be demolished and transferred their men and provisions to the townships that could be defended. The king welcomed those noblemen and squires who had come from France and other countries in order to serve him in this war. He conferred favours upon them, gave them wages with which to pay their troops and sent them off into that region. He ordered Don Juan García Manrique, the Archbishop of Santiago, to go to the city of León to make it more secure. He also sent as many companies of horsemen and foot soldiers as he could assemble to the places where they were most needed. The reason was that he was disinclined to risk fighting a pitched battle, choosing to protect his kingdom by engaging merely in this kind of defensive war.

240 See 241 See

CKJ1, Chapter 170. Chapter 84 above.

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The officer of the marches at Benavente was a certain Álvaro Pérez de Osorio, a Leonese knight. He had 600 Castilian lances, as well as Sir Robert de Braquemont and other foreigners, not only Gascons, but also men who spoke some other language.242 On that very day the defenders fought against those from the siege camp. Indeed, for as long as the siege lasted, there were constant hard-fought skirmishes between the two sides. However, we shall be saying nothing further about such encounters other than to mention a number of noteworthy facts. No sooner had the assailants arrived and pitched camp than the defenders emerged to skirmish with them, and in that encounter one of the duke’s party, Sir John Falconer, was killed. He was an English knight, whom we have previously mentioned.243 Whereas the men from the town, all able horsemen, had good horses, he did not, which was the reason for his death. King João later sent out a foraging party comprising Martim Vasques and his brothers, plus João Fernandes Pacheco and as many crossbowmen and foot soldiers as needed. They made their way to a township named Castrocalbón, some 5 leagues away towards Astorga. Attacking it, they set fire to the gates, forced their way in and pillaged all that was there. Then the foraging party spread out into nearby villages in search of supplies. Martim Vasques and others with him occupied higher ground to watch out for the approach of enemy assailants. Having foraged in this area and far beyond, they made their way back to the siege camp, arriving in the evening of Holy Saturday. They brought with them cattle and other provisions, though in no great quantity, because they had not found much.

Chapter 102

How Álvaro Gomes and a Castilian jousted together

T

he following day was Easter Sunday. While the defenders and their assailants were talking together, as is the custom when under safe conduct, it so happened that a certain Álvaro Gomes, a criado of the constable, and another squire, a Castilian, challenged one another to a joust. They were to joust on horseback, wearing bascinets of camail but not bearing shields, and there were to be only three charges. Similarly, a challenge was issued and accepted between one of the duke’s Gascon knights, named [Sir John] Mauburney, and Sir Robert [de Braquemont], who was in the town. Álvaro Gomes was the first to arrive on the field, along with his adversary. He wore a coat of plates but chose not to wear a fauld, though many urged him 242 Probably Basques, whose language, not being a Romance tongue, was difficult to identify. 243 In CKF, Chapter 149, and CKJ2, Chapter 83.



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to. He had all the appearance of a gallant knight, whereas the Castilian had not. At the first onset, Álvaro Gomes caught him in such a way as to knock him to the ground, whereupon the Castilian remounted and they charged again. However, as the Castilian failed to grip his lance adroitly, he accidentally caught Álvaro Gomes low down, inflicting on him a wound from which he later died. Consequently, there was no further jousting [that day]. While the jousting was taking place, the king gave safe conduct to all those who wished to come from the town to witness it, and many came forth on that account. Among their number was a well-dressed squire of some standing, who wore a silver chain about his neck. While he was watching and talking to some Portuguese, he uttered a number of ill-judged words against the king, merely referring to him as ‘the Master’. Indeed, when seeking to be very polite, he referred to him as ‘the Master, your lord’, along with similar disrespectful utterances. Those who heard them were very irritated, but no one dared to answer back, as the king had given the townsfolk safe conduct and was nearby watching the jousting with everyone else. That night, when the king sent for wine and fruit, a number of people could not resist discussing the matter and telling the king what had happened and how they had not dared to contradict the squire for fear of annoying the king, owing to the safe conduct he had issued to the townsfolk. The king replied that he had merely granted safe conduct to those who wished to come and enjoy themselves, but that, if someone made remarks that were disrespectful, then he would not object to anyone seeking redress.

Chapter 103

How [Sir] Mauburney and Sir Robert jousted

O

n the day after these events, both the knight named Mauburney and Sir Robert, who was in the town, came together on the field to joust. They and their horses were well equipped and well protected. Mauburney was a sturdy knight and had taken part in jousting on many previous occasions. Sir Robert was of smaller build and less adept in this feat of arms. When jousting, Mauburney was accoutred as follows: he wore a bascinet without a visor and with the edge of his shield he covered his face so that only his right eye was visible. His horse charged no faster than at a canter. He did not engage head on with his opponent but as he passed him at an angle. In their first charge Mauburney caught Sir Robert in the neck, and, though he was wearing two camails and a gorget, the lance passed right through camails and gorget and out on the other side, hauling him on its point clean out of the saddle and down to the ground, so that everybody thought he was dead. Yet Sir Robert remounted, and there was a second onset which caused him to lurch back.

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On the third charge they missed one another, and at this point their jousting was brought to a close. It is important you should know that, if, initially, when Álvaro Gomes jousted, many Castilians and other foreigners came out to watch the jousting, now many more came out to witness these later clashes. Among these people was the very squire who, as we mentioned, had passed uncouth remarks of an offensive nature. But, if his earlier comments were uncalled for, they were on this occasion even more so, and far more unpleasant to hear. Now Álvaro Coitado, a gallant Portuguese knight from the constable’s company, was well-built and ready for anything. He had heard and had very much kept in mind what the king had said when people had complained to him about this man’s discourteous behaviour. He therefore stood close to him to see whether he would repeat it. When he heard him passing such insulting remarks as on the first occasion and, with the jousting being almost at an end, he went up to where he was, seated on a mule, seized him by the collar with one hand and with the other gave him a hefty punch that immediately stunned him. He then jerked the collar so hard as to knock him off his mule, and both of them crashed to the ground. Álvaro Coitado then began to belabour him with kicks and punches, grabbing him by the collar and telling him he should be brought before the king. Many people from both sides gathered round in great excitement to see what was going on. The Castilians said it was utterly wrong for them to be dishonoured by anyone in this way when they had been granted safe conduct enabling them to come and enjoy themselves. The king himself, who happened to be nearby, hurried over to see what was afoot. A Castilian knight, Pero Díaz de Cadorniga, spoke up for the other Castilians, declaring that it was quite wrong that, when the king had granted them all safe conduct, they should be subjected to such dishonour at the hands of his own men. The king replied that he had granted them all safe conduct so that they might come and go and stay [to watch the jousting], along with those from the siege camp, but that the safe conduct did not include the trading of mutual insults. He added that, if that squire had come out with remarks which he ought not to have uttered, then he deserved what had been done to him, and indeed much more. Then they all went their separate ways, and no further jousting was held in that place.

Chapter 104

How the town’s defenders came forth to skirmish before the king left

F

or as long as the king was encamped before Benavente, he made no attempt to attack the town, because he had not brought with him the siege engines needed for such an onslaught. Besides, since the town was garrisoned by many



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valiant troops, he realised that it would avail him nothing to prolong his stay and so he decided to leave. However, during the time he remained there, as we have said, skirmishing took place, with the men from the town attacking those in the siege camp, though the Portuguese always won the day. One day, a contingent from those defending the town emerged across a bridge which they normally used in order to mount a skirmish. It was also their practice, when the besiegers gave chase, to stop at the bridge and retreat no further. There the Castilians would turn about and attack their pursuers once again, inconclusively thrusting to and fro. Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, who habitually participated in these skirmishes, noticed how the Castilians halted each time at the bridge and how the Portuguese came back from the encounter without accomplishing anything further. Accordingly, he told his men that, when they gave chase and the enemy pulled up at that spot, they should force them back across the bridge for, in that way, they would achieve a great advantage over them. That is what happened, for when the Castilians retreated to the bridge, without expecting to be pursued more closely, the Portuguese hurtled at them so hard that they were quite unprepared and could not all find room on the bridge, with the result that some flung themselves into the water, while others were captured or killed. This manoeuvre was not repeated, for the king left, and they had no further opportunity to do so.

Chapter 105

How Roales was taken, and concerning other things that ensued

T

he king left that town, as we have said, a week having passed since their arrival, and the army made camp 2 leagues away, near a walled town called Matilla de Arzón. From there it moved on the next day, crossing the Ricobayo,244 a river that rises in Asturias, an area which belonged to Álvaro Pérez de Osorio. Along the banks of that river, upstream, there are many villages as far as Valencia de Don Juan. Martim Vasques da Cunha, his brother Gil Vasques, Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos, João Afonso Pimentel and others went to that area to raid, and came to a town called San Millán [de los Caballeros], near Valencia [de Don Juan] and Villaquejida,245 where there were many good men to defend it. The Castilians came out to skirmish, with the 244 This is the river nowadays known as the Esla, the name Ricobayo only surviving in the Embalse de Ricobayo, a reservoir situated some 10 miles (c. 16 km) to the north-west of Zamora, and in the name of a nearby village. 245 Fernão Lopes does not identify this town by name; he only says: ‘near Valencia and the town’ [preto de Vallença e da villa]. The missing name, Villaquejida, is

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river between them; among them came Álvaro de Tordehumos, that famous man-at-arms who has been mentioned earlier.246 When he came forth with others, those on both sides entered the water. When the Portuguese attacked the Castilians, these could not withstand them, and turned to flee. Álvaro de Tordehumos was wounded there, so badly that he later died. The Portuguese returned to the camp with livestock and other things that they had found. The next day the army departed and encamped in front of Roales.247 There were no men-at-arms there, only labourers both from the town and from the surrounding villages. Seeing that they could neither defend themselves nor get any other aid, it was agreed by negotiation that they should abandon the town, which was then plundered of its provisions and everything that was there. While they were in that place, one day some men-at-arms went along to guard those who were going to fetch hay; as the king was riding along to give orders as to how they should be organised, his horse fell, bringing him down, and he broke a strap holding his vambrace, but they repaired it for him. The king was extremely vexed that such a thing should happen to him in the land of his enemies as he was going to wage war against them. At this point it began to be said ‒ but it was not so ‒ that the inhabitants of Valderas,248 another town belonging to Álvaro Pérez, were fleeing in fear, leaving it undefended. As soon as this news was heard, certain men of the camp quickly took to horse, along with a number of foot soldiers, and hurried there to capture the people who were fleeing and sack their town of provisions. Among those who rode off were João Fernandes Pacheco, João Gomes da Silva, Antão Vasques and other noblemen. When they arrived there, they found it well prepared and well manned, and outside the town there were as many as forty horsemen, between the men of the town and those of other companies who had been stationed to guard that district. Among them were the Admiral and the Provincial Governor of the [former] kingdom of León, Pedro Suárez de Quiñones, and other good knights. When the Portuguese saw that there were not many men, they went at once to close with them. The fighting in that encounter was such that there were wounded on both sides and some dead. The Castilians went back to the town, and the Portuguese to the camp. A knight of the latter company, when he saw so many men of the town and the Portuguese embroiled with them, became so frightened that he fled towards the camp, spreading the word that they were all dead. As that turned out to be false and everyone scorned him for it, he felt such great distress that it addled his brain. If anyone said to supplied by P. E. Russell in his The English Intervention, pp. 469–70, according to whom the Portuguese set up their camp there. 246 In Chapter 10 above. 247 Now no more than a village, Roales is located 3 miles (c. 5 km) to the north of Zamora. 248 Valderas lies some 12 miles (c. 19 km) to the east of Benavente.



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him, ‘Strive with God’, he said the same, ‘Strive with God’, and thus with anything that was said to him. He remained in that distraction for three days, and then died. His name was Gonçalo Garcia de Faria.

Chapter 106

How the king took Valderas

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hen Roales had been taken in this way, the king departed towards Valderas with the duke and his men. Sancho de Velasco, the bastard son of Pedro Fernández de Velasco, was stationed to guard this town, with eighty horsemen. Also there were Gonzalo Fernández de Aguilar, Gómez Yáñez Maldorme, and Gonzalo de Paredes, a famous crossbowman and a fine shot, along with those on the king of Castile’s payroll, as well as Sir Robert de Braquemont, with a force of Frenchmen and other foreigners who had been posted to guard that district. Thus, the town was well supplied with all that was needful for its defence. The king had with him a small scaling ladder and a siege engine, should they be necessary to deal with any town wall. Because this wall was in poor condition, made of wattle and daub and weak in places, the king and the duke resolved to attack the town and take it by force, to cause other towns to fear them. When the scaling ladder and the siege engine were set up and everyone was assigned to battle stations and armed, even before the trumpets were sounded, those within took great fright at that hoist the like of which they were not accustomed to see, especially Sancho de Velasco, who was in command of the town. He saw clearly that there was nothing to prevent the town from being entered by force. So, he sent forth an armoured knight from the town, who shouted to ask if Pedro Afonso da Âncora, a Portuguese knight, was there, for he was being summoned to receive the greyhound that he had been promised by him. The king, who heard him, had Pedro Afonso da Âncora summoned, and asked him how it was that he was being called for by one of the men of the town. The latter said that he remembered no such promise, but that within there was a brother of his wife’s and some relatives of his, and he believed that they were calling him to be a mediator between the king and the men of the town. The king surmised that this was the case, and ordered him to go there and say that, if they gave him a certain amount of bread and wine (and he told him how much), and became vassals of the duke, then he would come to terms with the town. Meanwhile, he ordered all the men to remain where they were until Pedro Afonso came back from the town, so as to see what message he brought.

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Pedro Afonso went to where he had been summoned; they gave him the greyhound, of which he had known nothing, and they immediately spoke to him about an agreement. After much talk it was agreed that they would leave the town, and that all the provisions and whatever else might be found would belong to the king. The knight returned to the king and told him the agreement they had made; the king spoke with the duke, who was pleased with this arrangement. For the king in such agreements did not grant anything other than what pleased the duke, being very obedient to him in all matters. Whenever he gave the order to break camp or halt or anything of the sort, he always used to inform him of it in these words: ‘My Lord, your son sends you word that you such-and-such.’ Then Pedro Afonso went in again. When he had spoken with the men of the town, Sancho de Velasco, Gonzalo Fernández and two others came forth as hostages, and Pedro Afonso remained there that night. The next day the constable went to the town gate with his men. They arranged themselves in two lines, one on one side and the rest on the other; the townspeople went out between them, and the count kept watch so that no one would do them any harm. Thus they all came forth in good order, and the count accompanied them as far as half a league from the town, so that they would be unharmed by the men of the army, as had been stipulated in the agreement. After he had brought them to safety, the Castilian and French men-at-arms, who had come to guard the town and were travelling in company with the inhabitants of the town, after the count left them, robbed them of all the property they could find them carrying. That is how Valderas was taken.

Chapter 107

How Valderas was sacked

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he duke’s men, although they were few, as we have said, because they were men outside their own land, in disarray and ill-supplied in terms of provisions, were very wretched and in great want. Deeming all the land their own, when they captured some town, they sometimes said to the Portuguese that, by God, they did wrong by sacking their fortresses and towns, and other such statements which the Portuguese mocked. This went on to such an extent that the king was very worried regarding their protection and discipline. After the count returned from taking the men from Valderas to safety, the king took counsel regarding the way in which the town should be looted, inasmuch as the duke said that his men were not getting along well with the Portuguese. He ordered that the English should loot the town until noon, and the Portuguese from then until dark. So it was that the duke and his men went in during the morning and began to plunder. The Portuguese, seeing them carry away the



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provisions, considered it a great wrong, and commented at length among themselves about this. As a result, they went to the town well before noon and began to plunder alongside the English. The latter complained forcefully about this, and both sides quarrelled with each another. Then the duke went to the tent where the king was, expressing his serious grievance regarding the Portuguese, who not only had gone in to loot before noon, against his orders, but were even taking from the English what they had plundered. When he heard this, the king quickly took to horse, greatly annoyed that his command had been disobeyed, for it is very strange in war to loot in such a way before the allotted time. Burning with great anger, sword in hand, he drove them out, striking at those he found in the streets. Several were wounded and two actually killed: one whose throat the king slashed with his own hand, and another whom he forced to jump down from the wall, from which fall he immediately died. After a guard was set on the streets by those to whom the king entrusted the control of the town, as if they were defending it from enemies, he returned to the camp. Later the Portuguese went in to plunder as had been arranged. Much bread and wine were found there, with which all the men of the camp were amply supplied, and the town was left abandoned, as they had no further interest in it.

Chapter 108

How the king besieged Villalobos,249 and how Martim Vasques da Cunha defended himself against the Castilians

A

fter they had been there for two weeks, the king and the duke departed with their army and went to camp at Villalobos, a strongly-walled town, like the others belonging to that same Álvaro Pérez de Osorio. On one side the moat had a great deal of water, and on the other it was entirely dry. There were men-at-arms inside the town, as well as men from other companies, but there was no renowned captain who had the authority to lead them. Preparing to attack it, the king ordered that, to fill in the dry moat to a level whereby they could cross over it, a certain amount of the hay that was brought in for the camp should be thrown in. This was done over three days, so that all should be ready when the time came to attack. For the protection of the hay and those who were transporting it, the king sent Martim Vasques da Cunha, his brothers, and other noblemen with a

249 Villalobos

lies some 5 miles (c. 8 km) to the north-east of Valderas.

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few soldiers. When the pack-animals and many of those who were going to guard them left the camp, Martim Vasques and his brothers Gil Vasques and Lopo Vasques, as well as [Sir John] Mauburney, Lourenço Martins do Avelar and João Portela, along with other squires and knights, about eighteen in all, happened to fall behind. Talking among themselves, they rode along very slowly, because there was a dense mist that day, and the morning light was not yet very clear. Failing to realise in which direction they were going, on account of the poor visibility, they missed their way. When they were a full league from the camp, they ended up by the stream [Cea] that flows from Mayorga, where there were 400 Castilian lances and many foot soldiers camped in a grove of elm trees where they had slept that night. Their captains were Don Fadrique, Duke of Benavente, bastard brother of the king, Álvaro Pérez de Osorio, Ruy Ponce de León, and others. When they saw them so close at hand, recognising that they were Portuguese, they began shouting, ‘Kill, kill! For Castile, Castile!’ Seeing themselves in the midst of such great danger, the Portuguese started to shout loudly ‘Saint George, Saint George! For Portugal, Portugal!’ Then they rushed to a low embankment nearby, which seemed to have been made by men’s hands in some other time, in which the ancients, according to repute, used to offer sacrifices to their gods. For in that terrain, there are no other rising ground to which they could retire. They all dismounted swiftly and arranged their animals in a circle around them, tied one to the other. They stood in the middle, lances in hand, back to back. They said to each other that one of them had to go rapidly to take word to the camp and get reinforcements. Each of them excused himself from going, implying that to stay was the worthier choice. Then a squire named Diogo Peres do Avelar, who served Martim Vasques, asked which was more honourable and to be counted the greater deed, to help in the defence, staying where they were, or to pass through so many Castilians to go and take word to the camp. They all said it was a greater deed to risk passing through so many foes. ‘Then’, he said, ‘I mean to be the one.’ So, he rode through those who wished to kill him; although many lances were hurled at him, none of them stopped him. Whenever they came at him from both sides in order to seize him, pushing him from one side to the other, he lay flat on his horse’s back. Thus it pleased God that he should escape them, so that he passed in safety through them all and took word to the camp. The Castilians, meanwhile, surrounded the 17 who remained, clambering up the sides of the knoll and hurling many lances at them, both those that they were carrying and the ones that they took from the foot soldiers, many of which landed quite close to their target. Some of the lances did not reach the Portuguese because they were being cast uphill; other Castilians did not dare to come very close to them, because the Portuguese, taking the lances that had been thrown at them, hurled them back again. Since they were throwing downwards and the horsemen were thickly bunched together, none of the



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spears they threw were wasted. Martim Vasques cried out loudly whenever the Castilians approached and cast at them, ‘Cunha, Cunha! Whoever wants to take it will have to take it salted!’ Thus they defended themselves, slaying their enemies with the lances they were unwittingly lending to them, but which had been intended to kill them. The wounded horses collided into each other, killing those who might have escaped if not for that. A good forty Castilian squires died, and many horses. Of the Portuguese, not one was wounded or killed except Mauburney. As he was darting out to gather up enemy lances in order to throw them back, he was pierced with a lance by Martim Gonçalves de Ataíde, who was living in Castile as we have said.250 The lance penetrated the coat of plates that he was wearing, and he received a wound from which he died a few days later. The news arrived at the camp, and was relayed to the constable, who rode forth quickly with men to support them. The mist was lifting as the day advanced, so the Castilians saw the reinforcements, and began to flee. As they went, they said, ‘From now on there is no need to read about the exploits of Tristan and Lancelot; instead, let us speak of the valour of Martim Vasques da Cunha, who with seventeen knights defended himself against our 400 lances for such a long time in such a weak position.’ No human understanding should be reluctant to believe that it happened that way, nor should anyone assume that we are telling this in praise of the Portuguese and to the discredit of their foes, but rather because it assuredly happened like that.

Chapter 109

What the king ordered to be done to the men who took the hay, and how Villalobos was captured

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ecause of what had happened, and because the mist caused the men to get separated from each other, no hay came to the camp that day, as it should have done. On account of the shortage of hay, and likewise because it was rumoured that the men of the town would be proposing terms the next day, when it was about noon, a shout began to spread without any order from the king, which they uttered to one another: ‘Forward to the hay, to the hay! The town has agreed to surrender.’ When they began to say this, lads, muleteers and foot soldiers made their way to the moat and, very quickly, all the hay

250 See Chapter 63 above. It should be noted that, in this part of the historical account, ‘in Castile’ often means ‘in the King of Castile’s service’, as is the case here.

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there was taken away. The king was extremely vexed by this and ordered the arrest of all those they could find to have taken the hay. Indeed, six boys guilty of this were seized and brought before him. Hearing that the king had ordered their arrest, and fearing ill might follow from such an act, the count hurried to the king’s tent. Yet he could never make strong enough arguments or appeals for the king’s clemency to persuade him not to have their hands cut off. When he realised this, the count left without a word, his face sad and woeful. He went straight to his tent and lay prone on his bed. Although he tried to hold back his tears, he could not hide his sorrow so well that those who were nearby did not hear him weep copiously and sob loudly over such a punishment. Likewise, a squire and criado of the king, who had served him well in the war, earnestly besought the king for pity’s sake not to order one of these lads, who was his brother, to be mutilated. Although he pleaded fervently, he could not move the king to grant this to him. He renounced his loyalty to the king and went to Castile, and ever after opposed him. At this point, the men of the town seeing that the king did not have siege engines that could do them much harm, and also that the hay had all been removed, and it would take a long time to bring as much again, gathered the courage to defend themselves and refused to offer terms. Now, it was the case that over the part of the moat that was full of water, there lay several long poles that crossed it from one side to the other, after the fashion of a bridge. On that side were encamped Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho and Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos, companions in arms. These two noteworthy gentlemen belonging to the king’s army were daring, strong of body, great horsemen and very dedicated to performing any worthy deed that presented itself to them. Thus, in Benavente and the other towns where there were frequent skirmishes, they were so renowned and recognised by the arms they bore that many feared to sally forth to encounter them. Not only were they lauded and feared by their enemies, but the English also praised them highly: so much so that the duke used to say that, if he had to wager the kingdom of Castile and entrust his rights to the hands of one man to fight for them, then either of them was worthy to be given such a charge. One day, as these men and others were lying about at their ease, relaxing in the early afternoon a little after midday, many men came forth from the town and crossed over the moat along the said poles, in order to attack the camp and inflict harm on those they found there. When they saw this, Rui Mendes and Gonçalo Vasques rushed from their tents along with a number of others, with no armour or weapons except the shields on their arms and lances in their hands, and went at them very swiftly. When they closed with the Castilians, the latter could not withstand them, and they fled back to the town more eagerly than they had come forth. Not all of them being able to



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cross on the poles, some were killed, and others drowned in the water of the moat into which they fell. When Rui Mendes and Gonçalo Vasques returned, the king was already advancing towards them to see why they had gone forth. When he saw them approaching like that, with lances in their hands and shields on their arms, although he was pleased at what they had done to the enemies, he began to rebuke them; he said that making such a sally without armour was not only unwise of them but was also wrong for persons such as them, since they could easily suffer harm from a lowly foot soldier, which would lead to great harm, and other things of the sort. Rui Mendes had a slight wound on his right side, and the blood was running down his white arm, to which he paid no heed. He said to the king, ‘Do not worry, my liege, for at the time there was no other way.’ After he said this, he raised the wounded arm holding his lance, saying, ‘By my faith! I am Rodrigo, and my deeds are as good as my words.’251 The king and the others laughed at this, and then they went back to their tents. The men of the town, because of the loss of the men they suffered in the encounter, then immediately pleaded to make terms with the duke; they agreed to declare fealty to him and give him several jars of wine and bushels of corn and other provisions in exchange for his money. The duke took possession of the town, going in and setting up his banners above the town gates, and they sold the men of the camp the provisions that they needed. At this point the king sent for hay to a town called Villafáfila252 near Zamora, which is a good 60 leagues from the sea, and where they make salt from a lake. The constable went along to guard the convoy. The day that they went there, as the laden pack-animals were returning to the camp, certain French troops approached from a town called Villalpando.253 They captured several of the pack-animals that were already not far from the camp, since the constable was in the rearguard, at a great distance from them. The men of the camp, when they found out that those pack-animals had been taken, quickly took to horse. Pursuing the French, they caught up with them on the road, seized the pack-animals from them, and returned to camp. When the count, saw and got word of that deed, he decided to head for the town, accompanied by Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho and other noblemen. There in Villalpando was

251 This is a humorous rhyme about Rodrigo, the Visigothic king, who did not keep his word and so was punished by his defeat at the Battle of Guadalete (711), leading to the Arab occupation of the Iberian Peninsula and the fall of his kingdom. They all laugh because Rui Mendes, actually, came out victorious and is making light of his wounds. 252 Villafáfila lies some 10 miles (c. 16 km) to the south of Benavente, and, according to the text, about 180 miles (c. 289 km) from the sea. 253 Villalpando is located 12 miles (c. 19 km) to the south-east of Benavente.

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a French captain called the Count of Longueville,254 who had a good 1,000 lances in his troop. When he saw the count and those Portuguese, he rode out with his men. The count moved towards them and, not daring to wait for him, the French returned to the town, and the count to the camp he had left.

Chapter 110

How the King of Portugal decided to return to his kingdom, and concerning the death of Rui Mendes

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hile these things were happening, the King of Castile was himself close to that district, moving from one town to another, as for example Tordesillas, and likewise Toro, Salamanca and towns where he believed it was important he should go. Every day he received word of how his enemies were ravaging his land. He spoke of this with Prince João, the brother of the King of Portugal, and with the commanders and masters of the orders and with the Prior of San Juan, who were there with him. Having taken counsel on this, inasmuch as he had no wish to risk everything in battle, he was told that the King of Portugal and the duke would not stay long in Castile, since they lacked provisions and would not find them. This was because of the men who were posted throughout the district to guard the towns, who were consuming a great part of the provisions, and also because of the removal of food that he had ordered at the beginning; it was owing, too, to the destruction that the English and the Portuguese had carried out in those districts. Thus, it was inevitable that they would leave soon. ‘Especially’, they said, ‘as of your men and foreigners there are always 3,000 or 4,000 lances at hand around their camp, who will not let them do such harm that your land will suffer unduly. Meanwhile, the King of France’s troops, whom we are expecting, will arrive very soon, and then you can determine what you deem to be best for your interests. Since the enemy camp is not very healthy and they are dying in it, or so we are assured, they cannot remain here for long.’ The king heard their arguments, and approved what they were saying, while these things were happening in the way we have related. The King of Portugal likewise saw how no town among those they reached was persuaded to receive the duke as its liege lord, nor were other towns or people, and how those weak towns they had managed to capture were so far inside the kingdom and hence so hard to retain under his control that it was not a thing to be attempted. Consequently, he decided that an advance of this

254 Olivier

du Guesclin, see Chapter 78, note 192.



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kind won him little honour and cost much effort. After giving prudent thought to these concerns he spoke with the duke, saying that he had been thinking about them for several days. Since the whole kingdom was united against the duke, not wishing to have him as its liege lord, and also since so many foreigners were aiding his enemy, and more of them were expected, whereas the duke had few men and was far from his own land, it seemed to him that an attempt such as this one – if the duke hoped to take all of Castile one town at a time – was a thing that could never be concluded. Nevertheless, if the duke wished to persist in his effort, the king was ready with the men he had brought, and more if necessary, to help him as he had promised. But the duke’s men were so few for such an undertaking that it was most shameful for a great lord like him to behold. Meanwhile, for that reason, their enemies kept increasing in number, and were emboldened to attack them as he had seen. Thus, it seemed to him that the duke must do one of two things: either return to England for more men and invade in strength, or settle on some honourable agreement if one were proposed by his adversary. After hearing all these things, about which they spoke at length, the duke said that the arguments seemed good to him, and that some of his men had already suggested as much, quoting those foreigners in the Castilian service with whom they were acquainted, as declaring that the King of Castile would go along with any reasonable agreement that suited the honour of both of them, especially the suggested marriage of his son the prince with the duke’s daughter.255 He had not responded yes or no, but had indicated that he wished to return to England to gather more men than he had brought, and come back to Spain with greater power. If an honourable agreement were proposed to him, however, he would be quite willing to accept it, even if this meant giving up part of his right, or all of it if necessary. He said this was his intention because his men were suffering much sickness, so that there were some who had already sent to ask the King of Castile for letters of safe conduct to pass through his lands, convinced that an agreement was to be reached with him. On hearing this, the King of Portugal was shocked at the news, and at the way in which such men had behaved. After speaking much about all this, they agreed to withdraw without implying, however, that they were abandoning the war they had begun. For this reason the king did not want to go back the way they had come, but instead took another road, to show that they meant to stay longer in Castile. Accordingly, they went to Villalpando. That day, when Rui Mendes de Vasconcelos and others went to raid Castroverde256 and were skirmishing, he was wounded slightly by a crossbow 255 Prince

Enrique and Princess Catalina, see Chapter 87 above. (de Campos) lies some 10 miles (c. 16 km) to the north-east of Villalpando and 16 miles (c. 25 km) to the east of Benavente. 256 Castroverde

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bolt above his vambrace near his shoulder. It penetrated so little that the bolt hung there, and he gave it no thought. When he got to his tent and his armour was removed, he said to those present, ‘Surely I have been wounded by a poisoned bolt.’ The others said it was not so, but he insisted that it was, and the king was informed; he was deeply perturbed by this, and went to him at once to get that idea out of his mind. While the king was urging that it was nothing, Rui Mendes replied: ‘My liege, I have always heard it said that those who are poisoned feel as though their lips were crawling with ants, and it seems to me that all the ants in the world are on mine.’ ‘Since that is so’, said the king, ‘drink some urine at once, which is very effective for this.’ He said that he would not drink it for anything in the world. The king kept urging him, and he kept refusing. Then as a loving lord with a wish for his health, to show him it would do no harm, the king tasted the urine and said to him, ‘How is it that you won’t drink what I’m drinking?’ He would never do it, in spite of all they could say to him. The king came to see him two or three times a day; on the third day, as the king was speaking with him, stating many powerful and encouraging arguments, Rui Mendes replied, ‘My liege, I am very grateful to you for your words and your visit. But I believe that there is nothing for it but for me to die, because, whereas I should be pleased with your words and encouragement, I feel no less annoyance than if you were a man I disliked.’ On hearing this, the king turned away and left the tent, his eyes swimming with tears, saying to the others that he considered what he had said to be a bad sign. Later that day Rui Mendes passed away, for which death the king, the duke and all the men of the camp felt great grief and sadness, as he was so good, strong and bold a knight, and had died thus of a slight cause and such an unfortunate wound. Gonçalo Vasques grieved for him as much as he would have done had he been his brother or son. They took him back to Portugal, and there he was buried.

Chapter 111

How the king departed with his army, and Diego López de Angul was taken prisoner

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rom Villalpando the king departed with his army and went to pitch camp 2 leagues north of Zamora, next to the river and across from Santa María del Viso. The king ordered a search along the river, which was a long bowshot wide, to see if there might be a ford to cross. Among those who went to reconnoitre was a squire called Álvaro Vasques, the Governor of Alcañede. As



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he was looking for the ford, his horse fell and he with it, and he died there. Others later found a place where they could cross in safety. The next day, 15 May, the king departed, and the whole army crossed by that ford, both on foot and on horseback, so that not one person or animal perished. They set up their camp at once on the far side, not wishing to travel further, weary as they were from the crossing. Next day they moved on from there, and set up camp close to a town called Corrales, near Zamora, in which was Don Lorenzo Suárez, the Master of Santiago, with many men-at-arms; nevertheless, he did not attempt to skirmish or make any attack. From there the king departed the next day towards Ciudad Rodrigo, proceeding between Salamanca and Ledesma. As his army was passing by that town, there came forth from Salamanca, where Prince João was with other officers of the marches, Diego López de Angul, the son-in-law of Pero López de Ayala, who had been taken prisoner in Portugal, with light horsemen numbering some 300 between his men and those belonging to others. As he had just recently arrived, he wished to try to achieve something for which he might gain renown. The [king’s] army was well ordered, with its vanguard and wings, the baggage train in the middle, and the king and the duke in the rearguard. Diego López, desiring to do it harm, approached so near to the men of the rearguard that they were close enough to hurl their spears at them. When the king saw that they were showing such arrogance against him, he was stirred to anger, overtook the baggage train, came to the vanguard and wings, and told the count that, if he had with him any well-mounted men, he should select them, and he would likewise send some of his, and they should ride against those men who were showing him such disrespect. The count said that he did not have any such well-mounted men, and that selecting them would cause a long delay; however, the baggage train should go on ahead, and the king with the rearguard, and he would ride against the enemy with those who were able to follow him. Then the baggage train passed ahead, and likewise the king, and their enemies thought they did so out of fear. At this point the count rode forth fiercely at them, with some of the king’s men in his company, and attacked them so vigorously that they lost all the boldness they had brought with them, each one turning back any way he could. Since the Castilian horses were rested and well-fed, they made off very swiftly at the beginning. Within a short while, before they had run half a league, their horses began to tire. When the Portuguese caught up with them, capturing and killing them, Diego López jumped to the ground with his shield and sword in hand, and thus he was captured without attempting to defend himself, for it would have been useless for him at that point. Of the rest, forty-eight were taken prisoner, and some fifteen killed.

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When Diego López was brought before the king, he asked, ‘What is this, Diego López? How were you taken captive, when you had a good horse?’ ‘A good horse, sire?’ he said. ‘May bad olives kill him! It just happened that I kept holding back so as to gather up a few friends and servants who were with me, and that is why I was captured.’ When the duke saw what the Portuguese had done, he showed great joy and pleasure, shouting out to his men, ‘Well done, Portugal!’

Chapter 112

Concerning some who jousted in that place

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he count returned to the vanguard, the army regained the formation in which it had been marching before, and they pitched camp on the road between Salamanca and Ledesma. Here, it is important for you to know that among the foreigners who were along the border in alliance with the King of Castile, there were some who knew a number of the duke’s men, having eaten and drunk with them when jousts were held. They were well supplied with good equipment for such a sport. When they came to a joust, they brought along wagons loaded with bread, wine, mutton and other foodstuffs, and the Englishmen gladly accepted their invitation to eat and drink with them. So it was that Sir John Holland, the duke’s constable, and Sir Renaud de Roye, a knight of the King of France, challenged each other to joust several courses on horseback. Sir John made himself ready to face him. Sir Renaud arrived, a very handsome knight, more accomplished than Sir John. He and his horse were both accoutred in smooth red velvet; his small shield bore a legend in gold letters, in the fashion of a sword belt, which read: ‘Belle’. He seemed to be more confident and agile than Sir John at that sport. At the first encounter, Sir John was struck, and he fell heavily, though clear of his horse. He leaped up at once, so furious that it seemed he would fight the Frenchman with his fists if he had him there. Then he remounted, and they went at it again. Sir John hit the other so low, his lance not being well couched in the rest, that he wounded his horse in the neck causing its death. For this reason they did not go on to the third course. Another good bout happened there between a Frenchman and an Englishman, duelling on foot with battleaxes. The Frenchman went into the attack, raising his axe to strike; thinking that he had his foe close to him, he went so far short of the Englishman that, as mighty a blow as he thought he was giving him, so mightily he cast himself and the axe onto the ground, falling outstretched before his opponent’s feet. The latter, seeing him lying there, dealt him such



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an axe-blow that the Frenchman let out a huge moan. As there was not to be more than one blow at each encounter, he got up, and they did not go on to another. Many others duelled on foot with the English, both Frenchmen and Castilians, with swords and axes and in other ways, which we omit to tell so as not to be prolix. While journeying along this road the army was so short of meat that for some this was very hard to bear; nevertheless, the king never lacked for three delicacies of beef, pulled, roasted and boiled. Others got by as well as they could, until one day, chancing to come upon some crow’s nests, so many men rushed at them that it seemed as though they meant to kill each other over them. Whoever was willing to give one up to send as a present to the king thought that he was doing him a great service.

Chapter 113

How the king passed through Ciudad Rodrigo and arrived in Portugal

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s the king was travelling with his army along that road to Ciudad Rodrigo, Prince João, Martim Eanes the Master of Alcántara, García González de Grijalba and other captains, both Castilian and French, of those who were stationed along the border, with probably about 4,000 lances, heard the news that many of those in the camp were ill. They gathered together with their men, and all advanced by night along various roads towards Ciudad Rodrigo with the intention of doing battle with the king. When morning had come and they were all outside the town, they alighted and remained on foot at some distance from the town, about two crossbow shots away, waiting for the army, which was approaching a good league away. The constable was advancing with the vanguard and the wings, all in proper battle order. The Castilians, seeing them approach in this manner, believed that there were no more of them, because the rearguard was not yet in sight, and resolved to do battle with them. The count had to cross a narrow bridge over a small river that flowed through there; this was already guarded by the enemy, both men-at-arms as well as foot soldiers and crossbowmen, so as to prevent the crossing. Martim Gonçalves, the Grand Commander in the Order of Christ, with the men of the Master [of the Order], their tall plumes serving as a banner, along with others, reached that spot and, all on foot, forced the enemies to abandon the crossing against their will. The count crossed the little river, and took up battle formation, because he did not know what the Castilians meant to do.

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At this point the king came into view with the rearguard and was seen by the enemy. Then they said to each other, ‘There are more men than we thought. It is not wise for us to contend with them.’ García González said to Prince João at this point that it would be better for them to take refuge in the city, since their enemies were so numerous. The prince responded, ‘Set your feet firmly in the stirrups if they are not firm enough, for to me it still seems too soon for us to turn back.’ When the king spotted them and saw them in that formation, not yet having crossed the river that the count had crossed, he called for a fresh horse and his helmet, which he donned, and headed towards the Castilians. As he was going that way, Álvaro Coitado and João Afonso Pimentel came up, both on horseback with lances in their hands after the fashion of jousters, and said, ‘My liege, where are you going? Do not go by that road. That way takes you high above a stream lying at the bottom of a deep ravine. You have to cross over a narrow, difficult bridge, and your path might well be blocked.’ On hearing this, the king halted and began to make those who were with him turn back, so that they would not take that road. Many of the Castilians, seeing that the king had yet to cross the river that the count had already crossed, and that he would have to descend to join him via a steep embankment, mounted their horses to attack the Portuguese from above, for they could easily do so in safety. When the king saw this and realised what they meant to do, he called for all the crossbowmen who were in the rearguard, and ordered them to remain there at the crossing to shoot at the horsemen, with Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho in command. The latter, as the bold knight he was, astride a black horse, with no other men-at-arms with him, led them onward in such a way that while some were shooting, the rest were reloading their weapons. Whenever some Castilians tried to advance, Gonçalo Vasques would put his arming sword under his arm and ride towards them; the crossbowmen followed him, shooting. Thus, they made the enemy fall back, so that all the men in the rearguard crossed over, and no Castilian ever had any chance to hurl a lance for fear of the crossbow fire. Once the stream had been crossed, the constable joined the king, and camp was set up about half a league above the town. The king and the count remained on horseback until the army was settled and their guards were posted, because they were so close to their enemies. However, following what we have related, there were a few skirmishes, on which it is not worth the trouble to dwell. The next day, upon the king’s departure, Sir John Holland took his leave of him and the duke. With some knights and other Englishmen of the duke’s company, more than fifty horsemen, as well as his wife and other ladies of the duchess’s household, he set out for the enemy with letters of safe conduct; these they had previously obtained from the King of Castile so as to pass



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through his kingdom and go on to Gascony, a domain belonging to England. The king was amazed when he witnessed such a departure, but the duke and his wife did not show that they paid any heed to it. From there the king went on his way to Portugal. The army encamped at Valle de la Mula,257 and the next day he reached Almeida,258 the first town in his kingdom along that road.

Chapter 114

How the 2,000 lances that had been promised by the King of France to aid him reached the King of Castile

W

ith the king and the duke back in Portugal, before you hear more of this matter that we are recounting, it is fitting to speak of the 2,000 lances whom the King of Castile was expecting to come to his aid. It is not that we have nothing else to tell or add to the historical record, but rather, since we took a message to France and brought back the answer you have seen, it is only reasonable that you should wish to know about the fulfilment of that promise.259 So it was that when the king and the duke had left their campaign of conquest and returned to Portugal, the King of Castile received word that the Duke of Bourbon, the uncle of the King of France, his mother’s brother, was coming to his aid as the captain of the 2,000 lances he was expecting, and that they were on the outskirts of Logroño, travelling as fast as they could to arrive in his kingdom. The duke arrived ahead of those troops, and the king made him very welcome. Consulting with him as to how they would conduct the war, certain French captains and many of the Castilians said that it was a good idea for the king to invade Portugal and go to do battle with the duke [of Lancaster] and the Master who called himself king. Others who were displeased by this expressed grave doubts about finding food that would suffice for so many men. Now although some historians do not speak at much length of this, the truth of the matter was this. The King of Castile was very short of money after paying the wages of his vassals and his own men as well as the foreign 257 This is now a Portuguese village called Vale da Mula in the municipality of Almeida. 258 This town is located some 30 miles (c. 48 km) to the north-west of Ciudad Rodrigo. 259 In Chapter 67 above.

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troops. Thus, not knowing how to remedy the problem, he ordered some (such as the Count of Longueville, who was in Villalpando, and whom the king had no means of paying) to take provisions at will, without making payment for them. He did so, and the entire town was plundered. Therefore, the king told those captains from France who were there that he thanked them very much for the trouble and labour they had endured in his service, having come from such a distant land to serve him. Since, thanks to God, his enemies were now out of his kingdom, and he intended to negotiate with the duke so that they could reach a fair settlement, he believed after due consideration that it was best for them to return to their own land. He would order them to be paid all that they were owed, so that they would be satisfied. They responded that they had come there at the command of their own king, their liege lord, in order to serve him and do whatever he might command them. They would have been very glad to have arrived earlier so as to encounter their foes and do battle with them. If it was his pleasure to invade Portugal and seek battle, they were ready to do so, for those were the orders they had received. The king said that he thanked them for it, and they spoke no further of this. Then he decided that Don Juan Manrique, the Archbishop of Santiago, should go to Burgos with the said captains, and there they should draw up an account of the wages and expenses that they were owed, and full payment should be made to them. Having taken their leave and been bidden farewell by the king, they went to that city, where an account was made of the total sum. They were paid part of it at once, and a part remained to be paid; the king paid this later, and likewise his son after his death.

Chapter 115

How the messengers of the King of Castile came to speak to the duke and reached several agreements

I

n view of the time the duke spent in Castile with the King of Portugal and all that had happened to him up to this point, it is now fitting that we should relate how such an important matter turned out and how he emerged from it, since we promised to recount this.260 Since, however, several things intervened in this period which should not be forgotten, it is right that we should tell them up to the time when he left the kingdom for England. It is important for you to know, then, that the King of Portugal, once he was back in his kingdom, ordered the constable to go to the Alentejo to attend to the defence of the region and other necessary matters. The king, according 260 See

Chapter 84 above.



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to the vow he had made before he invaded Castile, set out at once on foot for the Church of Santa Maria da Oliveira, which was about 30 leagues away, in the town of Guimarães, in order to complete his pilgrimage. The duke decided, meanwhile, to go to Coimbra to see his daughter. While he was in the town of Trancoso, which lay 9 leagues from there, envoys arrived from the King of Castile to discuss with the duke certain agreements by which they might put an end to their contention. For the common rumour was that the duke was surely going to gather more men to invade Spain once more. The King of Castile was very much displeased at this, especially because the duke had the King of Portugal to aid him. Therefore, he sent to ask of the duke what he had already previously proposed to him, namely, if it pleased the duke to marry his daughter Lady Catalina with Prince Enrique, his son, the heir to the kingdom of Castile, he would give to the duke, to his wife and to the Princess whatever was reasonable, both in towns and in money. Speaking of these matters, the two sides easily agreed regarding the marriage, but as to the other things that the duke requested they strongly disagreed. Finally, however, an agreement was reached about the marriage terms. The King of Castile should give as dowry to his future daughter-in-law the city of Soria and the towns of Almazán, Atienza, Deza and Molina, and to her mother, the duchess, Guadalajara, Medina del Campo and Olmedo during her lifetime. The King of Castile should also give to the duke in money, because of the expense to which he had been put, 600,000 gold francs, to be paid at set times; moreover, yearly during his lifetime and that of his wife, whichever of them should live longer, he should pay 40,000 francs, paid at a designated time. The duke and his wife should give up all claims that they might have to the kingdom of Castile. So that the negotiation of these matters could be conducted better and more thoroughly, the duke should leave Portugal and go to Bayonne, which is in English territory near the border with Castile. There the king would send his envoys to put all this in writing in a valid and binding form. Having reached agreement, the envoys went back with this reply. The duke went to Coimbra, 26 leagues away, where his daughter, Queen Philippa, was staying.

Chapter 116

How the king left for Coimbra and fell ill in Curval

T

he king departed from Guimarães for Oporto, and from there towards Coimbra where his wife the queen was staying; it was 18 leagues from one city to the other. In the royal residence of Curval, which was halfway between, he fell ill with a high fever that they could not cure; this was at the

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end of June [1387]. The queen, when she heard this news about her muchbeloved husband, whom she esteemed so highly, departed swiftly for that place, along with the duke her father. When they arrived and saw him so frail and weakened that he could hardly speak to them, they were distressed and saddened beyond words, especially the queen, who promptly went into labour and had a miscarriage. This was not without good reason, for she found herself in a strange land, recently married, and raised to such high honour; if she were to lose him to death so soon, truly she would consider herself the most unfortunate woman in the world. Fearing this in her soul and spirit, she would not stop weeping, beseeching death to carry her away. The king had the constable summoned, and likewise certain noblemen. When he had made his will and distributed his belongings, so great was the dismay in all of them that, although they hoped for his recovery, they believed such hope to be in vain. They spoke of no remedy they might find for the kingdom, but rather of the plain and simple ways in which Portugal, in all respects, would be utterly lost because of his death. The greatly distressed queen came to the king to comfort him, never taking her eyes off him; she could not hold back the tears that choked her sweet voice. Hoping for his recovery, she saw him, instead, becoming weaker and weaker. When she watched all of the men whispering to each other, this drove her deeper into despair, so that she knew of no consolation for her exceeding distress, except to turn to God Almighty and His precious Mother. She begged Her repeatedly in her devout prayers to take pity on her in her helplessness and, as Mistress of Mercy, restore her beloved husband to health. The Mother of God was pleased in Her compassion to beseech such grace from Her blessed Son that the king began to convalesce and improve in health, a thing that was considered no less wondrous than if he had returned to life from death. As the king was enjoying his improved health, one day the duke approached his bed, and asked him as a boon to pardon any wrong that Count Gonçalo and Aires Gonçalves de Figueiredo had done to him, and order them to be released, along with the count’s son.261 ‘In truth’, said the king, ‘I never ordered them to be arrested on account of anything I knew that they had done against me. Rather, I did it so that they might not do me any disservice, which it seemed to me that they meant to do; and this is why I have held them until now. Indeed, I have provided support for them and their wives, as you know to be true. But since it pleases you, my lord, I am happy to have them released at once.’ It was in fact just as the king said: for the count received 500 pounds per month, which was 20 dobras, and Aires Gonçalves received six. The duke showed that he was very grateful to him, and tried to kiss his hand according to the customs of Portugal, but the king refused to permit it.

261 In

CKJ1, Chapter 177.



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Chapter 117

How two of the duke’s men fought a duel, and the reason why

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t pleased the Lord God to restore the king to full health. They left that place and all came to Coimbra. After they had been there for a few days, a plot to betray the duke was uncovered, which, in remembrance of things past and as a warning about those to come, we wish to recount here. It happened in this way. On one occasion, while the king and the duke were engaged in the conquests of which you have heard, as they were traveling along the road between Zamora and Toro on their way back to the village called Corrales, a number of horsemen from both Portugal and Castile gathered to attack each other, as is often the custom. From among the Castilians there emerged a man on horseback, galloping as fast as he could to hurl himself among the Portuguese, bearing a standard with the red cross of Saint George, which he brandished as he came. He shouted for help, because there were some men coming after him, making as if they wanted to capture him. As he had a fast horse, and moreover the Castilians had no wish to catch him, he pulled away from them as far as he wanted. The Portuguese, seeing this, went out to protect him, and surrounded him, asking him what it was all about. He replied to all of them, saying, ‘Take me to the King of Castile, my liege lord the Duke of Lancaster, and to the queen his wife, and I will explain.’ They took him before the duke, just as he asked. After he had been presented to him, he said that he had come to them as his rightful liege lord and lady, heirs to the kingdom of Castile by the right of King Pedro, her father, who had provided for him and his family and given him a commandery and land that he held. He said that he had left everything behind to come and serve them and help to avenge the death of his liege lord, King Pedro. The duke and his wife, when they heard this, considered it a sign of great virtue in him, and therefore offered him a warm welcome, promising to grant him favours. They held him in high esteem, as befitted his rank, and yet he had come to poison the duke. Things being so, with no one suspecting any such thing, through his lack of discretion and poor judgement he happened to quarrel with a servant of his who knew about his villainy. The latter revealed it to the king and the duke, who were very shocked. The man was arrested for this, and denied the charge, but his servant maintained it was true, and he was given the right of trial by combat at his request. When they entered into combat, the servant forced him to acknowledge the truth. Once he had confessed, he was sentenced to be burned [at the stake], and thus he brought his life to a bad end, with God protecting the duke from so great a mischief.

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Chapter 118

A response to certain statements that a historian included in his chronicle

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fter the duke had been with the king in that city for a few days, he decided to leave Portugal and go to that district [of Bayonne] that had been agreed upon with the ambassadors from Castile. The king, who was aware of all his plans, had already had six galleys fitted out in the city of Lisbon, which had left for Oporto to join others that were there. Thus, there were 14 in all, commanded by Afonso Furtado, who was the Captain General of the Fleet. The duke departed with his wife and family for that city where he was to embark, with the king and queen in his company. There they rested for a while, not because the galleys were not ready, for they were very adequately equipped with all the things that were needed, but rather for the duke to spend some time with the queen, his daughter, since he did not know when he would see her again. Now, before the duke departs, since we intend to go along with him in order to tell you what happened to him in this matter, we wish first to respond to some misleading statements that an author at this point, more to be defamatory than to write history, inserted in his book.262 One of these was that the King of Portugal, in that city of Oporto, asked the duke, before he departed, to supply a dowry, as was the correct thing to do, for his daughter Philippa, whom the king had married. Another was that he should pay the salary owed to him and the men with whom they had invaded Castile, as well as the expenses he had incurred in that expedition. Further to these, that author states that the duke complained, saying to the king that he had entrusted his daughter to him and left her as surety for what he and his company were to receive as their salary, it being understood that the king would marry her as soon as dispensation was granted; however, he had taken her to wife, sleeping with her before the letters had come from Rome for which he had sent the Bishop of Évora and Gonçalo Gomes da Silva.263 That same writer says that they could not obtain them from the pope at that time, Urban [VI], and that for these reasons they had not been in good accord for several days. He also says that the king had then agreed to send for the dispensation, and that the duke, seeing that he could do no more, had sought the best solution he could find: therefore, in order to give a dowry for his daughter and pay the salary of the king and his men, and the expenses incurred during the expedition, the duke had granted 262 As

before, this author is Pero López de Ayala, and the relevant chapter of his Crónica del rey don Juan, is Chapter 7, Year 9 [1387]. 263 See Chapter 79 above.



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him all the towns he had won in Galicia. Once all this had been put in writing, as appropriate, the duke left Oporto and went to Bayonne in English territory. Thus, the aforementioned author ended his inaccurate statement. Although this is not worthy of a response, the plain truth in a few words refutes it as follows: in the fourth chapter of the agreement that the king made with the duke, when they first met each other, you will find it states that the king, with an army of 2,000 lances, 1,000 crossbowmen and 2,000 foot soldiers, in his own person and at his own expense, would be obliged to aid the duke for the period of time specified by them.264 Therefore, he had no reason to demand such a payment from him, as in fact he did not. Even if the agreement had been in those terms and the king had demanded it of him then, it was not an error that would have undone him. For the Prince of Wales, the son of the King of England, did not consider himself diminished in dignity or status when he came to help King Pedro in the Battle of Nájera. Moreover, he and all his men who were with him were on a salary, as you may see in the place where we spoke of these deeds.265 Though he made a strong effort to obtain payment for everything, and could not get it, this was not considered shameful by anyone, as this author believed it would be, if it had happened as he erroneously wrote. The king would have no reason to request that the duke should give a dowry for his daughter. For in a clause of that same agreement it states that by virtue of that marriage and the aid that the duke was to receive from the king, he gave the latter and his wife those towns and places that are named in the agreement, which quite satisfied the king, even though the fulfilment of any such expectation was doubtful. He had no reason to ask any other dowry in addition, for the king was fully aware of everything the duke was doing. Regarding the grant that the duke made to him of the towns and villages that he had taken in Galicia, reason refuses to consent to this. For he had reached agreement with the King of Castile through his envoys, as we have said,266 and he would have had no reason to grant what he had already given up to another; nor would the King of Castile have accepted it, as he was well acquainted with his affairs. Less likely altogether is another writer’s allegation that the King of Portugal was asking for a dowry to be paid to him in cash. For the duke was then so short of money that such a demand would have been pointless, especially because the king in his magnanimous generosity was so content with the lineage and virtuous ways of the queen his wife that these things were for him all the dowry needed to satisfy his greatness of heart. He lent to the duke a considerable amount of silver that he needed, and 2,200 nobles, before he 264 See

Chapter 93 above. CKF, Chapter 9. 266 See Chapter 115 above. 265 See

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went away, and did not demand repayment. How much less plausible it is, then, that he should have pressed him for such payments as these slanderers allege! Regarding what the writer says about the duke having left his daughter in the king’s power, and about his taking her as his wife, and the resulting discord between them for several days, all this is not only false and totally contrary to the truth, but it amounts to an outright lie, whether in the strict sense as a sign of the malice of the one who says it, or in the broader sense of something that is affirmed because of ignorance on the part of the one who says it. For the king was always on good terms with the duke and very compliant in any matter in which he could please him. He married the duke’s daughter at his request, which pleased the duke greatly, as could be shown at length. But let this following statement suffice as a brief summary: at the beginning of these events, the duke, being near Chaves in a village called Carrazedo de Montenegro, was approached by a clerk of the king’s council on account of certain things the king had sent him to tell the duke. The duke sent him a reply by letter, which read as follows: Our most noble, honoured and powerful kinsman and friend, We, the King of Castile and León, Duke of Lancaster, send to you our greetings as to a king whom we love and esteem highly, in whom we greatly trust and for whom we wish as much honour, good fortune, and as much life and health as for ourselves. We inform you, etc.

After many items contained in the letter, a passage stated: Likewise we thank you deeply and appreciate the courtesy and nobility you have been showing towards our daughter, the rich gifts that it has pleased you to give to her, and the excellent dispositions you have taken for her maintenance and that of her estate and those who are with her. On account of this, we are very much obliged to do for your honour and affairs as we would for our own, and we trust in God that He will put us in such a position that we may prove it to you as is fitting to our honour and yours. Most noble, honoured and powerful king, our kinsman and friend, may our Lord God ever keep you in His protection, etc.

Thus it appears to be quite the opposite of what the aforesaid author maliciously wrote regarding these affairs. Concerning the dispensation, which he also spoke of, we shall respond when we see fit, for at present we have much to say about other things.



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Chapter 119

How the duke departed from Oporto, and concerning the treaty that was signed between him and the King of Castile

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fter the duke enjoyed being for a few days with the king and his daughter, he embarked to travel with his men, who were very few: they were all accommodated very adequately in six galleys, and the rest of the galleys accompanied them as an honour to the duke. This was at the end of September. When they had left the harbour and reached the open sea, God gave them such a good voyage that in a few days they arrived in Gascony at the aforementioned town of Bayonne, under English rule. When the King of Castile learned that the duke was in that place, he decided to send him his ambassadors to sign that treaty of which we have already made mention.267 Those whom the king appointed to go there were Friar Fernando de Illescas of the Order of Saint Francis, who was his confessor; Pero Sánchez de Castilla, a doctor of laws; and Doctor Álvaro Martínez, all of whom had originally gone with the other envoys to speak with the duke. As all that was necessary had already been said regarding this matter in the agreements that had been reached in the town of Trancoso, there was no need for a long delay;268 there was nothing else to do except to conclude the treaty so that it would be valid. Omitting many clauses that were included in it, here we will tell only of those that pertain to the king’s demand and nothing else. These stated that: The King of Castile and the Duke of Lancaster and his wife the duchess should do everything in their power to have Prince Enrique, the first-born son of the King of Castile, betrothed to Lady Catalina, the daughter of the duke; within two months of the swearing and signing of this treaty, this betrothal should be celebrated publicly according to the rites of the Church, and should be followed by marriage as soon as possible. Likewise, Prince Fernando, the second son of the King of Castile, should neither be betrothed nor take a wife until the aforementioned prince, his brother, reached fourteen years of age (for he was nine at the time, and this was so that he would be able to give legal consent to his betrothal and consummate the marriage), and of this, Prince Fernando should swear an oath. If, God forbid, it should happen that Prince Enrique had not consummated the marriage 267 In

Chapter 115 above. the Treaties of Trancoso and Bayonne, see John Palmer and Brian Powell, The Treaty of Bayonne (1388) with the Preliminary Treaties of Trancoso, Exeter Hispanic Texts (Exeter: University of Exeter, 1988). 268 On

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and were to die before the age of 14, then the aforementioned Lady Catalina should marry Prince Fernando, his brother. The said King of Castile should give at once to Prince Enrique, his son, and to Lady Catalina, who was to be his wife, the city of Soria and the towns of Almanzán, Atienza, Deza and Molina, with their territories and all their revenues. Moreover, within two months of the signing of this treaty, the king should summon his Cortes, during which he should have the people swear to accept the said prince and Princess Catalina, his wife, as heirs and rulers of Castile. Lady Catalina having been given to the king to be the wife of his son, Prince Enrique, the king should be obliged to give and pay over to the duke and his wife 600,000 gold francs of true weight in the coinage of France; the duke and the duchess should renounce and give up all claims that they might have to the kingdoms of Castile and León, and bestow them on the king and his heirs; these 600,000 francs were to be paid in accordance with certain conditions which were agreed between them. Moreover, the King of Castile and his successors were to give to the duke and his wife during their lifetime, and during that of the one who died later, 40,000 francs of that same coinage, delivered and paid in that town of Bayonne. To ensure the fulfilment of this payment of 600,000 francs, the King of Castile was to give the duke as hostages several people of whatsoever state and condition who had given their loyalty to the duke and had given him towns and castles, accepting him as their lord. This transaction and renunciation should be understood as follows: King Juan of Castile, and Prince Enrique after him, were to hold all the kingdoms and lordships that the duke had demanded, as would the legitimately descended grandchildren and great-grandchildren of this prince and his wife. Should Lady Catalina and her husband not have a son or daughter who could inherit the kingdoms of Castile, this same condition would pass to Prince Fernando. If Prince Fernando were to die without legitimate offspring, in this case the inheritance and succession would pass to any legitimate children or grandchildren of the said King Juan. If there were no remaining legitimate heir of the said king or of the Princes Enrique and Fernando, his sons, then the right and sovereignty of the kingdoms of Castile would pass to the duke, his wife and daughter, and to any other legitimate descendant of them both or of either of them. Likewise, regarding the payment of the 40,000 francs that the king and his heirs had to pay to the duke every year, it was to be thus: if it were not fully paid for three consecutive years, the duke could return and demand the rights he had formerly demanded; in no other case would he have the right to break the terms of this transaction. In order to keep these terms and fulfil each payment as it should be made, the king gave several hostages until a set day: Don Fadrique, Duke of Benavente,



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his half-brother, until the first payment, and thus other hostages until certain payments; Pedro Ponce de León, the Lord of Marchena; Juan de Velasco, the son of Pedro Fernández; Carlos de Arellano; Juan de Padilla; Rodrigo de Rojas; Lope Ortiz de Estúñiga; Juan Rodríguez de Cisneros; Rodrigo de Castañeda; and several others from various cities. When the payment of some of the 600,000 francs was made on the set date, they released certain hostages; when the payments were finished, they were all freed. Moreover, the king should give Princess Constanza, the wife of the duke, during her lifetime, Guadalajara, Medina del Campo and Olmedo, with all their revenues and lordships. Other bonds of friendship and clauses regarding various matters were included in the said treaty, which to avoid prolixity we do not state here.

Chapter 120

How Lady Catalina was brought to Castile, and how her mother came to see the king, her cousin

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hen the treaty had been concluded as we have related in brief, it was also decided in that place that Prince Enrique should be called the Prince of Asturias and that his wife, Lady Catalina, be called Princess, and that on a certain day she should be brought to Castile and duly handed over in that kingdom. The king immediately determined how this should be, sending, prelates, ladies and knights, as befitted her honour. They came to a town called Fuenterrabía, which is in Guipúzcoa in the land of Vizcaya. Knights of the Duke of Lancaster brought the princess there, delivering her to those honourable people that the king had appointed to collect her. They received a certain sum in gold, and the hostages who were to be handed over. Then the two groups took their leave of each other. The King of Castile awaited his daughter-in-law, who was a girl of fourteen, in the city of Palencia, in order to solemnise the betrothal ceremony there. When she arrived, the king received her with very great honour. A few days later, in the cathedral of that city, they were betrothed as is customary, with most pleasurable jousts, tourneys and other entertainments.269 The king gave jewels to some of the duke’s men who had come there, and then they departed. The king left and went to Tordesillas. There it was decided that Princess Constanza, his cousin, the wife of the duke, should come to Castile to see the king. He ordered that she be received by great lords and prelates, offering

269 The

date was September 1388.

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her much courtesy and honour wherever she went. When she arrived, the king welcomed her most honourably, and she stayed there for several days. The king gave her some of his jewels and also the town of Huete270 to hold during her lifetime, which he ordered to be handed over to her at once. The duke sent to the king, via his wife, a very richly worked and beautiful crown of gold, saying that he had had it made to crown himself in the kingdoms of Castile, but since they had agreed and made peace, it was fitting that King Juan should wear it. He also sent the king a very valuable gold belt. The king sent him horses, swift jennets, very handsome mules and other things.

Chapter 121

How the King of Castile sent excuses to the duke for not being able to see him, owing to his illness

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his year 1388 came to an end, and the year 1389 arrived, in which the king departed from Medina del Campo to go to the lands of Toledo, which was a warmer province. There it was agreed that the king should meet the duke between Bayonne and Fuenterrabía. The king departed from Alcalá de Henares, and his cousin the duchess with him; they both went to the city of Burgos to make ready the things that were suitable for such meetings. While the king was in Burgos during Lent, he fell ill; after he began to feel better, he left there for Vitoria to take the road for Fuenterrabía. From Burgos the duchess his cousin left for Bayonne in English territory, where her husband the duke was staying. When the king arrived in Vitoria, the pain he had felt in Burgos returned. The physicians told him not to leave there, because the terrain he would have to traverse was rough, with poor roads. Then the king sent the Bishop of Osma,271 Pero López de Ayala, and Friar Fernando de Illescas, his confessor, to the duke. Through them he informed him that he had arrived in Vitoria, 24 leagues from Bayonne, intending to come and see him as they had agreed; but that, on arrival there, he did not feel well, and so his physicians advised him not to undertake the difficulties of such a journey. He begged the duke’s pardon for this. When the ambassadors came before the duke and told him of the king’s plight, he was not content with what they were telling him, nor did he wish to believe the excuses that were given to him. He spoke with them of many things, which he had intended to discuss with the king. More specifically, he

270 Huete 271 Pedro

lies about 33 miles (c. 53 km) miles west of Cuenca. Fernández de Frías.



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said that since the King of Castile and the King of England no longer had any grounds for war, except for his own claim that was now at an end (according to which he had called himself King of Castile, by the right of the duchess, his wife, the daughter of King Pedro), it seemed to him that the King of Castile should be friends with the King of England. If the king were agreeable to this, the duke had sufficient authority from the King of England, his nephew and liege lord, to conclude the agreement fittingly. The ambassadors said in response that the beginning of the war between those kings had come about on account of the aid that King Edward [III], the duke’s father, and the Prince of Wales, his brother, had provided to King Pedro against King Enrique, the father of their liege lord, King Juan. Therefore, it had suited King Enrique to make a very firm alliance with Charles [V], the King of France, who was ruling at the time. After this, the duke had married Princess Constanza and called himself the King of Castile, bearing the undifferenced arms of the kingdom. Although this dispute had now ended, his liege lord’s friendship and alliance with France remained in effect, and so he could not help him against France; apart from that, the friendship in the terms they had agreed [between them] was to be maintained.272 This was especially so, since, during the incursion into the king’s land which the duke had made with the King of Portugal, the [present] King of France273 had sent him the Duke of Bourbon,274 his uncle, with 2,000 excellent lances, besides the other lords and captains who came of their own free will to serve him.275 Thus in no way would he abandon that friendship. The duke said that it would please him greatly if it could be as he had said. But since matters stood thus, they would have to do something else that would be of service to God and to the advantage of the kingdoms, namely, the merchants and pilgrims of Castile and England should have safe passage by sea and by land, especially those who wished to go to Santiago [de Compostela]. The envoys said that it was a good idea, but they thought that their liege lord the king could not carry it out, owing to the treaty that had been made between him and the King of France. The reason might be that great lords with many men-at-arms could be among those pilgrims, which would create a hazardous situation. Nevertheless, they would tell the king their liege lord, and he would send him the answer in due course. They stayed a few days with the duke before he departed and, after taking leave of him, they returned to where the king was staying. 272 Concerning the beginning of Enrique de Trastámara’s alliance with the King of France, see CKP, Chapter 17. There are continued references to French military aid to King Enrique throughout that chronicle and CKF. 273 Charles VI. 274 Louis II, Third Duke of Bourbon. 275 See Chapter 114 above.

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Chapter 122

How the King of Castile amassed the gold that he had to pay to the duke

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ny well-informed person who may read this history has good reason to feel doubt as to where the King of Castile could obtain the 600,000 francs that he had to give to the duke, seeing that he did not have any way of paying the salary of those foreigners he had posted along the frontier, nor of the 2,000 lances the King of France had sent to his aid. What happened concerning this issue came about as follows: As soon as the king learned that the Duke of Lancaster was in the aforesaid town of Bayonne, and that he had to send his ambassadors there, knowing well that they would sign the treaty, he summoned Cortes at once to the town of Briviesca, to which came the proctors of the towns and cities of the kingdom. In this gathering they discussed how to collect such a vast amount as the duke was due to receive. Even though some spoke against it, in the end it was agreed that the king should impose a special levy throughout the entire kingdom, from which neither cleric nor layman nor gentleman nor any other person, regardless of status or condition, should be exempt. Those who recommended this said that, since the king was freeing the kingdom from such a mighty claim on it and from subjection, everyone should help to pay through such a levy. For the execution of this they issued writs and sent them throughout the kingdom. The noblemen, ladies and damsels were very aggrieved at this, and there was much unrest among them, so that no money was collected. Realising this, the king had to seek another way, which was this: When King Enrique bought back from Sir Bertrand [du Guesclin] the city of Soria and the towns of Almazán, Atienza, Deza and other towns that he had given him, he levied a special tax which he called a loan, saying in his letters that he would order it to be deducted from the rents which he was due to receive from them. This was shared out among all the towns, a certain amount from each, so that he then collected more than 15,000 maravedís, from which he made the payment for the purchase of those towns. At that time the king made a similar kind of request, from which noblemen, ladies, and clergy were exempt. By this loan the king collected an amount from which he paid the 600,000 francs at the obligatory time, and redeemed his hostages.



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Chapter 123

The beginning of our reply concerning the dispensation about which we said that the aforementioned historian had spoken276

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ince we have returned from Bayonne, in English territory, with the affairs of the duke concluded, it is fitting that we should reply, before we relate anything else, to that ill-delivered statement that the aforementioned historian made, stating slanderously that the pope had given no dispensation to the king to marry, nor had any such letter come to him, and that it had been left to the duke to send for it. The basis for this allegation is likely to be as follows. There are few men who have no enemies or adversaries, and are well-loved by one and all, and this was certainly not King João’s case: not just among his Castilian neighbours, but also among his fellow Portuguese, he had many enemies and many adversaries. These, not out of any zeal for goodness, but rather pregnant with slander, gave birth to two false statements: first, that Pope Urban [VI] had refused to grant him dispensation; second, that Pope Boniface [IX], who succeeded him, had granted the dispensation subject to certain conditions. Consequently, the errors born of such tales were very far from trivial. Since a short written passage, however, cannot resolve major doubts, nor reach full conclusions in few words, in sum it is fitting for us to respond to this by detailing two principal factors: the one, who granted the dispensation and on what conditions; the other, what was the cause for its delay. You have already heard277 how the people and the prelates of the kingdom, as soon as the Master was raised up as king [1385], sent a supplication to Pope Urban explaining to him what had persuaded them to elect him as their prince and liege lord and to place him on the throne; and, since, in order for him to hold the kingdom and be able to marry legitimately, it was necessary that he be granted a dispensation, they asked His Holiness to do so and to ratify everything they had done in the matter. You have also heard278 how the Bishop of Évora279 and Gonçalo Gomes da Silva, who had set out in two galleys for the Curia with this supplication over a year earlier, later on had sent a message to the king when he was dealing with the duke,280 recounting how they arrived in Genoa where they found the Holy Father. When the petition 276 See

Chapter 118 above. Chapter 79 above. 278 In Chapter 94 above. 279 João Eanes do Amaral; see Chapter 79, note 198 above. 280 November 1386, at Ponte do Mouro, near Monção. 277 In

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regarding their actions was presented before the latter, he had graciously given his dispensation regarding all the matters that had been asked of him. The roll of petitions had already been signed, and the envoys were working to obtain the official letters. While they were busy getting this accomplished, they were hindered by a Master Henry, an Englishman, who was at the Curia at the time.281 This man, pretending to be a trusted servant of the duke, without the duke himself or his wife knowing about it, gave false information to the pope, stating that the kingdom of Portugal belonged to Princess Constanza, the Duchess of Lancaster, and thus to the Duke of Lancaster as her husband. When the pope heard these statements, since the duke’s nephew, the King of England, was one of the most important lords who offered obedience to him at the time, and likewise, since certain people vigorously asserted that the King of England was keen to persuade the King of Castile to abandon the position he had taken282 and return to obedience to the Church, he ordered that nothing else be done about the letters until what Master Henry had told the pope could be ascertained. On learning what his envoys told him, the King of Portugal was greatly aggrieved and distressed by it, believing that such obstruction had been caused by the duke, and not knowing what to believe. He sent the duke a message about this via a doctor of his royal council, who showed him his letter of credence. The duke replied to the king in another written message, which, if we omit its title because you have already heard it, read as follows: We inform you that Gil do Sém of your royal council came to us with a letter of credence from you, and told us on your behalf several things, especially how your ambassadors, whom you had sent to the Roman Curia, had been hindered in advancing your business, which you had sent them to carry out with the pope, by a Master Henry, an Englishman, who said that the rights to the kingdom of Portugal belonged to my wife, and to us in her name. We have understood everything you have sent to tell us regarding this. Most noble and powerful king, be assured that this was never said by us, nor by our order, nor by that of the said queen, nor were we pleased by it then, nor are we now. Rather, you should know that, both by some of your men whom you sent, and by other people who were going to the Curia, we requested earnestly of the pope that for love of us he should dispatch your business immediately, as if it were our own, for we hold that our affairs and yours are all one, according to the way it has been between us and you, and that we would regard this as a great favour from him. Therefore, you should not believe that anything was ordered or agreed to by us or by 281 This Lancastrian agent has not been identified. See P. E. Russell, The English Intervention, p. 449, note 2. 282 Namely, his obedience to the Avignon Antipope, Clement VII, during the Great Schism.



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the queen that would hinder your business. You should be assured of this for several reasons, especially if, had we spoken this way, how could we have negotiated the marriage of our well-beloved daughter Philippa with you? For it was fitting for us, according to our status, that she should have honour and rank according to her lineage. Moreover, so that you will believe that we have your affairs at heart, as much as our own, we have decided to send our well-beloved Master William, a doctor of laws and Chancellor of our Privy Seal, to the Roman Curia so that in our name he may inform the pope of our will in the matters relating to your honour and the fulfilment of your business.283 Dated, etc.’

This was, then, how the delay began which caused the letters not to arrive immediately.

Chapter 124

How Pope Urban [VI] died, and the king sent his ambassadors to Pope Boniface

I

n view of such manifest reasons for this business to be much prolonged, the ambassadors left the Curia and came back to Portugal, relating all that had happened and how they had left the roll duly signed, along with the exact reasons for their delay. The king decided, without further postponement, to send ambassadors there again at once. Thus, Dom João, the Bishop of Évora, returned to the Curia, and in place of Gonçalo Gomes went João Afonso, the prior of the fortress of Santarém, a Bachelor of Laws and son of the honourable knight Afonso Esteves de Azambuja. These envoys went before the pope on several occasions, but when they asked him to order the letters [of dispensation] to be issued according to the contents of the roll, which he had already signed, he returned specious excuses, putting them off from one day to the next, regarding which they were not pleased. Their displeasure was such that, on one occasion, when they were speaking to him about the matter, in the presence of certain cardinals, and seeing how it was being protracted well beyond what was reasonable, João Afonso, who was there with the bishop, said that, since it did not please His Holiness to have the letters issued to them at once, and since he was creating such a long delay in the matter, it was better for them to go back without a reply than to remain there wasting their time. The pope said that they had no reason to take offence, because he considered the King 283 The

duke’s chancellor of the privy seal was William Ashton.

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of Portugal to be absolved and had given him full dispensation in all the requests he had sent them to pursue, although the letters had not been issued as promptly. João Afonso responded to this with certain words that displeased the pope, who retorted with annoyance, saying, ‘You may leave when you like. But if you do leave, you will only have to come back again.’ Noting the pope’s disposition, they agreed to depart without further delay. On their way to take ship in Flanders, they were captured in Germany and detained without any reason except to vex them. The ransom demanded was 2,000 florins. They sent word to the king who, without further delay, ordered their ransom to be paid. Once it was handed over in Magdeburg, they were released and returned to the kingdom. While the king was arranging to send envoys there again to conclude this matter, which was so important to him, Pope Urban died. He had ruled over the Church for twelve years, and it had been over two years since he had signed the roll approving the dispensation in question. From 15 October [1389], when he died in Rome, for the next eighteen days the cardinals were occupied with his burial and the conclave for the Papal election. On 2 November, a new successor was elected, who took the name Boniface IX. As soon as he received news of this, the king, regardless of the supplication he had sent with the first ambassadors and the signed dispensation that Pope Urban had left, decided at once to send envoys with another newly-drafted supplication to the Curia, in the same terms as the first one. Those members of his royal council who were qualified in law said that such a course of action was unnecessary for, since Pope Urban had granted him dispensation, and the roll had already been signed for the letters to be issued, nothing else was required except to ask that they be issued. This was the general rule in the Papal Curia, and a thing ordered and put into practice by all the supreme pontiffs, namely that the grace issued by the Holy Father, even if it was not in its official format, or if it was written but not sealed, did not expire upon his death, but rather would remain in effect from the time when he had granted it, and not from the time when it was written or sealed. Thus, the grace was from the deceased pope, and the seal from his successor, and therefore there was no reason to present the supplication again. The king, regardless of this and other things that they said to him, out of extreme caution and to be sure nothing went amiss, ordered another supplication to be prepared like the first one, in which he and his people petitioned that which you have heard was in the other one,284 asking His Holiness that in his mercy he grant full dispensation. The king sent there as his envoys that same João Afonso, who was now Bishop of Silves, and an honourable

284 In

Chapter 79 above.



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nobleman, João Rodrigues de Sá, whom we have mentioned several times before. After a voyage undertaken in two galleys, they arrived at the Curia. When they gave the pope the petition they bore, he regarded it as superfluous; responding benignly, he said that since his predecessor had granted such grace and signed the roll, as he knew, having been present at the time, another petition was unnecessary, and they should simply ask for the letters. Taking this as a great kindness on his part, and expressing their gratitude in the best manner they knew, they went on to request of his Holiness, since Pope Urban had granted dispensation as soon as their petition had been shown to him, although some impediments had prevented the letters from being issued, that he would so testify in his bull,285 to remove any mistaken idea that many people had concerning this. The pope said that he would be very pleased to do so, and that he would explain everything that had happened in his presence to the people of the kingdom, and would provide an additional letter in which their desiderata would be amply set forth. After the letters had been issued, they departed from the Curia and came back to Portugal. When the king and those of the royal council had seen them, inasmuch as public reports and misleading rumour frequently cloud the truth, and in order to put an end to any statement that might contradict the facts, the king ordered that the letters be made public in Lisbon Cathedral. This was in order to dispel what certain ignorant people were saying: that, since his ambassadors were coming and going so many times, Pope Urban must have refused him dispensation. The letters were sent to this city, the chief one in the kingdom, and a general summons was made to all citizens, and also to ladies and many other conditions of people, to hear them. Present were the noble men of the church Dom João, the Bishop of Lisbon; Dom João, the Bishop of Oporto; and the honourable dean and chapter of that cathedral. Likewise among the laypersons present were the wise and prudent barons Lourenço Eanes Fogaça, who was the Chancellor of the Great Seal, Martim Afonso Valente, Lourenço Esteves de Azambuja and other knights, along with many other people, both religious and secular, whom there is no need to name. For the occasion, a great man of letters and master of theology was designated: he was a renowned preacher of the Order of Saint Francis named Friar Rodrigo de Sintra. On Sunday, 9 July [1390], with everyone attentive in reverent silence to hear him, he delivered a most solemn sermon appropriate to the occasion. When his homily was finished, the apostolic letters, which were devoid of all suspicion, were displayed and proclaimed loudly and with great clarity from the pulpit. The text of the first now follows.

285 That

is, in the sealed papal edict containing the letters.

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Chapter 125

The text of the first letter that was made public in the cathedral

B

oniface, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all those who may see and wish to consider these letters, health and apostolic blessings. Since it is reasonable and honourable that those favours granted by the Roman pontiff should achieve their intended effect and come to public knowledge, even if it should happen that the letters regarding such matters have not been issued, therefore, to all in general we give notice and make clear by means of this present letter that recently our honourable brother, the Bishop of Évora and other ambassadors, on behalf of our beloved sons, the prelates, noblemen and people of the kingdoms of Portugal and the Algarve, brought a petition to Urban VI of happy memory, our predecessor. They presented clear reasons and evident causes, primarily that Juan Enríquez, who held the kingdoms of Castile and León, was attempting to subjugate and destroy these kingdoms of Portugal and the Algarve, which were without a king who could defend them. Solicitous for the honour and well-being of the said kingdoms and opposing the wrongful wishes of Juan Enríquez, a ruthless persecutor both of them and of Holy Church, the Bride of Jesus Christ, they all with one heart and will requested and accepted our wellbeloved son João, natural son of Pedro of happy memory, at that time Master of the Order of the Knights of Avis, as the king and liege lord of the said kingdoms, seating him on the royal throne and arraying him in royal vestments, following in this matter all the proper and customary honours and solemnities. When João had been made king in this way, and his reception, succession to the throne and other ceremonies had been carried out as has been stated, then, on account of the great needs and for the clear benefit of these kingdoms, which had been laid waste and occupied by the aforementioned Juan Enríquez, King João accepted and agreed to abandon the habit of the said order, and wear royal vestments, as indeed he was already wearing. For the defence of these kingdoms he took part in feats of arms, during which there ensued burnings and the slaughter of people, both religious and secular, as well as many other violent acts. For these reasons those prelates and nobles and townsfolk, through their ambassadors, humbly petitioned Urban, our predecessor, to reflect on those things with natural charity and by his apostolic authority to consider it right to absolve this João, king at that time and master of the said order, from the bonds of guilt and the penalty of excommunication that he might incur on account of any of these acts. Likewise, at another time, when Fernando, the king of those kingdoms and brother of this King João, joined with Robert [of Geneva], the son of perdition – who in his excommunicate effrontery presumed and still insists



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on calling himself, Clement VII – disregarding the legal processes against him and the said Juan Enríquez, this João was present at the marriage of Juan Enríquez to a daughter of the said King Fernando, thus supporting this Antipope and Juan Enríquez, wearing in public garments of samite, not to mention other vain and immodest things. Therefore, lest by participating in this, he might have brought his order into apostasy, from this and from all the shame and disqualification he might in any way have incurred, they also begged Pope Urban to absolve him. Moreover, in respect of this João, despite the aforementioned matters and the stain on his birth – for King Pedro begat him by a woman not his wife, even though both of them were married286 – and although he had taken the vows of the Order of the Knights of Avis, the members of which must conform in their behaviour to the regular rule of the Cistercian monks, and by no means marry, they asked that he be allowed to have and to hold the title, rank and honour of king, and to marry legitimately. They also requested that, should he chance to marry our well-beloved daughter in Christ, Philippa, queen of these kingdoms, as he had decided to do, then King João and Queen Philippa, notwithstanding any impediment due to kinship or to the above-mentioned matters, should be allowed to remain in that marriage; furthermore, that any offspring already conceived or to be born of that union, should be declared by apostolic authority to be legitimate. Urban, our predecessor, in the presence of several of his brother cardinals, among which number we were present at that time, in response to the humble supplication of Bishop João, as described above, publicly stated and affirmed that, having considered all the above-mentioned things and other true and reasonable causes that moved him in his heart to do so, he did absolve and pardon King João, at that time master of the said order. He also granted a dispensation to him and to the said Philippa, and exempted and absolved him from his obligations to the order, and each and every one of the other things as he had been petitioned. All this, as a necessary thing, he had conceded and granted. Also on another day, with us and the other cardinals being present, Pope Urban publicly responded to the petitioner Bishop João, and affirmed that he considered King João absolved with regard to the aforesaid matters, and granted him dispensation, as has already been stated. Now it is true that soon thereafter came the death of the said Urban, our predecessor, and the apostolic letters regarding these matters were not issued. Nevertheless, in wishing to provide for the honour of King João and Queen Philippa, his spouse, and all the inhabitants of those kingdoms, though the 286 This contradicts Fernão Lopes’s statement in CKP that Pedro did not remarry after the death of Inês de Castro (in 1355) and that thereafter the Galician lady, Teresa, was the only woman with whom he slept to bear him a child; this was João, born on 11 April 1357. However, nowhere does Lopes state that Teresa was married, or to whom. See Chapters 1 and 43. Her name is given as Teresa Lourenço in a grant of houses and other property made to her by Pedro, dated 1365.

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letters regarding these matters were not issued while our predecessor was alive, in order that the king and queen and petitioners already mentioned should not be deprived of their validity, since all this happened as it did, in answer to your petition, we hereby, by means of this letter, certify this as a permanent record. Nevertheless, in the cause of greater prudence and guarantee, and even stronger confirmation, we absolve King João once again, and remove from him any stain of infamy and disqualification whatsoever; we grant dispensation to him and to Queen Philippa in the matters that have been stated, so that they may legally remain in the marriage that has been made between them; we declare legitimate any children conceived in that marriage, or to be conceived, and all the things stated above, which were requested of our predecessor, to be concluded and granted, as has been said. If by chance anything has been omitted from this letter, we make good every defect, as is contained in more detail in other letters of ours that we have ordered to be issued regarding this matter. Therefore, let no man violate or in foolish boldness contradict the terms of this letter in which we have set out our demonstration, restatement, absolution, removal of disqualification, dispensation, concession and granting of the petitions in accordance with our will. If perchance anyone should presume to attempt this, let him know that he will incur the wrath and curse of Almighty God and the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul. Dated, etcetera.

Chapter 126

The public reading of the second letter which the messengers brought from the Curia

W

hen the reading of this letter had been finished and heard with much joy, all those people were made to fall silent so as to listen attentively, as to the first letter. Then another letter was made public from that same Pope Boniface, of which this is the text: Boniface, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his well-beloved son in Christ, the illustrious King João of Portugal and the Algarve, health and apostolic blessings. By the disposition of divine clemency through which kings reign and princes are given power, without any merit of our own, we are placed to be a shining light over the people of Christendom. At times it is therefore necessary to impose order on certain kingdoms and lordships for the sake of peace and justice for the people, and to raise up those whom we know to be worthy and well-suited to rule and govern the people who dwell in them. Once they are placed in such a high position, we must maintain them in it and strengthen them, so that they may judge the people in justice and



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guide their nations, as befits the lordship they have taken on and the power given to them by heaven for the punishment of evildoers and the glory and praise of the good. In this way the ruler’s mind will always be inclined to carry out justice, and his thoughts devoted to rightful law and the protection of sacred peace. Thus it is that in the filial petition presented to us by the honourable Bishop of Silves and the well-beloved João Rodrigues de Sá, ambassadors representing you and the prelates and people of those kingdoms, sent to us in respect of this matter, it was truly set forth that the said realms were in past days orphaned and deprived of royal dignity because of the death of King Fernando, whose life ended without a legitimate son who could inherit them. The said prelates and peoples of those kingdoms saw how Juan Enríquez, the occupant of the kingdoms of Castile and León, their unjust persecutor, and the enemy of God and his Bride of Rome and of Pope Urban VI of blessed memory, our predecessor, was condemned by formal sentence of the latter to be punished as a schismatic heretic, because he declared obedience to the son of perdition, Robert, at the time called Cardinal of the Twelve Apostles and who now in his sacrilegious audacity has presumed to name himself Clement VII, and still presumes to do so, without heeding the bulls issued by our predecessor against him and his followers. Moreover, they saw how, piling evil upon evil, that same Juan Enríquez has forced the people subject to him to obey this Robert, and has sought to occupy and possess the kingdoms of Portugal and the Algarve. The said prelates and peoples were not capable of successfully resisting his perverse attacks and efforts, because they utterly lacked a king fit to defend them. They feared that, should they and the said kingdoms fall under the power and tyranny of Juan Enríquez and be forced into obedience to the said antipope, such eventuality would be greatly pernicious to their souls and persons. Therefore, wishing to provide for the honour and salvation of themselves and the kingdoms, and to oppose such harm and danger, it was fitting and necessary for them to elect such a man as their king and liege lord who would know how to rule and govern the said kingdoms, and be able to do so to the advantage of all, and could with great courage protect and defend them from the violent hands of Juan Enríquez, and recover the towns which had already been lost. They then directed the gaze of their understanding and wise consideration at you, the illegitimate son of Pedro of blessed memory, king of Portugal and the Algarve, brother of King Fernando, the last king of those realms, you who had taken the vows of the Order of Calatrava in the bishopric of Évora, and of the Order and Rule of Cîteaux, Master of the House of Avis. They did so because of the singular devotion and special love they saw in you for our predecessor and the Holy Church of Rome, and likewise the purity of faith and skill in arms, by which you had distinguished yourself and your most Christian lineage. All this they recognised, and continue to recognise, by thoughtful counsel and well-considered agreement, all being of one mind, and no one disagreeing. And so, by divine inspiration as is piously to be believed, with all due ceremonies and proper solemnities, in

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accord with canon law they have elected and taken you as the king of the said realms, seating you on the royal throne, arrayed in royal vestments, and observing all the other things that are customary in such a ceremony. Considering all these things, for the sake of the peace, health and well-being of these realms, desiring rather to be of service than to rule, you consented to the election, accepting the status and title of royal dignity, abandoning the habit enjoined by the aforementioned rule, not out of lack of respect for the order or for the power of our keys, but rather trusting in the benignity of the Apostolic See that you would be granted dispensation regarding this. From that time forward you held and possessed, as you still hold and govern, these kingdoms as their king. Moreover, you married by verba de praesenti the well-beloved in Christ Philippa, the daughter of the noble John, the Duke of Lancaster, and made her queen of those kingdoms; furthermore, you consummated the marriage, having children by her. If you were now to give up your dignity, name and honour as king and leave the said realms unprotected, dissolving your marriage and abandoning the queen, great harm and scandal could ensue. Therefore, we were humbly petitioned, on your behalf and that of the aforementioned prelates and peoples, that out of apostolic benevolence we should deign to grant you the benefit of absolution and, in conformity, the grace of dispensation in this matter. We, who wish for peace for the souls and bodies of all faithful Christians, as we are obliged to do, desiring for the advantage of all to provide for the honour of your status and that of those kingdoms, and to defend against such scandal to the extent that we can do so with God’s help, and wishing to moderate the rigour of the holy laws with a merciful dispensation, just as the popes our predecessors, endowed with divine power, were virtuously accustomed to do, being moved to this by just and evident causes, primarily regarding people of illustrious lineage and honourable rank; likewise, considering that, with the help of Almighty God, through your prudence and valour in arms, you have freed the said realms from the hands of Juan Enríquez, who had occupied the greater part of them, recovering the towns he had under his power, which rejoiced to be restored to their former liberty, and over him, the persecutor of God and of us and His Holy Church, you gained victory and triumph by divine grace; we have discussed this with our brothers in solemn deliberation, and, inclining in favour of your supplications, and bearing in mind the great devotion you have always had for us and the said Church, by the advice of all of them, we have decided to honour you, your illustrious and royal lineage, and your legitimately descended heirs, and to grant you such special graces and favours as may be appropriate to your case. Therefore, in praise of Almighty God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the eternally glorious Virgin Mary, the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and the honour and well-being of the Sacred and Holy Church, our Bride, being in this matter inclined favourably towards the petitions from you and the nobles, prelates and peoples of those kingdoms, by our apostolic authority and the text of these present letters we absolve you of all sentences of excommunication and all other penalties whatsoever, whether pronounced by man



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or by law, even if those sentences were attested by apostolic documents, if by any chance you have incurred any such penalties for the reasons referred to, which we wish to consider are sufficiently expressed here. Moreover, we absolve and release you from all obligation and commitment to vows of obedience, chastity, poverty, profession and regular observance to which you may have been bound and obliged in any way to the aforementioned order, even though you may have given your oath to keep any or all of them. We likewise release you from all perjury and stain of infamy and disqualification to which you might otherwise have been subject for the stated reasons or for any others. Moreover, we declare you legitimate, restore your legitimacy of birth, and declare you eligible, granting you dispensation, notwithstanding the aforementioned matters and the deficiency of your birth, being the child of King Pedro and a woman who was not joined to him in marriage, even though your father and mother were both married at the time of your conception and birth.287 Also, even though at the time of your election, acceptance and consent you were a professed member of that order and master of its house, and bound by sentences and penalties, and disqualified by the stain of infamy, and you afterwards married Queen Philippa; moreover, although in some manner you may have obeyed and given support, aid or favour to the aforementioned Robert the Antipope and Juan Enríquez, and in spite of any laws, whether apostolic or secular, statutes or customs, that you might in any way have broken, we grant that the election, assumption, acceptance, consent and all things that followed thereupon, shall be entirely valid and in effect in perpetuity. You may hold and possess the said kingdoms and the dignity, name and honours of a king, and you may be elected to any other kingdoms, dignities, honours and lordships; you may accept them, take and possess them, and pass them down to your legitimately descended heirs, both those already born and those yet to be born, along with other collateral heirs or a stranger to your lineage, by testament or if you die intestate, and you may live and remain in the aforementioned marriage contracted with Queen Philippa. If God should dispose otherwise with her life, you may, whensoever such a thing may chance to happen, lawfully marry any other woman, free of legal impediments, and live freely in such a marriage as a man entirely exempt, free and clean of any stain. By our pastoral authority and apostolic power we make good any defect, if such has happened to arise, on your part or that of the prelates, clergy, nobles and people in all that has been stated. Therefore let no one dare in any way to violate the terms of this our letter of absolution, exemption, liberation, restitution, removal of disqualification, dispensation, concession and compensation, nor contradict it in foolish audacity. Should anyone presume to attempt any such thing, let him know that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul. Dated, etcetera.’ 287 See

Chapter 125, note 286, above.

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When the letters had been made public in the way we have said, a great clamour arose from that multitude of people, as they discussed the erroneous opinion on this matter which many of them had formerly asserted. When the commotion had completely died down, Lourenço Eanes Fogaça, on behalf of his liege lord the king, and the honourable João Domingues, the treasurer of that cathedral, on behalf of its chapter, and Fernando Álvares, the proctor of the city, in the name of all its inhabitants, asked João Rodrigues, a public notary who was present, to give them a full transcript in the form prescribed by law, and the copies were given to them. Now, take good note from what you have heard, how the aforesaid historian after so many years was so bold as to say such things to support his defamation, which, devoid of all substance as they are, deserve no credence whatsoever. For where the truth is certain and clear, anything that may be said to the contrary proceeds from a warped imagination or a perverse and malicious intent.

Chapter 127

How the king ordered that the things which his fleet might seize should be distributed

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ith the matters pertaining to the duke being completed, and people having heard what we have just recounted, if we leave aside the damage that the galleys did along the coast of Galicia as they were returning,288 it is fitting that we should direct our narrative to the affairs of the king. First, [we will speak of] what he decided about the captures his galleys were making of naos, barges and other vessels, namely, as to what the captain and crews of the fleet were to receive. He ordered that, in the case of a nao or barge boarded by force, all the items that were to be found above deck should belong to those who seized them, except for gold, silver, seed pearls, gemstones and ribbons of precious metals, along with wrought gold, silk, samite and whole pieces of cloth, for those were to belong to the king. All the gold that they might find below deck should belong to the king, along with the body of the ship, its tackle, and its crew. Regarding smaller vessels without decks or hoisting gear, with a displacement of 25 tons, any such vessel should belong to the patron of the galley that captured it; the commander should get a cable and anchor, and the goods and the crew should belong to the king. 288 These

are the Portuguese galleys King João sent to take the Duke of Lancaster to Bayonne, of which five went on to England, and the others came back (see Chapters 118 and 119 above, and see below at the end of this chapter).



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Likewise, regarding all plunder that might be acquired on land, or regarding prisoners, these should belong to those who seized them, except for prisoners worth 500 dobras or more, for if the king wished to acquire anyone of this kind, he should give 1,000 dobras for him, for that was the amount he believed that kings had given in the past. Of these prisoners and this plunder, if captured by men-at-arms or crossbowmen, their patrons should have a one-third share; of whatever the galley rowers might take, the commanders should have one-third; of whatever the master mariners and sailors might win, no one else should have a third, but rather it should all be theirs. The arms belonging to the patrons of the [captured] galleys or to the masters of naos or balingers, or to their men-at-arms, crossbowmen or sailors, should belong to the [Portuguese] patrons or to anyone who might seize them. If anyone else should take them, the patrons or the commanders should get one-third, just as we have said about other things. This should not be understood as referring to the arms located in the storeroom of the ships’ hull, for these were to belong to the king. The arms, silver tableware and tailored clothing belonging to the patron of any captured galley should go to the patron who had attacked it. Any other silver or gold that might be found, excepting tableware, should belong to the king. If anyone climbed the mast and saw a ship, or anyone else who might see a ship in any other way, he should get a dobra if that ship were taken. Any galley or galleys that might capture other galleys or oars, along with the arms and men, all should belong to the king, except for a lateen sail, an anchor and a cable, which should go to the captain of the galley that seized the enemy galley. Regarding the items of which the commanders and the patrons were to receive one-third, they should be shared out in this way: everything should be sorted into three lots, and those who had made the capture should choose one of them first; the patrons and commanders should get the second; and those who had made the capture should get the remaining third. Of those items that were captured in this way, neither the admiral nor the captain should have the fifth share or any other right, except from what was left over as the king’s allocation. If it happened that some of the patrons seized ships to keep for themselves, they should not dare to capture the men sailing in them and then order them to return in them from whence they had set sail. These rules were obeyed from that point on, both regarding those that came back from Bayonne, and regarding the five with which Afonso Furtado had set out from that town for England to serve the king, as had been agreed earlier, remaining there for a period of fifteen months.289

289 Furtado’s mission to England was a consequence of the Treaty of Windsor, signed between the two kings three years earlier, in 1386. See Chapter 82 above.

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Chapter 128

Concerning the procedure the king ordered to be followed in lawsuits that had been heard by officials of the King of Castile

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hen this had been decided in that way, the king ruled on another dispute that existed among many people of the kingdom in the towns that had declared loyalty to the King of Castile, primarily in the town of Santarém, where he and his officials and household had resided longer than in any other town. The question was whether the lawsuits and the verdicts subsequently issued by the magistrates, both those that had already been carried out and those that had not yet been, were still in effect and should be valid as the laws intend and grant. There was a similar doubt regarding any written documents issued by the notaries of these towns. Those to whom such verdicts had given favour and advantage, speaking of this, said that those verdicts and written documents should be valid and were good, since they had been issued by Portuguese, learned men, who had been officials of King Fernando, even though the King of Castile had called himself king of those kingdoms, and those towns were under his control, along with other arguments of the sort. Others, to whom that property had belonged, both moveable goods and land, and to whose disadvantage those verdicts and written documents had been issued and composed, said that they wished to oppose them and make them null and void, inasmuch as the said King of Castile did not, and could not, have any authority in the kingdoms of Portugal, even if he had taken control of a few towns. Regarding this debate and doubt they wrote to the king, asking what procedure he ordered to be followed in the matter. Having sought advice about this, he wrote to these town communities as follows: It was acknowledged to be the case that these kingdoms by inheritance from his grandparents and his father, King Pedro, and his brother, King Fernando, have remained free and unencumbered, making great efforts not to be subject to any other authority. It was also the case that he, King João, for the reasons they all knew, had gained rule and authority over them, granted by the prelates and noblemen and by the honourable, true and loyal citizens of the city of Lisbon and other towns both large and small throughout the kingdom. And this had been confirmed by Pope Urban VI, whose true and obedient son he was. Furthermore, the King of Castile neither had nor could have any right or jurisdiction in these kingdoms, as



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had been shown by the Lord God and His precious Mother, after he had begun to wage war against these realms, primarily in the battle the King of Castile had fought against him, in which God had given him, the King of Portugal, victory. For all these reasons, in order to prevent enmity and disputes between them, which might ensue owing to this issue, he now decreed as follows: ‘That all the lawsuits, verdicts and enactments ordered thereby, both those that had been carried out and those that were still pending, and likewise any written contracts, commitments and documents of any other kind, involving ecclesiastic as well as lay people, which had been considered and decided while the King of Castile was calling himself King of Portugal, should be nullified and the former status restored, as it was before the invasion of the King of Castile. The ones that had been carried out, which had begun during that period, he declared void, and those that had just begun should go no further, even if the parties were ready to renounce their legal rights and privileges in order to make those documents valid. Each man must go to court again to plead for any right that he claimed against another.’

Chapter 129

How the king established an allowance for the noblemen, and other things he decreed

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ou have already heard, in the chapter in which we spoke of this, how the king, because of the harassment of the war in which he had become embroiled after he began to rule, had no way of establishing an allowance for his vassals, nor did he take them into his service as the other kings used to do; instead, each one served with those whom he could supply, both men-at-arms and foot soldiers, and there was a salary for all.290 Thus, the king decided to establish an allowance for the nobility, not like the other kings, as we have said, who gave it to the father and then to the son as soon as he was born. Rather, he decreed that the personal fealty of a nobleman of the lowest rank, once written down in the book of the king, should cause him to receive 1,000 libras, and the one who accompanied him would have 700; and so on for each nobleman, fewer or more [libras] according to the rank of each one. Not that the son was to receive this income when he was born, but rather after he reached the age at which he 290 See

Chapter 71 above. On the way in which previous kings dealt with the matter, see CKP, Chapters 1 and 11, and CKF, Chapter 87.

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could serve; then he was ascribed his allowance according to the one his father had, although always smaller. Those 1,000 libras for the allowance, at the time when the king established them, were 20 Castilian doblas, each dobla at the time being worth 50 libras in the coinage of reais of 10 soldos, then in circulation. Furthermore, he granted lands to the queen and an allowance to the women of her household, which each one should receive each month. He ordered that Beatriz Gonçalves [de Moura], whom he had assigned as personal companion to the queen because she did not know the customs of the country – as otherwise it would have been unnecessary – should receive 800 libras every month, which were 16 Castilian doblas. To Dona Beatriz de Castro, who was the highest in rank among the other ladies-in-waiting, he awarded 1,000 libras, which were 20 doblas; to Teresa Vasques Coutinha, her gentlewoman of the bedchamber, 200; and to all the others, 150. Other less important attendants received 60. Concerning the masterships, specifically that of Avis, which he retained and which had not been awarded, he followed this procedure. He had said to Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos that he would be glad for him to become Master of Avis, and that he intended for him to be given the position. But Fernão Rodrigues de Sequeira, the Grand Commander in that Order, was hoping to get the position. Fernando Álvares de Almeida, who was the comptroller of his household, and commander and cellarer of Juromenha, had the same hope. Aware as the king was of their ambitions and of the good service they had done him, since he could not satisfy them all, and so as to fulfil his obligations before God and the world, he told the first two that they should hold an election in their order, and whichever of them were elected would become the master. Fernão Rodrigues won it, having received more votes, but Mem Rodrigues was aggrieved because of the things that the king had said to him. Being aware of this, the king wisely had him made Master of Santiago, which was greater in honour and income. The friars who were brothers of this order had already elected as their master one Rui Freire, a son of Nuno Gonçalves Freire, the former Master of the Order of Christ. The king learned of it and wrote to the friars that he did not consider such an election to be wise, and suggested instead that they should elect Mem Rodrigues. They did so accordingly, and the pope confirmed it. They then gave Rui Freire the income from Palmela and Arruda, beyond what he already had. Thus were the vacant masterships of these orders filled.



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Chapter 130

Concerning how Dom Pedro de Castro, Dom Pedro da Guerra, and Prince Dinis, who were in Castile, came to the King of Portugal

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e find that not one of the authors who make mention of the arrival of these men says what persuaded them to come to Portugal from Castile, except for what they say regarding Dom Pedro de Castro, namely that when he and Juan Alfonso de Baeza fled to Torres Vedras, as you have heard,291 he took refuge in Castile, and the King of Castile gave him the town of Salvatierra, which is in Galicia close to the River Minho. They also say that, while so holding it, he sent word to the King of Portugal that he would give him that town and come over to him if the king would grant him pardon. The king approved this, and Dom Pedro de Castro then came over to his side. Now, Dom Pedro da Guerra, the bastard son of Prince João, also came over at this time. The king received him kindly, showing warm hospitality and granting him favours. Thus he took up residence at court. At this point the king was told that Prince Dinis was coming to Portugal to join him, which was indeed the case. The king ordered lodging to be prepared for him, and went forth a good half league to meet him. He took with him no more than five or six men, lightly armed. The prince attempted to kiss the king’s hand, but the king did not wish to allow it. Nevertheless, he did kiss it, and there in Oporto the king showed him great honour and favours, and was very generous in gifts to him. He arranged to send him to England, so that no disorder might arise in the kingdom because of him. However, during his sea voyage, the prince took the decision to return, saying that perhaps he was being sent there to be killed, and other things of the sort. On his way back, he was captured and held prisoner by the Bretons.292 When he had been brought to land, the Bretons, finding out that he was the King of Portugal’s brother, asked for a ransom of 100,000 francs for him. He wrote to the king about this, seeking his release from captivity. The king said that, since the prince had not cared to go where he had sent him, he did not care about his captivity. The Bretons, seeing that no one was concerned about him, in order to avoid expense without any advantage, released him, and he went back to Castile. 291 See

CKJ1, Chapter 177, where Lopes writes of their fleeing to Santarém. fact, Prince Dinis was sent to England with the mission of obtaining the ratification of the Treaty of Windsor, but was arrested on arrival at Dartmouth. After his release, on being refused a safe conduct to travel to London, believing he had fallen into a trap and fearing for his life, he decided to return to Castile. On his journey back, he was captured by Flemish pirates. For a detailed account, see Russell, The English Intervention, pp. 516–18. 292 In

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Chapter 131

How the king ordered that what had been taken from the Genoese ships be paid for, and how he went to Braga to convene Cortes

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hile the king was in that city,293 there arrived Ambrosio de Marines, an ambassador of Antoniotto Adorno, the Duke of Genoa, and the honourable Fifteen Elders, the rulers of that commonwealth. He spoke in the presence of the king, saying that his grace was well aware of the goods that had been taken on his order from the Genoese naos in front of the port of Lisbon (as we recounted at the beginning of these events).294 The king had been approached several times about this, and had always given a courteous response, ordering that the merchandise that had been taken should be itemised. When it had all been added up, it was found that it came to just over 60,000 dobras, which they asked him in his magnanimity to order to be paid. The king said that he was quite happy to do so; when the ambassador had received good compensation and fuller payment for all the goods, he issued a receipt for them and took his leave. Then the king decided to leave for Braga and hold Cortes there. He summoned all the appropriate people to come to them, among whom was the constable. The noblemen pleaded with him to raise on their behalf a number of issues that concerned them; but he made as many excuses as he could to avoid doing so. Nevertheless, in the end he yielded owing to their great insistence. With them present, the constable told the king what he believed should be done for the honour of them all, according to what they had told him. The king showed his displeasure at this, if we are to judge by his reply. Even though all of them were present, there was not one who backed up the count in what he had proposed on their behalf. For this reason, from then on he never chose to speak in public on their behalf. He said that the old adage was true, namely that ‘whoever serves everyone, serves no one’. While the count was there at these Cortes, he received a message that his wife had died in Oporto, where she was staying. He left for that city at once, with a great company, as you can well understand. There, he ensured that the burial rites were duly carried out in accordance with her rank. He sent his daughter, who was very young, to Iria Gonçalves, her grandmother, who was in Lisbon, and then he returned to Braga. There a marriage was proposed for him to Dona Beatriz de Castro, the daughter of Count Álvaro Pérez de Castro,

293 Lisbon. 294 In

CKJ1, Chapter 109.



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a very beautiful and nobly-born maiden.295 The king and queen were very pleased by the idea of this marriage. The constable, however, was subjected to such insistence and constant reminders that to avoid them he asked leave of the king and went off to the Alentejo. We shall speak of his doings a little, and afterwards return to the king.

Chapter 132

Concerning an incursion that the enemy made into Portugal, and the plunder they carried away

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fter the Castilians had suffered the defeat of which you have heard in that great battle [at Aljubarrota], the King of Castile and all his kingdom felt great distress and pain. His people could not rest, but rather talked endlessly about the misfortunes that had befallen them, one after another, not only the lords and nobles, but also good squires and other middling folk. They boldly declared in public that good fortune was clearly against them at every turn, since they had lost so many troops who were dead, both through defeats in battle and other accidents ever since the beginning of the war. Indeed, it was true that there were far fewer men on their side, a shortage not only among common folk but even of nobles and able captains, which left them greatly deprived. For besides those who were mentioned when we spoke of that battle,296 many others who could be mentioned also died there, such as Pedro Boil and a son of his; Pedro Gómez de Porres and two of his sons; Ruy de Tovar, the brother of the admiral [Juan Fernández de Tovar]; the Grand Commander of [the order of] Calatrava; Gómez Gutiérrez de Sandoval; Álvaro Núñez Cabeza de Vaca; Lope Fernández de Padilla; Juan Fernández Mujica; Pedro Suárez de Toledo; Fernán Rodríguez and Álvaro Rodríguez de Escobar; Lope Rodríguez de Aza; Ruy Niño, Lope Niño and Juan Niño, three brothers; García González and Lope González de Quirós, brothers; Sancho Fernández de Tovar; Master Arnaud and Lemisan,297 Gascons; and others whom authors have not chosen to record. 295 Describing

Beatriz de Castro as a maiden appears to contradict CKJ1, Chapter 141, where Lopes mentions her marriage to the Count of Mayorga on 31 August 1384. The count died shortly afterwards, a victim of the plague at the siege of Lisbon. In CKJ1, Chapter 166, Lopes again refers to the fact that she had been married to the count. Given that Lopes does not use the term ‘widow’, neither here nor in Chapters 97 and 129 above, could this indicate that the marriage was not consummated while Dona Beatriz was in the Castilian camp? 296 In Chapter 45 above. 297 This is Arnaud du Solier, Lord of Villalpando. He was a Breton, known as ‘the

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Consequently, speaking of all this in many ways, these people came to express various opinions. Some of them, especially the foreigners, who were audacious in their presumption, said that it was very good for them to make an incursion into Portugal without any captain at all. Rather, acting on their own account and in good numbers, they would show their disdain for the constable, gaining thereby much honour, and could do so in complete safety. This discussion and gathering took place in Jerez de Badajoz,298 8 leagues from Olivença. Assembled were a good 300 lances, along with foot soldiers and crossbowmen; the greater part of them were Gascons. They agreed on the following plan: since the constable was in Estremoz, 7 leagues from the border, without any men with him, virtually alone, they could easily invade the kingdom and spend two or three days there, raiding the land as they liked and collecting any plunder they could find. Before the count could react to this, even if he learned of it before they set out, they could hurry back to safety with the booty they had seized, and thus they would take a measure of revenge for all the harm that had been done to them. Having agreed, they all mounted up and invaded the kingdom at some distance from where the count was. They all carried out a raid, looting a huge quantity of horses, cattle, men, women and many other things that they found. Then they turned back with the spoils of their raid to go and spend the night at a town under the rule of Castile, called Villanueva del Fresno, 2 leagues from Portugal.

Chapter 133

How the count attacked the Gascons by night, defeated them, and took away their plunder

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s to the arrival of the Count in Estremoz and his being without any men, as has just been mentioned, it is best for us to speak here immediately, so that you know fully what really took place. It so happened that the count Limousin’, captain of one of the great companies who assisted Enrique II of Castile and his successor, Juan I, to establish the Trastámara dynasty. Eventually, Arnaud du Solier settled in Castile; he was killed at the Battle of Aljubarrota (1385) where he was a marshal of the Castilian army. Fernão Lopes seems to interpret his name as belonging to two different Gascons: ‘Arnao’ and ‘Lemysam’. See: Peter Ainsworth and Godfried Croenen (eds), The Online Froissart, Translation of Book III, Folio 273 r.; Jonathan Sumption, The Hundred Years War III: Divided Houses (London: Faber & Faber, 2009), p. 567. 298 Better known as Jerez de los Caballeros.



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was in Évora after arriving there from Braga. Having set his border defences in good order, he received information that the Castilian Master of Santiago, with many companies at his command, was keen to invade Portugal and do all the harm he could. At once the count went to Estremoz with those few men he always had with him, so as to muster the men of the border area and go to block the master’s route and hinder his advance. While he was preparing his incursion, the master learned of this; he changed what he intended to do and disbanded his forces, which vexed the count greatly. He had those who were already with him return to the border areas where they were stationed As he was returning to the town [of Estremoz] from which he had set out, he received a message from the towns of Beja and Serpa, which were 16 leagues from there, saying that the Count of Niebla, according to rumour, with 700 lances, foot soldiers, and crossbowmen, was intending to invade and plunder that region. They pleaded with him to come to their assistance before the enemies could make such a raid. The count set out at once with those few men that he had, because by then most of the men were back at their borderland posts, as we have said. He decided to go along the border to get more reliable news and to inspect the border towns as to how well they were furnished with what was needed. If he learned that the enemies had already invaded, he planned to cut them off with the border troops that would come to him. With this plan in mind, he departed from Estremoz, crossing the Ossa Mountains, and stayed that night on a riverbank, where he and his companions slept the night. The next day he set out through that rough country, across desolate and unpopulated terrain, and came to Redondo, and then to Monsaraz. In the afternoon, a reliable message came to him: that on that morning 300 Gascon lances, with a number of Castilians, had arrived at Vidigueira, an unwalled settlement with some 150 inhabitants. They had plundered it of everything, and likewise Vila de Frades, carrying off as captives all the men, women and children, the livestock and everything they found, and were moving with it all towards Villanueva del Fresno,299 which was 4 leagues from where he was at the time. These were the men that the people of Beja and Serpa had heard were going to invade. The count could not bear to listen to this for very long, feeling such great anger as could not be expressed. Even though he had very few with him, he refused to wait for more men. Rather, at once, as quickly as he could, with the men of Monsaraz and others from round about, probably about 80 lances and some 150 foot soldiers, he set out in the evening and travelled all night. Before he arrived at Villanueva, and still a good distance from the town, he sent to find out in advance whether those men were keeping watch and patrolling where they were encamped with their plunder. He received word 299 Villanueva del Fresno lies 5 miles (c. 8 km) from the border and 35 miles (c. 56 km) south–south-west of Badajoz.

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that they were all securely resting and sleeping. Then his wish to get at them became even greater; he spoke with all the men who were with him about the approach they were to take, assigning to each of the best leaders present the men he should take with him. This town of Villanueva has no fortifications except for a strong tower, known as the keep; all the rest consists of suburbs with barriers and palisades. All the Gascons and their plunder were inside, with some of them in a church. The count came up with his men in the formation he had ordered, and arrived at the town as dawn was breaking, leaving the horses so far away that they could not be heard. Nevertheless, when he arrived, many people heard him. But, as the onset was sudden, and some were sleeping heavily, and others were overly concerned about their own shares of the loot, they could not manage to arm themselves as was needful for their defence. When the trumpets sounded and the men all yelled out, ‘For Portugal, Portugal!’ it made such a din in their ears that it seemed to them as though a thunderbolt had fallen from the sky. Their enemies, thus startled, rallied to the barriers as well as they could, defending themselves as worthy men. But the barriers were overrun at once by force, with the count being one of the first who entered through a gateway next to the tower. From the top they hurled a large rock, from which God willed to protect him and which did nothing to keep him from going forward on the mule he was riding. All the Portuguese inside the palisade were fully occupied, dealing blows with lances and stones, which they also received from all sides. As the count was moving along a street with five men-at-arms in front of him, ten Gascons came up with long lances in their hands. As soon as he saw them, the count dismounted from his mule and, on foot, with only those five men, fought with them with lance-blows until his other men came up to share in the toil. After the battle had lasted for a while, since they were all fighting within the barriers, it pleased God that their enemies were defeated, so that the few who were not killed or taken prisoner fled to the keep. They captured many good weapons, horses, gold, silver, pack-animals and other valuable things. The count ordered it all to be shared out among his men, as was his custom, and took nothing for himself. The captives which the Gascons had carried off, men, women and little children, with their cattle, horses and goods, were all set free, and all their property that was recovered was returned to them. Then they were sent back to where they were from, and no harm was done to the people of the town. The count then went back to visit the towns on whose account he had decided to set forth from Estremoz. News of this expedition came to the king, his liege lord, who was very pleased to hear about it. As much joy as he had from it, just as much vexation and sadness was felt by some of those who were envious of the count. Before



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this news, they declared, muttering, that the count had been defeated by the Castilians, saying that his pride would be abased and his good luck would cease, not to mention other similar statements, which then they stopped making.

Chapter 134

How the king went to besiege Melgaço

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e return to the king, who had stayed in Braga, thoroughly wearied of the war in which he was involved. Yet, even though it was winter, he did not slacken his efforts. He decided to move against Melgaço, 5 leagues further up the River Minho from Tuy and half a league from the actual river. It was a fortified town without suburbs, with a good town wall and a strong castle, under the lordship of his kingdom, which the enemy had taken from him. The king arrived at this place with his army – it was in the month of January [1388] – in which there rode Dom Pedro de Castro, the Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers [Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo], João Fernandes Pacheco and other captains and lords. There were probably in all about 1,500 lances and many foot soldiers. Those who were within to defend the town were Álvaro Pérez de Sotomayor and Diego Prieto Jiménez, and in their company as many as 300 men-at-arms and many other foot soldiers furnished with shields. As soon as the king arrived, the tents were pitched and the camp set up, but not far from the town. Without giving them any respite, those within began to fire with cannons and to skirmish with those outside. Neither side did any damage to the other, not even with the cannons that they fired. On the following day they skirmished, and Pero Lourenço de Távora was wounded by an arrow; some of the men of the town died and others fled, wounded. Although that day they shot nine cannon stones against the men of the camp, they did them no harm. In the next two days, they shot twenty stones without further skirmishing but did no damage. On the Friday they did not fire cannons, but skirmished, when one of the men from the camp was killed and many were wounded on both sides. On the Saturday they fired three cannons, and one at night, without doing damage. On the Sunday, a skirmish occurred between the men of the town and those of Dom Pedro de Castro. A man-at-arms and two foot soldiers of Dom Pedro’s were killed, as were others, six in all; of those of the town some were wounded but none killed. On the two following days they fired eight cannons, but they caused no damage.

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Chapter 135

Concerning the belfry and siege ladders that the king ordered to be made

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fter the king had spent nine days encamped outside this place, and the men of the town had shot sixty cannon stones (which, however, did no damage), the king ordered a siege engine to be constructed on top of the town bridge. Immediately on that Wednesday it launched five stones; three fell inside the town and two hit the wall. They replied from inside with twelve cannon stones, which did no damage. On Thursday the engine launched twenty-five rocks, of which sixteen hit the wall and two hit two arbours, which were toppled at once. Nine fell inside the town, and caused heavy damage to houses that they knocked down. Meanwhile they never ceased cutting and hauling wood that the king had ordered to be brought to construct two siege ladders and a belfry, to be moved all together and placed against the town wall. When it had been built, they made the wheels of the cart for the siege tower; the wheel rims were roughly two handspans thick, the width from wheel to wheel was 13 cubits,300 and the planking over the wheels measured 26 cubits in length; the height, measuring from the planking to the top, was 13½ fathoms.301 On the belfry there were three platforms, for men-at-arms and crossbowmen, grouped together or separately, as required. Its first platform sat on stout beams, was floored in thick cane matting, for men to walk on, and was fenced by 136 posts. To the rear, it was left open; here there were hatchway ladders, by which they would climb up. Likewise, the second platform was fenced by 124 posts, and the third by 130, also with hatchway ladders leading from one to the other. Above this platform was a fourth small one, fenced by 128 half posts; stored here were 3,000 stones for throwing, which the market women had been ordered to gather. On the second platform there were fifteen large wineskins, full of vinegar to be poured on the fire if any were hurled at them. This belfry carried in front six large panels of woven cane, padded with gorse, and covered by twenty-four uncured ox hides, nailed to it for protection against fire and missiles from the cannons. The king ordered two more siege ladders to be made, each mounted on four wheels with very thick iron axles, and above them six tall beams like props, reinforced by other poles to support them, not all of the same height, but rather each as it needed to be. On each of them there were two hoisting 300 Ancient measure equivalent to 18 inches (c. 0.45 m); i.e. the base of the tower was about 19 feet 6 inches wide (c. 6 m), and 39 feet long (c. 12 m). 301 Ancient measure equivalent to 6 feet (c. 1.8 m); i.e. the belfry, or siege tower, was about 81 feet tall (c. 24.5 m).



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pulleys, which hoisted objects upwards on twelve thick cables of hempen rope, and three winding blocks behind, as well as two large capstans like those of a ship. Each ladder was made of thick boards nailed across four poles, quite long like props, so that it was 48 cubits long and nine wide, and it was fitted with fifty rungs of split wooden posts, with cane and uncured ox hides wherever appropriate, so that these ladders could be placed at either side of the siege tower. All this was done in two weeks. Meanwhile, they did not stop making roads and pathways along which the siege tower and ladders were to be moved.

Chapter 136

How the king took possession of the town of Melgaço by its surrender

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hile these works were being carried out, the townspeople never stopped bombarding the siege camp, and those from the camp hurled stones from siege engines at the town. When the townspeople saw the aforesaid siege engines finished, fearing to suffer damage from them, they sent word to João Fernandes Pacheco asking him to come and talk with them, so the king sent him there. He came to the barbican, and Álvaro Pérez [de Sotomayor] went to the town wall; they spoke for some time but could not come to an agreement. That day two fiery women came to blows, one from the town and one from the camp; they tugged each other’s hair, and the one from the camp was victorious. From then on, every day the cannons and siege engines were shooting at each other; the siege engines did a great deal of damage in the town, but the cannons did not cause any harm. At this time the queen arrived in Monção, 3 leagues from Melgaço; with her came Doctor João das Regras, João Afonso de Santarém and other knights. Then the queen went to the Convent of Feães, a league from Melgaço. At the same time, Count Gonçalo and João Rodrigues Pereira arrived at the camp. The count’s men skirmished with the men of the town; some were wounded on both sides, but no one was killed. A message came to the king that the town of Salvatierra [de Miño], which Dom Pedro had given to him, had been handed over by a notary and two men-at-arms to Pay Sorredea. The king at once sent the Prior [of the Order of the Hospitallers] there with many men, but they could accomplish nothing. Wishing to move his siege engines so as to attack the town, the king told the queen to come and watch the day of the assault. She came there on Monday, 3 March, after she had eaten. The king ordered the belfry with all its devices to be deployed against the town, as had been planned. It was moved

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by manpower, although it was fully 18 fathoms high; then, he had one siege ladder302 moved forward, and then the other, till both were facing the town wall, separated one from the other. Seven cannon shots were directed at them but caused no harm. Then they were moved again, quite strenuously, and came up so close to the town that the men could put one foot inside the wall and the other on the ladder. Many soldiers climbed up, with the prior ahead, but the king ordered them to withdraw. Then he made ready to order the attack. He sent ten men-at-arms and crossbowmen to climb to the highest platform, where the throwing-stones were stored. He moved everything together: the ladders, to put them against the wall, along with the belfry with the men-at-arms and crossbowmen inside. From the belfry came forth men with thick poles to prop them against the town wall; they put many of them in place, and they were well braced at the bottom. Even though their enemies hurled large stones and fire from above, it did not hinder them at all. From below they launched a few large rocks, along with other stones, so that those inside realised that there was no way out for them, no matter how much they strove to defend themselves. The townsfolk sent to ask the king to send someone to speak with them, and the prior did so: the king had no wish to agree to any settlement, which he was accustomed to do willingly for other towns when they asked it of him. Rather, he was determined to take it by force, in revenge for certain immoderate words that they had at times spoken against him. In this matter there was a dispute as to whether he should do so or not. João Rodrigues de Sá said that it seemed right to him, since they were offering to negotiate, to negotiate in return, because in taking the town by force one of his men might be killed whom he would not wish to lose in exchange for all those who were in the town. The king said bitterly, ‘Whoever is afraid, needn’t climb the ladder.’ ‘My liege’, said João Rodrigues de Sá, ‘I do not know if you are saying that on my account, but I believe that you have never known me to be a coward.’ ‘Nor do I say it on your account’, said the king, ‘but rather I say it because I regard them as already defeated.’ Those of the common and middling folk who wished to plunder wanted him to take the town by force, but many others sided with João Rodrigues. In the end the king agreed to accept the surrender, and the prior returned to the town. The agreement, omitting many particulars which need not be written down, was as follows. They were to give the town and the castle to the king,

302 The original Portuguese text says ‘alla’. In the present translation this has been interpreted as ‘[sc]alla’, considering that in Chapter 135 above, the king had ordered a belfry and two ‘escallas’ (siege ladders) to be made.



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and come forth in their doublets,303 with nothing else. Fifty-three days had passed since the king had begun besieging the town, and 120 cannon stones had been launched from within the town against the camp, which caused no harm, and from the camp against the town 336 rocks, which damaged a great part of it. With the surrender thus agreed on, it was rumoured throughout the camp that all their enemies were to come forth in their doublets, each carrying a stick in his hand. All the boys, at no one’s bidding, gathered up sticks, each with his own bundle, and they put them at the gate of the town through which the townsmen were to come forth. At this point a young man, of little more than twenty years of age, came out and approached the king. Kneeling before him, spoke as follows: ‘Sire, I am a squire and a noble who came to this town in the service of the King [of Castile], my liege lord, whose vassal I am. By my misfortune, these being the first arms I have taken up to serve him, it looks as though I am forced to lose them according to the surrender that I hear has been agreed upon between you and the people of the town. This is something that I could not be more distressed about. It is not because of the loss of the arms, for they are not worth much, but because I think that with other arms I could never find good fortune should I lose these in such a way. Therefore, I beg of you, sire, that you will have the clemency to order that they be given back to me. It could happen that I may yet do you such service with them, while maintaining the honour of my liege lord the king and my loyalty, that you will consider them to have been very well used.’ The king said that he was very happy to do so, and he ordered that they be given back to him, if they could be found, or from any other arms he might choose. So it was done. The next day, a Monday, they were all expelled as agreed. The boys put a stick in each man’s hands, and they took them. Some of them said in jest to the boy who was handing him the staff, ‘Oh, I beg you to give me a really straight and good one!’ Thus they went away, and none remained; the prior went along to guard them, notwithstanding the proclamations and prohibitions of the king that circulated through the camp. On Thursday the town and castle were surrendered to João Rodrigues de Sá, to whom the king gave it. He returned with the queen to the town of Monção, which was 3 leagues from there, as we have said.

303 A doublet was a hip-length tight-fitting garment used over the shirt. It could be made of silk, but in this case it was probably of a tougher padded material to be worn under armour. The recommendation implies that those of the town would be leaving unarmed.

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Chapter 137

How the King of Portugal went to lay siege to Campo Maior

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he king departed from Monção and went to Lisbon, where he left the queen, because he intended to besiege Campo Maior,304 an important town in his kingdom between the Tagus and Guadiana [rivers], which supported the King of Castile. Its governor was Gil Vasques de Barbuda, a cousin of the Master of Alcántara, Dom Martim Eanes [de Barbuda]. On 1 September, the king arrived in Estremoz with his men and the constable and decided in his royal council first to lay siege to Olivença,305 held by Pero Rodrigues da Fonseca in support of the king’s enemies. When Pero Rodrigues heard this, he made it known to the king that he wished to go over to him and pledge the place to him. To Olivença the king sent Afonso Vasques Correia, the Commander of Ortalagoa,306 and Gonçalo Lourenço, his private secretary, to confirm with Pero Rodrigues the message he had sent to the king. Once he made his promises, though with no wish to keep them, those sent to Olivença by the king returned to Estremoz. The latter immediately departed and went to lay siege to Campo Maior, arriving at that town on 15 September. While he was laying siege to the town, Prince João, who was in Castile at the time, arrived in Olivença and was received in the town by Pero Rodrigues. Pero Rodrigues failed to keep the pledge that he had given to the king; indeed, he had only done that in order to prevent the king from attacking him. At that point, many troops from all parts of Andalusia arrived in Badajoz, led by the Master of Santiago and the Master of Calatrava. Martim Afonso de Melo heard of the arrival of these troops and, in order to be certain about it, he left the camp at midnight and went to set up an ambush a league from Badajoz. When dawn came, he took charge of the watch. As morning broke, he saw as many as eighty horsemen emerging from Badajoz; these men took a look at the siege camp then turned back. He advanced to confront them and they began to flee. The Portuguese knocked some of them off their horses and the others withdrew into Badajoz. Those that were unhorsed were brought as prisoners to the king, at which he was most pleased, because he learned from them accurate news of the troops who, according to Martim Afonso, were in the borderland garrison [of Badajoz], up to 2,000 lances in all. 304 Campo

Maior is situated some 10 miles (c. 16 km) to the north-west of Badajoz. by Spain in 1801, this town remains under Spanish jurisdiction, being known as Olivenza. This outcome remains in defiance of Article 105 of the Treaty of Paris of 1814, which restored the town to Portugal. The town lies some 15 miles (c. 24 km) to the south-west of Badajoz. 306 An estate belonging to the Order of Santiago. 305 Seized



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Chapter 138

How the king gained the town by its surrender

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he king ordered the siege engines to be set up and all his devices to be disposed in order to take the town by force. While this was happening, he was told that forces from Olivença and Badajoz were intending to attack those who were guarding the haymakers between the two towns, close to where he was. The king went there with some of his men in order to do battle with those forces, but they did not wish to come out. Some of the Portuguese made a sortie there, approaching Badajoz in order to skirmish with the enemy. In the skirmish, some of those from the town were killed and wounded, and of the Portuguese Antão Vasques died, a very valiant and powerful knight, at whose death the king was most upset because he was an outstanding man who had served him well. The king returned to his camp while Martim Afonso de Melo went to raid the area of Alburquerque.307 He set up an ambush half a league from the place and ordered the horsemen to overrun the vicinity because it was the season of the grape harvest. They brought him news that, at that moment, García González de Grijalba and his brother Fernán García had entered the town, and with those they brought and the people who were in the town, there would be up to 220 lances, while Martim Afonso had seventy. While García González was attacking the horsemen and chasing them, Martim Afonso came out of concealment. García González immediately turned back, and many of the Castilians were slain or taken prisoner. Then Alfonso Pérez Sarracín came out from a side street, encountered Martim Afonso and knocked him to the ground, wounding him in one hand. Thus, García González chanced to escape being killed or seized. However, Martim Afonso took a number of prisoners, among them a nephew of García González, and returned to the siege camp [at Campo Maior]. At that juncture, the king attacked the town, having already filled in the moat. While some men were on the siege ladder, he ordered it to be placed against a tower that the siege engines had begun to demolish. As the ladder was being positioned it happened to break, wounding many people, but it pleased God that no one died. The king was much annoyed at the delay in having another ladder constructed, for this took a fortnight. When the ladder was finished and they returned to the attack, he had it placed against a tower. The town was entered by force and the king’s banner was hoisted on one of the towers. This took place on Monday, 13 October. Those in the town all withdrew to the castle. The king ordered a sap to be made, but the townspeople obstructed them. But then, seeing they could not 307 The Spanish town of Alburquerque is located some 30 miles (c. 48 km) due north of Badajoz.

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defend themselves, as it was already eighteen days since the town had been entered, on a Sunday, 1 November,308 the governor pledged that, if the King of Castile did not come to his aid within thirty days, he would yield up the castle. As surety, he handed over as hostage a son of his named Vasco Gil. The help did not come as he thought, so he surrendered the castle. The count gave safe conduct to Gil Vasques and all those who were with him, as had been agreed, and the king gave the castle to Martim Afonso. The king then left and went to Lisbon to hold Cortes. The count went to the field where the battle [of Aljubarrota] had taken place and ordered a church to be erected there in honour of Saint Mary and Saint George at the spot where his banner had been on the day of that victory. After that, he ordered the construction of the Monastery of Santa Maria do Carmo, within the city of Lisbon.

Chapter 139

How the king married off a number of damsels and ordered one of his chamberlains to be burned at the stake

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ith the close of the Cortes held to give support for the war and with the departure already of certain people who thereafter were discharged, the king gave thought to arranging the marriages of some of the women of his household. Moved by his goodwill and care for them, he intended not only to protect them from the unseemly fate that many fall into, through their own bad judgement and with no one to gainsay them, but also to increase their estate, even though they had not been in the queen’s household very long. This was the case of Berengária Pereira, Beatriz Pereira, and other ladies. As they were extremely prudent and intelligent, he truly thought that it was unnecessary to speak to them about whom they would be content to receive as husbands. He knew that without due care in such circumstances, women sometimes choose for themselves the opposite of what is to their honour and advantage, having already committed themselves to that person. So he, who knew their fathers and mothers well, thought of a husband of equal rank for each lady and determined to give that one to her. Thus, to Berengária Pereira, [he destined] Afonso Vasques Correia, to Beatriz Pereira, Martim Vasques de Resende, and similarly to the others. Having thus willed their marriage yet without telling anyone what he planned, he had all the ladies apprised one day, through these words: ‘The 308 The governor must have taken another day to negotiate terms with King João I, because 1 November is 19 days after he entered the town by force.



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king orders you to make ready to be married tomorrow’, without saying with whom; nor did the one who brought the message know. After the ladies were told, he sent to inform the men in the same manner. So it was that women and men had much to think about that night, not knowing if the one to whom their heart had been granted would fall to their lot. The next day, the king took the bridal couples with him to the queen’s chamber and there informed each man of the lady he would receive, to which order he met with no opposition, even though only one lady chanced to marry the one she desired. Although the other damsels kept quiet, they later firmly let it be known that they were not at all pleased. When the king learned of this, he said he had given them husbands who were very appropriate for them, to whom they would be well and honourably married and with whom they would enjoy many favours from him. But in such circumstances, he swore and promised that thenceforth he would never arrange for any woman, of whatever age, to marry unless she or her parents first asked it as a great favour. These were the first damsels whose marriage King João arranged and, apart from the expenditure for the weddings, he gave to each one on marriage 50,000 libras (equivalent to 1,000 crossed dobras, each dobra being worth 50 libras at the time). In the same way the king was extremely conscientious in protecting the women of his household, so that no one should trifle with them or behave in such a way that any ill repute could arise among them. It was not just other men but even the husbands whom the king did not want to flirt with their wives, telling them so straight out, and in no way mildly. To such an extent did his household comply with these rules that the king was never offended by the conversations between men and women. Now it so happened that of the beautiful damsels in the palace, one of the noblest and the best-looking was Dona Beatriz de Castro,309 the daughter of Count Dom Álvaro Pérez de Castro, already mentioned elsewhere.310 The king had a chamberlain called Fernando Afonso, the brother of João Afonso de Santarém, whom we have mentioned in this work,311 a fine figure of a man and one of great worth. The king was very fond of him, as much for his brother who served him well as for his own talents and conversation, which gave the king enormous pleasure. This was so much so that everyone knew about the great love shown him by the king. The latter summoned him from time to time, to recommend and command him not to display affection for any woman, especially for this Dona Beatriz, about whom the king was beginning to be most suspicious. Conducting himself as requested, he would please and serve the king well, who would thus be 309 See

Chapter 131, footnote 295, above regarding Dona Beatriz de Castro’s marital status. 310 In CKF and CKJ1. 311 In CKJ1, Chapter 161, and CKJ2, Chapter 136.

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persuaded to confer many benefits on him. Behaving otherwise, he could be certain that he would lose so much favour with him that he would regret it very much. Fernando Afonso concurred with the king’s words, showing that he would cause him no displeasure on account of anything that might happen in that respect, nor in any other. The king repeated that he should take heed of the warning, at which point they would draw their conversation to a close. Fernando Afonso asked leave of the king to go on foot to Santa María de Guadalupe, but in the days that he reckoned that it took to go there and back, he sojourned in the house of Dona Beatriz. One evening, he pretended that he was back from the pilgrimage he had not made. The king understood that ploy but neither behaved nor spoke to him as to a man who came from such a place. The rumour spread, so the king ordered him to leave his household and never appear before him again. Fernando Afonso, however, instead of withdrawing from the palace, installed himself in Dona Beatriz’s house and remained there. This took place in the month of May.312 The king, who had spies working on this, ordered that he should be fetched during the early afternoon. When the messenger said that he did not know where he was, the king said he would find him in the house of Dona Beatriz. Fernando Afonso was called and came before the king, thoroughly amazed at how it had been found out that he was there. Although he came much against his will, his extraordinary delusion regarding the king’s special affection for him led him to underestimate the effect of his own outrageous conduct. When he arrived in the king’s chamber, the latter immediately sent for the chief justice, Gil Eanes. On his arrival, the king told him to arrest Fernando Afonso and take him off to jail. Gil Eanes said he would do so, and as he was bearing him away they chatted casually together, and he thought that it was a venial complaint, not a serious offence that merited punishment from the king. While they were going down from the palace and making their way to the Gate of Alfofa, Fernando Afonso quickly took to his heels and entered [the Church of] Santo Elói, which is nearby, shutting the doors behind him and a number of men accompanying him. The chief justice was made to look ridiculous and, when this was related to the king, he also felt that he had been made to look even more ridiculous by what Fernando Alfonso had done. Straightaway, in a towering rage, midway through the afternoon, just as he was, wearing a mantle but no hose, clad only in his drawers, and unattended save for a few pages and two or three squires who happened to be there at that hour, the king went on foot to the said church, taking with him more people that joined him along the way. When they beat upon the door, no one wanted to open up, but when they found out that it was the king, Fernando Afonso came down from the chancel

312 Although

Lopes does not state the year, it is 1389.



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and hurriedly went up to the high altar, embracing the image of Our Lady that was there. As soon as the king entered and saw him, he ordered him to be taken hence. But Fernando Afonso could not be dragged away without the image falling to the floor and immediately breaking. The king later ordered it to be repaired and donated a chalice and other items. Fernando Afonso was taken away in such a manner that he could not flee. Immediately, that very day, Fernando Afonso sent to ask Dona Beatriz if she agreed to him saying he was her husband, in order to escape the king’s wrath. She said he should do anything he considered would allow him to escape his anger, so he began to call himself her husband, and she his wife. No more than a day later, the king ordered his arrest in good earnest, with full judicial procedures and the customary issue of proclamations. He was conducted to the Rossio where there was a stake already set up, with a quantity of firewood ready to burn him. Many lords and noblemen begged for his life, as did the queen, but to all he replied in harsh words that he would not pardon him. All this time, Fernando Afonso thought that the king bore him such great love, that he still considered it all a pretence, and he looked towards the windows of the palace to see whether the king would order him to be taken away. Everyone present thought the same thing. The king was suspicious of their delay and ordered them to proceed with haste, so they set fire to him, and thus he died. This death greatly alarmed all those in the king’s household who witnessed it, and they expressed various opinions about it. Dona Beatriz thought she would be put to death and took steps to learn from the king what his intention was. The king said that he wished for no other revenge on her than that she be defamed and her lineage and rank also, and that he regarded her as Fernando Afonso’s whore. Then he cast her from his favour, and she went to live in Castile, with her reputation in ruins.

Chapter 140

How the king besieged Tuy313 and took it by surrender

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he king left Lisbon and went to the Minho. Some days before, [three men] had come to Portugal to arrange a truce on behalf of the King of Castile: his confessor, Friar Fernando de Illescas of the Order of St Francis, 313 This Galician frontier town lies on the north bank of the River Miño/ Minho, opposite the Portuguese town of Valença do Minho, and is situated some 17 miles (c. 27 km) from the mouth of the river. Though it is correctly spelled Túy in Spanish, the accent is normally omitted.

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Pedro Sánchez, a doctor of laws, and Antón Sánchez, a doctor in canon law. They arranged a suspension of hostilities for a few months while they reached agreement on other things. At this juncture, at the end of that period, the king decided to lay siege to Tuy, a town in Galicia near the River Minho, which marks the boundary between the two kingdoms. He arrived there on 14 August of the aforementioned year of 1389.314 The reason for his move against it was, according to what some people relate, that Pay Sorredea, who was there defending it, had secretly sent to tell the king that he wanted to go over to him, and hand over the town, and that he should come to receive it. Believing this to be the case, the king decided to go there, thinking to gain it in this way. The Galician did it with the intention of enticing him in, according to what some people affirmed; furthermore, the King of Castile knew about it and everything was done with his consent. This is the opinion of the doctor we have named,315 in the treaty which he drew up and which ends with the chapter where it says: Hoc thamen fraudullenter faciebat.316 Now when the king saw the deceit that had been perpetrated on him in this way, he began to besiege the town. He had siege engines set up to shoot upon it and had one placed in the river, on top of a quantity of stone that he ordered to be thrown in as a foundation. From all sides, they visited great destruction on the town, save the cathedral which they did not target. Those that could do so gathered together there, along with their belongings. He made a siege tower, a great siege ladder, and wooden protections for the assault. He sent to Oporto for the queen, for her to see how he was attacking the town; she came and was with the king at the siege. There were also skirmishes between the men from the town and those from the camp, in which, as is usual, there were dead and wounded on both sides. At this point, a rumour arose, which was presented as a confirmed fact, that the King of Castile was amassing his forces to come and raise the siege of Tuy and do battle with the King of Portugal. The latter immediately sent to the Alentejo for the constable and for certain noblemen from Estremadura. Similarly, he sent to the community of Lisbon, whose forces arrived very quickly, along with Doctor João das Regras, whom the previous month the king had married in Coimbra to a daughter of Martim Vasques da Cunha. In haste, six galleys were fitted out, on which everyone embarked because of a dearth of animals to transport them, and in four days they arrived at Tuy with no further hindrance. 314 In fact, Lopes has not mentioned the year before now, only that the events of Chapter 139 took place in May. 315 Doctor Christophorus, frequently mentioned in both parts of The Chronicle of King João. 316 ‘However, he was doing this fraudulently.’



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Now, this news was not such as was related. Instead, the King of Castile, being near a village called Sotos Alvos, 3 leagues from Segovia, found out for certain that the Portuguese king had besieged his town of Tuy, and decided to go to its aid. Since he was ill equipped with captains and men-at-arms, owing to the losses you have heard about, but so that it should not be said he was abandoning that township and did not value it, he sent Don Pedro [Díaz de]Tenorio, who was the Archbishop of Toledo, and Dom Martim Eanes [de Barbuda], who was the Master of the Order of Alcántara, to join Don García Manrique, the Archbishop of Santiago, for them to do what they understood to be in his best interests in relation to the siege. From this order, there arose the news that the King of Castile was coming to raise the siege on the town, but it was not so. King João carried on with the siege and the assaults with his engines, and those inside the town, finding themselves in sore straits, offered their surrender. The king did not want to take it, although he finally consented; they gave him the town and Pay Sorredea remained as his vassal. But he broke his fealty before four days were out and fled in secret to the King of Castile. The King of Portugal gave the town to Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho and then left.

Chapter 141

How a truce was reached between Portugal and Castile

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he Castilian ambassadors we have already named spoke to the King of Portugal, while he was in Braga, proposing an agreement between him and the King of Castile. Saying that he was pleased at this, the king chose on his side Friar Álvaro Gonçalves, who was the Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers, and Lourenço Eanes Fogaça, his Chancellor of the Great Seal, to agree with them upon amity and a settlement between him and the King of Castile. In their letters, the King of Portugal addressed the King of Castile as ‘Our Adversary of Castile’ and the King of Castile styled himself ‘King of Castile and León and Portugal and Toledo’ and of the other customary places, bearing the arms on the banners and on the seal all impaled, in the way he had adopted from the beginning of the war. These ambassadors, and the representatives of Portugal we have mentioned, went to Monção in Riba do Minho and there they came to an agreement and drew up a good, firm and loyal truce, on sea as well as on land, between the said great lords and their allies, that is, the Kings of France and of Scotland on the part of the King of Castile, and the King of England, Portugal’s ally, should they wish to participate in it. This was for a full six years, the three that previously the King of England and the King of France, on their own

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behalf and on that of their allies, had agreed on, and into which the King of Castile and the King of Portugal might enter, if they so wished; and for another three years beyond these, with many clauses and conditions that it is unnecessary to write down, except this: ‘That the King of Portugal should cede to the King of Castile Tuy, which he had taken, and Salvatierra de Miño. The King of Castile should restore to the King of Portugal Noudar, Olivença and Mértola, and, in Riba de Côa, Castelo Rodrigo, Castelo Mendo and Castelo Melhor. Also, that Miranda [do Douro] and Sabugal, also held by the King of Castile, should remain under the control of the Prior [of the Hospitallers], as guarantor of these deeds’, as well as other such conditions with which the truce was then signed on 29 November 1389. With this done, the king went to Santarém and there the queen was delivered of Prince Afonso, who was the first son the king had by her. He was born in the month of July and baptised on 3 October in the church of Santa Maria de Alcáçova in that town. The king appointed proctors to receive on his behalf the homage of those from whom it was due: Nuno Álvares Pereira, his Constable, and Dom Lopo Dias de Sousa, the Master of the Order of Christ. Then the king went to Lisbon, where we shall let him stay, taking pleasure in his first-born son, while we depart with the ambassadors, to see if anything happened afterwards in Castile that it is fitting we should record.

Chapter 142

Concerning some of the arguments that the King of Castile put forward with regard to the Cortes he had summoned

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fter these things we have related, came the year of 1390, in which the King of Castile summoned Cortes in the town of Guadalajara, to which the important men of the kingdom and the proctors of all the cities and towns were to come, as in fact they did. While the king was at those Cortes, some of those who talked of the matter were critical and said that the treaty he had made had been worked out with little honour to him, especially in yielding so many places he had in Portugal, in exchange for two that had been taken from him, as well as other such arguments. The king replied publicly to what was being talked of in private, saying: ‘Regarding this treaty that I have made, even though some say that it was not done in pursuit of my honour nor of that of the House of Castile, because I have given back to my adversary so many places and he so few to me, it seems that they understand it poorly and do not have full knowledge of it. For I say to you that, to keep those



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places, I was incurring such expense and feeling such aggravation that, had they asked me for them in exchange for nothing and had it not been for the shame, I would rather have given them to him gratis than incur the kind of expense I have been incurring till now. Besides, I was induced to do what I did because I saw my people so troubled by this war, with such losses and in so many ways; it was not only the nobles and my vassals, but also all the people, who gave such large tributes as they did in order to support the war; also, there was the continuing dearth of good captains and men-at-arms. But I hope in God that once the period of the truce is over, I shall wage war again for my honour and that of the kingdom. This is why I have summoned these Cortes, in order to notify everybody of my intention in this matter. I have said it already to everyone in the Cortes and I say it now in public.’ Certainly, it was his profound desire to seek every way in which he could fully avenge the past dishonour. He designed and had made a device to give to certain knights, which was a collar in the form of the sun’s rays, with a white dove representing the Holy Spirit. When the month of July came, on the day of Saint James,317 in the cathedral church of the city of Segovia, the king declared before all present that he commanded this device to be worn, and he displayed a book containing the specific conditions that those who were to receive the collar had to fulfil. He then took the collars from on top of the altar and gave them to certain knights of his household. He gave another device, called the ‘Rose’, to a number of squires, on the condition that they would be willing to put their bodies to the test in feats of arms. All this was based on the intention to make them valiant, with the strength to confront any fears, wherever they encountered them. For, despite what had happened to him, he still desired to launch another hostile invasion into the kingdom of Portugal. But the death that came upon him a few days later wrought an entire change to that objective.

Chapter 143

How the King of Castile revealed to his royal council what he wished to do with the kingdom so that they should give him their opinion

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fter losing the battle [of Aljubarrota], the king constantly gave his heart over to many ideas about how he could gain Portugal and avenge the dishonour that he had received in the battle. The truce that he agreed, those 317 25

July.

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devices he gave, and pardons that he issued to everyone in the kingdom, except to his brother Don Alfonso, whom he held prisoner, were all based on helping and furthering those things we have mentioned. In order to pursue this objective, the king came to conceive a strange idea, which is this. Before the Cortes began, he summoned some of his royal council in great secrecy and told them that they should know that two years previously, for certain, but [actually] four more before that, he had settled upon leaving his kingdom to his son Prince Enrique, as follows: he, the king, would hold during his lifetime the cities of Córdoba and Seville and the bishopric of Jaén, along with the entire frontier region, the kingdom of Murcia and the lordship of Vizcaya, as well as all the revenues from church lands that he had from the pope. All the rest would belong to his son, the prince, who would be called King of Castile and León. The reasons that led him to do this were as follows: First, that everyone in his kingdoms knew full well that the Portuguese had always said that, despite his marriage to Queen Beatriz, the daughter of King Fernando, they, the Portuguese, did not wish to obey him or receive him as their king, because the kingdom of Portugal would be conjoined with that of Castile, ceasing to remain a separate kingdom, as had always been the case from ancient times till now. Taking the revenues and aforementioned places and leaving to his son the title of King of Castile, he would call himself King of Portugal with its undifferenced arms upon the banners and seal, without impaling them with those of Castile. When the Portuguese saw this, they would go over and obey him as their liege lord and king. As to the governance of the kingdom that he wished to leave to his son, because he was a minor of less than eleven years of age, there should be certain prelates and knights from his royal council, and wealthy citizens, to rule and govern the kingdom. When the king had said these things, he ordered his counsellors to tell him what they thought, making them swear that neither bonds of affection nor adulation, nor other corrupt intent would influence their advice about what they considered best. They asked him to be kind enough to give them some time to think about it, for it was not a question that could be answered on the spot. The king said he was pleased to do so, and nothing more was said at that point.

Chapter 144

How those from whom the King of Castile took counsel replied to him about the partition of the kingdom

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hose whom the king asked to give great consideration to the matter did not give him a reply as soon as he had wished, so he urged them to give it to him. All those who had chewed the matter over and were in agreement



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responded in the following way through one of their number who had been charged with telling him: ‘Sire, we have looked at everything that was proposed to us by you in relation to your wish to renounce the kingdom, and the places that you wish to remain in the power of the prince, your son, and those that you intend to put aside for yourself. Furthermore, bearing the arms of Portugal, which are the quinas,318 and styling yourself its king, you expect to gain it on behalf of the queen, your wife, because it belongs to you by right, and this moves you to do these things that you have said. ‘My liege, with all due reverence to Your Royal Majesty, we think that you ought not to do such a deed, nor does it serve your interests, for certain reasons that we shall state, of which the foremost is this. You know from books and chronicles that are read to you on occasion what great evil and harm followed the wars that took place in Spain on account of the partitions that your predecessors made among their offspring, as did King Fernando,319 from whom you descend. He divided the kingdoms between his sons, leaving that of Castile to Prince Sancho, that of Leόn to Prince Alfonso, the kingdom of Galicia and Portugal to Prince García, the town of Toro to Princess Elvira and the town of Zamora to Princess Urraca. Because of this, there was later a great war between the brothers and sisters, for King Sancho [II] fought against King García, the King of Portugal,320 whom he defeated, seized, and let perish in irons. He did the same to Don Alfonso, the King of Leόn, for he fought him, seized him and placed him in [the Monastery of] San Fagundo, from where he fled to Toledo which was in the hands of the Moors. King Sancho also besieged Princess Urraca in Zamora, where Vellido Dolfos killed him out of treachery. All this occurred because of the partition that King Fernando made. ‘King Alfonso,321 who gained Toledo from the Moors, did the same thing when he married his illegitimate daughter, Doña Teresa to Count Henri322 and gave him Portugal along with her, making him its count. Portugal never again returned as hitherto to the dominion of Castile. Also, King Alfonso,323 the son of Count Raymond,324 the grandson of the very King Alfonso who 318 The

five escutcheons which are displayed on the arms of Portugal and which represent the five wounds of Christ. 319 Fernando I, ‘the Great’, of Castile and León (1037–1065). 320 García styled himself ‘King of Galicia and Portugal’, although this was not an independent kingdom (at this time). 321 King Alfonso VI of León (1065–1109). 322 Count Henri of Burgundy. These were the parents of Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal. 323 Alfonso VII of Castile (1126–1157). 324 Count Raymond of Burgundy, or of Amous, who married Princess Urraca, daughter of Alfonso VI of León.

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regained Toledo, divided the kingdoms of Castile between two of his sons, on which account there was later a great war between them, so that the King of Leόn joined up many times with the Moors to harass the King of Castile, until it pleased God that King Fernando,325 who captured Seville, united both kingdoms together. ‘Thus it is that in these divisions and demarcations of Castile and Leόn, the crown of your kingdoms was alienated from the dominion of Portugal, to the extent that the disservice and loss suffered by this land on that account is still in men’s memories. For our sins, that memory reappears afresh, when we see it separated from these kingdoms, and their sworn enemy and yours. Furthermore, King Alfonso,326 the son of that same King Fernando who gained Seville, in the marriage that he made of one of his illegitimate daughters to the King of Portugal, his son-in-law, gave him certain castles along with her and abolished the feudal obligations that Portugal owed to Castile, so that all Portugal was lost for ever to the crown of these kingdoms. ‘The second reason why, in our opinion, with all due respect, my liege, you should not make such a partition can easily be seen by what I shall tell you now. You declare that, as the Portuguese did not want to accept the kingdom of Portugal being joined to that of Castile and becoming one with it, therein lies the reason why you lost it; but now, by calling yourself King of Portugal alone, and not of Castile, the kingdom would obey you and take you for its liege lord. ‘My lord, this argument that you advance would be good had it been made at the outset, when you began to take possession of the kingdom of Portugal. But as it happened, this may have been one of the things that greatly hindered you in such a deed. Lamentably, there was later such an increase in deaths and combats between us and them, on this very account, that by now the Portuguese no longer entertain that idea. Rather, they all tell you plainly that they will not obey you under any circumstances. If before they were not totally lost to us, and if, now, when you are the more powerful, having the whole kingdom in your power, you cannot subjugate them however much you promise them governors from among their own countrymen such as they would like to choose, even less so will you be able to do it when you no longer have such power. Sire, if you were to advance to war over such a thing, in which you say that your son the prince will help you, for he would already be King of Castile, in truth, we are very doubtful about it. In fact, the great greed among princes and great lords for kingdoms and dominions makes them forget their ties of kinship, as can well be seen from history books which relate such things. 325 St

Fernando III (1217–1252). Alfonso X. His illegitimate daughter Beatriz married Afonso III of

326 King

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‘Furthermore, we are very doubtful, indeed we believe very much to the contrary, whether either Seville or Córdoba or the bishopric of Jaén and the kingdom of Murcia would obey you, if you were to make such partitions as these, for they hold it as a truth that they belong to the crown of Castile. If they see you styling yourself King of Portugal and bearing its arms, they will not wish to obey you, nor do we think they will act unreasonably in this. Likewise with Vizcaya: even though it is separate in itself, it always was and is obedient to the kingdom of Castile and its dominion; and it appoints and always wants to have court officers and governors of its own. Thus you can see now that they do not want any governor of yours to judge them or to hear their appeals, unless they [too] have a separate one in your court for that purpose. If they see you styling yourself King of Portugal but not having the overlordship of Castile, they are not going to obey you or do your bidding. Indeed, it seems a very grave matter for you to place such discord between the authority you now wish to assume in Seville and in the places you mention, resulting in the kingdom of Castile being divided in two; and that the Vizcayans and the other people, should they need something from you, would have to come and seek you out in Seville. ‘As to the revenues that you say come from church lands, it would be dishonourable to receive them [solely] for peaceful purposes, not using them to wage war on the Moors and defend your kingdom from them, since that is why they were given. All the more so, since they are spread throughout the kingdom, if you were King of Portugal, there would be great disturbances when your tax collectors went up and down the land to gather them, for those who ought to give them would not be as obedient to you as they are now. Possibly, one can presume that some lords and knights of the places that yield such revenues might be daring enough to seize them, from which little benefit would be gained though with great outrage between you and them. ‘My liege, in respect of your saying that you will place in your son’s royal council certain prelates and knights, along with worthy men from a number of cities, this seems to us a very difficult and troublesome matter to organise. First, many men in one jurisdiction never agree as they should. Because of this, in ancient times it was ordered that one alone should rule and no more. In nature, among the bees, for example, we see that only one is the foremost and their ruler. When something is ruled by many it never functions as it ought to. If, at times, more than one ruler has been placed over the kingdom, that is because the heir is young and cannot rule. But where this is not needed, it is better to have the rule of one man accompanied by good counsellors. Thanks be to God, you abound in wisdom and are sufficiently mature in years to rule well, and it neither befits the kingdom to have other rulers, nor befits you to abandon us; nor will you do any such thing against your conscience, taking into consideration how much evil and harm might arise from this.

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‘Yet another great doubt arises from such an action, and that is because your son is of such tender years, not yet eleven; that it will be a very long time before he can rule his own kingdom. The longer those that are to reign on his behalf remain there, the greater the danger for the kingdom. The lords and knights of Castile are of such a nature and such are their customs that if you were to subject them to such a regime as the one you have proposed to us, they would always be discontented, especially because of the great envy there would be among them when they saw you choosing certain people to rule and not others. This would breed many tumultuous divisions, which would later be very difficult to remedy. ‘Another thing could result from this action, my liege, and it is one that we have already mentioned. Since kings do not want to have a companion in power, when your son were to come of age and realise that he did not have the kingdoms of Castile in their entirety, as did his ancestors, he would do a great deal to seize what you are apportioning to yourself, and there would be no lack of those to counsel him to put it in train, which would give rise to war between you and him. With him being more powerful than you, and with the inhabitants of the land that you apportioned to yourself craving the restitution of the original power, together they would do a great deal to cast you from them. They would hinder you where they ought to aid you, and you would be left with great losses and deeply humiliated. ‘We have a further reason to put forward, my liege. Let us assume that things go as you wish, and that you regain the kingdom of Portugal in the manner you say. It is possible that whenever such a thing came to pass, you would very reluctantly abandon that portion of these realms that you separate off from yourself, and it would be a very great evil and loss if they were alienated from the crown of Castile and for ever ceased to be part of it. This is especially so if you were to have a son and heir by the queen, your wife, for he would desire to possess what you received, saying that through you he should inherit it, and he would strive to defend his right. ‘There is another thing that could happen. If you do not gain Portugal as you say, and if the Moors waged war on you, you could not withstand it. Your Majesty well knows, if such a war were to take place and galleys have to be fitted out, that it is from Castile that the oarsmen and the monies for fitting out the galleys come; from there also come the knights who join with those of Andalusia to defend the country. This could cause a great loss in Christendom, should the Moors have such an advantage over you that you were unable to withstand it, and if these districts did not help one another as is their custom. If you say that your son will aid you, we have already expressed our doubts about this, because separated dominions never help one another as they should. ‘Sire, we have a further consideration: that all kings and princes who knew of this would consider it strange and ill-advised to divide the realms in this way and for you to separate yourself thus, abandoning such a great territory.



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If at least your son were of such years and discretion that you consider he would govern better than you, such a deed would have some merit; but putting so young a son in the trust of the counsellors you are to give him, would be judged by everybody as very bad procedure and lacking in courage. ‘Likewise, my liege, we see that, thanks be to God, you are of sound mind and you have truly discreet counsellors who love your service. Nevertheless, it often happens that, owing to some measure of estrangement between relatives and friends, such opinions could arise in your royal council as later would lead to mistakes. So, what would be done when there are such counsellors without someone greater over them, like Your Majesty, of whom they are in fear and dread? ‘The communities of Italy, such as Genoa, Florence and others, are for this reason content to have a duke, which means guide, because he guides them and brings concord, hearing their opinions and choosing the best. This is what the prince your son lacks, owing to his youth, nor will he be old enough for a long while yet. Therefore, my liege, the laws made by emperors and kings have decreed that a man should be judged a minor up to the age of twenty-five years and can ask for due restitution if he be wronged in anything. This is only because, until then, he cannot govern his actions so well as to be faultless. For if he managed the administration of other property, even if some error were found, it would not be too great a loss. But, in the governing of the kingdoms of Castile, where there are so many and such great lords of royal lineage, and so many honourable noblemen, you can believe, my liege, that they would not be content to be ruled by prelates and knights, and there would be much jealousy and bad blood among them of the sort that has no place in good government. Also, if war came and such rulers ordered them to go, Your Majesty may well believe that they would not do so. ‘Thus, to conclude our advice, Sire, begging Your Royal Majesty’s pardon, we do not agree that you should renounce the kingdom in your son’s favour, nor that you should undertake such a partition. Rather, in God’s name we request and advise you to continue ruling and not to make any change.’

Chapter 145

How the king spoke to certain people about the treasure that he wished to build up for the war

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he king thought this was good advice and, curbing his desire to think about it further, began to put forward something else, which he proposed in secret to certain knights whom he trusted, and who held the mandates of certain towns and cities at the said Cortes. This was as follows.

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He said he was asking them to discuss and put in train with the other proctors who were there some means by which they would provide him every year with a certain sum of money to put in the treasury. This was because everything that the realm gave him, as they could well see from the account books, was divided among vassals that were Castilian, namely on jennets, pensions, wages, the maintenance of officers of the marches, the funding of official posts, and voluntary benefits (that we class as variable), as well as many other gifts and expenditure on embassies. Likewise, the expenses of his household and that of his wife, his sister the Queen of Navarre, who was there at that time, his mother-in-law, Queen Leonor,327 and children and brothers; and other monies that he gave to the Portuguese princes, and to the noblemen, knights, ladies and other people of that kingdom who had lost everything they had in his service, and whose sons and brothers had been killed because they remained loyal to him and his wife. He considered this expense well employed, even though it amounted to a vast quantity of doblas. After they had seen how his money was spent, they would easily understand that he had nothing left with which to build up his treasury. He had made a truce with Portugal for particular reasons, the main one being that when the truce ran out he might return to war immediately and do battle once more with the Portuguese, leaving it to the will and judgement of God and not allowing such an aim to fall into oblivion, owing to the great dishonour suffered by Castile. Moreover, by then, the sons of the lords and knights who had died in the war would be old enough to serve him in a new conflict. However, he could do none of this without having a war chest to carry it through, especially if a number of lords and knights came from France to serve him; that would be the cause of great deficiency and shame, to have nothing to give or share with them. Neither could he meet the expenses of war in any other way. He asked them to talk to the others and to induce them to do this. When those to whom the king spoke heard this, they immediately replied in these terms: ‘Sire, we shall do what you command and speak to the proctors of the towns and cities, who have come here, in the best manner we can. But we think that this will be very hard to achieve because, on the first day when you opened the Cortes, everyone was seized with great joy at the words you said at the time, making it known to them that one of the main reasons that 327 Queen

Leonor had been living in Castile since her son-in-law, King Juan, had sent her there after she conspired to have him killed (see CKJ1, Chapter 84), and it is there that she died. The estimated date is between 1403 and 1410. See Isabel de Pina Baleiras, Leonor Teles, uma rainha inesperada (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2012), pp. 327–46.



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persuaded you to reach a truce with Portugal was to alleviate the people from the tributes they were paying. Sire, when they now hear it said that you are not exempting them from the tributes that they have given up to now, but, on the contrary, that other tributes should be paid to put into the treasury, in truth we believe that they will feel discontented, and an outrage will ensue.’ The king said they should speak in the gentlest terms they could and that any way in which that could be arranged would please him very much. ‘Sire’, they said, ‘we have come here as proctors of certain cities and towns that have sent us here, swearing first of all to do your service and act for the benefit of the people. If we should put this argument to the other proctors, however simply it may be expressed, they would immediately say that we are scarcely observing the oath we had taken. To tell you the truth, they have already given us to understand that some, more to please you than because they saw it served your interests, have told you to proceed with this matter. Upon this, we have all sought counsel about how we would respond and all of us have sworn under oath to protect the confidentiality of the answer we were to give you. Therefore, so that we do not fall into infamy and the better to see what truly serves your interests, we think that it is well that those who gave you this advice put it on your behalf to the proctors of the kingdom. Thus you will learn their wishes.’ The king considered this a good reply and said he would do so.

Chapter 146

Concerning the reply that was given to what the bishop and the knight said

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he king spoke to a bishop and a knight who knew about this, to the effect that they should propose it privately to the proctors of the towns and cities, to see what response they would find among them. They spoke as best they could to everybody, expounding the king’s intention, how he wished to collect that money for the honour and benefit of the realm. So that they should not have any doubts in this respect, they said it pleased the king that they should choose a treasurer to receive all that money and spend it when he waged war, once the period of truce was over, on men-at-arms and assembling a fleet. When the proctors heard the arguments put to them by the bishop and the knight, they said they would take counsel on it. The following day they all met together in one place to discuss such an action. Among the arguments put forward, they demonstrated that the kingdom gave each year to the king a

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sales tax of ten per cent that yielded 18 contos328 in good coinage and a further six sums of money that were worth ten contos, plus seven contos from the ancient privileges; thus, in all, he had 35 contos. Without their knowing how such a great sum of money was spent, it was disgraceful to promise more. So they asked if he would be so good as to tell them how everything was spent, and to impose regulations on it, especially in the amounts given to men-atarms and light horsemen. Moreover, on account of the great needs of war, and through pleasing the lords and noblemen, he was taking on so many as vassals, giving them lands that they held from him, that it went beyond all reason. Now that he had made a truce with Portugal, it was good to exercise some moderation in this, and equally with his many other expenses; and if there was any money left over, he ought not to impose any further tributes on them. Should they find that the money was insufficient, they would be ready to do what the king requested. The aforesaid bishop and the knight were content with this reply and transmitted it to the king, who was pleased at their response. Then, he took counsel from all the nobles and prelates about the reply received from the town and city communities, and received the following answer: ‘Sire, with all due respect, we think that the proctors have spoken well. In truth, the expenses you mention are in need of organisation in many ways, for the men-at-arms and light horsemen have reached such numbers that some adjustment is clearly required. Much of what you are spending on them is wasted, so you should reduce them to a reasonable number, and with that done, we shall then speak about the other expenses.’ ‘What you are saying is true’, said the king, ‘and I have already on occasions begun to organise matters, but every one of you begs me as a favour to retain his men, so there is no end to it. Others tell me that I am taking the lands from those who deserve to have more, while I leave them to other people who do not deserve them, so in this way I lose their goodwill. But since it is so, it pleases me that the proctors request this of me in these Cortes; and that you and they arrange it as you consider best serves my interests and benefits the realm, as you look over the books of expenditure with my accountants. What you thus arrange, let it be done under an oath to put it into practice.’ They considered this to be a great favour. The next day, speaking in the Cortes, the proctors made the said request. The king replied that it pleased him and that they should look at the number of lances he ought to have in order to give each man land and they should 328 A conto means the count of one million units. In monetary terms, a conto was the equivalent to one million maravedís. At the time of Juan I of Castile, the maravedi was a currency no longer in use, but it survived as a monetary value, or accounting unit of reference for other coins; hence the specification in the text above of ‘18 contos in good coinage’. Further information in CKF, Chapter 17, note 40.



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decide what allowance each man should receive. They said that 4,000 good lances were sufficient; that each lance should be well equipped with a good horse as well as a mule or rouncy or hack, as best he could; and that each one should have in land, per annum, 1,500 maravedís in old money, at six crowns the maravedí, which amounted to 18 doblas. In Andalusia, there should be 1,500 light horsemen, each with two rouncies and their weapons for fighting on horseback. Since they had to maintain two horses, they should receive double the corresponding amount. Also, that there should be 1,000 mounted crossbowmen, each with two crossbows, maintained from land to the value of 600 maravedís, which was about eight doblas. As to the other arrangements they made for these lances and other things, not relevant to our present purpose, we shall not bother to write about them. What we have said has been set down here purely to demonstrate the King of Castile’s intent against the Portuguese, had he lived a long time; and to prove the argument we made when speaking of the lances that there were in Castile, in the chapter recounting the muster in Vilariça.329

Chapter 147

How the King of Castile died following a riding accident

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n this year 1390, about which we have already written, while the king was in a place called Alcalá de Henares330 during the month of October, there came to him some Christian knights, who for a long time had been living in Morocco, ever since the time of King Rodrigo, when Spain was conquered.331 The Moors called them Farfanes and the king had sent for them, promising he would endow them generously in his lands. With the permission of the King of Morocco, to whom he had sent to ask for them, they left that kingdom and came to Castile, bringing their children and wives with them. On a Sunday, the ninth of that month, after attending mass, the king mounted a roan, accompanied by the Archbishop of Toledo and many knights and other people, and rode out to see those Christians arriving from Morocco. Coming out of the Burgos gate, he spied a stretch of ploughed land close by and put his horse to a gallop over it. Careering along, it stumbled and fell, bringing the king down so forcefully that his body was so completely fractured that he immediately died. Those who were present came up hurriedly to help him but they found 329 In

Chapter 71 above. lies some 20 miles (c. 32 km) to the east of Madrid. 331 This is a reference to the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (‘Spain’) in A.D. 711, when the Visigothic king, Rodrigo, was vanquished by the Arab leader, Tarik. 330 Alcalá

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him to be lifeless and utterly dead. He was just over thirty-two years old, and had reigned for eleven years. When the archbishop saw what had happened, he immediately had a pavilion brought and set it up where the king lay, sent for physicians, and gave out word that the king was not dead but was lying speechless, as sometimes happens. He did not allow anyone to approach the king but in the meantime sent letters throughout the kingdom to the towns and cities and to the appropriate people, to the effect that they should remain loyal to his son the prince, the first-born of the kingdom. He also wrote to the queen, his wife, who was in Madrid. But this secrecy lasted a very short while, for soon it was common knowledge, and he had the king taken to a chapel in the bishop’s palace, in Alcalá. The next day, the queen was with him, together with the Bishop of Sigüenza and others. The archbishop went to Madrid where the prince was, and his brother, the Infante Fernando; there their mourning took place, followed by celebrations, as is the custom. Then they took King Juan to the city of Toledo, for burial in the chapel of Santa María, built by his father, King Enrique. Thus ended his days, his travails and all his troubles.

Chapter 148

King João’s children and their dates of birth

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eturning to Portugal to speak of King João, who remained in Lisbon, we have nothing to say for the present, owing to the truce the kings made, which you have already heard about in its due place.332 However, on learning of the death of his adversary and seeing that the Castilian prince had not yet reached the age of eleven, the king was advised to invade the country while the kingdom was at sixes and sevens and so would be able to seize a large part of it. But the king said he would not do so, however much he knew he would gain. Rather, he intended to maintain with the son the truce that he had made with the father, and was not inclined to act to the contrary. While the truce lasts, and all affairs remain peaceful, we have nothing to tell here, so we shall speak of the children King João had, both while Master of Avis and later when he reigned and was married. Their births were spread out over a long period of time but the dates are not stated; thus, we shall name all of them here in the cause of accuracy, treating them as one does kings, where we recount at the beginning of their reigns the virtues that each practised in his lifetime. We shall briefly say something of the qualities with which they were adorned. 332 Chapter

141 above.



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When he was Master, as we have said, he had sexual relations with a lady named Dona Inês, who later held the benefice of Santos, a convent of nuns near Lisbon. He had a son and a daughter by her. The son, Dom Afonso, was made Count of Barcelos and later Duke of Bragança, as we shall relate in the appropriate place. The daughter, Dona Beatriz, married in England and became Countess of Arundel, as you shall hear when we speak of this.333 But after the king’s marriage, he had issue by his noble queen [Philippa], as follows: Princess Branca, born in Lisbon on 13 July 1388, but who lived for just over eight months; she lies in the cathedral of that city in a stone tomb at the feet of King Afonso, her great-grandfather.334 Then came Prince Afonso, who was born in Santarém on the night of Saturday, 30 July 1390, and at whose baptism the king ordered some royal jousting in which he participated, as well as other festivities. But he died at about the age of twelve and lies in a tomb in Braga Cathedral. The king had another son, named Prince Duarte, born in the town of Viseu on the last day of October, 1391, and who reigned after his father, as you shall hear further on. Next came Prince Pedro, born in the city of Lisbon an hour after midnight on 9 December 1393; he was Duke of Coimbra and Lord of Montemor-o-Velho and Tentúgal. After him was born Prince Henrique,335 in the city of Oporto on Ash Wednesday, 14 March 1394; he was Duke of Viseu and Lord of Covilhã. Then came a daughter, Princess Isabel, born in Évora on Wednesday, 21 February, 1396; she later became Duchess of Burgundy. There was another son, Prince João, born in Santarém in the month of January, 1399, who was Ruler and Governor of the Order of Santiago. Then came another prince, Fernando,336 born in this city on St Michael’s Day, 29 September, 1401; he was Ruler and Governor of the Order of Avis. Of no King of Spain, nor of any more distant land, does one read that he had such children as these princes who all turned out so well. Civic and human laws, the Scriptures as well as books of other faiths, all exhort offspring, of whatever rank and condition, always to obey their parents. They greatly praise those that do, but judge as evil and excommunicate any disobedience, by word or deed, displayed by the child to the father. The children of this noble king are entirely worthy of such praise: all of them, whether single or married, were always so obedient to him that no increase in rank or honour could cause them to stray, in the least degree, from the holy discipline of filial obedience. 333 See

Chapter 204 below. Afonso IV. 335 Known to all posterity as Prince Henry the Navigator. 336 Known as the Holy Prince, Fernando was left as hostage after the Portuguese defeat at Tangiers in 1437, pending the surrender of Ceuta to the Moors. Since this was never effected, he remained in captivity in Morocco, dying in 1443. 334 King

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We certainly read of other sons, obedient to their fathers, for example in Pope John’s letter to Prince Afonso, when in rebellion against his father, King Dinis.337 The pope roundly reprehended him for what he was doing, and greatly praised sons obedient to their fathers. He spoke of the son of Philip I, the first Christian emperor338 who, though given rule over the empire and equal power with his father during the latter’s lifetime, always said he was no more than his representative, glorying in having him alive and in obeying him, like every one of his knights. The same with Decius, son of the Emperor Decius: although his father had wanted to crown him and give him governance during his own lifetime, he never wished to take the crown, saying, ‘I fear taking it and forgetting whose son I am. Let my father, who is emperor, reign, and my empire will be in obeying him. I would prefer to be a humble son and not emperor than take such rule and be a disobedient son.’ The pope also then named Hermes the son of King Anathocles339 with whose administration the people were discontented. When they wished to acclaim him their lord while his father was on the point of death, he said he would never consent to such a thing while his father was alive. So, while those that the pope wrote about there, and others that could be mentioned, may be very good, each of them was an only child, lacking the company of other siblings, which is something more readily encountered. A man having one good son through teaching or nature is worthy of praise but not as much as if he had many children, all virtuous. For though Stefano Colonna,340 a great captain of the Roman army, had sons praised for their 337 The Portuguese translation of John XXII’s letter to the future Afonso IV, written in 1324, is given in the anonymous chronicle of King Dinis, in all probability the work of Fernão Lopes. See Crónica dos Sete Primeiros Reis de Portugal, ed. Carlos da Silva Tarouca, S.J., 3 vols (Lisbon: Academia Portuguesa da História, 1952), II, Ch. 45, pp. 129–34. The historian Ruy de Pina (1440–1522), who reworked many of the older chronicles, also gave a Portuguese translation of the letter in his Chronica d’El-Rey D. Diniz, Ch. 25. 338 Philip the Arab (Roman Emperor A.D. 244–49), considered during the Middle Ages to be the first Christian emperor. 339 In fact, the example of Hermes Anathoclei does not appear in the aforementioned papal letter, but in Epistola No. 47, composed in 1174 by Peter of Blois (c. 1130–c. 1211) for Richard, Archbishop of Canterbury. It was addressed to Henry III, ‘the Young King’, titular king of England from 1170, crowned during the lifetime of his father, Henry II, and in rebellion against him in 1173–1174. Moralistic anecdotes of Anathocles, and his identification as king of Sicily, are found in John of Salisbury, Policraticus, Book V, Ch. 17, and later, in the Manipulus moralis philosophiae of the 14th-century Benedictine, Jean de Fayt (c. 1320–1395). The historical figure, however, is not known to have had any son named Hermes, or become distinguished by any such display of loyalty. 340 1265–c. 1348.



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goodness, one of them, according to an epistle that Francesco Petrarca341 wrote to him, was disobedient, revealing things contrary to the honour and old age of his father that it would have been more seemly for him to have passed over in silence. Likewise, among others we could name, and even in an only child, you will find plenty of examples of wickedness. But leaving aside recollections from antiquity so as not to make a prolix sermon, you can see in the cases of Prince Afonso with his father, King Dinis, and Prince Pedro with his father, King Afonso, how evil and poisonous was the disobedience they sometimes displayed towards them. Thus, in respect of the humility of the Avis princes and their great love for their father, no praise that is heaped on them is too great. Since they, shining with the beauty of that obedience so strongly recommended by God, are a lesson to the sons of kings who will come after them, we wish to speak briefly here of their conduct in maintaining that obedience.

Chapter 149

The manner in which these princes maintained obedience to their father

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pon the death of Prince Afonso, that first-born son to whom the kingdom was to have passed, the second prince, Dom Duarte, took his place as the rightful heir. After he and his siblings left childhood behind but before they entered their full adulthood, they had acquired, through the Grace of God from Whom all good things come, such knowledge of His precepts and commandments that, conforming to them with no other alteration, with great love, fear and loyal faith, they did nothing shameful or reprehensible at any time to give their father cause to be vexed at any one of them. 341 The

letter concerned is Epistolae familiares VIII, 1, written in 1348 or 1349 by Petrarch (1304-74) to Stefano Colonna the Elder (c. 1265-1348/49), father of his intimate friend. It is a consolatory letter to a very old man who has seen all his sons predecease him. Only a small section of the letter concerns disobedience: Petrarch recalls a conversation ten years previously when Stefano was estranged from one of his sons (probably Giacomo, Bishop of Lombez), a situation that Petrarch had been instrumental in resolving. Lopes’s reference is probably the earliest Portuguese mention of a Petrarchan work. It is noteworthy, as A.D. Deyermond points out, because one of the letters is cited, Petrarch is used as a historical example, and there is an absence of any epithet. See The Petrarchan Sources of La Celestina (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1961), p. 28.

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Now, leaving aside praise of the virginity of the unmarried (as this receives its sufficient due) and the gentle chaste behaviour of those who had wives, as the story will later relate, they were so much in the habit of holy obedience that of none of them could it be said what Peter of Blois342 wrote to a prince, the English heir, who was very disobedient to his father. Among other things, in his epistle he said, ‘He who voluntarily disobeys his father abandons his lineage and betrays it. Take the ray from the sun and immediately there is neither sun nor light; isolate the river from the spring and straightaway it ceases to be a river; chop the branch from the tree and very soon it withers; separate the son from obedience to the father and soon he will no longer resemble a son.’ These princes were completely the opposite, for they were ever illuminated with meekness, like pleasant, leafy boughs that came to fruitfulness in the following manner: when they were unsure whether something would please their father or not, they held back from doing it until they knew what he wished in that regard, taking care not to deviate from anything that touched upon his pleasure, as if he were a fickle lord who would punish them harshly. In the things they spoke to him about or wished to deal with, they did not promote their own plans, either by deferential words or by any other means. They [simply] let him know what was on their minds and what their viewpoint was, while promising unreservedly to accept his decisions. They would undertake to do what he most wanted, without sulking or a sad countenance, even though it might be contrary to their own pleasure and wishes, saying that since he was their liege lord and father, they were ready to carry out his every command and serve him well. They valued those whom he loved and granted favours to them. Even if in some way such persons were out of favour with them, they tolerated them in a seemly manner. In matters of substance where their own inclinations were engaged, they always took great notice of the way the king would react to such things, greatly rejoicing if he took them well, and being acutely disappointed if he did not. Any secret that he entrusted to them was kept, and kept utterly; the same applied to what they understood had to be kept even though they might not have been warned about it. They always spoke the truth to him, in any matter that arose, taking care that he should not feel that, by dint of contradiction or unwarranted guile, they wanted to challenge him. If at any time they felt irritation at some small aspect of his arguments, they showed with great tranquillity and humility that their intention was based on serving both God and king, as they best understood it, and not for their benefit or pleasure, nor that of anyone else. Whenever they were out riding and hunting with their father, they took very little account of the usual diversion they were wont to have at such times, in order to increase that of the king in what might give him pleasure, 342 See

Chapter 148, note 339 above.



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offering him horses, hounds and birds [of prey] and being overjoyed when he wished to accept them. Moreover, they arranged games and festivities for his enjoyment, in which he might be relieved of his troubles. If he was taking offence at some notable person, they deployed tact to return him to the king’s good graces. They were ready to ask favours and preferment for all his dependents and servants, as if for their own people. In games, contests and other gatherings, they took great care not to contradict their father’s opinions, but directed their conversation [with him] to other happier subjects, in order to put an end to any such dissent. Whenever he was ill, however far away they were, they came straightaway in haste, visiting him and serving him to the best of their ability, showing him in all things that they were happy in his conversation and service, and not bored. This was even more the case when he grew older, when they showed him great reverence and love, all of them serving him without reservation, with every ceremony that would increase his honour. Thus, through these few humble examples, you may understand and feel how they would behave in the particular circumstances that might arise from each instance. In adhering to these standards, they felt no sorrow but delight and great satisfaction. Not only did the virtue of obedience flourish in these princes in relation to their father, as we have said, but it could also be said of them what you will rarely find in other sons of kings, and this is noteworthy: namely, that, apart from the loyal love that always existed between them, they revered each other according to the order in which they were born, from which, steadfastly, they never diverged. For that reason, their father loved them very much, being greatly in God’s debt for giving him such blessed children. Along with this, the Lord God gave them special natural gifts, along with the noble gems of honourable and seemly behaviour. Without flattery, it can be said of these princes that we have neither read about, nor seen, any who so little pursued their appetites, nor who were so pleased at virtuous deeds. However, let it remain for someone else to praise the subtlety of their understanding, their elevated literary style and diction combined with an abundance of plain speech, as well as other gifts well worth remembering, because we are in a hurry to recount other things.

Chapter 150

How a truce was arranged between Castile and Portugal

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t the end of the three-year period of truce between Castile and Portugal came the year 1393, when the state of war was renewed between the King [of Portugal] and Don Enrique, heir to the kingdom of Castile, as we

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have said.343 Because of his young age, the prince was given as tutors and guardians Don Pedro [Díaz de Tenorio], Archbishop of Toledo, Don Juan García Manrique, Archbishop of Santiago, Don Gonzalo Núñez de Guzmán, Master of the Order of Calatrava, and Juan Hurtado de Mendoza, his chief steward. At this time, he had already laid aside the Portuguese title and coat of arms that his father bore, and he was in the city of Zamora with these tutors and rulers of the kingdom, although the Marquess of Villena and the Count of Niebla, who had principal charge of him, were absent. With the consent and agreement of the aforementioned, of other lords and nobles of the kingdom, and proctors of four cities who were part of his royal council, they recognised that it was a service to God and to their liege lord the king, and to the benefit of the country and his subjects not to be at war or have any other disagreement with Portugal, and so arranged to negotiate a truce with its king. As envoys to the King of Portugal they sent Don Juan [de Serrano], Bishop of Sigüenza, Pero López de Ayala, Governor General of Toledo, and a doctor named Antón Sánchez. They arrived in Lisbon where the king was at that time, explaining to him why they had come and what their powers were in this matter. Having spoken about this business, the king ordered Dom Álvaro Gonçalves, Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers, and Doctor João das Regras, both of his royal council, to negotiate on his behalf with the envoys according to what they considered to be in his best interests and for the good of the kingdom. A little over two months after their arrival, on Thursday, 15 May, upon the Feast of the Ascension, a document was published in which the said bishop, Pero López, and the said doctor, granted in the name of their liege lord, the King of Castile, to the said prior and to Doctor João das Regras, as authorised by King João, an honourable, loyal and firm truce, to apply on sea and on land, between the kings and their successors, from that day for a period of 15 years, validated with certain articles and clauses inserted in them. It is appropriate to touch briefly on a number of these, so that you can see if the king later had just cause for seizing the opportunity to order Badajoz to be taken, and not furtively, as some have said. The first [article] decreed that from neither kingdom should war be waged by sea or on land, nor should any town, city, castle or other place, or anything else be taken. The third said that for the next six months all prisoners, whatever their rank and condition, held as hostages for others, or for their ransom from one kingdom to the other, should be set free without any further ransom from that day on which the truce was agreed. 343 See Chapter 143 above, where the King of Castile confided in some members of his royal council the intention of leaving the kingdom to his son Prince Enrique during his lifetime.



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In order best to expedite this, sixteen friars of the Dominican Order, eight Castilian and eight Portuguese, were chosen to go to Castile to seek the said prisoners and have them released; in Portugal, eight Franciscans, four Castilian and four Portuguese, were chosen. If those who held the prisoners did not want to free them, then the said friars would request the justices to have them handed over. If they did not wish to do so, then each king in his kingdom should be requested by the said friars, or by others who had the powers to do this, that he should order their release, or be obliged to deliver the person who held the prisoner, since he did not wish to give the latter up. All this would hold for six months from the proclamation of the truce. The king who did not carry this out would have to give and pay 1,000 crossed dobras for each prisoner. If he did not give the money after the said six months, then, within the period of a further two months, his adversary, on his authority, could confiscate and place a lien on a portion of his property and that of his subjects, equivalent to the full sum. For this reason [in such circumstances] it should not be thought that the truce had been broken. Furthermore, the said friars should be accredited with the locating of the prisoners, and authorised to deal with any requests for or denials of justice, by means of sworn oaths or documents signed by the two kings and sealed with their [royal] seals. The 11th article contained the clause that, before the fifteen years of the truce were over, if in an individual outbreak of hostilities lasting a number of months and days, robberies and damage were perpetrated by the natives of one kingdom upon the other, this truce established that certain judges on both sides should be appointed to find out about such damage, summoning those people to whom it had been done and who should be treated according to their verdict. Their king and the judge appointed by him should execute the verdict applicable to the natives of Castile, within the period of two months from the day on which that verdict was handed out; the King of Portugal would act in the same way. If such execution were not made within the said period of time, then the property of the subjects of the king who might be negligent in this could be seized, equivalent to the value of the sum specified in such verdicts. For greater security in respect of the oaths that the kings, their people, towns and cities had to make, they ordered hostages to be delivered on both sides. Those from Castile should be brought to Portugal, and placed under the authority of Prior Dom Álvaro Gonçalves, and those of Portugal should likewise be delivered to him, and changed every four years to avoid the hardship of remaining hostage for the whole fifteen years. If you wish to hear who were the Castilians, and whose sons they were, the information is as follows: an illegitimate son of Count Don Alfonso; another bastard, a son of the Count of Niebla, called Pero Núñez; Pero Tenorio, a nephew of the Archbishop of Toledo; Juan de Arellano, a nephew of the Archbishop of Santiago, the legitimate son of his sister, Doña Teresa; a nephew of the Master

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of Santiago, the legitimate son of his brother; a nephew of the Master of Calatrava, legitimate son of his brother, Alvaro Núñez de Guzmán; Iñigo de Mendoza, legitimate son of Juan Hurtado; a legitimate son of Diego López de Estúñiga; a legitimate son of Diego Fernández, the marshal; another legitimate son of Sancho Fernández de Tovar; another legitimate son of Juan González de Avellaneda; another legitimate son of Martín Fernández Portocarrero. These twelve noblemen and other sons of citizens whom we do not care to name were handed over on the Castilian side. From Portugal, the following were handed over: the son of the Master of Avis;344 Luís, legitimate son of Martim Vasques da Cunha; Álvaro, legitimate son of Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho; Rodrigo Afonso, legitimate son of João Afonso Pimentel; a legitimate son of Gonçalo Vasques de Melo; a son of Fernão Vasques de Almeida, comptroller of the finances of the royal household. These six nobles, with other sons of citizens, were placed under the authority of the prior, as a firm guarantee of the items contained in the truce, and he later held them in the castle of Santarém, of which he was chief provincial governor.

Chapter 151

Concerning the ambassadors that came to the king from Castile and the reply they took back

W

ith the truce proclaimed in both realms, the friars who, in accordance with this agreement, were to go to Castile, gathered together in Badajoz, and those who were to go to Portugal gathered in the city of Guarda, fifty days after the proclamation of the truce, according to what had been agreed in the negotiations. Although all the prisoners that were in Portugal were soon released, the same did not happen in Castile. Rather, as the friars travelled through the kingdom, seeking out such prisoners, especially in some places in Andalusia, they had been hidden away so they could not be found; or when they did find others, those who held them did not want to free them, nor did they hand them over to the justices. The worst of all was that some had already been taken to Aragon and elsewhere, while others were killed or so ill-treated that they died of neglect. In some places, even, when the said religious men complained of such a thing, they themselves were so badly treated that they were forced to tell the King of Castile, who was in León at the time, about the slights to their authority and the great insults they had suffered in this matter.

344 This is Fernão Rodrigues de Sequeira, appointed Master of the Order of Avis c. 1387.



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The king replied that he had already sent letters about it to the effect that the prisoners should be handed over and, as a further guarantee, he gave them other valid letters, as the circumstances required. But neither kind of letter was fully acted upon, so the friars had to return. The result was that over 100 prisoners remained in Castile, without release and in the hands of unworthy people. Such was the situation with Vasco Pires, a bachelor of law and judge on behalf of the King of Portugal, and Pero Martíns, a doctor of laws, on behalf of his adversary of Castile, who were on the borderlands between Castelo Rodrigo and San Felices [de los Gallegos], hearing the disputing parties on the losses that had been suffered on both sides during that resumption of the war we have mentioned.345 Despite the many verdicts they passed against the inhabitants of Castile amounting to a good 48,000 doblas, and much time having passed beyond the term during which they had to be paid, the King of Castile never bothered to have these verdicts implemented, although he was frequently requested to do so. King João became aware of how negligent his adversary was in ordering the fulfilment of his obligations under the treaties, and of his failure to release prisoners, as well as of the verdicts passed against his countrymen. Particularly as a lord of great estate who did not recognise anyone as his superior, King João well saw and understood, as much by virtue of the articles of the truce, as by disposition of the common law, that he could well place a lien on his adversary’s property and on that of his subjects. But wishing to demonstrate that he desired to do nothing that might cause discord between them during the truce, and to allow the best path to be taken, he made his requests to the King of Castile through João de Alpoim, a clerk of his kingdom, that he should order those verdicts to be carried out and the prisoners to be released in accordance with what the King of Castile had sworn and promised, rather than that the latter should incur the penalties contained in the articles. Nothing was put in train. This state of affairs extended for some three years since the truce had been agreed. The King of Castile, seeing how things had developed, what requests had been made of him, and what the King of Portugal by rights could do, more to avoid prolonging these matters than from a desire to satisfy, sent King João two doctors, Antón Sánchez and Pero Martínez. They arrived at a township called Torre de Moncorvo,346 where the king was at the time, and put before him the conditions contained in the articles, especially those that mentioned prisoners and verdicts, and the request that João de Alpoim had made to their liege lord the king. To this request he had replied that he was ready to carry out what he was obliged to do, by 345 See

the opening paragraph of Chapter 150 above. more than a village, even today, Torre de Moncorvo is situated 2 miles (c. 3 km) to the east of the confluence of the Rivers Douro and Sabor. 346 No

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virtue of the articles, but had then been informed that it was not as much as João de Alpoim had said. Since he had been notified again that the Portuguese king wanted to impose a forfeit on the realms of Castile, on account of those verdicts, it seemed to the doctors that he should not do so because of three particular reasons that they immediately indicated. The first was that the truce and the good peace that it had pleased God to place between them should not be broken on his account. The second was that their liege lord was not obliged to arrange payment nor enforce such penalties but rather the judge who had issued them, especially as the one who was present had not ordered the payment of penalties by the Castilians against whom they had been issued.347 After they had spoken at length about this, they said that by way of a stronger guarantee their liege lord was ready to order those distraints on the property of the known defaulters to be put into effect, and to have the Portuguese released if any were detained in Castile as prisoners, and to fulfil all the other things that he was obliged to, according to the articles. However, they requested King João on behalf of their liege lord the king, not to set, or order to be set, any [further] lien or other seizure on his lands, nor on his property nor on that of his subjects. They greatly insisted on this, saying that God and the world could see that he would be held to blame for all the evil and harm that might result from this. The reply they received to this was that, for the good of the truce, and for the sake of keeping it, which was something that the king desired, he had not put his hand to doing anything, even though he could do so, without thereby breaking the truce, in accordance with the provisions foreseen in the agreement. Had he not had that intention, he would not have sent João de Alpoim to him, as they were saying. Even though their great lord said that he was pleased to fulfil everything, he had not bothered to have it carried out, but rather he had shown himself negligent in it, and that in all respects he lacked the will, if one were to judge him by the transcript of the verdicts he received; he had never even wanted to order the transcript to be issued. The result was that so much time had passed beyond what was allotted that he had incurred the penalties set out in the articles. In reply to their point about his not ordering the verdicts against the Portuguese to be executed, the king said that their great lord was not excused from his obligations. He, King João, had always been ready to put them into effect, as soon as he set his penalties, just as he had been the first to release all the prisoners; indeed, if he had not opted to do so, the Portuguese might not have been detained in Castile, as they still were; King Enrique should order their release, for he no longer had any justification for doing otherwise.

347 Lopes

neglects to add the third reason.



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However, the law decreed that if someone was obliged to do something at a certain time, under a certain penalty, and did not do it by that deadline, he was incurring the penalty to which he had been bound. Even though he might later do it, he was not excused from paying the penalty. King João could, therefore, impose a forfeit on the realms of Castile, and on the goods of its inhabitants; whatever evil and harm, death and destruction might arise from this in any way, his adversary would be answerable to God and to the world for all those consequences. These matters were the source of prolonged debate, with documents circulating from both sides. The doctors went back to Castile, with the King of Portugal retaining the desire and will to impose a penalty for all this when the opportunity came to hand. You should know that at this time the Cathedral Church of Lisbon was newly elevated to an archbishopric by Pope Boniface IX; this occurred while João Escudeiro was bishop, and the bishoprics of Évora, Silves and Badajoz became subject to him.

Chapter 152

How the constable gave part of his lands to those who had served with him in the war

N

uno Álvares Pereira, the Constable of Portugal, was, as we have said, the king’s right-hand man in the defence of the realm. When he learned of the truce you have heard about, confirmed as it was by very strict articles and put in place for a given period of time, along with safeguards for the sons of such men who were sent from Castile as hostages, he did not consider this to be a truce, for a truce is a guarantee given to people while not constituting the end of any actual discord. Rather, this was an agreeable first step towards peace, so that another, more durable may follow. It was not just he, but any prudent man, who firmly held this opinion. As this was the count’s opinion, as soon as the truce was proclaimed, he arranged that those who had continually been in his forces in his and the king’s service in the recent conflicts should be rewarded with some of the lands and revenues with which the king had favoured him. In the Alentejo he gave to Gonçalo Eanes de Abreu, Alter do Chão, with its castles and revenues; Evoramonte, with its revenue, he gave to his uncle, Martim Gonçalves do Carvalhal; to Lopo Gonçalves, he gave the revenues from the governorship of Estremoz, because he did not possess the castle, along with other revenues from that town; the revenue from Borba he gave

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to João Gonçalves da Ramada; Monsaraz to Rodrigo Álvares Pimentel; part of the revenues from Vidigueira, to a good squire called Afonso Esteves Perdigão; part of the revenues from Portel, with those from Vila de Frades, to his treasurer, Fernão Domingues; Vila Alva and Vila Ruiva, to Rodrigo Afonso de Coimbra; the revenues from Montemor-o-Novo to a squire dwelling there, called Lourenço Eanes Azeiteiro; the revenues from Almada, to Pedro Eanes Lobato; the ferry dues of Sacavém to his finance officer, João Afonso, who later became comptroller of the king’s treasury; the royal estates of Alviela, to Estêvão Eanes Borboleta, who was later finance officer in Lisbon; the revenue from Porto de Mós and Rio Maior, to Pedro Afonso do Casal; Alvaiázere to Álvaro Pereira; Rabaçal, to Mem Rodrigues [de Vasconcelos]; the lands of Baltar in the Minho, to Martim Gonçalves Alcoforado; the Arco de Baúlhe with certain farms, to João Gonçalves, his chief bailiff; certain revenues in Terra de Basto and Pena, to Álvaro Peres, who was his comptroller; certain revenues from Barcelos, to a good squire named Gil Vasques Faião; Montalegre, with Terra de Barroso, to Diogo Gil de Airão, his lieutenant; and Chaves, with all its revenues, to Vasco Machado, who had been his page. The count gave these lands and revenues to these twenty people conditionally, and, because they held them, each one had to maintain a number of squires for his and the king’s service when required, such as was due from the vassals that they were. Though he missed such revenues when it came to maintaining his own honourable standing, he nonetheless remained always glad at heart for having discharged his responsibilities to those who had served him well.

Chapter 153

How the king arranged to buy lands from the nobles, and how they were summoned to this end

A

t this apportioning made by the constable, many people who heard what he had done praised him for it, considering him a man of great modesty and notable discernment. Others, out of envy and secret loathing, said that he could well do that, and much more if he wanted, because he held half the kingdom in lands and revenues, and in other gifts that he had received from the king. They added that, for all that he showed himself to be without greed in his triumphs over the Castilians, because his goal was to seek honourable victory and not gain, he succumbed to it later in the shape of the goods and lands of the kingdom that he knew how to ask for, a request which the king did not oppose. On this, some people said that, when the king was still Master and in Lisbon waiting for the Castilians to besiege them and had sent Nuno Álvares to the Alentejo as chief officer of the marches, he told him and



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recommended then that he should strive with all his might to help him defend the kingdom. In return, he promised that, if God allowed him to be successful, he would divide the kingdom with him, as he would find out in due time. Although this is not at all certain and may be an opinion which we cannot trust, it could well be so, because for a man who desires to gain honour, this is an easy promise to make to the one who can be of great assistance in such an accomplishment. However, whichever way it was, the count came to hold three counties in Portugal, namely: Ourém, Barcelos, and Arraiolos. He had at his command 18 places in the kingdom, as follows: Braga, Guimarães, Chaves, Montalegre, Porto de Mós, Ourém, Almada, Montemor-o-Novo, Arraiolos, Evoramonte, Estremoz, Borba, Vila Viçosa, Sousel, Alter do Chão, Monsaraz, Portel, and Loulé in the [kingdom of the] Algarve; and in addition to this, many royal estates and other revenues from land under cultivation that it would be superfluous to name. Despite all this honour and advancement, we do not read that he used the title ‘Dom’ in his letters, even though the king and many others called him that, as was fitting. But he styled himself clearly thus: ‘I, Nuno Álvares Pereira, Count of Barcelos and Ourém, Constable through the grace of my liege lord, the King of the kingdoms of Portugal and the Algarve’ and nothing else. When he wrote to the king, putting ‘Sire’ at the head, this was the form of words that he used: ‘Sire, your constable and servant sends to kiss your hands and commends himself to your favour. Sire, be aware that ….’ Now, without speaking any more of this, and to return to our purpose, there was no lack of people – in particular, the Prior [of the Hospitallers], and Doctor João das Regras, and others too, who, out of envy of the count, harboured malign thoughts – to tell the king, and thereby show that they loved his service, that he would do well to ask the count for part of his many lands; since he had three sons, and the queen was pregnant and of an age to have more children, it would please him to give some land to them. The king said he had already thought of this, in view of the children that were being born, and others he might have, and that it seemed to him that he did not have the wherewithal to give them what was appropriate for their honour. But he would not ask the count for any part of all that he had given him, adding, rather, that it was his intention to buy lands that were held by noblemen. When it were rumoured that he was going to do this, then he would see what was Nuno Álvares’s intent and that of the others, whether it was the same regarding this matter. Speaking to those who were present, the king converted many to his way of thinking. Then he sent out a general summons, to which many noblemen responded, as did the constable, because he was the main reason why this was being done. When this matter was proposed by the king, in the Palace of the Serra where he was then staying, the count took this very badly. He told the king that he ought kindly not to do such a thing because those who held lands from

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him had used them well and hoped to use them when it became necessary to return his favour, and it was not a good reward to have to take them back [again], nor to buy them from anyone against his will. The king replied to that, giving the reasons for his actions, which the count never accepted. He repeated that he could not easily maintain his honourable standing with the lands he had from the king, especially in view of those he had given away, as the latter well knew, and he would maintain himself much more poorly if some of what he had left was taken from him. In this, the king had many supporters among people who bore no goodwill towards the count, as well as among others who just wanted to please their king, so that no argument that Nuno Álvares could advance to the contrary was of any help. Seeing that all his reasoning was in vain, the count departed one afternoon for Atouguia, where he was lodging, and the following day he went to Porto de Mós, and thence to Estremoz, where he calmed down. The king went ahead with his purchases from the nobles and other people. These were, for example, Martim Vasques da Cunha, to whom he paid, for the land of Sul, Gulfar and other lands he had, 330,000 libras in coins of 10 soldos which were then in currency, which amounted to about 7,000 dobras, each dobra being worth 48 libras; to João Fernandes Pacheco, a sum of about 8,000 [libras] for the purchase of Penela and the royal estate of Campores; to his brother Lopo Fernandes, 1,500 libras for the town of Monção; and similarly to Egas Coelho, João Gomes da Silva, and others whom it is not necessary to name.

Chapter 154

How the count had wished to depart the kingdom, and the reason why he was prevented from doing so

W

hile the Count was in Estremoz, he sent for certain people, both those who served him in the war and other criados and friends. A group of them were assembled there, and he addressed them, telling them how the king considered it to be in his best interests to take from him part of the lands he had given him, for which reason he did not see how he could maintain his honourable standing with what he was left with. Because of this, he wanted to leave the kingdom to seek his livelihood, while still continuing to serve his liege lord, the king; moreover, he was asking them to be his companions in this, and if any of them had any doubts whether they could do so, they should tell him straight away. Those who already suspected the count’s intention in sending for the knights, squires and all the others who were there, replied



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that they had no doubt about the matter but would willingly go to live and die wherever he went. All of them swore to it, except for Antão Martins, a Lisbon inhabitant, who said that he had in his charge many things belonging to other people, which it behoved him to look after first of all, so he did not promise anything for the moment but asked for time to reply. There the count liberally shared money as well as bread with those he had summoned. Then, they all departed for their houses to arrange their journeys while the count went to Portel, to set in motion the arrangements for their departure. While he was there, the king found out that he wished to leave the kingdom and he was no less upset by that than was the count when he was summoned for his lands to be taken from him, so he sent Rui Lourenço, the Dean of Coimbra, to Nuno Álvares, to prevent his going. When he had put forward, like the learned man he was, all those good reasons that the king expressed to him, as well as those that he was himself capable of saying, nothing could dissuade the count from the plan he had undertaken, and with that message he returned. When the king saw this, he sent to him Dom Fernão Rodrigues, the Master of Avis, but, though he was a notable person and abounded in good judgement, the count continued to reply, most humbly, that he could not avoid his departure; and that it ought not to displease the king, all the more so because for a long time he had been at peace with his enemies. With that reply, he took his leave without any further message. Then the king ordered Dom João, the Bishop of Évora, a prelate of good authority to go and see him. At the close of all his arguments, the count, persuaded by the king’s wishes, told the bishop that he would notify him of his intentions. When the bishop had gone, he sent his uncle, Martim Gonçalves, and Lopo Gonçalves of Estremoz, to speak to the king at length about what he felt about all this, and they pleased the king with what they said on behalf of the count. The latter’s departure was completely prevented, and he went to Oporto, where the king was already enjoying some rest. There it was ordered that the king should take for himself all the vassals that the count and other nobles had, and that no one should have vassals except him, and that the count should take back the lands which we have already mentioned that he had given out, which he did very much against his will, but he could not do anything else. When these lands had been taken back, the king established life service allowances for everyone, and thus the constable was guaranteed those [lands] he held by right and inheritance, but he was forced to give up those that were held conditionally.

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Chapter 155

How Martim Afonso de Melo spoke with Gonçalo Eanes about capturing Badajoz

T

he King of Portugal was angry at the negative attitude the Castilians were beginning to assume with regard to keeping the terms of the truce, as we have mentioned, both in freeing the prisoners and in executing the verdicts that they did not want to put in hand, even though his adversary was requested to do so by the friars and others that were sent to him. The king saw full well, as did those of his royal council, that in all he [the King of Castile] had incurred a penalty of 250,000 doblas. Since the state of the law derives from the facts of the case,348 and since the amount was so large that he could not take delivery in the form of movable goods, it suited King João to impose the penalty by taking possession of a city, town or walled village. He then spoke with Martim Afonso de Melo, his chief of the guard and a member of his royal council, about how he could receive any one such place as a forfeit. The latter replied, that if it so pleased him, he would work to give him Badajoz and Alburquerque, or one of them, by means of which there could be yielded up to him what they did not wish to give him. The king was very grateful and regarded it as a service, saying he should strive to bring it about. Martim Afonso immediately left Viseu, where this matter had been spoken about, and went to Campo Maior. From there, he went frequently at night to Alburquerque, which lay about 4 leagues away, to see how the watch and patrols were organised. When he saw the three patrols and how they guarded the place, he returned before morning to where he had set out, so that no one found him missing. He used the same method when going to Badajoz, which lay 3 leagues away from Campo Maior. Now it so happened that in the town of Badajoz was a Portuguese squire, with his wife and children, who had come from Elvas seeking sanctuary from justice and had already been there several days. Martim Afonso knew this squire well, a man whose name was Gonçalo Eanes Cão, and thinking of sharing this secret with him, he sent word, asking him to come to him, because it was very much to his benefit. Gonçalo Eanes replied that, since he was a fugitive, he did not dare to go to him until he sent an order ensuring his safety. This was sent immediately the next day. Although he did not know 348 This aphorism is probably taken from the jurist Baldus de Ubaldis (1327–1400), ex facto oritur ius. The topic is related to the notion that laws grounded in the attested record of earlier actions determine the procedures whereby legal liabilities are brought home to those who incur them (cf. Justinian, Institutes 1, 2, 12 and Digest 1, 51. with the comments, cited in the latter, of Gaius (2nd century A.D.)).



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what Martim Afonso wished to say to him, he spoke first to Alfonso Sánchez, who was the most important person in the town, as security for what might follow, about how Martim Afonso had sent for him, and that he should give him permission to go there for, without it, he would not think of going. This he granted to him. Then, to better dissimulate the reason for this trip, Gonçalo Eanes asked if Afonso Sánchez would permit one of his squires to accompany him. This being granted, they both set off and arrived at Campo Maior, where Martim Afonso received them with a good welcome and all due honours. He deliberately ate at table with the Castilian squire, but not with Gonçalo Eanes. After they had eaten, a squire took the Castilian to his lodging, and Martim Afonso and Gonçalo Eanes to the keep. When they got there, Martim Afonso spoke in these words: ‘Gonçalo Eanes, I wish to speak to you about something very secret and private, involving great danger, about which the king told me I should not speak to anyone other than you, saying that he knew you well. He holds a forfeit, set by learned Castilians, against the King of Castile, according to which the latter is obliged to pay the sum of many thousands of doblas. If they are not paid within a certain time, he can exact that forfeit in stone and lime, fields and movable goods, belonging to the King of Castile or to his fellow countrymen. Since the deadline has already passed, the king was wishing, if possible, to gain Badajoz and Alburquerque, both in one night. To this end I have summoned you to talk about it, to see if you and I can set this in train. In this you will do the king a great service, something which will earn you a good reward from him.’ Gonçalo Eanes replied that he could not be sure of Alburquerque. ‘But’, he said, ‘if you give me fifty men-at-arms, as many on foot, and a scaling ladder suitable for this, I shall put you inside Badajoz within a week, notwithstanding that there is a watch. But they keep watch from on top of the gates, and the space between one gate and the next is very large.’ Martim Afonso said that he should send him the wall measurements, for him to have the ladders made. After their talk, they came down from the keep and Martim Afonso, putting on an act, said to the Castilian squire, as if complaining, ‘Alfonso González, I am making a complaint to you about Gonçalo Eanes here, for I could never get him to buy me two good horses in Castile; or even one, that he would be willing to get for me!’ The Castilian replied, ‘Martim Afonso, sir, do not blame him, for if he did such a thing and it was found out, they would hang him for it.’ Then they took leave of each other, all the while talking of this tale [of horses], and thus they relayed it to Alfonso Sánchez. The following day, Gonçalo Eanes sent Martim Afonso the measurements by a lad of his, but it did not help matters because the latter had something else on his mind and, after four days, he sent for him again. Gonçalo Eanes went there in great secrecy;

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but Martim Afonso asked him if he was prepared to seize the gate because scaling the wall was very difficult. He replied in the negative, because the gatekeeper slept between the inner and outer gates and furthermore the watch was stationed above in the tower which overlooked them. Then Martim Afonso said that, since the gatekeeper was a friend of his, he should see whether he could obtain wax moulds of the keys in order to have others made. Gonçalo Eanes said he could not. ‘Off you go, then’, said Martim Afonso, ‘and find any means we can take the gate.’

Chapter 156

How the people of Badajoz began to be suspicious of Gonçalo Eanes, and the arguments they put to him

G

onçalo Eanes went away giving much thought to this and told a lie in confidence to the gatekeeper, who was very poor and indigent: ‘I know where there is a silo of wheat in the outskirts of Elvas, on a deserted farm where no one lives. I’ll go there and steal it for you and me; and you’ll open the gates to me at the time I tell you, so that no one knows what I’ve done.’ The gatekeeper said he would be pleased to do this, that he would willingly go with him and that his wife would have the gate open for him. Gonçalo Eanes replied he did not want any company but, as the gatekeeper took the keys each night to Alfonso Sánchez, whenever he should tell him he wanted to go outside, he could undo the padlocks, and then lock them again after he came back inside. With both of them agreed on this, Martim Afonso, who knew about it, ordered that some wheat be brought to Gonçalo Eanes in Elvas. Sometimes, he brought it during the dogwatch,349 other times in the morning watch, and yet others in the first watch, thus changing his times for greater security and to hinder detection. Other times he said that, in order not to be found out, he would bring the pack-animals up to the old wall and from there the gatekeeper could take them. So it was done, the gatekeeper thinking that God had revealed Father São Gião to him in this form.350 Acting in this manner, and with the gate secured by this means, Gonçalo Eanes went to Évora, where Martim Afonso was, and told him how he had the gate ready and that he should prepare himself to go. 349 Though nowadays largely a nautical term, this watch applied formerly to any watch kept between midnight and 4 am. 350 Saint Julian the Hospitaller, a legendary figure revered by the Portuguese people for his good works.



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Martim Afonso said that he would do so, and Gonçalo Eanes went back straightaway. But when he realised that he was not receiving any message, he returned to Évora, asking why Martim Afonso was delaying matters. To this the latter replied that it could not take place at that time because, in accordance with what the king had written to him, he should go immediately to Bragança; he was on his way to acquiring his [own] household, for he was betrothed to the daughter of João Afonso Pimentel, by name Dona Beatriz. Gonçalo Eanes then wrote a letter to the king in which he told him that everything had been arranged; he asked him to give orders as to how he should proceed, and requested the king if he would graciously give him the property of Alfonso Sánchez and other things that he sought, as matters were set to turn out well. Martim Afonso departed for Bragança, and Gonçalo Eanes for Badajoz. As he was going through the square one day, while the town’s leading figures were in council, quite close by, he was summoned to approach and was addressed as follows: ‘Gonçalo Eanes, these lords and knights are well aware that you frequently go out of this town, and we are therefore suspicious that you may hand it over to the King of Portugal.’ Gonçalo Eanes said that this was false testimony that people were slandering him with because they hated the Portuguese. But since there were sufficient nobles and good knights there, if one of them could vouch that such a thing was true, then he would join him in mortal combat, whether on foot or on horseback, before he could take food or drink. They replied that there was no one there who would take such a risk. ‘Well’, he said, ‘Since you do not want a feat of arms, set up two stakes in the square there, tie me to one, and the man who made the claim to the other, set fire to them and let God send a miracle.’351 They said that it did not suit anybody to do this; however, the suspicion was not allayed by such exchanges. ‘Blessed Mary help us’, he said, ‘now if any of you were in Olivença or Elvas, and had the same number of relatives there as I do here, and if you were not keeping watch, or patrolling [the walls], or in possession of the key of the gate, could you hand over either of those places to the king, even though he wrote to you telling you to do so?’ Everybody replied that they could not. ‘Then, even less’, said he, ‘could I deliver Badajoz to the King of Portugal with this slander that you lay on me, even more so because he is in a state of truce and amity with the King of Castile, and he would not order anyone to commit such a deed. But, because you dislike the Portuguese, you have subjected me to such ill-repute.’ None of this reasoning was of any use, and they ordered him to leave the city. When he asked whether they would allow him to live in the suburb, they said it would be worse to have him outside than within. Therefore he

351 A

miracle by which God would spare the one telling the truth.

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sent his wife and children to Elvas but, as a snub, he went to Seville, to Pero Rodrigues da Fonseca.352

Chapter 157

How Gonçalo Eanes spoke to Martim Afonso, and the arguments that those of Badajoz put to him once again

M

artim Afonso remained in the king’s household for a good while. When Gonçalo Eanes learned that he was in Évora, he left Seville and went to see him, always travelling off the road where he knew he would not be recognised. He deliberately arrived at night, and spoke to him, with no one present apart from Rodrigo Afonso de Brito, his uncle. When Martim Afonso saw him, he embraced him, saying, ‘Gonçalo Eanes, you can’t go through with this now, for they’ve thrown you out of the town!’ ‘Don’t despair’, said Gonçalo Eanes, ‘but tell me if you bring a message from the king for you to go ahead.’ He replied that he did. ‘Well’, said Gonçalo Eanes, ‘despite their forbidding me to go there, or else they would hang me from the battlements or send me as a prisoner to the King of Castile, it is my wish to go there at all costs.’ ‘Do not go’, said Martim Afonso, ‘for they may seize you, or inflict on you some other harm so that under torture you confess. That is of little help either to you or the interest of my liege lord the king.’ ‘I guarantee you’, said Gonçalo Eanes, ‘that I will not confess; even though I die under torture, I will not reveal anything to them.’ ‘Let him go’, said Rodrigo Afonso. ‘Since he wants to die such a terrible death, then let it come upon him!’ ‘Do not concern yourself with my death’, he said, ‘for I intend to take this thing forward. Make yourselves ready. Since you want to go to Campo Maior to fetch your wife, simply go with no other company than your own men, and even then with as few as possible, and I shall go immediately to Badajoz. If they allow me to stay there a couple of days, I shall come to an agreement with the gatekeeper. When you know that I am there, go immediately to Campo Maior, as you say.’ 352 Pero Rodrigues da Fonseca belonged to a Portuguese family based in the region of Olivença, where he had been appointed governor by King Fernando. He remained loyal to Queen Beatriz, the monarch’s daughter, as the true heir of the Portuguese crown. Many Portuguese loyal to her cause, gathered round Pero Rodrigues and stayed on in Castile.



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Then Gonçalo Eanes went to Badajoz, without telling anybody anything, apart from talking and conversing with everyone, as had been his custom from the very outset. After a few days, Alfonso Sánchez met with the aforesaid knights of the town in the house of a squire named Gonzalo Sánchez de Gontiz, and they summoned Gonçalo Eanes. When he came, a knight spoke up: ‘Gonçalo Eanes, you well know how it was agreed by these lords and knights here present that you should leave this town because we feared you would hand it to the King of Portugal; and that if you came back, you would be hanged from the battlements or sent as a prisoner to our liege lord, the King of Castile. You went, and remained away for several days. So now we want to know why you have come back, or who has brought you here against our prohibition.’ ‘Do you have anything else to say?’ asked Gonçalo Eanes, to which they replied that they did not. Then he replied: ‘To what you say that I would give this town to the King of Portugal, I say that it is a false testimony that slanders me, and there is no one who confirms this with whom I would not join in mortal combat, whether on foot or on horseback, as I have already told you before. Regarding what you say, namely that you sent me away from here, and if I came back you would hang me or send me as a prisoner to the King of Castile, I say that it is quite true. But when you threw me out, I sold a little wheat to this host of mine who lives here, believing that he would soon give me the money. But he has not done so yet, even though I have sent word to ask him for it many times. I came here to ask him for it, not for the reason you say. But though I am guiltless, you can behead and kill me, and carry out whatever punishments you like!’ Then they told him to go away and never come back. So he departed within the day, but still on very good terms with the gatekeeper, complaining to him that they suspected him deeply. Because of this, he would bring the packanimals at night with the wheat when he could, and the gatekeeper should take what he needed for himself and make money from the rest; he did not dare to sell it anywhere else because he didn’t want people to know where he was getting it from.

Chapter 158

How Badajoz was captured

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aving arranged these matters, Gonçalo Eanes went to speak to Martim Afonso, saying that he had the gate in readiness, and that he should get ready whenever he saw fit. Seeing so many perils overcome, and that Martim Afonso was making him wait, he wrote a letter to the king, who had already

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left Bragança and was now in Santarém, about how he had everything prepared just as he had written to him, but since Martim Afonso had delayed, he could not be held to blame if the town were lost and he could not gain it. The king wrote immediately to the constable, who was in Arraiolos, who [in turn] summoned Martim Afonso to come to him at night, in secret. Having discussed the matter, they asked Gonçalo Eanes where the forces needed to carry out this plan should meet, and he said at the mastic tree in the grove of holm oaks in Arronches. They would follow the river downstream and go to the ford at Mouro; from there they would proceed on foot to the town. With this agreed, Martim Afonso departed for Campo Maior, and took his uncle, Rodrigo Afonso, with him one night to show him where they were to scale the castle of Alburquerque and its barbican. When they returned, he had the scaling ladders set up in Campo Maior in his presence, he himself advising and showing how he would place them, arranging who should go first, second, and third. Some should seize the watchmen, others should go to the castle gate that was open and they should place large stones against each of the doors, so that they could not be shut. Others were to go to the barbican gate that led into the town. Having given these instructions, he went to speak to Vasco Lourenço, the bailiff in the Guadiana valley, saying how he had arranged to take Badajoz and Alburquerque, both together. He asked him, as a service to the king, and out of good friendship, to be his companion in this, and he would let him know the night the deed was to be undertaken. He should take no one with him, except criados whom he could trust implicitly. He showed him the place to dismount when he received the message to do so. Then Martim Afonso returned and warned those whom he was to take with him to make themselves ready. Gonçalo Eanes, who did not dream of anything else, went on Wednesday, 11 May,353 on the eve of Ascension Day, to speak to the gatekeeper, telling him that on the following day at dawn, he should have the gate open, and should put the sacks for the wheat where he normally put them. Early, during the morning watch, Gonçalo Eanes went on foot to the gate, found it open and the gatekeeper up and about, and said to him, ‘Go through here and you will bring along the animals with the grain.’ When both of them reached the old wall, where the gatekeeper usually went for the wheat, Gonçalo Eanes said, ‘Wait here and under no circumstances 353 May is the date registered in the M. Lopes de Almeida and A. Magalhães Basto edition of this chronicle, based on Codex CIII-I-10 in the Évora Public Library, the 1644 printed edition and other 16th-century versions of the same chronicle kept at the University of Coimbra Library and the Municipal Library in Porto. According to mathematical calculations, however, 11 May is the correct date, the same found in William Entwistle’s edition, the text chosen for the present translation.



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leave. I shall fetch the animals from the place where my man has remained with the sacks.’ Then he went to the Mouro ford where he had left Martim Afonso, who had already ordered Rodrigo Afonso de Brito to Alburquerque with thirty men-at-arms, crossbowmen, foot soldiers and a number of squires along the roads to detain everyone they found coming or going to these towns, to prevent them spreading the word. He also sent a message to some of his men in Elvas, that when they rang Matins, they should make the bells ring loudly, shouting that Badajoz had been entered and that everyone should hurry there. He did this for two reasons: first, if they took the town, that would be a great help, in view of the few men he had with him; second, if he did not take it and the Castilians came at him, they would find that he was not without company. Cheerfully he declared, ‘We have the gate open and the gatekeeper outside in the place where I usually give him the grain. Quickly, give me ten men-atarms to go with me and I shall take the gate, while you are on the way. If we all go together, they may hear us, and we shall be discovered.’ Then he went ahead with those ten men and entered through the river gate in the old wall. He left them by the outer tower and went to the gate, and found one side up against the other so he put his shoulder to it and opened one of them. The gatekeeper’s wife was standing behind it and, on seeing him, she spoke first, and said, ‘Gonçalo Eanes, sir, you have come at a timely moment. What has happened to my husband?’ ‘He’s coming’, he said, ‘with the pack-animals and their load.’ As he said this, he opened the other side. She said he should not open it any further, but he said there were many pack-animals and they would not fit through one. So she consented to what he was doing, and he took four large stones and propped two against each side of the gate, and stood on the threshold with the Castilian woman next to him. At this, Afonso Fernandes Rebelo, a squire of Afonso Peres the Black, who was acting as captain of these ten, and a foot soldier of Gonçalo Eanes, were discovered behind the tower. When she saw them, she clasped her hands together and said, ‘Alas, what evil hour is this, Gonçalo Eanes?’ He then grasped her firmly by the throat, forcing her to stand in front of him, and said to his man, ‘Are you carrying a poniard or dagger?’ ‘Yes, I am’, said he. ‘Then cut this whore’s throat; don’t let her scream.’ ‘Gonçalo Eanes, sir’, said she, ‘do not kill me; I shall keep quiet!’ So he took pity on her, put her inside the house, blew out the candle, and set his man to guard her. Then, all the ten men came up and placed themselves between the two gates. He told them that, whatever might happen, they were

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not to abandon this position. He went quickly to call Martim Afonso to come without delay and found him already entering through the river gate in the old wall, urging his men on. No one spoke to him because of the hurry they were in. He took one whom he knew to be a trumpeter, and they went ahead on their own. As they moved forward, close to the gate, they began to shout from higher up, ‘To arms! To arms! For Castile! Castile!’354 At this appeal, a few men rushed to the gate, and the trumpet began to sound, people getting confused about who was who, so that the gate remained unguarded and the ten men gained the top of the wall. At this point, Martim Afonso arrived with his companions, having encountered no obstacle, and quickly entered with his troops, each one doing what he had been ordered to do, whether scaling the wall and guarding the gate, or seizing the most prominent people. The cries of ‘Saint George’ were so many, with ‘For Portugal’ mixed in, that it put great fear into those that heard them, and great strength to those who were taking the town. Soon, Álvaro Coitado arrived with the men of Elvas, some on foot, some on horseback, along with others from Olivença and Campo Maior. They all took possession of the place without further fighting, except for two towers that put up resistance, though that came to nothing. This was on Ascension Day, 1396, this secret having been kept for nine months. García González de Grijalba who was the marshal of Castile, Alfonso Sánchez, and the town’s bishop were taken prisoner. No harm came to the others, nor was anything of theirs taken. If anyone wanted to take anything, he was immediately made to hand it over, in accordance with the king’s command, who had ordered that as little damage as possible should be inflicted. When the count heard that Badajoz had been taken, he immediately went to Elvas and summoned Martim Afonso, to whom he spoke about how to guard the town, giving him troops who were suitable for the time being. Rodrigo Afonso scaled Alburquerque and entered the castle, but was warned against going up the ladder and taking the towers. Since an old man who was lying on the spiral staircase shouted out when he heard him, 16 people who were already up aloft there managed to escape. They made their way down to the postern gate, forced the locks and went out, except for three who were captured and hurled down from the castle. From them were seized the ladders, crossbows and weapons they carried; and thus there was some loss through bad discipline and lack of the shrewdness so vital on such occasions.

354 The two men did this in order to create confusion among the Castilians and thus block up the gateways.



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Chapter 159

How the king sent a message to Castile about the taking of Badajoz and of what was said about the matter

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ith Badajoz gained in this manner, the king immediately sent Afonso Vasques, the Commander of Ortalagoa,355 to Córdoba, where his adversary was, to inform him how he had taken that town, not with the intention of breaking the truce, but as a forfeit for the things we have spoken of, and not for anything else. In these circumstances, although Alfonso Sánchez and other great and rich people had been imprisoned, all of whom he could well continue to detain should he so wish, his only objective had been that his fellow countrymen should receive satisfaction for the damage they had suffered, and that the [Portuguese] prisoners be released. This the King of Castile had not done, yet should he order their immediate release, he would have his town back right away, and thus he would have satisfied what he was bound and obliged to do. The King of Castile replied, without bringing any more of his arguments to the fore, that his town had been taken from him as it ought not to have been, and Alburquerque scaled, while it believed itself safe and secure, on account of the articles and oaths sworn in this regard; and he requested him to hand it back to him. To this end, he sent as messengers to the King of Portugal the aforementioned García González356 and the Doctors Pero Sánchez and Antón Sánchez, who completed their embassy in exactly those terms. The king replied to them that he had rightly taken the said town as security for the said debts, and that once he had satisfaction for what he was owed, he was ready to hand it over to him. If his adversary kept saying that he had taken the town from him unlawfully, he wished in this matter to submit to the judgement of those who, as laid down in the articles, should be nominated by both sides in such a case. They should meet in the border area between Elvas and Badajoz, and he would fulfil whatever verdict they might reach on this matter. With this reply, the envoys left. Even though the king sent his judge to the border, the King of Castile did not send his there, but again sent García González and Doctor Antón Sánchez, through whom he told the King of Portugal that he was pleased to satisfy him 355 Estate

donated by King Dinis to the Portuguese branch of the Order of Santiago, and headed by its own commander. See Luís Filipe Oliveira, ‘Os Estabelecimentos da Ordem de Santiago em 1389’, Medievalismo, 24, (2014), 307–19, p. 317. 356 According to the antepenultimate paragraph of the preceding chapter García González had been taken prisoner on the fall of Badajoz. His release has to be assumed.

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in what he owed, and would order the prisoners to be released; he should hand back his town to him, to which the king said that he was content. While negotiating with them over the procedure to be adopted in the release of the prisoners, and in the payment of the sums in discharging the debts, in order for his town to be handed back, the count learned that the King of Castile felt very strongly about such a seizure and was making his preparations for war. So he told the king that he should take heed. King João replied that he should take no notice of such a thing, for he wanted to wait for the first blow. This came when the King of Castile secretly ordered a number of ships in Vizcaya to be fitted out, in order for them to seize at Cape St Vincent two great naos which the King of Portugal had [previously] sent to Genoa, laden with wheat, at the request of the commune of that city. The returning naos, laden with weapons and other things necessary to them, bought with all the money from the wheat, were captured by the Castilians, thus openly breaking the truce. Upon this occasion, when the said ambassadors came to speak to the king about what we have mentioned, since they were at court, they persuaded Martim Vasques da Cunha and his brother, Lopo Vasques, with great promises and increase of honour, to go over to Castile. They did so, without King João knowing anything about it. But others claim that Martim Vasques proposed to them his going, at which they were most joyful, and the King of Castile even more so, when he heard about it. This opinion seems more plausible.

Chapter 160

Concerning the forces who entered through Beira and via the Guadiana, and what the king did in relation to it

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s soon as Martim Vasques was in Castile, and the truce already broken in this way, a number of nobles, with a good following of troops, gathered together, captained by Ruy [López] Dávalos, the Constable of Castile. In this company came Martim Vasques da Cunha and his brothers.357 They arrived in Viseu, setting fire to the whole town and creating much damage throughout that district. The king, who learned of it in Santarém, where he was staying, was very angry and upset about it, and summoned his forces to come to him, including the constable. But none of those to whom the king wrote came to him, although

357 The other brother may be Gil Vasques da Cunha, identified as Martim Vasques’s brother in Chapter 20 above.



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he sent them many messages. According to what some write, the count deliberately replied to the man who brought him such a message, that the king ought not to be so angry at those forces entering his lands, since he had lords and nobles whom he could command to go and encounter them, although he might not go there, and other similar excuses, which greatly displeased the king when he heard them. However, the count did not cease gathering his people together. The king again sent a messenger to him, who recounted the anger he was feeling, especially at the forces who were not rallying to him. The count replied in terms similar to the first time and, with that, he dismissed him. With the king in this angry state, and the count already having gathered 1,200 lances, he made his way to go and see the king, taking with him no more than twenty mules, leaving everyone else in Évora. When he arrived in Santarém, because he came covertly, the king learned of it in the last minute, but he was very pleased at his coming. Hurriedly going out to receive him, he found him between Santa Maria de Palhais and Santa Iria. When the king embraced him, because he found him armed in haubergeon and vambraces, he declared out loud and jocularly, so that many people heard, ‘Now I can really say that this is the first man-at-arms that I have seen in this region!’ Then they both went to the palace. While discussing the incursion into the kingdom of those forces who were at present in the Beira region, the count replied that he took little account of any such action, adding that he came thus unencumbered to ask permission to go after them. While thinking about this, news reached them that the Castilians had already departed. Then the king agreed to invade Castile, and departed for Coimbra, and ordered the count to return to Évora for his troops, and to go and join him. The count did so. While they were both in the city organising their departure, they found out for a fact that the Master of Santiago of Castile, namely Don Lorenzo Suárez de Figueroa, and the Masters of Calatrava and of Alcántara,358 with many troops from Andalusia and the border garrisons, had made an incursion into the Alentejo a and were robbing, killing and taking prisoners, doing as much harm as they could in the surroundings of Beja, Moura and Serpa, as well as through Campo de Ourique, as far as Alcácer [do Sal]. Straightaway, the king was advised to leave off going to Castile, for which he was prepared, and to go and attack the aforementioned forces. So he left Coimbra, and the count with him. They left behind superfluous wagons and pack-mules, and took only the necessary animals, travelling so fast and in such long stages that many of them died. They crossed the Tagus below Punhete by means of a pontoon of boats that the king had ordered to be constructed. During this crossing, the count became quite exhausted in getting the baggage train 358 Gonzalo Núñez de Guzmán, Master of Calatrava (1385–1404), and Fernando Rodríguez Villalobos, Master of Alcántara (1394–1408).

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across, though it was not large. When the king crossed, but before he reached Montargil,359 he received reliable news that the day before, in the morning, the Castilians had crossed the Guadiana by the ford of Serpa, the river being already so high that a large part of their cavalry had stayed behind because it could not cross. If they had delayed a little longer, there would no longer be a ford, because of the increasingly great amount of water in the river, and the king would have caught them within his kingdom, according to the pace at which he was advancing. But he gathered that they knew of his approach through their scouts and thus they had made haste [to escape]. King João and the count were upset at this, as were all those in their host. The next day, he and the count reached Arraiolos, where they slept. That night, as it was already late in the evening, King João sent for the count, who was lying asleep in his tent. He got up and went straight there, although it was quite a distance. The king told him about and indeed showed him a number of messages he had received about the ill conduct that Prior Dom Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo, the marshal of his army, was displaying against his interests, and that he wanted to have him arrested – indeed, he would have been arrested immediately – but the count persuaded him against it for the moment. The following day, the king went to Évora, where he saw the letters that had been intercepted, letters that the King of Castile was sending to the prior in reply to others that the latter had sent him, to the effect that he wished to be his, and go over to him. The king ordered his immediate arrest, and delivered him to Martim Afonso de Melo, who was the chief provincial governor of the city. While the king was in Évora, he mustered his men, and found 4,000 wellequipped lances. He had wanted to enter Castile, but was advised not to do so because it was then winter. So the king departed and went to Coimbra, and ordered the prior to be brought there and handed over to Lopo Vasques,360 the governor of the castle, who held him prisoner for a time until he escaped by means of a ruse, which we do not care to write about. When he returned to the kingdom, the prior sent word begging the king to favour him with a pardon and to return his property. The king did so, excepting the castles that he had already personally given to other people.

359 Montargil is a village close to Portalegre, approximately 110 miles (c. 177 km) to the north of Serpa. 360 It would appear that this man is not the same Lopo Vasques who had gone over to Castile.



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Chapter 161

How the count decided to enter Castile, and the manner of his doing so

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he king departed for Coimbra while the count remained in Évora, as we have said,361 greatly put out and angry at the way the Master [of Santiago] made an incursion into Portugal, and for the following reason. The Master of the Order of Santiago of Castile was the greatest lord and officer of the marches in the vicinity of the count’s territorial responsibility. Before the count left for Coimbra, whither the king had sent him, he was keen to leave the people of the Alentejo in safety and wrote to the master asking that, if he were to enter the kingdom, he would let him know of it some days beforehand. He himself would do the same, if he were to enter Castile, so that both of them could prepare for such an action. The master promised him that he would do so. With that assurance, the constable went to Coimbra. Even though Martim Afonso de Melo remained as officer of the marches in that district and, as an honourable knight, was capable of doing much, he was not up to resisting the might of so many troops with his 250 lances. So it was that, as soon as the master heard that the count had left, he broke his word, assembled his men, as you have heard,362 and overran the country, taking off a number of cattle and many prisoners. As soon as the count realised the king was some distance away, he summoned all the knights and squires of the district for them to come to him with their forces as secretly as they could. He sent to ask the Master of Avis if he would kindly come with his men so they could be companions in the action that he wished to undertake for the service of their liege lord, the king. The master replied that he was pleased to do so and that he would make ready in haste. However, the count found out for a fact that he said afterwards, ‘The count isn’t asking for much. We get all the toil and trouble and he the honour and fame!’ When the master reached Vila Viçosa, where the count then was, the latter kept quiet about this, just saying, ‘My dear master, I sent to ask you to be my companion in this action that I intend to undertake for the service of my liege lord, the king, but I wish you to have all the honour and fame, and my name only to be mentioned for having accompanied you.’ The master replied, ‘On the contrary, the renown should be yours, as it always ought to be’, adding other dignified words, which brought them into agreement. 361 At 362 In

the end of the preceding chapter. the middle of the preceding chapter.

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Then the count ordered his trumpets to sound, and he went to an open space which abutted the surrounding area outside the city walls on the Alandroal363 side with all his men armed and on horseback, wearing bascinets and carrying long lances. With them thus armed and mounted, he rehearsed with each one what he had to do and whenever such a thing might happen, because it was already a long while since the mustered troops had been in any action. The count, the master and all the others left Vila Viçosa one day in the late afternoon, after vespers, and went to pass the night in a wood on this side of the Elvas plain. The next day, they went beyond Elvas, to where a tower stood. There, the constable mustered his men, and counted 700 lances, yet so few foot soldiers that he was quite amazed. With the muster completed, he organised the way in which his forces were to proceed: that is, with him in the vanguard and the master in the rearguard. He divided a number of horsemen into two parties, to go ahead and raid the region of Cáceres and even beyond to seize cattle and people, as many as they could. These men immediately left to carry out their work. The next day, the count departed very early and passed close by Ouguela.364 He slept near a place called Alboter, which is on a very cold river, where they spent a most bitter night, it being the month of December. On the following day, he went to eat at a spot a league and a half to this side of Cáceres, which lies 12 leagues from the border. His raiders were already there, pillaging in the field, disrupting a market that was due to take place that day. Many people were seized, some were robbed, others were killed, while as many as could [simply] fled. After eating, he proceeded to Cáceres, and positioned himself in front of the town. Along a road that led from a good, low-lying township without a rampart called Arroyo del Puerco,365 streamed all the men and women who lived there, with their children and others, to seek refuge in Cáceres. The count sent after them, and all were seized, only a few escaping. As the count was approaching the town, about thirty horsemen came out, and the count ordered the same number of men to attack them. At this point, many troops emerged from the town, in order to bring in a baggage train that was approaching close by. A skirmish took place, in which many were wounded on both sides. However, the Castilians were forced to take refuge within the outer part of town, which was strongly palisaded, and many of them shouted out to the count from inside, ‘Getting up early didn’t do you any good, Nuno Early Bird!’

363 This

township is situated 6 miles (c. 10 km) to the south of Vila Viçosa. township is situated 18 miles (c. 29 km) to the north-east of Elvas. ‘Alboter’ has proved impossible to locate, but the river is the Abrilongo. 365 This township has proved impossible to locate; it could, however, be Arroyo de la Luz, which is situated 5 miles (c. 8 km) to the west of Cáceres. 364 This



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As nightfall was approaching, the count set up his camp by the town, and during the night some of those who had gone raiding returned, bringing many more prisoners, cattle, and pack-animals. On the following day, the outer town was entered by force, looted and burned. The other raiders, who had not yet arrived, also appeared, bringing many more cattle, pack-animals and prisoners.

Chapter 162

How the count left Cáceres and came to Portugal

A

fter he had eaten, the count left the town and went that night to sleep in a grove of cork oaks between Cáceres and Arroyo del Puerco. When it was already evening and dusk was gathering, ten Castilian squires, who appeared to be worthy men, arrived without having previously asked for safe conduct. When presented to the count, they spoke to him, making their bows. He received them well, with pleasant words and countenance. Then he asked who they were, to which they replied that they were from the kingdom of Castile. ‘But how was it that you were so bold as to come like this without first seeking safe conduct?’ asked the count. ‘Trusting in your great goodness, sir’, they said, ‘and the many virtues that God bestowed on you, we were emboldened to come before you.’ Thinking about this, the count asked what their pleasure was. They said that it was merely to see him, as they had now done. Then the count ordered supper to be given to them, but they did not want to eat and took their leave. That night, the count sent out a number of people from that place to Garrovillas and to Barca de Alcántara366 and into the whole district for 4 or 5 leagues around, so that they penetrated 16 leagues into Castile, from where they brought back many prisoners and cattle. Not content with this, they looted a church, which the count had absolutely forbidden. Among the things they took from the church was a cauldron belonging to the confraternity. This gave the opportunity for it to please God that they immediately made amends for the evil deed they had committed in the church. As they lay down with the loot that they brought back to the camp on the following night, one of them tied the handle of the cauldron to the pack-animal on which it came. During the night, when it was shifting around, it took fright at the cauldron and started to

366 The village of Garrovillas is situated some 22 miles (c. 35 km) to the north of Cáceres. The neighbouring village of Barca de Alcántara is nowadays submerged, owing to the Tagus barrage, the Embalse de Alcántara.

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run off. It made a great noise, dragging it along, so startling the other animals that many horses took flight and were never recovered. The next day, the count arrived with his army at Arroyo del Puerco, where they found supplies aplenty. Also, all those who had raided the village of Garrovillas arrived, with their spoils of numerous prisoners and cattle. The count ordered all the women that were being held in the camp to be released, as well as those that the raiders had brought, so that none remained, and he ordered them to be given safe conduct. From there, he departed for Portugal and came through Valencia de Alcántara, finding nobody to obstruct him, taking his time and waiting to see if anyone would come and fight him. Frequently, the count would say openly that one of the things he desired was that the King of Castile or someone of his lineage would come and do battle with him. While the count was thus proceeding, having already been in Castile for a week, he received a letter from the Master of Santiago. Its contents said that it was not fitting for a noble and honourable lord like him to secretly enter the lands belonging to his liege lord the king and to himself, without apprising him of it first. The count wrote back that the master had done worse to him, having promised that, before he made a sortie into Portugal he would let him know, and that the master had entered the lands in his custody, not keeping to his promise, because he knew that there was no one there to prevent him; thus, what was sauce for the goose was sauce for the gander. Since this is how things were, he would send to him afterwards to let him know and would go and take a look at his lands. People say that this was a secret exchange between them, and it can well be believed that it was so. Then the count reached Aramenha, close by Marvão,367 which is in Portugal. There, he ordered the spoils of cattle, pack-animals and prisoners to be shared out, without taking anything for himself, as was his custom. From there, he went to Portalegre, and the Master of Avis to his domains, and all the others to their own places.

Chapter 163

How the count decided to make another sortie into Castile, reaching Villalba

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fter that, the count went to Évora, where God saw fit for him to fall ill from a pain that lasted a good three months. He had already disposed his officers of the marches where necessary, so on his physicians’ advice he 367 Marvão

lies 2 miles (c. 3 km) from the frontier and 6 miles (c. 9 km) to the north-east of the city of Portalegre. Aramenha (the former Roman township of Medobriga) is situated nearby, on the road to Castelo de Vide.



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went to Lisbon. After being there a few days with no improvement at all, they told him he could return to Évora. He reached Palmela, borne in a litter, and there he began to feel better. He proceeded to Setúbal and thence to Alcácer [do Sal], from where he set off for Évora. While he was in that town, he decided to make a sortie into Castile with greater forces than the previous time. He wrote to Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos, who was the [Portuguese] Master of Santiago, and to Lourenço Esteves de Góis, who was the Lieutenant and later Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers; likewise he wrote to the admiral and to all the captains in the Alentejo, in Estremadura and in the kingdom of the Algarve, saying that for the king’s service he was considering making a sortie into Castile, without saying from where nor towards which part. He asked them to come to him with their men and to be his companions in the action that he had decided to undertake. Having sent out messages to this effect, as we have said, accurate information reached him that the Castilian Master of Santiago had gathered 2,000 lances, 800 light horsemen, and many crossbowmen and foot soldiers, and that he intended to enter the Alentejo to inflict as much damage as possible. When the count heard this news and had verified its accuracy, he immediately wrote a letter to the master, in the following terms: My lord and friend: I, Nuno Álvares Pereira, Count of Barcelos, Ourém and Arraiolos, and Constable of my liege lord the King of Portugal, and his chief steward, commend myself to you. I hereby inform you that I have been told you have assembled your forces to come and seek me out and inflict harm and damage in this territory of my liege lord the king, which it is my responsibility to guard. God knows that I was and am pleased that you are as ready as you say you are, because for some days I myself have equally desired to come and seek you out wherever you might be. However, I was prevented from this because of a lengthy illness. Thanks be to God, I am now restored to health and very ready and willing to set out, as are my troops who are already assembled with me. Since it is now very hot in this region, and to spare you the effort, I beg you as much as I can to desist and not to consider expending your energy. God willing, I intend to be where you may be as quickly as, or more than, you could come here. To keep you apprised of any matters that may concern you, I shall let you know. Written in Évora, this sixteenth day of June [1398].

The constable sent this letter via one of his grooms of the stirrup to the master, who was little pleased at it. The master did not reply in writing to the letter but, showing by his words the opposite of what he had in mind, told the groom to tell the count that he could come when he liked, but made no further remarks. He then dispatched letters throughout Andalusia and assembled many more troops above and beyond those he had. With him were the Master of Alcántara,368 Pedro Ponce de León, Álvaro Pérez de Guzmán, 368 Fernando

Rodríguez Villalobos (1394–1408).

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Martín Fernández Portocarrero and others whom we do not need to name. He placed guards at the castles, and gathered in the herds of cattle from the border areas. The men summoned by the count all assembled with him in the town of Estremoz. From there, he departed for Castile. On the first day, he went to lodge with his forces on the banks of the Guadiana, near Badajoz. The following day, he mustered the men he brought with him and counted a total of 1,800 lances, 200 light horsemen, 300 mounted crossbowmen, and 5,000 others, both crossbowmen and foot soldiers. In that town, he deployed his battle formation in the way it was to proceed: that is, with himself in the vanguard, Lourenço Esteves, and the [Portuguese] Master of Santiago369 and the admiral370 in the rearguard. On one wing was Martim Afonso de Melo, and on the other, Gonçalo Eanes de Abreu, with numbers of men in each of these positions. In this disposition, he made his way towards Villalba371 and Zafra, through that district where the Master [of Santiago of Castile] was. They were unable to find sufficient water, for the weather was very dry, and also because the Castilian forces were very numerous and spread out across the land in order to spy upon his army; they also set fire to the provisions to prevent the Portuguese making use of them. So the count sent scouts on ahead, saying, ‘Go forward, and get the lie of the land and bring back some oxen and cows if you can get them, to feed our troops. But do not burden yourselves with prisoners or sheep or goats, because I have come here for the sole purpose of this one man.’ They went as far as a castle named Villalba, where the Master of Santiago had slept that night with all his people, but they saw neither hide nor hair of him. They got as far as the Fuente del Maestre372 because he had raised camp from there with all his followers and had gone to lodge near the castle of Feria,373 high up on the hillside. It was Saturday, the eve of the Feast of the Trinity, and the count made his way in a great and unseasonable heat while Martim Afonso de Melo, who led the right wing, remained at a distance from the army. The master came to spy on this with his light horsemen in front. When Martim Afonso de Melo saw them, he proceeded to attack, successfully corralling them away from where the master was watching from afar, and then returned to his wing. 369 Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos (1387–c. 1418), master of the Portuguese branch of the military order. 370 Carlos (II) Pessanha (1387–1433 and 1437–1444). 371 Villalba (de los Barros) lies some 35 miles (c. 56 km) south-east of Badajoz and 15 miles (c. 24 km) north-west of Zafra. 372 This village (or the ‘Master’s Fount’) is sited some 7 miles (c. 11 km) due north of Zafra. 373 Feria is located some 5 miles (c. 8 km) to the north-west of Zafra.



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That day, Saturday, the count arrived to eat with his forces at that town of Villalba, which belonged to Gómez Suárez, the son of the Master of Santiago, where there were many troops. When the constable arrived and his forces began to set up camp, the soldiers started to cut a lot of wheat that was there. This caused a great brawl in which many were killed and injured on both sides. At that point, the scouts who had remained behind brought many prisoners and cattle from the Fuente del Maestre, turning up at that moment. Wanting to get his tent pitched, the count looked attentively at the castle of Feria and noticed the white tents of the Castilian encampment. He called some of his men and said, ‘What do you think those white things are, appearing on that piece of terrain over there?’ ‘Sir’, said some, ‘they’re tents.’ Others thought that they were boulders. But he affirmed that they were tents, even though they were over a league away. Then he summoned the scouts to tell him if it was as he said, and they confirmed that they really were tents. So he roundly criticised them, saying, ‘I wonder that I don’t order your heads to be cut off, seeing my enemies so close to me and you unable to tell me because you didn’t know. Take care that you don’t make the same mistake again.’ Then he sat down on his [campaign] trunk pondering on the matter.

Chapter 164

Concerning the message that the Master [of Santiago] sent to the count, challenging him to fight, and the reply the latter gave

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ith the count thus settled after the journey, and while people were preparing his food and setting up his tent, it being not yet midday, there came a trumpeter on behalf of the Castilians. He asked which man the constable was, and people showed him. He came up to him and said, ‘My lord Constable, my lord the Master of Santiago, the Master of Alcántara, and the lords with him send word to you that they are over there in Feria, which is a league and a half from here, in order to do battle with you, but if you wish to leave with your people and inflict no further harm upon this land, they will be pleased. Otherwise, if you do not wish it so, you should prepare yourself for battle, for they are ready.’ The count responded joyfully and said, ‘My friend, you are most welcome with such news, which makes me very happy. Meanwhile, go and take a little refreshment in this camp, and I shall take counsel on this and very soon will give you my decision.’ Then he had his trumpeters called, and charged and ordered them to give privately to the Castilian trumpeter as many provisions as he needed. While

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the Castilian trumpeter was eating, the count recounted to the [Portuguese] Master [of Santiago], and to the lords and captains, the message that had come from the Castilians. All were very joyful at it. The count agreed with them that since the next day was Sunday, and moreover, a major feast of the year, Trinity Sunday, they did not wish to fight. But on Monday they could set out to do battle. Then the count ordered the trumpeter to be given clothes and money, and so did some of the captains, readily giving him clothes and jewels. The count said to a good squire named João Esteves Correia, ‘Go with the Master of Santiago’s trumpeter and commend me greatly to him, and to the Master of Alcántara, and greet the others individually and in person. Say that I thank them warmly for the message that they sent via the trumpeter. So as not to detain them there, I shall, God willing, be with them on Monday to respond to the battle that they wish to fight with me, for they have come for this reason. But since there is this fine valley, called the Alameda,374 between me and them, which is a most convenient place for fighting, let them go there on Monday morning, and they will find me ready.’ Then he took him to one side and said, ‘Take this letter’ – which he had composed and written in his own hand – ‘and give it to the master after telling him it is upon my orders. Take care not to drink anything even though they invite you to, for it might result in your coming to some harm, and while we were waiting for you to return with a message they would come upon us with highly suspicious intent and do us harm. But pay close attention to how they behave, how many men they are, and how they are equipped, and return straight away.’ Then the squire rode off, in haubergeon and vambraces, a sword at his belt, and the trumpeter with him. When they arrived at the Castilians’ camp, the master was riding around, speaking to nine of his captains. As they had come near, João Esteves told the trumpeter to tell the master what the count had said in reply. The trumpeter approached them, while the squire withdrew a little. The master asked, ‘Well, what news do you bring?’ and the trumpeter told him what the count had said, and how he had understood from the Portuguese that the day they planned to fight was too late, in his opinion. ‘How do you know?’ they asked. He replied, ‘I know, because the count told me, as did many others in the camp. I tell you that I walked around among them and to my amazement there were over 1,500 tents. There wasn’t a tent in which there weren’t five or six lances propped up against each other, which it would seem equalled the number of men. But that squire, whom the count has sent to you, can tell you about it more precisely. Call him, and hear for yourself, and then you can do what it is your pleasure to do.’

374 Literally,

the ‘poplar grove’, nowadays also any fine avenue.



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Chapter 165

How the count’s squire spoke to the master, and concerning the discussion that they had

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he squire was summoned, and he came to them. Making his bow from horseback, he asked which of them was the Master of Santiago, for he had not recognised him; so they told him. Then he gave his commendations to everyone, as he had been ordered to do. When he relayed the count’s reply, saying how on Monday, God willing, he would be there with all his men to do battle with him, he added some words of his own, saying, ‘Sir, I warrant that this is the desire of all, because you have caused such damage and harm in the border region which my lord the count has custody of, that it could not be recompensed even at a great price. You have left nothing for its inhabitants, for everything has been stolen except the sharp-pointed lances and poniards with which they will all come and seek you out in order to gain reparation.’ ‘Let them all go to the Devil!’ said the master. ‘Well, sir’, said the squire, ‘you can be sure that, as they found out that you were here, they [also] came here first before you gave orders to go where they are. They did not come here to carry off oxen or cows, or other prisoners from this land, but simply in order to fight you. If everyone’s distrust is worth anything, everyone told me to distrust you. Had it been the men’s will, they would be here this very morning, all of them ready [to do battle]. But since my lord the count is not accustomed to journeying on a Sunday, still less to fighting, for that reason he has postponed this matter till Monday, as you shall see from this letter I bear.’ Then the Master of Santiago said to his Alcántara counterpart, and to the others present, ‘Sirs, excuse me for a moment. I shall speak briefly to this squire and see what is written.’ Then he went to one side with him. After reading the letter he said, ‘Squire, according to what you say, and what is written here, the count has a great complaint against me for making the sortie into Portugal. But in truth, if he knew how this matter was carried out and so contrary to my will, he would not blame me so much, nor would the lords with him.’ ‘Sir, you know whether you are to blame or not’, said the squire, ‘but I am telling you what I have been ordered to say and how the whole thing stands; and I do not see how you can excuse yourself.’ ‘Very well’, said the master. ‘It’s like this. However it came about, it appears that my liege lord, the king, heard what passed between the count and me regarding these sorties, and sent the Master of Alcántara here to tell me that we should go forth as soon as I found out that the count had set out. Since I gave him my excuses for not doing so, three words were said to me that I would be ashamed to repeat. I made so many excuses to the point where he

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told me that, if I did not wish to do it, he would deprive me of the mastership and all my privileges, for he held such a mandate from the king. That is why I was forced to do it …’, and he wept as he said this. The squire replied: ‘Albeit as you say, sir, you are not blameless. For you could well send your own message, in secret so that no one could find out, to those who have charge of the castles, to prepare the land and make ready; thus you would do what your lords desire while not insulting my lord the count, who loves you, speaks so well of you, and would not cause you similar harm for anything whatsoever. I see no good reason why you should not be to blame.’ ‘Holy Mary help us!’ said the master. ‘Is there nothing to say to the count that would prevent us having a battle?’ The squire returned, ‘I know nothing you could do to divert him from this, except confronting him with everlasting peace between Portugal and Castile, if you have the power to do so.’ ‘Everlasting’, said the Master, ‘is a huge thing, and it cannot be done that quickly. But we could make a truce with him for a few months and during that time we could negotiate peace. But how can this be, if you say that he’ll be here immediately on Monday?’ ‘You may be assured, sir, as I’ve told you, that if tomorrow had not been Sunday, and furthermore such a feast as it is, battle would have been joined at once. But on Monday morning he will be here without fail. Despite this, speak with these lords and let them see what I have brought in writing, consult with them, and then you can respond accordingly.’ ‘That seems reasonable’, said the master, ‘You say well.’ They both went back to the others, and the master said to them, ‘Sirs, I think it is as well that you see the letter this squire brings from the count.’ Then they dismounted and withdrew straightaway to hold their council nearby. The master said to Fernán Díaz de Mendoza: ‘Take this squire and look after him. Bring him wine and fruit.’ They were brought, and he ate some fruit but only pretended to drink, not tasting it at all because of what the count had said to him. As he was waiting for about half an hour, Fernán Díaz asked him about everything in the encampment. At that point, the master approached the latter and they began to ask, ‘Squire, what is your station?’ ‘I am the King of Portugal’s vassal and the constable’s criado’, he said. ‘Are you married or single?’ ‘Married’, he replied. ‘Where do you live?’ ‘In Lisbon’, he replied. ‘How many men are there in the constable’s camp?’ ‘There would be up to 700 bascinets, 4,000 foot soldiers and some crossbowmen’, he said. ‘How can this be?’ they asked, ‘for our trumpeter says the opposite’.



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The squire, wishing them to wait there for the battle, replied, ‘So I thought, but it could be that there are more, or not as many’, although he had clearly heard what the trumpeter told them. ‘Now, sirs’, he said, ‘why are you detaining me with so many questions without giving me an answer? I know nothing of your counsel nor what you have agreed, but I challenge you on behalf of my lord, the count, that on Monday morning you come down from this hill where you are encamped, to that valley you call the Alameda, and I pledge to you that he will be there with all his men to do battle with you, only excepting some serious event that would prevent him from doing so.’ The master said in reply, ‘Squire, this letter contains the reply to the one you brought. Bear it to the count, for in it I refer to the truce and peace that we were discussing. If he wishes to fall in with it, let him send word. If not, we shall expect him here with pleasure.’ Thus they ceased speaking of this. Not long after, a chamberlain of the master’s arrived and said: ‘Squire, my lord the Master of Santiago left the Fuente del Maestre armed, and with these men, and wears only those adornments that pertain to his person by feats of arms. He begs you to wear this garment that he dons when he takes off his armour, and you will honour him by doing so and with this sword and hat as well, on account of the good news you brought him about the battle that is near.’ He replied: ‘Tell the master that may God keep him, but I do not need his clothes. However, as he promises to come down from that hill to join battle with my lord the count, I am pleased to accept the things he sends me, as long as it pleases the count that I use them.’ Then the master returned there and said that he should take them on that condition. Then he ordered him to be placed under the safe conduct of six squires, so that he should not be harmed by anyone in the camp; and so he departed.

Chapter 166

Concerning the message that the squire brought back and the agreement the count came to over it

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oão Esteves returned very happy with the master’s gift of the sleeveless tunic, lined with grey down, with a golden scallop shell on the breast. He arrived at night, at eventide when the count usually said his prayers. He told him that the master had shown that he rejoiced at his message, saying they were ready, and repeated all the other matters that he had discussed with him. The count listened to them all and, having looked at the letter the squire brought, summoned those who habitually formed his council. Having taken

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in attentively what the master had written and said to the squire, he thought that it was all Castilian trickery and that the master had only done that to get the count to leave his domains, so that they could say afterwards that he had done so out of fear and cowardice. Once the count was in Portugal, he would not give it any importance, and the master would be left with the honour, and excused from joining battle. For, if the master pledged himself immediately to set up a truce and was willing and able to do so, there was no reason to delay it any further. The master could not have a better moment to speak about the doubts that could arise over such a matter than when they were both in close proximity. However, these were just words that would never be put into effect, and which deserved no concern other than doing battle with him, since the master’s words showed how pleased he would be to do so. With this settled, the count enjoyed that Trinity Sunday. Very early at dawn on the Monday, after mass, the trumpets sounded and they went to the Alameda valley, which lay between them and the enemy, but found nobody. There, the count put his battle formation on foot, waiting the whole day for the Castilians to attack him, but they declined to do so. The count slept there that night. The next day, he moved the army close to the castle of Feria, a league away, where the master was, in order to do battle with him on new terrain. That day, several notable skirmishes took place between their forces and the Castilians, who came down from the high ground where they were. Martim Afonso de Melo conducted himself as a very valiant knight and was angry with the Castilians for not daring to make a stand against him but unashamedly running away. That day was spent in such actions. Very early on the Wednesday, after mass, on a field very suitable for fighting, the count organised his battle lines according to how he had decided they were to proceed. The field lay opposite to where the master and the other lords were on that hilltop, for the count thought they would come down to him when they caught sight of his men. But they declined to do so; rather, they sought protection higher up, close to the castle of Feria. When the count saw that they feared battle and did not want to approach, despite the fact that they occupied those heights, he made his way towards them on foot until in their pre-arranged order his men reached the bottom of the hill. There, the count sent a message to the Castilians asking them to come and join in battle, because he was there, ready. If at first they had showed themselves very keen to do that, it now seemed that they were taking a long time about it. He added that he had approached them very willingly but that they had placed themselves on such high ground that there was no room for them to fight. The master sent word that they would act as they understood was to their best advantage, but he begged and requested him not to shame him any longer in having them so penned up. He added that the count should return to his land with the great honour that he had, and send him a trustworthy squire to speak with him about certain matters that were for God’s service and that were



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pleasing to him. The count sent a criado of his called Fernão Domingues, ordering him to say that the master should speak with him about whatever he considered to be for the best. The master told him to tell the count in secret that he was pleading with him to return to his country; he promised him to call an extended truce and, furthermore, he would negotiate peace between both kings with much honour to him and service to God; this he affirmed with a sworn oath. The count heard all these arguments, saying that he would not turn back but would go forward in response to the insult he had received from him. He asked Fernão Domingues if the Castilians’ position offered any gap through which they might enter and reach them. Those who had seen it said that, even if they went on foot and unarmed, they could not get there without very great effort. Also, the Castilians were palisaded on the flattest ground, with many armed men and crossbowmen, and they seemed to be more numerous than their own men. The count replied that, as far as numbers were concerned, it did not matter, for everything lay in God’s power, but since the location was unsuitable, it was not a good idea to strive any longer. They would let them be, and penetrate further into their territory in spite of them, and in their full view.

Chapter 167

How the count came to leave Castile and went back into Portugal

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hen the count saw that the master and those with him in no way wanted to attack him and were afraid of joining battle, he moved his forces ahead, leaving the Castilians behind. He thought that it would be as much to his honour to overrun the land, with them watching, while they did not dare to do battle, as it would be to fight and defeat them. He departed for Zafra, which was 2 leagues distant, and there he set up his quarters for the day. They found plenty of provisions there and much good wine. Since this town belonged to the master, the men started felling the trees and setting fires round about. However, the count was displeased at this. Nevertheless, they did it deliberately so the master could see his land burning before his very eyes without daring to come to its aid. While the count was making his way through Zafra, Gonçalo Eanes de Abreu, who along with other captains led one of the wings, chased after 200 Castilian lances, who had come to spy on the army, pursuing them for a full league, because they did not dare to confront him, despite his being accompanied by very few men. That day, with the count already quartered, a great disturbance broke out in the camp. There was so much brawling, involving so many men, that the

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count came out of his tent, covered only with a mantle, to see what the matter was. By the time he got to the scene of the fighting, he already had a number of men with him. When those who had nothing to do with the disturbance saw the count approaching like that and thinking it was directed at him, they drew their swords, holding them above him to protect him. The count was so squashed among them as they led him forward that he lost his mantle and was left wearing only his doublet. He walked a good while like that until people found out what it was and the fighting stopped. When an inquiry was held on the count’s orders, it was discovered that a squire called Afonso Pires Sarrazinho had instigated the disturbance. Others said that it was due to the good wine. The count would have immediately started to deal with him very harshly because of the harm that could arise from such an incident, but, at the request of many, who pleaded on his behalf, he relented. However, he expelled him from the army. Having arrived at Zafra, the count sent out raiders. The following day, he departed for Burguillos,375 which lay 3 leagues away. He reached there on a Wednesday, on the eve of Corpus Christi. This town is unwalled, has a castle, and 400 inhabitants. The master had already sent his men there and to other places where he thought the count might go, so that in that town there were easily 700 lances, worthy knights and squires, and many foot soldiers and crossbowmen. They barricaded the approaches to the inner town building barriers of unmortared stone across the entrances to the streets, each one guarded by crossbowmen and men-at-arms, fearful that the count would fight them since he had set up camp so close to them. However, as he had already gained sufficient honour and reparation for what the master had done to him, and also because the poor farmers were suffering badly and were not to blame, he decided not to inflict further damage. On the following day, Corpus Christi, the count celebrated the feast there. Everyone processed, armed, through the camp in goodly quiet and well regimented, as though in a city where things could be done honourably. The Castilians who saw this were very angry, saying that the count was doing that more to dishonour and mock them than to honour the feast-day, given the way he was doing it. After the Body of Christ was borne in procession through the camp, Martim Afonso de Melo, who was one of those who had gone out to forage the day before, with sixty lances belonging to both him and the count, found himself at dawn on the outskirts of Salvatierra,376 thinking he would encounter some of the master’s men. But he only found the inhabitants of the town, whom he robbed, seizing many of them. On his way back, he encountered a large number of men who had come from Seville on the master’s orders and who 375 Burguillos

(del Cerro) lies 6 miles (c. 9 km) to the west of Zafra. (de los Barros) is located 20 miles (c. 32 km) north-west of Zafra and 9 miles (c. 14 km) to the west of Feria. 376 Salvatierra



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were returning to their homes. Martim Afonso attacked them but they did not want to await his onslaught. He seized and killed a number of them, some in the first onset and others when he caught up with them. When he arrived with his plunder of cattle, pack-animals and many prisoners, the people of Burguillos came out to attack them, and the count came out of the camp to help him. There was a great skirmish near the outskirts, with wounded on both sides, among them Gonçalo Eanes de Abreu and Gómez García de Hoyos. The next day, the count left Burguillos and approached Jerez,377 4 leagues away, where the [Castilian] Master of Santiago already was, having come from Feria. He did not want to fight from that town, so no one came out to attack the count. When the latter saw this, he went on his way to lodge near Villanueva de Barcarrota.378 The next day, he spent the night near the border, between Villanueva [de Barcarrota] and Olivença. There he received a message that the master [now] wanted to attack him, so on that account he waited three days for him. He would have waited longer, but news was brought to him that the master did not want to come and that he had already dispersed all his men. The count then went on to Olivença with great spoils of cattle, pack-animals and prisoners, as one who had spent two weeks in Castile; indeed, his raiders had penetrated a good 20 leagues into the kingdom. The count reached Vila Viçosa, where his mother and daughter were. From there he left for Évora, deployed his officers of the marches, and then continued to Montemor[-o-Novo] in order to rest from his labours. Let him remain there taking his ease for a few days. Meanwhile, we shall go and see what the king did after he left the count.

Chapter 168

How the king left for Galicia, and what happened to him at the ford on the [River] Minho

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he king left for Coimbra, as we have said,379 extremely angry at the sortie made by the Castilians and the arduous marches that he and his men had made at the time in order to come upon them inside the kingdom. While the king was in that city, he received a message that João Fernandes Pacheco and his brothers had gone over to Castile, as had Gil Vasques da Cunha and João Afonso Pimentel. Owing to their departure, his adversary had taken the towns 377 Jerez

(de los Caballeros) lies 20 miles (c. 32 km) to the west of Zafra. de Barcarrota is situated 12 miles (19 km) to the west of Salvatierra de los Barros. 379 See Chapter 161 above. 378 Villanueva

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and castles which had pledged him their fealty, such as Bragança, Vinhais, Mogadouro and Vila Maior.380 If anyone should criticise us for not giving the reason at this point why these and other noblemen left the kingdom, this would be a topic for much speculation, and one on which these same critics could usefully inform us further. It was common gossip, however, that they were saying they departed from the king’s lands on account of offences received at his hands. Those who have said that it is pleasant to relate and easy to describe how a prince should act in relation to his noblemen and subjects have spoken truly. But to reconcile high hearts with different wills is a very great duty and almost impossible, because while pleasing some, one cannot help but upset others. Despite the fact that the king received such unwelcome news, he did not, however, alter the plan he had in mind, which was to make a sortie into Galicia to wage war on his enemies. He immediately left for Oporto and, from there, sent out a call to his men, who assembled at Ponte de Lima. There, he mustered his forces and found 4,000 lances and many foot soldiers, plus crossbowmen. He set out towards Monção, 7 leagues away; from where they were [Ponte de Lima] they went to Choças,381 which was 3 leagues from the River Minho, where he intended to cross. With everyone gathered together there, on 4 May 1398 the news arose – and it was indeed true – that on the opposite side of the Minho, near Salvatierra,382 many companies were assembled to obstruct his crossing and then to retire hastily into Tuy, knowing that the king was going to besiege it. The truth was that when Diego Pérez de Sarmiento, the provincial governor of Galicia, and other noblemen, learned of the king’s approach to that district, they thought, correctly, that the king would besiege Tuy and they wished to hasten inside the town to help defend it. But those inside did not want to consent to this, saying their numbers were adequate to take care of the town. Then they turned back and set up camp on the plain of the Louro, right next to the river. Fearful of the king’s arrival, which was ever more imminent, they withdrew a distance of 1 league. These were the people that the king had been told about. He took counsel about them, and it was agreed that they should move camp without delay and cross to the farther side, and if they could seize them it would be a very good start. 380 All

these towns and villages are situated in the province of Trás-os-Montes. to Brochado de Almeida, King João left Ponte de Lima en route to Melgaço, via Choças but, before reaching Melgaço, he veered westwards in the direction of Torre da Lapela and crossed the Minho river a few hundred yards upstream at a ford known as Vau das Estacas. On the Galician side of the river, the place called A Barca still indicates that in the past that was a ford which could be crossed in the drier months of summer. See: Carlos A. Brochado de Almeida, ‘Sinais de Romanização na Torre da Lapela - Monção’, Portugália, Nova Série 26 (2015), 119–48, pp. 132, 133, 137 Fig. 1. 382 Salvatierra (de Miño) is situated directly across the river, opposite Monção. 381 According



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Then everyone got on the move as quickly as they could. As they neared Monção, they asked Diogo Gomes de Abreu, the governor of the town, to send one of his squires, named Fernando Aires, to show them the ford. He, and one other, called João Vasques, both went as guides to the crossing. After sunset, when night had almost fallen, they reached the ford of Estacas, which at that place was the same width as the habitual crossing of the [River] Douro. As the sun had already set, and evening was falling, owing to the cloud cover, the night was not as clear as necessary for such a crossing. The king sent for one of the guides who were to show them the way; the latter rode into the river, with the water coming up to his horse’s chest. The ford was not straight but deviated upstream, just as Nature would have it, with a pebbly riverbed and no water level variation from one place to another. Nevertheless, beside it lay a deep whirlpool, lethal and close enough to cause many people to perish, but which few knew about. The guide crossed to the other side and came back more speedily than he had gone, because of the strong (downstream) current. The king ordered his banner to be taken across, to encourage his men to cross more quickly. When João Gomes da Silva, the standard-bearer, went over, and a number of men with him, he disappeared under the water, close to the riverbank, ahead of where the king was, and this caused many casualties to occur there. People made straight towards the sound of the voices coming from where he was, but the ford deviated upstream, and so many men were lost. The guide again directed another crossing, many more men going with him than the first time. When he went the third time, they were so many that with the dense throng of animals the river level rose, forming a wall [of water], which dislodged many of them and cast them into the whirlpool, unseen by those on land. Also, the night, which was inauspicious for such work, made people stumble into each other. Some of them hampered their companions by holding on to them and took them down with them. In this and other ways many men died, until those who were in the rear began to find out about the losses occurring and told the king, who forbade anyone else to cross. Some were drowned, for they never surfaced; others swam alongside their animals and when they reached the water’s edge they could not climb out because of the steep incline of the riverbank. Thus, they lost their lives, bellowing for people to help them, but they could not do so in time. For although many called out their own names, and their servants wanted to help them, they could not, such was the press. The king remained for a long while on this side of the river, not knowing who the dead were, and rode downstream for much of the night, a good distance from where this loss took place. He crossed the river in a boat, as also did those who could. When daylight came and he found out who had died, he was alarmed and very upset that they had been lost through such an unfortunate accident. He remained there a few days, on account of the dead bodies that surfaced and came out of the water. Some were pulled out with nets, and people toiled to bury everyone. Accounts of the death toll vary

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considerably, but the figure we find most people agree about would be up to 500 in total, consisting of squires, pages and other worthy men, and among the captains whom it is fitting to name, Dom Afonso the king’s nephew, and João Rodrigues Pereira.

Chapter 169

How the king besieged Tuy, and attacked it

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ny reasonable man can understand how much cause the king had to be so upset at such an incident. However, if we put such causes to one side, as befits great lords, these are his deeds, in a short and brief account. He crossed the Minho and took Salvatierra. He arrived at Sotomayor383 and from there set up camp threatening Tuy; he besieged it in such a manner that no one could easily enter from the outside, nor could the besieged population easily make their way outside. However, the town was well prepared with men-atarms, foot soldiers and crossbowmen, and worthy knights willing to defend it, men like Pay Sorredea, who had principal responsibility for the town, Pero Fernández de Andrade, his father-in-law, who had come to his aid, Pedro Díaz de Córdoba, and Gonzalo Azores. With them were up to 300 lances, not counting foot soldiers and crossbowmen, and they had bread, wine and many other provisions, as well as the courage and will not to surrender lightly. The king encircled the city with his trebuchets, which shot at it from all sides. Because of the great damage they were causing, an agreement was reached: that the trebuchets should not fire at night, nor should those inside shoot any poisoned arrows. The king consented to this, because he was not at all keen that the town’s ancient and noble cathedral, which is reputed to contain the body of Friar Pedro González,384 should suffer damage from his side. Furthermore, those on the inside came out frequently to skirmish and, with good, strong crossbowmen they inflicted great harm on the troops, for however good the latter’s arms, they did not prevent many being wounded, a number of them dying. So much was this the case that the Portuguese greatly feared them. Likewise, the trebuchets inflicted great damage on the city, killing a number of people. At this point, the order was given on a particular day to set up the siege ladder and make an assault on the town. In this action many notable squires chosen by the king duly participated, not for their noble lineage but because 383 This

hamlet lies between Salvatierra and Tuy. is the Dominican friar, Pedro González Telmo, also known popularly as St Elmo. He died in 1246 and was beatified in 1254. 384 This



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they were known to be worthy men-at-arms. Among them was one João Preto, who stood out among the others. When he was engaged in conversation one day, as was customary, with a very renowned crossbowman within the town, called Gonzalo de Paredes, the latter asked if he was to go on the siege ladder when they attacked. He said that he was. ‘Do you want to bribe me not to shoot at you?’ asked the one inside. He replied that he did not rate his shooting, and made other ungracious comments, telling him straightaway, to mock him further, what arms he was going to bear, so that he could recognise him more easily. On the day of the assault, the king, to whom João Preto had already related this story, told him to arm himself well and made him wear one of his stout bascinets because he did not have such a good one. Well armed with other weapons, with the siege ladder in motion, and the attack on the city underway, João Preto led the way with other squires, wearing a coat of plates covered with green velvet, with a sash of gold braid. These were the signs he had told the other man about, but it would have been better to have kept it to himself. Gonzalo Paredes was already well prepared, as he demonstrated, with his crossbow to his face, waiting at the bottom of the tower where the siege ladder was to be placed, to do what he did. When João Preto exposed his face a little, to get a rather better view than he could otherwise get, at that very moment a sturdy bolt flew up, wounding him between the eyes so badly that he died shortly after being carried away from that spot. Others were wounded and killed, as understandably happens in such a conflict. Unable to attack adequately because the siege ladder did not reach as high as required, and also because of the damage inflicted on it by a catapult firing from inside the city, the king ordered his forces to retreat. The people inside were very joyful, even though they had suffered some losses, while the king was angry at what had happened.

Chapter 170

How those in the town made known to the King of Castile the difficulty they were in, and concerning the counsel he took about it

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hen this took place, the people in the town thought that, on account of the siege ladder breaking (caused by the catapult) and of the loss of that squire and others who had been wounded, the king would not want to attack again, fearing similar damage to what had taken place on that occasion. So they began to jeer with loud cries, deriding the attack that had been made on

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them, uttering insults and other words with which they thought they could get their own back on the men in the camp. But the king, who had the opposite intention, immediately ordered the siege ladder to be hurriedly repaired, and arranged to have a large cane fence erected to protect the camp and the ladder for when they made a new assault. When the people in the town saw the siege ladder being repaired, and the great haste to finish the cane fencing, they realised that it was the king’s will to consolidate his siege until he could take the town, either by force or by surrender. They sought a way to inform the King of Castile of the tight situation they were in and expected to be from then on, given the way those outside were behaving, and to ask if he would kindly help them. The King of Castile, who already knew of this, summoned his royal council about how he could give assistance to this town, during which meeting many arguments were put forward. These were the main ones: some said that they were amazed that so great and powerful a house as that of Castile, renowned in the whole world, should, for its sins, be placed in such subjection that a handful of Portuguese, with a knight they had adopted as their king, were overrunning the land, despite them, and besieging towns large and small like the one under discussion now, which they could not assist. Furthermore, this was not with all their king’s men but with the few that had remained after the losses at the ford, a force which they reckoned to be some 1,500 lances,385 some good, some bad, but no more. With this, the [Castilian] council [mis]estimated that a good 1,500 people less [than in reality] had made the crossing, and that among these was a third of the men-at-arms and mounted crossbowmen. The council also pointed out that the constable, Count Nuno Álvares Pereira, who was accompanied by the most effective forces in Portugal, wasn’t even there [in Tuy] but far away at the other end of the kingdom. Also, the River Minho, which lay between the Portuguese and their land, was a great obstacle to gaining good back-up. Ever since men could remember, the kings of Castile had always exerted supremacy over those of Portugal, when they needed them for their service, though many times they ravaged their land, if they decided to do so, but they also received great help from them, at sea as well as on land.386 385 In Chapter 168 above, at the muster in Ponte de Lima, the king reckoned that he had 4,000 lances and many crossbowmen plus foot soldiers, but while crossing the ford he lost 500 men of all ranks. However, at the King of Castile’s council meeting, it is stated that King João now only had 1,500 lances left, which seems to be an exaggeration on his losses at the ford. It is difficult to know exact numbers because Chapter 168, beyond the 500 men lost in the crossing, only states that the surviving men that were able to, crossed the river later by boat. 386 This subordination of the kings of Portugal to Castile is another exaggeration of the Castilian royal council, presumably to goad their king into action.



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So much so, that the royal council told their monarch how King Alfonso [XI] had received help from his father-in-law the King of Portugal, even summoning him to be with him in the battle against the Moors,387 where he had immediately gone with all his forces. Later, his son King Pedro, when waging war against the House of Aragon, had sent a request to Portugal for 500 horsemen to serve him in that war; these had immediately been sent to him, captained by the Master of Avis, Dom Martim de Avelar, as well as ten galleys at the King of Portugal’s expense, along with his admiral, Master Lançarote.388 Likewise, other instances of help given by the kings of Portugal to those of Castile, ostensibly of their own free will and for the sake of their close kinship, all were presented there as, in fact, having been given because of their subjection to Castile and for having no power to do otherwise. Besides, if the Portuguese thought they held their kingdom because of one battle in which they were victorious, and King Juan his father had been put to flight, this was only a small marvel. For King Enrique, his grandfather, had been defeated by his brother, King Pedro, and then had later returned to vanquish and slay him, and had recovered the kingdom, of which he was lord, thanks to God. The same had already happened to many others, and therefore they should not be alarmed and allow themselves to be subjugated, but rather take good heart and further their honour, as their fathers and those from whose lines they descended had done. As for those noblemen who were penned up in Tuy for his service and honour and who were valiantly striving to defend it, they themselves were displaying great deficiency and cowardice in abandoning them in this way, without a thought, allowing them to be seized and completely lost. Because of this neglect, nowhere in the world should Castilian noblemen expect a welcome from any lord or prince: rather, they should look to receive severe censure, to their great shame.

Chapter 171

Concerning the decision that was taken to help the town of Tuy

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hile these and other arguments voiced in the [Castilian] royal council were shaped by the great hatred they had for the Portuguese because of things that had happened in the past, two well-considered proposals emerged,

387 The 388 See

Battle of the River Salado, in 1340. CKP, Chapter 24.

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which everyone praised as being well put and wisely thought out. They were the following: First, concerning Prince Dinis, the brother of Prince João (who had died while in Castile, as you have already heard):389 that the king should allow him to take the title of king, and call himself Dinis, King of Portugal and of the Algarve, and that all the Portuguese who had gone over to Castile, plus those who were already there beforehand, should join him and receive him as their liege lord. In this way, on his entering the kingdom and making protracted promises to many, they would all come to him in order to be raised to a greater estate, declaring for him, and would give him the towns and castles as to their natural lord; in this way they would recover Portugal, since up till then they had not been able to do so, whether by trickery or through great expenditure of effort. This could be done well, and better than previously; for with the men that the king would give him and with those that the Portuguese had there, he could certainly raise 2,000 lances, apart from other people who might join him. Entering in this way through Beira, Martim Vasques da Cunha, João Fernandes Pacheco, João Afonso Pimentel and the others would be a great help and the means whereby the common folk could adopt him as their king and liege lord. People say that this accord was on the advice of Martim Vasques and the other Portuguese who had gone there. They said that in that district there was no officer of the marches, nor anyone else who could defend it. The second agreement was that the king should assemble from elsewhere as many men as possible, and send them under a good captain to the town of Tuy to assist in its siege. The rumour should be spread that the king was going there in person to do battle with his adversary. Furthermore, that the Master of Santiago should assemble his companies as well, giving out that he intended to enter via the banks of the Guadiana, the constable’s border region, to take revenge on the arrogance to which he had been subjected when the latter had twice made sorties into his territory. Also, that the largest fleet possible be equipped to run along the coast and attack Lisbon. In this way, they would harass the Portuguese, who would not know which way to go. For the count was not going to leave his border area when such news reached him; the king, in his turn, when he heard that the King of Castile was coming to do battle with him, would leave off the siege to prepare for it. However, it was very doubtful he would engage in battle without his constable, whom he would not dare summon so as not to leave that border undefended. But it was credible that he would rush to encounter the forces entering through Beira with Prince Dinis, and so the siege of Tuy would be abandoned. If those [Castilian forces] who went to raise the siege joined up with those that the prince brought, they could very well fight and defeat him [the king of Portugal], and all these 389 Prince

João had died in the previous year, 1397, but Lopes did not mention this.



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matters would be resolved. With his pride brought down, or with the prince recovering the realm, the way in which he was spoken of would be forgotten, and the King of Castile would make him happy with a nice dukedom, which was appropriate for him. Thus everything would remain tranquil, with great honour to the House of Castile.

Chapter 172

How these forces we have mentioned came together, which King João heard of at Tuy

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ith this agreed by all, and settled upon in a final conclusion that raised their hopes greatly, they hastily sent a message to the people of Tuy to be strong and defend themselves boldly, for they would soon receive ample aid, as everyone would see; they also wrote to them about the manner in which the King [of Castile] wished to proceed in the matter. With that reply, the people of Tuy regained great courage, starting to express themselves in many loose and immoderate words, worse than they had uttered previously. At the same time, letters were immediately sent throughout the land to vassals, light horsemen and mounted crossbowmen, to prepare to make a sortie into Portugal with their liege lord the king, under the captains who would be sent to them. Some people in the royal council even said that it was a good idea to send a number of men-at-arms to the prelates and those holding benefices, to help to take this action forward, which was a great honour for all. With the letters sent, it was not long before everyone was ready, with renewed rage at those they hated. The aforesaid bastard prince Dinis immediately took the title of king, calling himself Dom Dinis, King of Portugal and of the Algarve, bearing the undifferenced arms of Portugal on his banner and seal. Martim Vasques and the other Portuguese, such as João Fernandes and João Afonso Pimentel, their own kin and that of many others came to join him, calling him their king and liege lord. With the forces that the King [of Castile] gave him, and those who had joined him, they numbered over 2,000 lances. Further companies assembled under the Master of Santiago, but authors do not mention that they achieved anything worth relating. With everyone assembled under their captains, the prince took the route to Beira, with Ruy López Dávalos, who later became Constable of Castile,390 and those who were to raise the siege of Tuy. Meanwhile, the rumour spread that the King of Castile was going with them. 390 In fact, Ruy López Dávalos was already Constable of Castile (appointed 1394) as mentioned in Chapter 160 above.

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When King João, who was besieging Tuy, ascertained this news, he did not lose heart, even though he might well have, and was heard by many people who spoke about this in his tent, to say openly, ‘Let the Castilians come when they like with as many as they can bring; they will find me here without fail. They think they can frighten me with their words and assembled forces, believing that on this account I must depart and leave off besieging this place. I am not at all inclined to do so, for I am not waging war against their homeland, nor do I wish to take this town because I covet it, but because the King of Castile has subjugated my towns and wages war on me illegally. Perforce, I must do the same to them. However, let each and every one be forewarned and be duly prepared. Whether the King of Castile comes with the forces which they anticipate or not, they can only raise the siege through battle, which I intend to fight in his territory, since I have already fought another one in my own kingdom. With this battle won, as I hope in God, the town will be taken. Then we shall go and do battle with that new king, that nephew391 of mine, who has been created by those counts and honourable392 Portuguese who are coming with him against the land that raised them, should they wish to attack!’ ‘Sire’, said some, ‘We think it would be advisable to send for your constable to come with the men he can assemble; he would provide great help and strength for such an undertaking.’ The king replied: ‘The constable is far away from here, and I do not know if he could come to such an action as quickly as necessary. But we have others in his stead who can help us better than he can, Our Lord God and His Precious Mother, in Whom I have great hope and in Whose hands I place my actions. He knows, as I have said, that I only wage war to get them to give me peace. However, I shall write to the count that, if he can, he should come immediately with all the men of his border region. I shall also send for those who are nearer, to come with as many men as possible.’

Chapter 173

How the constable set out to go and fight Prince Dinis, who declined to confront him

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t this time, the constable was in Montemor-o-Novo, a town in his border region, in order to take a few days’ rest. There he received a message from his king about how the King of Castile was on his way to the aforesaid siege 391 The

text reads ‘sobrinho’ (nephew), but Prince Dinis was in fact his half-brother, both being sons of King Pedro, Dinis by Inês de Castro and King João by Teresa Lorenzo. 392 The sarcasm of these words is evident.



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with all his forces, in order to do battle with him, and that he, the constable, should go immediately with all his men from the Guadiana area. When the count heard such a message, he went immediately to Évora to put some urgency into his departure. While he was in that city, making haste, news reached him that the Master of Santiago of Castile was assembling a great many men to make a sortie into that district and take revenge for those the count had made into his own territory. After this, another message arrived, from Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho and from other places in the Beira region, informing him that he could be certain that Prince Dinis, who was calling himself King of Portugal, along with Count Martim Vasques, Count João Pimentel393 and many others in his company, were entering that district, causing such damage and losses there that, if he did not help them, everything would be destroyed. Such was indeed the case, for, entering through Sabugal, Prince Dinis had reached Guarda. Martim Vasques and his light horsemen were overrunning the area near Viseu and the surrounding villages, destroying everything, as in a territory where there were insufficient people to defend it from such an onslaught. When the count saw such bewildering messages, he was as worried and apprehensive as any prudent person can imagine he should be. Another concern that equally worried him was not having any of the king’s or his own money to pay wages to the men who were to go with him. However, he borrowed some small amounts from the local royal treasurer with which he partially satisfied his forces. Then he called to council those whom he habitually consulted. After considering the messages that had come for him, the Count settled that it was best to seek out Prince Dinis and put to one side the other messages. If it pleased God to defeat him, he would proceed immediately to Tuy, whither the king was summoning him. Some people were unhappy with this counsel, nor did he please everybody with these words. They said that the Count wanted what God did not want, giving them toil and trouble every day, gaining little benefit and doing no good, and it was not to their advantage to mangle their bodies day and night, and furthermore spend money that neither the king nor he had given them. There were similar arguments by which they clearly demonstrated they had little appetite for going with the count to seek out the prince. When the count heard such arguments, he was very displeased with them. Consequently, he rose up from the council and rode out of the city in order to calm down a little. He was accompanied by Martim Afonso de Melo. 393 This is the first time that Martim Vasques [da Cunha] and João [Afonso] Pimentel have acquired the title of ‘Count’, though Fernão Lopes does not explain or say where they were counts of. Presumably, this was soon after going over to Castile, in Chapter 159 above, where we were told that the King of Castile made great promises of increase in their estate.

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Talking as they rode, Martim Afonso said to the count, ‘Sir, you are angry at what those knights said in council to obstruct your departure. Please do not be, but go ahead with your action. God, who has always guided your deeds, will guide this one, even though they do not wish it. For my part, I declare that I will follow you with those men that I have, and with a firm intent. Even though there is no money, I shall pay my men from my own household.’ The count was very happy with this, warmly thanking Martim Afonso. Those of the council who had opposed him soon found out what he said, and greatly regretted having done so: they saw clearly that, according to the way forward that Martim Afonso had opened up, such a campaign could no longer be prevented. The count immediately ordered wages to be paid to the men who were with him, even though they only covered a few days. Then he left straightaway, with no more than twenty lances, accompanied by Martim Afonso with all his men. Thus he arrived at Crato to reassemble with the others who were coming on after him. There he found the prior, Dom Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo, whom he had not seen since the latter’s escape from prison in Coimbra. He gave orders for him to be taken along, to be brought before the king and be reconciled with him. He was warned by Martim Afonso not to trust him, because he believed that he had no love for the king’s service, indeed quite the opposite. The count said he would act accordingly. However, he took him as far as Nisa and thence to Castelo Branco and, after that, the whole way. At that town, he found a message that Prince Dinis was in the vicinity of Covilhã, 7 leagues away. The count was very pleased at this. It was indeed a fact that the prince was in that area and from there was writing urgent letters in secret to many in the kingdom. He informed them that Queen Beatriz, authorised by the King of Castile, had vested all her rights over Portugal in him, the prince; also, that he came with the name and title of king, along with all the Portuguese resident in Castile, who had already kissed his hand as their king and liege lord, as well as with other very worthy men that the King of Castile had given him, who also came in his company. He asked that they should do likewise, support his rights and do what they were obliged to do. He also promised, like the king he was, to grant them many favours and increase of estate. But, despite all this, or despite other good reasons (which he wrote down in his letters), nobody was coming over to him. Straightaway, and without further delay, the count wrote a letter to the prince, the contents of which were as follows: Sir: I, Nuno Álvares Pereira, Count of Barcelos, Ourém and Arraiolos, Constable and chief steward to my liege lord the King of Portugal, commend myself to Your Grace’s favour and hereby inform you that I have been told you have come with many men into the kingdom of my liege lord the king, to wage war and inflict harm and damage upon it. Even worse is the fact



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that, wherever you have gone, you call yourself King of Portugal, at which I am truly amazed. It seems to me that if you have taken such a name by your own decision, you ought to think about it more carefully. If someone else has advised you, I believe that he has not advised you soundly, because it is a vile and shameful thing for a man of your estate. However, since I feel strongly about these things that are contrary to the service of my liege lord, the king, I have come to this territory to oppose them, with God’s help. Today, the day this letter has been drawn up, I reached Castelo Branco, and I send it to inform you, so that you may be in no doubt about it; and I request and beg you not to be annoyed at being detained a little while. God willing, I will shortly be with you where you are.

Having written the letter, the count sent it by the hand of his criado to Covilhã where he knew that the prince was. The messenger had not gone 2 leagues from Castelo Branco before the count received a message from that town and from others, that, when the prince and his company found out that he was approaching them, they immediately turned around and went back to Castile, and that there was no point in going further ahead with this. In fact, once this prince and those with him received news that the count had set out, advancing [all the way] from Évora to attack them, they quickly tried to find out where each one of them was, and they all were in agreement that, since the count was coming at them in such a hurry, making long days’ marches, there was no way they could avoid fighting a battle. Accordingly, they rejoined the prince. When the prince heard such news, which couldn’t have been further from his mind, he was quite amazed, for he thought that, on account of the many worthy men he had brought with him, no one, even if he were the king, would dare to fight him, without first assembling the entire realm. In the council on this, some said that they should wait for Nuno Álvares and once having defeated him, as was to be expected, owing to the many valiant men he had with him, that would be a good start to his incursion and a great opportunity for many of the kingdom to join them. Other similar arguments were put forward, with which most of the Portuguese were in agreement. Other Castilian noblemen who accompanied the prince, some who had been in the royal battle and others in the one led by the constable,394 and who were already chastened thereby, did not consent to such an action. They said they had already assembled many times with the help of foreigners to fight the Portuguese, but they had always been defeated, however many battles they had with them. They said, ‘But how are we to await these forces who are advancing at a steady pace despite having neither king nor prince to urge them 394 These

are references to the Battle of Aljubarrota and to the Battle of Valverde, three months later, both in 1385. Valverde was led by the Portuguese Constable, Nuno Álvares Pereira, now the count ready to give battle to Prince Dinis and his army.

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forward? We do not consider it wise, especially as, despite all the messages this King Dinis has sent throughout the kingdom, we have never seen anyone come to join him.’ Thus, it did not seem sensible to fight alongside him nor wait for this battle of his to take place. Thus, everyone departed for Castile, taking their new king with them. The count was angry at this, as were all those in his company. He arranged to go to Tuy, to the king, who had sent for him. He ordered Martim Afonso to return with a number of men to guard the borderlands of the [River] Guadiana. He himself went with 1,200 lances to Covilhã, and thence to Guarda, 6 leagues distant, to rest a few days from the difficult march he and his men had undergone in order to reach those forces. People say that when those latter forces got to Castile, and the prince was making his way to the palace, the youths leading the pack-animals continually called out to him, hooting, ‘Ho, king, where are you going?’ You should know that, just as letters were sent throughout the kingdom of Castile for people to be prepared, so were others sent to Santander, in Vizcaya, that they should with all speed fit out as many naos as there were there, and some galleys as well. Likewise, Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, the High Admiral of Castile, strove hard in Seville to fit out some of the galleys lying there very rapidly, as well as ships that he found there. Thirteen galleys were fitted out, and as many ships; in Vizcaya, twenty-seven ships plus two galleys. In all, there were forty ships and barges, plus fifteen galleys. All of them were to come together off the harbour of Lisbon. On arriving there, they fired a number of cannons directly at the city without any hindrance and then withdrew to Restelo, half a league away. However, there were so many people who came out of the city on foot and on horseback to guard the riverbank that it was guarded day and night all the way along to Cascais, a distance of 5 leagues. The galleys could not even take on water on that side of the river. They did not do anything, nor was anything done to them, worth relating. They lay there only a few days and then left.

Chapter 174

How the King [of Portugal] fought in Tuy and gained the town through surrender

A

s the king carried on, as we have said,395 mending the siege ladder, those in Tuy sent out a message [to the King of Castile] asking for help. While the things you have heard of were taking place, a good two months 395 In

Chapter 170 above.



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went by, during which time the king continued his martial labours, which were as follows. He received information that the troops who had left Castile with Ruy López Dávalos were approaching where he was. When he was sure that they were quite near him, a little over a day’s journey away, having already planned the location of the battlefield very close to the town, he ordered the seizure of all the ferry boats that crossed from the other side to his own country, prohibiting them, under pain of death, from going there again to fetch any person. Neither before nor after this did scouts cease going to and fro to bring provisions, without fear of those who lived in the area and of the Castilian troops who were coming over. The besieged townsfolk informed those troops about exactly what their situation was and how the king [of Portugal] had been expecting them for days, showing that he was greatly pleased to do battle with them and had already chosen the site. Furthermore, they should arrive well prepared to fight. Similarly, those in the town showed great courage, having decided that when the king moved to battle, they should all go out to burn the siege engines, the siege ladder and the whole camp. Ruy López Dávalos arrived so close with his troops that he was already less than half a day’s journey from the camp. The king understood the cunning with which they wanted to deceive him and as he worried about how he should deal with it, a reliable message reached him that the enemy troops had made their way to Sampaio,396 a small village six leagues from where he was; and there they were lodged, and there the bridge was barricaded so that no harm could reach them [from that direction]. In fact, they slept there that night and the next day they left for Pontevedra,397 which was 2 leagues away, where the Archbishop of Santiago was. There they did not get a welcome because he intended to move into Portugal, as he did later. So it was that the huge gathering turned back, without bringing to Tuy any benefit other than what you have heard. On 24 July [1398], which was the eve of the feast of Saint James, the king decided to attack the town. Having moved the wing cat398 and the siege ladder, the attackers reached the wall, and the crossbowmen and foot soldiers 396 This is a small town nowadays called Ponte Sampaio, about 18 miles (c. 29 km) north of Tuy. 397 Pontevedra is just over 6 miles (c. 11 km) north of Ponte Sampaio. Ruy López Dávalos seems to be getting further away from the besieged town of Tuy, possibly to recruit more troops. 398 The term ‘alla’ in the original text is of difficult translation. Comparing the function of this piece of equipment to other siege engines, in all probability it is a ‘cat’. This was a protective structure made of wood and osiers which could be used to shelter soldiers attacking a castle, though more often serving as protection and cover at a mining operation to demolish an enemy wall. In the present instance, the cat may have been used to protect the men pushing or manoeuvring the siege ladder.

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gave their all in the places assigned to them. The siege ladder rested against a tower, and those inside [the tower] set it on fire so that it was impossible to support it. Then those who were outside the wall worked hard to move the ladder away from there. At this point a shot was hurled from inside with the small throwing machine they had, and a boulder hit the siege ladder and another the frame of the cat, which looked as if it was all broken up, but the damage was not as bad as the sound of the impact suggested. Yet the assault stopped on that account, and the king was very angry, while those inside [the town] were very happy, thinking their opponents would not come back to fight because of these setbacks. However, that night the king gave orders to his men to work through the night making good the minor damages, and these were very well repaired. The next day, 25 July 1398, was the Feast of Saint James. While neither those in the town nor those in the siege camp were thinking that there would be a battle, the king ordered the trumpets to be sounded, the siege ladder to be moved and everyone to be ready to fight as on the previous day; and for the trebuchets not to cease hurling missiles. He set the siege ladder against the top of the tower and those who were on it [the tower] struck at those above with their lances, and those on the ladder and the wing cat399 inflicted great damage on them, slinging stones and shooting with windlass crossbows so that they made them abandon the wall and the tower. Thus with an arrow they killed the master who was in charge of the [small] throwing machine. The first man to jump onto the tower was a squire called Vasco Farinha, who later went with Count Afonso when he escorted his sister400 abroad, this being a matter which we must relate in greater detail. The onslaught grew so intense that those inside despaired of defending themselves and began to call out, asking their opponents to hold off because they wanted to parley, whereupon Pero Fernández de Andrade left the castle and went to speak to the king. Kneeling on the ground, he told the king he was asking him to refrain from continuing the fight, and that they wanted to yield the town to him, begging him to let them go with their lives, arms and possessions. Furthermore, he should not consider it wrong for them to have defended themselves to keep their honour and for other such reasons. The king said that he did not take amiss their defending the town to keep See Jim Bradbury, The Medieval Siege (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1992), pp. 249 and 271. 399 The wing cat is now offering protection to the attackers with crossbows and possibly staff slings, which were capable of sending stones over castle walls. 400 According to this, Afonso, the Count of Barcelos and illegitimate son of King João I, accompanied his sister Beatriz, the king’s illegitimate daughter, when she went to marry Thomas, the Earl of Arundel. The marriage agreement is described in Chapter 204 below, but there is no mention of Afonso’s presence or of her departure.



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their honour and in the service of their lord and king; but men like those inside who had uttered such uncivil words deserved no other settlement than being taken by force, as he was ready to do, and their heads being cut off so that their tongues could not babble anywhere else. To this, Pero Fernández replied so humbly and in such courteous words that, owing to his earnest entreaties, and also so that some of his own men should not receive any harm during the forced entry, the king granted that they should go in safety with their arms but said that their possessions should remain at his mercy. Then Pero Fernández kissed his hands and went back inside; and thus ended the battle. The next day the king gave orders to enter the city. João Gomes da Silva, who was the standard bearer, climbed up the siege ladder with the king’s flag unfurled and many men went with him, all armed with spears in their hands and wearing their bascinets. That is how the flag entered the city, over the wall accompanied by many men, to the sound of many trumpets, pipes, and other demonstrations of joy. At the foot of the ladder, before the flag was taken up, the king knighted his son Afonso and up to another six or seven valiant men. After the flag was carried around the wall, they went into the cathedral and placed it high up on one of its towers. Likewise, Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho entered the town through what was known as the Pía Gate,401 with many men-at-arms as well as other noblemen. This was the manner in which the town was taken. Great wealth was found in the cathedral. That was because all those who dwelt in the town and around it kept their wealth there; and, when they had to leave, they asked for their portion to be given to them. The king said that he had not agreed to this but that their possessions should be left to his tender mercies, those being that his own men should receive them. Then they all went away without suffering any harmful treatment; all that the Portuguese did was boo and mock them, but nothing more. The king left in the town as officer of the marches Lopo Vasques, the Grand Commander of the Order of Avis, and gave him the wealth that was found there, for him and for those who remained with him to guard the place. He also left there the trebuchets and other fighting devices and then returned to Oporto, where his wife the queen was. There Nuno Álvares Pereira, his constable, leaving Viseu, where he was, hastily came to see him with just fifty men. The king went out to meet him and there, at the count’s behest, Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo, the Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers, was reconciled to the good graces of the king, who had not seen him for some time.402

401 Or

the Pool Gate, because it faced in the direction of an ancient small pool excavated in the rock used in Jewish rituals. 402 See Chapter 160 above.

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Chapter 175

How certain men from Serpa entered Castile, and concerning what happened to them

A

fter leaving Tuy, in the month of December of the year mentioned [1398], Diogo Nunes de Serpa, Gonçalo Vasques de Melo the Younger, who was the Governor of Serpa, and Álvaro Mendes de Beja were informed of how in Castile, on Mount Robledo near Cortegana,403 there were a good 5,000 cows roaming about. All three spoke to each other and agreed to go there as covertly as possible in order to bring back those cattle together with anything else they might find to steal. They gathered their men, to wit ninety lances, twenty-two of them wearing bascinets and haubergeons and the others such haubergeons as scouts wear, plus 100 foot soldiers and ten hunter-crossbowmen. They left the place404 before dawn on Sunday, 26 December, but this is how they were discovered that same day: while the men were lying in a hidden valley, which people call the Conejera,405 putting out barley for the animals, ten Castilian horsemen, who were bringing cattle from Portugal, were passing by across the mountain above that valley, and they saw the men lying there. They left the cattle they were bringing and hurried to Aroche to give the news to Diego García de Valdés, the governor of the castle. Likewise, they went to Fregenal, Cortegana, Aracena, Río Frío and Navas de Sevilla, as well as to all the villages in that area, to let it be known how they had seen those men lying there ready to invade Castile. Unaware of this, the Portuguese left the valley and all went together as far as the other side of Aroche. There they separated into three groups, so that Gonçalo Vasques went to Cortegana, Diogo Nunes to Galaroza and Río Frío, and Álvaro Mendes to Navas de Sevilla. They were all to meet up the next day at a place they had agreed upon among themselves, subject to the fortune that God might wish to grant to each one of them. Gonçalo Vasques came upon Cortegana quite early before dawn, thinking that he would find the people of the suburb still in bed. However, since the local inhabitants already knew about the Portuguese, the latter came across a good 300 men, which included foot soldiers and crossbowmen, ready with their lances in hand. Surprised at finding them thus prepared, they engaged 403 Mount Robledo means oakwood. From this point onwards all the place-names and locations in this chapter (except Serpa) are to be found in the Castilian frontier areas to the north-west of Seville. 404 That is to say the Portuguese township of Serpa, which lies some 18 miles (c. 28 km) to the south-east of Beja and a further 22 miles (c. 35 km) from the frontier. 405 The name of the place means ‘the rabbit warren’.



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in very tough skirmishes and the Portuguese captured two of the Castilians, who told them that they had been discovered and how this had happened. However, despite all this, they did not stop fighting them, with the result that they took 500 goats and sheep by force. They wanted to set fire to the suburb, but the people there begged them not to do that, promising to give them two sackfuls of bread and wine. Since the Portuguese already knew they had been discovered and did not wish to delay, they did not care either about what the local people were going to give them or about setting any fires and made off. They charged all over Mount Robledo, thinking they might find the cattle for which they had gone there, but they had all been moved elsewhere, with the exception of forty oxen used for ploughing, which they found scattered over the hills. They took the oxen to the spot where they were all to meet up. There, as night was falling, they saw men approaching across the mountain. Thinking these were Castilians, they immediately prepared for battle, all on foot. However, it was Diogo Nunes who had been making his escape, together with his men. He had no more than ten head of cattle and seven prisoners, because the whole area was already on its guard; nonetheless, the Portuguese were greatly pleased with him. After nightfall, Álvaro Mendes arrived and the Portuguese, thinking his men were Castilians, made ready to fight just as before. When they recognised him, they were even more pleased, as they were all together again. They were well aware that men were coming after them but they did not know how many there were nor their whereabouts. While they lay there sleeping, local villagers came over at night to see if they could steal the herds, and there was great commotion among the Portuguese as they thought that they were the troops who were coming after them. They got up very hurriedly, realised that it was nothing and went back to sleep. The next day, a Wednesday, they all left and that day advanced 7 leagues. As the winter was harsh and they could not drive the goats and sheep, they killed them all, eating as many of them as they wanted, and then leaving the remaining carcasses behind. The Castilians got close to them that night and decided to fall upon the Portuguese while it was still dark, so they could more easily defeat them. Later, they said, ‘It’s no good, for if we fall upon them at night, it could turn out that, while thinking we’re killing the enemy, we’ll be killing ourselves.’ The Portuguese agreed among themselves that, since they had been discovered, it would be advisable to move at night by moonlight. Then they agreed not to move at night at all because if anything should happen, it would be better if it were to take place during the day than otherwise. There they slept that night, in the company of numerous wolves which were coming for the dead meat, and unaware that their enemies were so close to them.

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Chapter 176

How the Portuguese fought against the Castilians and defeated them

T

he next day, Thursday, 1 January 1399, the Portuguese began to make their way with the cattle and thirteen prisoners that they were taking with them, trying to reach Portugal as quickly as they could. Going along watchfully, they saw, in the distance, that there were thirty light horsemen drawn up on a hill. When they saw them, they said to each other, ‘Surely those are the men who are coming after us.’ In fact, they had come to see the lie of the land. All the Portuguese immediately gathered together in battle formation with their lances raised, in order to look greater in number. Then Álvaro Mendes rode off with ten horsemen to see who the men were. He went close enough for them to hear him and said, ‘What manner of men are you and who’s that captain approaching there?’ ‘The captains’, they said, ‘who are approaching, are such as will today cause you great sorrow.’ The Castilians then asked, ‘And you, what manner of men are you and who is that captain who is approaching?’ ‘You shall know today’, Álvaro Mendes replied, ‘that the captains who are approaching are such as will please you little.’ Thus, he took leave of them without there being any further exchange of words. He then turned back to his own men, who did not stop advancing with their flag unfurled, displaying Diogo Nunes’s coat of arms and carried by a squire, one of the king’s criados, whose name was Gomes Martins. Almost immediately, they came to a river they call Aguas de Miel,406 which is within Castile, but it was so full that the horses had to swim across, as did the cattle and all the men. When the Castilians saw the Portuguese plunging into the river, they thought they were fleeing and came out into the open. Once over the river, the Portuguese climbed over a hill they call Bramadera407 and went down into the valley, dismounted and faced the enemy’s advance. They drew up their battle formation like this: on each side of the flag were placed ten men wearing bascinets; they were flanked by those men without bascinets, bearing lances. The foot soldiers and the crossbowmen occupied either side in equal numbers. The pages, horses, cattle and prisoners were all behind them, so as not to have the Castilian light horsemen at their back. The Portuguese thus set for battle, all the Castilians appeared on the top of the hill. They were a force sufficient to wrest away their plunder, for these 406 Honeyed 407 Blustery

Waters. Hill.



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were the captains who came with them: a knight who had been Pedro Ponce de Marchena’s squire, with Pedro Ponce’s men and flag and all from Fregenal, where he was stationed as officer of the marches; Diego García de Valdés with the community of Aroche and with the men he had at the borderland; Juan Martínez Rabián and others. They were in all 300 lances, 60 light horsemen, 100 crossbowmen and 800 foot soldiers, so they numbered more than six to one. When they got to the top of the hill and saw the Portuguese there like that, they gave a great blast on their trumpets but did not move from there; they drew up in as wide a battle formation as they could and remained like that for a short while. Then they all closed up tight together, but did not move. When the Portuguese saw that the Castilians did not want to come at them, they sent Vasco Esteves Godinho, the Commander of Ourique, to the Castilians. He approached them and said, ‘The knights who are over there send word to tell you that, since you are here, it should please you to give them combat.’ ‘Sir knight’, they replied, ‘tell those captains that there is no gain for them in those few head of cattle and the prisoners they are taking. It should please them to give them to us and then go off and enjoy their good fortune.’ Vasco Esteves Godinho came back with the reply and the Portuguese said to him, ‘Return to them and say that we will not give them so much as a cow’s tail nor one single prisoner. Rather, either they agree to come at us or otherwise we will advance to attack them.’ When the Castilians heard this message, they said, ‘Well, if that’s the case, let them go with God’s blessing with everything they are taking, for we do not wish to attack them.’ ‘Surely’, said the Portuguese, ‘these words and such a message aren’t sincere. For it cannot be that so many good men who have come here should let us simply go in peace. Rather, they send us this message so as to defeat us by guile. For as soon as we undo our formation and prepare to depart, they will attack us pell-mell and slay us all. They‘re keeping us here parleying until nightfall, when they can take us. So it was, in fact. For the Castilians intended to seize them and had even brought along a sack full of leather thongs with which to tie them all up. To this, the Portuguese said: ‘Let it not be so. Since they don’t wish to come at us, let’s go at them. Also, let’s kill these prisoners that we have here so that, when we commence battle, the Castilians can’t release them and then use their help to kill us.’ As it was, out of pity, the Portuguese did not want to do this, but it did so happen afterwards. When the Castilians realised that the Portuguese wanted to fight at all costs, they drew up their battle formation into one wing with all on horseback, 400 foot soldiers and fifty crossbowmen on one side, as many again on the other, and the light horsemen at the rear. ‘Now’, said the Portuguese, ‘the men that are approaching have all displayed their devices so it behoves us to differentiate ourselves so that they can tell

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who we are.’ Then, they all gathered sprigs of spurge-laurel and tied them on where they best could. Here it must be recorded how God wished to protect the Portuguese and grant them victory, because this very idea, carried out in the same fashion, was adopted by the Castilians, and thus nearly all of them adorned themselves with the self-same sprigs. Nevertheless, it pleased God that no Portuguese man should die in that battle despite this [identical] differencing device. All this having been done, when it was already midday, the Portuguese began to encourage each other, being the day that it was, and to make their solemn promises so as to invoke good fortune, as is the custom before going into battle. Then they immediately moved up the hill towards the Castilians, blowing their trumpets and shouting loudly, ‘For Portugal, Portugal, for Saint George, Saint George!’ The Castilians, on seeing the Portuguese advancing towards them, descended swiftly upon them, shouting: ‘For Castile, Castile, for Saint James, Saint James!’ When they began to fight, the enemy light horsemen struck the Portuguese from the rear, seizing thirty horses and killing a page. When the two wings collided, the Portuguese brought down twenty of the enemy horsemen. The battle lasted about half an hour and the Castilians were defeated. Of these, between the battle and the pursuit, 266 horsemen, foot soldiers and crossbowmen were killed and twelve taken prisoner. Of the Portuguese, Commander Vasco Esteves was killed and Diogo Lopes Sarrazinho was wounded. One Castilian, who was on the Portuguese side, was wounded when the battle began; he fled and made his way to Serpa, announcing that everyone was dead and in disarray, for which reason there was great sorrow throughout the town. But the Portuguese arrived the next day to everyone’s great joy and pleasure at the good fortune that God had granted them.

Chapter 177

How the King of Castile sent Master Ambrosio with a message for the King of Portugal

Y

ou have already heard in its rightful place, where we spoke of the 15-year truce that was signed between Portugal and Castile,408 how all its strength lay in three things, in accordance with the framing of the pacts, namely in the delivery of prisoners, in the compensation for damages and in the seizure one

408 In

Chapter 150 above.



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of the parties could make of the property belonging to the other, should the latter be negligent in fulfilling those procedures. Also, how through bad faith and unjustly many Portuguese prisoners were detained and not returned, and no damages were compensated for.409 The King of Portugal, having been advised on these matters, deemed that not only could he seize the King of Castile’s property for such reasons, but also, because the latter had promised to release the prisoners and had not done so, and considering that he was therefore guilty of the offence which the Portuguese prisoners had received from him in this matter, he, the King of Portugal, as their liege lord, could make that accusation before whoever had the power to judge it. Since the King of Castile had no one higher than himself who could judge the matter, the King of Portugal could justifiably wage war against him and with all the more reason seize his property, which was the very least action he could take. If ever the Castilians should wish to claim that a city or town had been taken by unfair means on the grounds that it infringed the clause of the treaties stating that, ‘while the terms of the truce so last, the King of Portugal shall not by himself or through a third party take or steal a city, town or castle, village, area of land or any other thing belonging to the kingdoms of Castile or their subjects’, the Portuguese would reply with another clause where the release of prisoners was mentioned, and where it stipulated that, should one of the kings be found negligent in this matter, his adversary could seize of his property and that of his subjects, to the value determined in the agreements made between them. As in general the word ‘property’ was understood to mean personal chattels and fixed assets, towns and cities, and any other possessions, the King of Portugal could seize the King of Castile’s possessions rather than those of anyone else. Further, the treaty allowed this procedure not to be regarded as breaking the truce, and no other seizure could be made against whoever should so proceed. This was because that property was not unjustifiably taken as a means of appropriation but rather as a result of its having been put in pledge, just as a judge would proceed in the execution of a verdict in a city or town with regard to some debtor who was under obligation to someone else. By the application of such a verdict the town would not be deemed to have been taken or stolen; and the reprisals would be considered to have been correctly carried out in place of the execution of the verdict. Consequently, in view of these reasons and others considered lawful, the King of Portugal decided to take Badajoz and had wanted to take Alburquerque.410 For this reason the truce had been broken on the part of Castile, both in taking the naos that were returning from Genoa and in secretly arming the fleet, as well as the damage 409 In

Chapter 151 above. Chapter 155 above.

410 See

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that was inflicted on Portugal. With the King of Portugal responding to this, the war began to flare up. At this juncture, another agreement between the kings was drawn up. As we have not mentioned it, for you to know all the facts about this matter, here is the agreement. The King of Castile should give 50,000 doblas to the King of Portugal, to be paid under precise terms; plus the expenses incurred in the town of Badajoz. Further, he should order the release from his kingdom of all Portuguese prisoners, with the King of Portugal sending over whomsoever he pleased to enquire where they were and to find out how much his adversary was doing to satisfy that requirement, as had been set out in the first treaty. Should the King of Castile be negligent in this respect, he was to pay 300 Castilian doblas for each Portuguese man; and, should the prisoners not be released, or the doblas due for the prisoners not be paid, in that case García González [de Grisalba] was to render homage to the King of Portugal, placing himself under his power until the prisoners were released, or the total amount for all of them were paid. Furthermore, the King of Castile should discharge the King of Portugal and all his subjects from the totality of the verdicts that had been delivered against them, and likewise the King of Portugal was to discharge the King of Castile from the totality of those that had been delivered against his subjects and from the penalties he had incurred because of the prisoners. So swore the King of Castile, by his royal faith, on the Gospels, as did the great lords of his realm. Since this agreement was as poorly adhered to as the first, there restarted the very war in which these and other evil deeds were committed, as we have been describing up to now. The King of Castile saw that he was left with two fewer towns in his realm, namely Tuy and Badajoz, both on the borders of the two kingdoms, which was quite repugnant to him; moreover, reckoning that however much he toiled for them it was doubtful he could ever recover them because of the great amount of help they could receive from the Portuguese, he thought that the best way to recover them, without any expense, outlay or loss of men, was to offer the King of Portugal an agreement whereby the cities would be given back to him. He then spoke to a discreet and learned Genoese in his service, one Master Ambrosio de Marines, about how he should go about achieving this agreement; he then sent him to Portugal as his ambassador. Ambrosio de Marines reached Oporto, where the king was. Having been welcomed by him, they began their talks and the Genoese showed, in conclusion, that in the service of God, in the interest of their kingdoms, and to prevent so many deaths, losses and other mishaps that could come to pass, he had spoken to the king his liege lord very extensively on this matter. The best solution both had found was for all the disagreements and complaints one king had against the other to be put in the hands of honourable arbitrating



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judges who would consider the damages incurred by both parties, as set out by each king’s proctors. The judges should determine them according to the dictates of God and their consciences in the best and briefest possible manner, establishing between them either a truce or peace, as they deemed fit for the good and benefit of the people and the kings’ service. Should King João wish to grant this, he brought with him a signed truce between him and the king his liege lord for one month and a half, so that the arbiters could be chosen and assemble where this matter would be dealt with. The King of Portugal, being aware of the rights he had and so as to promote every good outcome and tranquillity, stated that it pleased him; and since the ambassador spoke so well about these matters, he said that he was satisfied that he should be one of the arbiters. Master Ambrosio thanked the king for trusting him so much. They immediately agreed that Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira, his constable, and Dom João, the Bishop of Coimbra,411 who later became cardinal, should be judges for his party, and that from Castile should come Don Lorenzo Suárez de Figueroa, who was the Master of Santiago and Ruy López Dávalos, who was the provincial governor of Murcia and the king’s head chamberlain, and the said Master Ambrosio.

Chapter 178

Concerning the power that the King of Portugal conferred on the Bishop of Coimbra and on the constable, and how they met the Master of Santiago and Ruy López

T

he Genoese Master Ambrosio left for Castile and the King of Portugal immediately wrote to the constable, who at that time was in Évora, describing all the dealings he had had with the Genoese and the message with which he had gone away. He told the constable that it behoved him to go to Olivença,412 where he and the Bishop of Coimbra should be present on his behalf, and informing him also about who from Castile were to go to

411 This

was João de Azambuja, appointed in 1398. town is situated some 16 miles (c. 26 km) to the south-west of Badajoz and was lost to Spain in the Napoleonic Wars; it is now known as Olivenza. Though it was restored to Portugal by article 105 of the Treaty of Paris (1814), Spain has constantly refused to comply. 412 This

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Villanueva de Barcarrota,413 in order to deal with the proceedings, in accordance with the power that would be conferred upon them. As soon as the count read the message, he began to make ready with 500 well-equipped and mounted lances, and the Bishop of Coimbra went with him. Rui Lourenço, a bachelor in canon law, was to go in their company, as well as another famous scholar called Álvaro Peres Escolar, to set out, on behalf of the King of Portugal, the wrongs the latter had suffered from his adversary. Although for some people it may seem superfluous to write about the power they held and which the king had conferred upon all of them, here follows the gist of it. In his name and in that of his heirs King João pledged and conferred upon all five414 of them, honest men of goodwill, full powers to arbitrate on all demands, questions, disagreements and disputes arising from the war in which they (he and his adversary) were involved, and on all matters that could arise from it and for which they might expect one king to be somehow under an obligation to the other. Furthermore, that they all, having reached one and the same opinion, summarily without further judicial formality, whether the kings and their proctors were present or not, were empowered to agree and determine the wrongs, damages and acts of plunder for which one king was to be held responsible to the other, and to make the kings friends as they wished and deemed fit; they could eliminate from between the kings all enmity and ill-will through a truce or permanent peace, as they best saw fit; that neither king should be able to appeal or level a complaint against whatever the proctors should unanimously order, being unable to make any protests on that matter, be it on the grounds of the Schism, or of distrust, or of any other remedy through a right given to him either by canon or civil law, under pain of paying 10,000 gold marks as often as he went against what the aforementioned arbiters ordered, and which the proctors could execute. In case four of them agreed and one did not, this agreement would come to nothing; but if all agreed on some matters and not on the truce or perpetual peace, then such an agreement would be invalid; and if perchance they did not agree on one determination and they should wish to choose other men to bring them to agreement, they could not do so, unless they were appointed by the kings; and no prelate or pope could constrain those who disagreed to agree with the others. 413 Now

known as Barcarrota, this town is located some 30 miles (c. 48 km) due south of Badajoz. 414 It is difficult to understand who these five are, because only four men are mentioned. Further below, both groups make up ‘eight men’, but it is not known whether the number of Castilians is three (as initially) or four, including Doctor Pero Sánchez, and therefore nothing is made clearer. The chronicler must have used incomplete or inaccurate sources.



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Since a period of tranquillity without any dispute between the peoples of the two kingdoms was necessary to deal with such a tremendous issue as was a truce or peace between the kings, given the great grievances they had, the King of Portugal ordered a widespread suspension of hostilities, which was to be published on the border between Castelo Rodrigo and San Felices415 at the beginning of the month of January of the following year, 1399, for this was December. The suspension was to last until mid-March. Charged with the duty that we have described, the count and the bishop departed and went to Olivença. On 8 February, being the exact deadline for everyone to be ready in the appointed places, the Master of Santiago and Ruy López arrived at Villanueva de Barcarrota, invested with similar powers and orders to suspend hostilities. With them came Master Ambrosio, who could be in whichever of the places he wished, and also Pero Sánchez [del Castillo], a doctor of laws, who came as proctor. The condition was that if they did not come on that day, the suspension of hostilities would have no validity. When they arrived there, the first thing spoken by Master Ambrosio, who went from one group to the other, was that they should come forward to meet one another and bring two knights with them. Besides these, each should bring, for his part, fifty horsemen, wearing haubergeons and vambraces. On the day they had to meet, the count rode a large, handsome horse. He was wearing a haubergeon and vambraces, a black jacket, mail cuisses and greaves inside his boots, and carried an axe hanging from his waist. He took with him Gonçalo Eanes de Abreu and Pedro Eanes Lobato, plus a further fifty men, both knights and squires, likewise clad in haubergeons and vambraces, and armed with swords and daggers. Martim Gonçalves, the count’s uncle, remained with the other men in Olivença to go to his aid should the need arise. The place chosen for the talks was a brook which, at a certain spot, was divided by a beautiful, verdant islet. There, all eight men gathered together in the manner we have described, and each group of fifty stayed on the side of its respective kingdom remaining a short distance away. However, the Portuguese were advised by the count to keep a watchful eye on him, so that, should anything arise between them, they were to rush there to help him. After the count and the lords had embraced each other, they and likewise the knights started to speak to one another about the matter which they had come to discuss and to which they devoted a long time. When the talks ended, the count returned to Olivença. He extended an invitation to most of the great lords who were with the Master of Santiago and Ruy López and entertained them most honourably and generously. Then they returned to where they would be resting. 415 Castelo Rodrigo (Portugal) and San Felices de los Gallegos (Spain) are townships

close to the frontier, respectively to the north-east of Guarda and to the north-west of Ciudad Rodrigo.

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Chapter 179

Concerning what was first said during these acts of arbitration

S

ince we have mentioned here the acts of arbitration to establish an agreement between the kings, we think it is right that we should say a little of what was dealt with while they were conferring and how such important business was concluded. This will be done very briefly, so as not to make the account inordinately prolonged. It happened then that, because it befits all good judges to proceed without bias in all lawsuits they have to judge and, for their information, to have gathered knowledge of the complaints and rights the parties involved have, it was proper that the proctors who were there should set out before them the rights each of the kings had against his adversary. Doctor Pero Sánchez, speaking on behalf of King Enrique, his liege lord, about the wrongs that were committed against him by the Portuguese, began his exposition by going as far back in time as preachers do when, speaking of the True Cross, they hark back to the mouth of Adam himself, in search of the wood out of which it was made.416 In order to multiply the wrongs, he based his complaints on the truce that was made between Portugal and Castile at Monção417 during the life of King Juan, who was the father of the present King Enrique and who reigned at that time. He related how the King of Portugal, during the time of that truce, had set out to marry his bastard daughter [Beatriz] to the Duke of Benavente, had incited the latter to make war with and rise up against the King of Castile, thereby breaking the truce, and, not wishing to keep it, he put forward other similar poorly founded arguments, which he soon had to leave aside. He came to the capture of Badajoz and there he cast anchor and moored as firmly as he could. He said that, the truce being intended to last fifteen years, the King of Portugal had ordered Badajoz to be taken and had sought to take Alburquerque, thus going against the terms of the truce, had he been able to do so. Therefore, he was the one to violate the terms, and the King of Castile had been justified 416 In the Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) by Jacobus de Voragine there is a legend which says that Adam’s son Seth brought some seeds from the fruit of the Tree of Mercy given to him by an angel in Paradise and planted them in his father’s mouth upon the latter’s death. From these seeds grew three trees which provided the wood that, generations later, was used to make the Cross whereon Jesus Christ died. 417 This township is situated on the south, Portuguese, bank of the River Minho, some 10 miles (c. 16 km) to the east of Tuy and Valença do Minho. See Chapter 141 above.



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in seeking to make war against him, not being duly informed of the request concerning the release of prisoners. Since it was expressly prohibited to take a town or a city, although later it was said that in general terms goods and chattels could be taken, this did not mean that such goods could include a town or a fortress; for it could not be presumed that the King of Castile should admit to having subjected the town of Badajoz, which was situated at the far border of his realm, to any pledge; and that the clauses relating to the seizure of his possessions and those of his subjects should be understood as including goods other than a city, a town or a castle, nor could seizure be made in consequence of the verdicts and the sum of the verdicts, except in respect of the subjects’ possessions, according to the wording of the treaties. He added other such reasons, embellished with purported rights and distorted to suit his purpose. To the first of these three arguments, it was replied on behalf of the King of Portugal that the opposite would be proved by the friars who went about through the land seeking the prisoners as well as by others who had made such requests, and through public documents concerning denial of justice, which according to law was sufficient proof. To the second argument, it was said that since the treaties provided for the seizure of the said adversary’s possessions, it was understood that these included a city or enclosed town since otherwise his goods and chattels could not be seized unless they were seized within a town or another fortified place; this was because the other goods belonged to their owners and not to the prince of the land except when needed for their defence. For the King of Castile did not have any special possessions which by law were termed ‘the things that are Caesar’s’,418 and even though he might have owned them, they would be such that they could not be seized except at great risk. Where the treaties mentioned that neither town, city, nor any castle should be taken, it was understood that it should not be taken through malice or unfairly, but justly and through [lawful] seizure. This was what the law commanded, and the treaty did not gainsay it. To the third argument, the response was that the King of Castile would more easily tolerate that the said town [of Badajoz], which was at the far border of his realm, be seized rather than another situated right in the middle of it, and which could not be taken without an advance on it to the great detriment of the area in which it was located. This was especially the case where the places that lay on the edges of realms could be owned and acquired through extinction of the rights thereto by a person who had public authority, as was the case with the King of Portugal. Furthermore, the grandees to whom such

418 Matthew

22. 21.

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places belonged were accustomed to pledge them and make them subject to seizure, as some kings of Castile had done in the past. These and many other allegations and arguments grounded in law were put forward there before them, as each side was eager to demonstrate that everything done by their liege lord had been rightly and fairly carried out.

Chapter 180

Concerning the arguments which the proctors respectively submitted on behalf of their liege lords

W

ith time being spent on the said arguments, which the kings’ proctors formulated to justify their issues, it was already the month of March. Master Ambrosio, who, as we have mentioned, came over to Olivença, said that many allegations were put forward by both parties, in order to demonstrate that their grievance was well founded, with one party claiming that they had waged a just war, and with the other also claiming that they had proceeded correctly; moreover, some submitted that the truce had been broken by the opposing party, while the others insisted that their opponents had broken it. Therefore, given these doubts, and so that all issues should be accorded equal and fair treatment, they should drop their disputations, as otherwise they would take too long or never come to an end, and should find a different way to put forth their arguments plainly, without invoking further entitlements, as some points already mentioned in the allegations they had made were being repeated in their statements. Everyone being in agreement with this, some reasons were put forward by the King of Castile through his proctor, the conclusion of which was briefly this: that the King of Portugal was bound to deliver to him immediately his town of Badajoz in exactly the same good state as it was when it was unjustifiably taken at the same king’s orders, including whatever had been found in and stolen from it, which could amount to the value of 100,000 Castilian doblas, and also pay for the damages which the people in the suburb suffered as a result of its sacking, which could reach an equal amount. Furthermore, he should return the hostages he had been given in order to preserve the truce and should return as well the town of Tuy, which he had unlawfully taken, making good all the wrongs and plunder committed in it. He estimated that those wrongs would be covered by no less than 60 contos of maravedís,419 at the rate of 35 to one Castilian dobla, which came to 1,716 doblas, this being 419 This means 60 million maravedís, equivalent to 1,716,000 doblas. For further information on this amount and currency, see Chapter 146, note 328, above.



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the amount that the King of Castile had expended on the war because of his adversary’s actions. The King of Portugal’s proctors, summarily pointing out his entitlements, then put forward other arguments, which were these: while he trusted his adversary on account of the truce that they had settled between themselves, his adversary had persuaded knights and squires who were natives of Portugal and vassals of their aforesaid liege lord and who held castles and places on his behalf and for which they paid homage to him, namely Bragança, Mogadouro and Vinhais, to hand them to the King of Portugal’s adversary, going over to the adversary’s side and serving him. Furthermore, the adversary had taken Segura and Piconha,420 with those very lords waging war from the places they held, invading the kingdom sometimes on their own and other times in the company of others, and causing as much havoc as they could. Likewise, while the King of Portugal assumed that the truce was being kept, trusting his adversary and not troubling to protect himself, the King of Castile had armed his fleet and sent it to different parts of the kingdom of Portugal, and his men had caused as much damage, loss and destruction as they could, taking the King of Portugal’s and his people’s naos and other vessels. Therefore, the proctors requested that, in any agreement the kings made between them, the King of Castile be ordered to return the King of Portugal’s towns and villages and to make amends for the damages and losses that King João and his people had incurred as a result of their sacking.

Chapter 181

Concerning other reasons given by the arbitration judges to bring the kings to a good accord

I

f we leave aside the reasons given by one party as well as the other, since they would take so long that they should be dispensed with, the count and the bishop submitted others so as to bring the kings to a good accord and, to put it briefly, the reasons were as follows: 420 The castle of Piconha was situated on a hill, not far fom Randin and Vilar, in the modern Municipality of Calvos de Randin, Galicia. It is illustrated in the Livro das Fortalezas, by Duarte de Armas (c. 1509). The castle was part of the defensive alignment of border castles including Montalegre, Chaves and Monforte de Rio Frio. It was destroyed by Spanish troops in 1650, during the Portuguese Restoration War (1640–1668), and the lands of Piconha were ceded to Spain by the treaty of Lisbon (1864). See Livro das Fortalezas Situadas no Extremo de Portugal e Castela por Duarte de Armas, Escudeiro da Casa do Rei D. Manuel [Consulted 25 October 2020].

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The Portuguese towns and castles held by the Castilian adversary and those men who had gone over to him should be returned to the King of Portugal. Further, he should be compensated for the amounts covering the sentences passed by the judges and for the punishments imposed on the prisoners, as well as for the expenses incurred in preserving Badajoz, as it had been taken in pledge for such matters. Insofar as the Portuguese who had gone over to Castile had given rise to the war and would do so in the future, although there might be peace or a truce between the kings, for that reason they believed that for God’s service and to ensure that the situation was kept calm, it was fitting that they be expelled from Castile; otherwise, while those Portuguese remained there, they could see no way in which there could be friendship or trust between the kings, with one honouring the enemies of the other. Further, all prisoners taken in the first war as well as in the second, wherever they might be found, should be released and freed, and the two homebound naos from Genoa421 should also be returned to the King of Portugal. The King of Portugal should return the town of Badajoz to the King of Castile, with the latter paying to the former the amounts covering the sentences and the punishments imposed on the prisoners, and what had been expended in keeping it. Furthermore, the Portuguese king should return the town of Tuy, together with other places in the kingdom of Castile that he had taken as well as the prisoners that were to be found in his own kingdom. Likewise, payment should be made for all the damage, expenses, losses and wrongs that were caused in the seizure of any places, Badajoz as well as others, from either kingdom, so that the parties would be released from obligation to each other. In the case of the hostages, the count and the bishop deemed it fit that they be held as security for those measures being carried out, although it was put forward by the king their liege lord that they were his prisoners, and that they or others of similar status, both in Portugal and in Castile, should continue to be held as hostages, under the terms laid down in the fifteen-year truce, in the custody of a named lord whom both parties consented to, and for the length of time agreed to by both parties. Similarly, the Master of Santiago and Ruy López Dávalos drafted another document, in which they set down their proposals concerning these negotiations for the sake of an accord and peace between the kings, leaving out, as they said, much that their king and liege lord was entitled to ask in terms of law and equity, because the King of Portugal had broken the truce by taking the town of Badajoz in the way that he had. Firstly, the King of Portugal should return that town in as good a state as it was when his men seized it 421 See

Chapters 159 and 177.



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and everything that had been plundered from it during that time, and should also hand back the hostages that he held in his power. Likewise, the town of Tuy should be returned in as good a state as it was when it was captured, with the property that belonged to those who lived there, and of whose safety he had assured them formerly,422 together with all the other places that he had annexed during that war. Likewise, he should release all prisoners being held in Portugal. As for the expenses that the King of Castile had incurred in that war, they were many and the King of Portugal was responsible for all of them; but for the sake of peace, the King of Castile should forego half, and the other half should be paid to him. Similarly, Master Ambrosio formulated his reasoning separately and stated that since the Master of Santiago and Ruy López had already submitted their proposals, he, as an arbitrator acting with them, wanted to put forward his own proposal, which was this: it was good that all the places being held by one king that belonged to the other’s kingdom should be returned, as should also all the prisoners each of the parties was holding, with neither side being liable to pay any ransom for them; and that they be released from obligation to each other regarding damages, expenses and the amounts covering the verdicts that were passed and the punishments imposed on the prisoners. Also, that the hostages the King of Portugal held be returned to the King of Castile and those from Portugal be similarly released, and that the Portuguese who had gone over to Castile be not expelled but remain in that kingdom. Thus all things would remain clear, and peace would reign.

Chapter 182

Concerning the things that the Castilians added further to the first demands they had made

H

aving seen everyone’s proposals, as described here, other arguments besides those already mentioned were added by the Castilians. They submitted that, since the King of Portugal demanded a truce or permanent peace, then, in order to remove all quarrels between the kings and also to eliminate all disagreements which existed with Queen Beatriz, King Fernando’s daughter, concerning the entitlement that she claimed to the kingdom, as well as to other things which we could list here, the King of Portugal should have

422 In

Chapter 174 above it is carefully explained that this was not so.

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his eldest son marry her.423 Furthermore, once the marriage was carried out, that son should be called King of Portugal and the Algarve; in such a case the said queen should be given such places in Portugal as befitted the queen of that realm to maintain her upkeep and status. Further, this procedure would help to achieve peace and be beneficial in attaining it, firstly by settling during his own lifetime the status of his son and secondly because, given that his son were [eventually] to become king, he himself would rule over the kingdom at his own pleasure, so that in every sense he would remain king. In addition, with his son firmly assured of the kingdom, so would the desire of a father be fulfilled, namely to see his son well established during his lifetime, for the son’s happiness is his triumph. Likewise, because for the good of that peace it was very fitting that all hindrance and all obstacles be removed, so that God and the world could see that such peace was attained with good and clear intentions, Prince Dinis, King Pedro’s son, who had taken the title of king, which was his right to do in Portugal, should be given a dukedom in the realm, with lands and places judged appropriate for whose son he was. Moreover, if the King of Portugal were to persist in his hatred for and rancour towards the Portuguese who were living in Castile and held their possessions, it would not appear to God or to the world that the peace made was clear and reached with goodwill. They therefore proposed that, for the sake of an everlasting peace, the King of Portugal should immediately restore all the goods and chattels and fixed assets to those Portuguese who went [to Castile] with Queen Beatriz as well as any others who might have gone to Castile on a different occasion, returning to them all the honours and positions that they had enjoyed in the past, without further delay, litigation or contest. Further, he should assure them, giving them a firm guarantee that he would not feel hatred or rancour towards them nor allow any harm to be done or any injustice to be committed against them. If this were to be carried out, everyone would clearly see that the two kings had reached their peace agreement in good faith and with good will, since those procedures were important in maintaining the peace, in that they showed that past occurrences were forgotten, and it would not appear otherwise, for, if, God willing, peace were made and all offences were set aside, everyone would live together in brotherliness. They added another reason, namely that, if, God willing, peace were made, so that some good would come out of it, with the service of God and faith in Him exalted and Mohammed’s evil sect humbled, the King of Portugal should be required to help the King of Castile in the war he would wage at sea against the Moors, by providing ten galleys for three years and at his own

423 The

heir to the throne, Prince Afonso, was nine years old at the time.



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expense. This should greatly please the King of Portugal because such an act was holy and made full satisfaction for the wrongs he had committed in past wars against Christians in the kingdom of Castile. When the constable and the bishop saw the above arguments which Master Ambrosio had brought to them in writing, they were very displeased with them, realising that they were such that kings who committed themselves to them could never come to a peace agreement. They therefore sent him back, to convey to the King of Castile that they did not understand his intention and all the demands that were added on top of those that had been made initially by the king their liege lord’s proctor. So unreasonable were the new demands, that they did not feel the need to respond. So Ruy López and Master Ambrosio decided to go to the King of Castile’s palace to speak to him, much against the will of the count because they had achieved none of what they had both gone there for, and because they had already spent nine months on the business. Then the count went to Évora, where King João was, with the king travelling 2 leagues to meet him. The king then departed from Évora to Lisbon, and the count went to Almada, and nothing more was done about this matter.

Chapter 183

How Prior Álvaro Gonçalves went to Castile, and how his priorship was given to Lourenço Esteves de Góis

T

he truce had lasted for nine months since it had been pledged in Olivença for the count and the other lords to settle the peace between the kings their liege lords, as we have said,424 when Prior Álvaro Gonçalves, who was still in the kingdom after his flight from Coimbra, decided at this time to go over to Castile. The king had promised the constable to give the priorship to Lourenço Esteves de Góis, the Commander of Santa Vera Cruz,425 who had served him well in the count’s campaign, should the prior lose it by right. But he was then minded to give it to Fernando Álvares de Almeida, the guardian and mentor of his sons, so he first informed the count of what his desire on this matter was, because of the promise he had made to him. The count read the king’s message, noted the person to whom it referred and became somewhat preoccupied. He replied that he thanked the king for

424 See

425 The

Chapter 178 above. True Holy Cross.

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the message that he had sent him and that the next day he would send his answer with someone he trusted. So he did, as he sent Gil Aires, his private secretary, to the king, directing him to say that some days earlier the king had granted the priorship to Lourenço Esteves, who was well suited to the post because he was a good knight and had served the king well in his campaign; moreover, since he was a friar of the order, that the friars should be allowed to elect him, this being something they dared not do as they had been forbidden to do so. He graciously requested the king that by his mercy he should not withdraw the position from Lourenço Esteves since he had already granted it to him. There were also other similar arguments, to which the king replied in this manner: ‘True it is that it was my wish to give this priorship to Fernando Álvares because he is fully worthy of it. Also, as you can see, in my land there are four positions of special honour, namely the military mastership of the Orders of Christ, of Santiago and of Avis and the priorship of the Hospitallers, which constitute the four pillars that uphold the honour of my kingdom. When all great men from without the land come hither, they heed their status and their nobility. As it seemed to me that people of distinction and of great prestige should hold such positions for my service and for the honour of the kingdom, it is apparent to me that Fernando Álvares is more suitable than Lourenço Esteves.’ The king gave this explanation because Lourenço Esteves was small in stature and unassuming. ‘But as far as I can tell’, he continued, ‘the count does not see it that way, though he should think otherwise in this as well as in other matters; for my decisions are bound to carry more weight than his, because if mine were poorly directed, no one but God could put them right, whereas I could rectify his.’ There was such a long exchange of arguments on this matter that the king consented to sending his letters to the knights of the order so that they might elect as prior whoever, according to their rule and the service of God, was most beneficial to the order. So Lourenço Esteves was elected, and the priorship and its fortresses were given to him. At this point the count had come to Porto de Mós to spend a few days there. The king, who was already in Santarém, wrote to the count saying that he was well aware that the nine-month truce which had been agreed in Olivença was already coming to its end and that, while he was expecting that it would please the King of Castile to extend it further, Master Ambrosio had come to him and, according to the message that he had brought, it did not please the King of Castile that such a suspension of hostilities should be further prolonged, and so he would keep up the disagreement which had separated them. King João therefore ordered the count to go immediately to Santarém, to discuss with him how they should wage the war.



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Chapter 184

How the king attacked Alcántara and [then] raised the siege laid to it

W

hen the count was in Santarém, the king was advised to advance on Alcántara and ordered the count to go to the Alentejo and assemble the men from that region and those from the kingdom of the Algarve to accompany him to Alcántara. The count went to Évora to gather his men, as the king had ordered him. From there, he set off for Alcántara. Along the way, he joined the king, who had left Santarém by a different route, along the bank of the Tagus, following it upstream and crossing over a pontoon bridge of boats that he had ordered to be made strong and very well constructed. The gathering took place at a brook situated this side of Crato, called Cafardela.426 From that place, the constable always advanced in the vanguard and the king in the rearguard with the Masters of Christ and of Santiago and other lords and noblemen, along with many men, who amounted to about 4,000 lances, plus a large number of foot soldiers and crossbowmen. With them went many wagons with siege engines, as well as scaling ladders and provisions. They went through Crato, then through Meadas427 and Valencia [de Alcántara]; and on a Saturday they launched an attack on Alcántara – this was in the month of May 1401. The king had ordered the pontoon bridge over which he had passed to be brought to him so that he could cross over the Tagus in order to set up a camp on the far side of the river, which flows round that side of the town, and another [camp] on the near side, so that the town would be totally surrounded. With the camp set up on the near side, the king ordered his siege engines to be armed and to fire on the town but, waiting each day for the pontoon bridge, he became very concerned because it was late in arriving. While the ladder was being repaired and a few days went by, the king sought counsel on whom to send out for forage, on account of the rumours about the many [Castilian] troops that were said to be around that region with the aim of helping the besieged town. When the king took counsel, João Afonso de Santarém, who was one of his royal council, immediately spoke to him, saying, ‘Sire, what is the point of 426 The manuscripts supply widely conflicting variants of this name. The brook is now known as the Ribeira de Seda (‘River of Silk’). It is a sub-tributary of the Sorraia, itself a tributary of the Tagus. 427 The village of (Póvoa e) Meadas is situated 7 miles (c. 11 km) to the east of Marvão and 10 miles (c. 16 km) from Portalegre. The troops entered Castilian territory at Valencia de Alcántara.

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talking and concerning yourself with whom to send out for forage just because of what is being rumoured? Let the constable, who is here, go out, for the Castilians already know him.’ The count, seeing how important it was to serve the king because provisions were already starting to run out, declared that it would please him to go, so the king charged him with the task. He left on a Monday with several others, including Martim Afonso de Melo, who at that time held Badajoz. He went through Cáceres and then through Montánchez;428 and on that occasion they went 16 leagues into Castile, beyond Alcántara, where the king remained. As the count went on his way, he sent some scouts ahead of him to reconnoitre the land, and these brought back many prisoners and cattle because the Castilians did not imagine that their enemies would go so far into their territory. He reached a brook they call Boteja, in what was a fertile and well-populated region. From here, he ordered his men to proceed further, on two fronts. On one, he sent Lourenço Esteves, whom we have already mentioned,429 to scout ahead with a number of men; on the other he sent Martim Afonso de Melo, while he himself remained by the said brook at his encampment. Two days after both had left, when the count was at table and about to eat, news reached him that Lourenço Esteves was coming back with great plunder, and that Juan de Velasco, who was there, near the region, had gone out to meet him with 400 lances, to engage with him. The count quickly rose from the table and ordered the trumpets to be sounded. At once, all the men in the camp gathered by his tent and he gave orders about who should stay behind. Without further delay, the count left with the others, his standard unfurled before him. A league and a half further ahead he found Lourenço Esteves approaching with great plunder in heads of cattle and prisoners. He found out that Juan de Velasco had not attacked him but that he had sent some horsemen to observe the manner of his approach. Then the count and Lourenço Esteves made their way back to the brook where the camp was situated. Martim Afonso, who had gone on the other front a good five leagues beyond where the count had remained, encountered the Chief Provincial Governor of León, who was advancing on Cáceres with 150 lances. Martim Afonso fought with him and defeated him, and during the pursuit took prisoner 38 of his men, among them knights and squires. He also brought with him immense booty in cattle and other prisoners. The count, who, as we have said, was arriving with Lourenço Esteves, while Martim Afonso arrived from the other front, left the brook of Boteja the next day and made his way to Alcántara. He marched so far that he reached Las Brozas, which lies 5 leagues this side of Alcántara. 428 Montánchez

is a small town situated some 30 miles (c. 48 km) to the south-east of Cáceres. 429 In the preceding chapter.



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While he was eating, a message from the king came to him, delivered by Rodrigo Afonso de Melo. It ordered him to make haste, because Prior Álvaro Gonçalves, who had gone over to Castile, Martim Vasques da Cunha and the other [renegade] Portuguese who were in the area had reached the other side of the river, together with Ruy López Dávalos, and were ready to advance into Alcántara with a force rumoured to number 2,500 lances. The count left hurriedly and reached Alcántara in the afternoon of that day with many prisoners and cattle and sufficient other provisions, with which those in the siege camp were pleased, as they were well in need of them. The pontoon bridge which the king had been expecting never came and, even if it had come, it would no longer have been of use. The Castilians entered the town whenever they wanted to, for there was nothing to prevent them. Nevertheless, the king wanted to keep up the attack until he took the town, thinking about destroying it with his siege engines, although there were many soldiers inside; and no doubt he would have taken it had the pontoon arrived at the time he had ordered it to be brought over. But he was then advised not to persist further with the siege for, even if he were to bring down the wall and all the towers the town had, he would never bring what he desired to fruition because of the great number of troops who were inside. Realising this, the king gave the order to break camp and returned to his kingdom, sending some of his men home and others to the frontier regions.

Chapter 185

Concerning the ambassadors who went to Castile to negotiate peace and were not successful

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uch being the state of war, a decision was made to negotiate a truce and lasting peace between the kings, and so [three] men of great distinction, Archbishop [of Lisbon] Dom João (who was later made a Cardinal),430 João Vasques de Almada, a citizen from Lisbon and a very honoured knight, and Martim do Sém, a doctor of laws, were sent to Castile as ambassadors. The king sent these men appropriately prepared and escorted by seventy horsemen. They arrived in Segovia on the first day of June, a Thursday.431 After eating they went to see the king and speak to him, propounding the reason why they had come, namely to negotiate a peace or truce between him and the king their liege lord. The king withdrew with those of his royal council and replied 430 João

Esteves de Azambuja, the second Archbishop of Lisbon. date generally accepted for João Esteves de Azambuja’s elevation to the archbishopric is May 1402, the year of the embassy to Segovia. 431 The

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through a cardinal from Avignon who was present and who styled himself Cardinal of Spain, stating that it pleased him that a peace rather than a truce was being discussed. We leave aside the many prolix arguments submitted by the one party and to which the other party responded, but if you should wish to read them, the following are the main arguments the Castilians gave in writing, as follows: That for breaking the fifteen-year truce and for the losses and damages he had suffered from the King of Portugal, the latter should, for the sake of harmony and peace, give to the King of Castile 20 contos432 of Portugal’s old currency, which amounted to 700 gold francs, and 40,000 dobras each year during the life of the king their liege lord and of his daughter, the Princess María. Further, that at sea he should provide the King of Castile with ten galleys each year, fitted out for six months at his expense, and on land 1,000 men-at-arms, similarly paid by him, this to last the lifetime of both kings. In addition, if the King of Castile had to do battle with the Moors, the King of Portugal should be present in it in person. Likewise, that the King of Portugal should pardon and receive into his kingdom all the Portuguese who had been residing in Castile since the time when Queen Beatriz married, and he should return [to them] all the property they had formerly owned in Portugal. Similarly, he should return Badajoz and all the places that the King of Portugal and his men had taken, as well as all Castilian hostages they held. Besides this, they added more, saying that the king their liege lord had certain entitlements in the kingdoms of Portugal, not on the part of Queen Beatriz nor of Prince Dinis since they could not inherit, but because the King of Castile was King Fernando’s living closest relative, as the king his father was his first cousin; and that because he had laid no claim to those entitlements and on account of the offences of which he and his father had been victims, such assistance and monetary reparation should be afforded to him, presenting as justification the kind of support that had been given [by the Portuguese] to the Duke of Lancaster and to his wife. The reply to this was that such arguments were not acceptable, nor was that the way to achieve peace, for what had been given to the duke was grounded on sound reasons, in that what he wanted was for his wife to have the benefit of her entitlement in Castile, as the legitimate daughter of King Pedro, and he was called king and she queen of those realms. Accordingly, the case was not similar, nor did they wish to discuss further such unreasonable matters. The Castilians replied that if the Portuguese could not deign to discuss any of those issues because of the [20] contos in old coin, the dobras, and the military support that they were requesting, then they would not come to an

432 See

above in Chapter 146, note 328 and Chapter 180, note 419.



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agreement with them about a peace process. Indeed, it would be a matter of great shame to themselves to come to a peace agreement in any other way, without some reparation being made. The Portuguese in their turn replied that for them too peace involved major issues affecting their honour because the King of Portugal was expected to receive all the Portuguese who were present in Castile, which was a great responsibility and burden for him; he had to return their lands and possessions, and buy back lands from those who [now] held them, besides returning his hostages to the King of Castile, to say nothing of the sum of dobras accumulated in respect of prisoners and verdicts. Furthermore, he had to hand over to the King of Castile better places than those the Castilians were due to return to him. Above all, he had to send to his court [of Castile] such honourable persons to sue for peace. Despite these and other similar arguments, in the end they were in disagreement, and no more was spoken about the peace process.

Chapter 186

Concerning the counsel the king requested to make peace, and what he was told in reply

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aving left the issue of peace aside, they all spoke about a truce; and having spent days discussing it without being able to come to an agreement, it was deemed fitting for one of the ambassadors to go and inform the king his liege lord of all the things that had taken place until then. Although they had already made those things known in writing, there were other new matters to be pointed out. So, as the King of Castile had given his assent, Doctor Martim do Sém left for Portugal. Having told the King of Portugal all that had come to pass regarding this business in Castile, the king had the noblemen and counsellors of his realm summoned, and these assembled in the town of Santarém, where he was at the time. He gave the lords, knights and squires a written document listing the things that the Castilians requested, and another to the counsellors for each one of them to put forward a response as to what should be done on the matter in question. Once the documents had been seen by everyone, the noblemen’s response was: that the towns and prisoners should be handed over in exchange for other towns and prisoners and, in addition, the hostages should be given back to the Castilians. With regard to the pardon to be granted to the [renegade] Portuguese, since they did not want to agree to peace by any other means, they should all be pardoned and the property they had possessed by inheritance should be handed back to them but not that which had been granted to them by the crown. People who had held such property should purchase it back for

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a good and fairly assessed price. With regard to the dobras imposed on them as fines, the penalties to be paid for the prisoners and the other damages and losses, one thing should be cancelled by a similar thing; and if there were anything else due, it should not be deemed to be payable but rather discharged on both sides. However, with respect to the reparation of 20 contos that they were demanding, the support of the galleys and the 1,000 lances, such matters were not to be heeded or even spoken of; with conditions such as these let them keep their own peace. Concerning the part relating to the eight- or ten-year truce, in which the Castilians demanded that towns be exchanged for towns and prisoners for prisoners, and that hostages be given back to them, leaving aside many details which are not necessary to be included here, as the hostages were of little use to the King of Portugal, the noblemen agreed that they should be handed back to them. The town communities for their part gave their own response, just like the foregoing, stating that places should be handed over in exchange for places from among those that had been taken, or from others which held some [renegade] Portuguese who might well rise up with the inhabitants, and that all the prisoners from either side should be released without further ransom. Moreover, those who had already made any payment towards it should forfeit that payment. As for pardoning the Portuguese, it seemed to them that those who had gone over at the time of Queen Beatriz’s marriage, whom in some cases the king had pardoned, restoring to them their property and lands, but who still chose not to return, should not be pardoned for their wrongdoing, unless this helped to bring about a general peace. However, since Martim Vasques, João Fernandes Pacheco, the prior and others said they had left his kingdom in consequence of the wrongs they suffered from the king, it was deemed that these should be pardoned and their property and lands returned to them, in view of the good services they had rendered which were of greater weight than their departure. In addition, his hostages should be handed back to the King of Castile, although he had rights over them, and the sum of dobras imposed as penalties and fines and any other debts should be cancelled, so that everything would be cleared and free of any liability on either part. As for the terms of the 20 contos, the ten galleys and the 1,000 lances, these he should not accept, as they pertained more to war than peace. For God had given him the kingdom of Portugal for the well-being of the people, a free and independent people, to deliver and defend them from all oppression and burden, and so he should not leave his subjects, indeed his kith and kin, thus subordinate to Castile, under the weight of such obligations. Furthermore, if any support were to be given, it should be done in the same form and case of need whereby King Afonso, his grandfather, had assisted the King of Castile, when he went to help him against the Moors in that great Battle of the Salado, whence he had gained great fame and honour; not in any other way.



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Chapter 187

How the ten-year truce was put into effect and under what conditions

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octor Martim do Sém returned to Castile so that they could all discuss the truce process, in accordance with the message that he brought with him from the king. Leaving aside the lengthy arguments that both parties put forward concerning the issue, as well as the hateful conditions the Castilians stooped so low as to impose, a ten-year truce was finally agreed on. There were a number of clauses inserted in the document, and we will briefly mention the following: That King Enrique and his heirs would not wage war on the side of Queen Beatriz nor of that prince who styled himself King [of Portugal], nor would the former consent to their waging it with troops either from a different nation or of their own: and should they seek to wage it, that he would do everything in his power to prevent it. Likewise, that all the places that had been taken by whatever means should be returned by one kingdom to the other. That is, by Portugal to Castile: Badajoz, Tuy, Salvatierra [de Miño] and San Martín;433 and by Castile to Portugal: Bragança, Vinhais, Piconha castle,434 Miranda [do Douro], Penamacor, Penha Garcia, Segura and Noudar.435 These should be returned in the following manner: on designated days after the proclamation of the present truce, the men listed below should be handed over as hostages into the charge of the constable or of whoever should be empowered, on the river bank between Villanueva436 and Olivença. These men were: Álvaro Pérez de Guzmán, Lord Chief Justice of Seville; the Marshal Diego Fernández, Chief Provincial Governor of Córdoba; and Gómez Suárez, the eldest legitimate son of Lorenzo Suárez, the Master of Santiago. By the twenty-first day after the men were delivered, the King of Portugal should hand over the town of Badajoz to the aforementioned Master of Santiago, freely and without impediment. Within two months of Badajoz being handed over, the King of Castile should hand over Bragança, Vinhais, Piconha and Noudar, having first dismantled whatever war fortifications and structures which might have been put in place in the towns by those who were in power, and having removed any remaining property of theirs. Within twenty-five days of those four places being handed 433 This

village has proved impossible to locate. was a Portuguese castle at the time. See Chapter 180, note 420 above. 435 All these places are to be found in north-eastern and eastern Portugal, in frontier areas. 436 This village now lies below a reservoir, the Embalse de Piedra Aguda. 434 This

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over, the constable was to hand back the three hostages who had been surrendered to him, in the same place where he had received them. Once those hostages were handed back, within one month from that day, the King of Portugal was required to hand over to the [Castilian] Master of Santiago other hostages from his realm, namely: João Mendes de Vasconcelos, the brother of Mem Rodrigues de Vasconcelos, Master of Santiago of Portugal; Gonçalo Pereira, the eldest son of João Rodrigues Pereira; and Vasco Fernandes, the eldest legitimate son of Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, Marshal of Portugal, in the self-same place where the other hostages had been handed over. Within forty days from the day these men were handed over, Miranda, Penamacor, Penha Garcia and Segura should be handed back to the King of Portugal; and within one month from the day these places were returned, Salvatierra, Tuy and San Martín should be handed back [to the King of Castile]. Once these handovers had been completed, the Portuguese should return to where they had been taken as hostages. On that same day and in that same place Íñigo de Mendoza, Gonzalo de Estúñiga and all the others who were still alive and had been surrendered by Castile as hostages for the fifteen-year truce should be handed back. Once those handovers were completed, all the prisoners should be released immediately from one kingdom to the other, as had been agreed between both parties. Whereas the King of Castile said that it would please him to discuss the matter of peace within six months following the handovers, he could not as yet determine which persons it would please him should handle this matter of the peace or where those discussions were to take place. He added that, when he did send the men from his kingdom to Portugal to take the necessary oaths on behalf of his kingdom, he would then notify the King of Portugal, in the last week of those six months, as to which persons it would please him should handle this matter of the peace. So it was that the war that existed between Portugal and Castile came to an end.

Chapter 188

How Queen Catalina advised the king her husband to keep peace with Portugal

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he war having ceased in the manner that we have described, the matter of peace was yet to be discussed after the handing back of the [captured] towns and the return of the hostages once the stipulated six months elapsed, in accordance with the provisions of the truce. Should the two kings be content,



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the talks would take place between Elvas and Badajoz. With the consent of both, owing to certain matters that arose, the start of the talks had to be delayed for four years till Easter 1407, taking place between San Felices [de los Gallegos] and Castelo Rodrigo, already in the reign of King Juan [II], the son of the King Enrique [III] who agreed to the truce we have described in the preceding chapter. Since we will be speaking about how the issue of the ensuing peace proceeded, and for you to have full knowledge of the matter, it is important for you to remember that, when we related the settlements437 made between the Duke of Lancaster and the King of Castile, the one who lost the battle,438 the betrothal was made between Prince Enrique, his first-born son, at the age of nine years, and Catalina, the daughter of the same Duke of Lancaster, and [half-] sister of Philippa, who was already Queen of Portugal.439 On the death of that King Juan in a riding accident, he was succeeded by this son, Enrique; but he was too young in years to be given his wife. After he had reached his majority, at the age of sixteen, it was then arranged that they be joined in matrimony. She was twenty-seven years old and, with his being so young, their ages seemed to go very much against the common good and public order. [However,] by the grace that God Almighty was pleased to bestow upon him, the king was endowed with such good habits and virtues, above all with that purest among virtues which is known as justice, that his prudent and well-ordered conduct was outstanding and uniquely memorable, for he reigned over his country with much greater competence than any other king had done before him. This King Enrique had a son and two daughters by his wife, already mentioned. The son, they called Juan, who reigned after his father; one of the daughters was named Beatriz and the younger Catalina, after her mother. This Queen Catalina, while her husband was alive, worked hard with him so that there should be peace and friendship with João, the King of Portugal, who was married to her sister, speaking to him of the strong ties of kinship that bound them all together and all the good reasons why it could advance his purpose, lest he be dissuaded from it. King Enrique was a prudent and God-fearing man; aware of her good intention, he conceded that it would please him well if he could put an end to the war without shame or censure; but, if he was right in waging it, and putting an end to it were deemed to be a shortcoming of his, then he would still carry on, however many blood relatives were involved. Moreover, he could pass on with honour the territory he gained, giving it for the marriage of his son to the King of Portugal’s daughter, or of his own daughter to the King of Portugal’s son. ‘But’, said he, ‘if it is something that is unfitting for me, or does not do justice to the crown 437 At

Bayonne in 1388. See Chapter 119 above. I, who lost the Battle of Aljubarrota. See Chapter 42 above. 439 See Chapter 116 above. 438 Juan

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of Castile, I would willingly bring the war to an end, even if there were no kith and kin involved, for I do not feel it brings any advantage or honour to me.’ The queen assured him that he did not fall short in any way, for neither he nor his father waged that war other than on behalf of Queen Beatriz. She herself had heard men of letters state that his father had come out so badly of the treaty clauses dealing with such [Portuguese] succession, that it was very doubtful whether he himself had any rights and therefore it was fitting there should be peace. The king replied that such was his intention and the reason why he had signed a ten-year truce, in which it was provided that, once the truce was at an end, then peace negotiations should follow immediately, and he would summon the noblemen and town communities of Castile and, in holding Cortes with them, this issue could be looked at properly and in full.

Chapter 189

How the negotiators of Castile and of Portugal met to discuss the peace treaty

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his noble king was eager to hold that meeting, there to decide what we have expounded; but having been ill for some days, he was overtaken by death, which took him away before fulfilling his intention.440 He left a son of very tender age, Prince Juan, who is now reigning. The prince’s mother kept him in her charge, lest he be brought up by anyone else but her, as had been stipulated in the will which had been agreed.441 Ruling the kingdom on his behalf were this Queen Catalina and his uncle, Prince Fernando, the brother of the previous King Enrique, as the young king’s tutors and guardians, which indeed they were. The queen and this prince had charge of everyone, as was fitting, and realised that the young king was bound by his father’s promises, one of which was that the peace process should be discussed once the handovers had been made. To fulfil that commitment, they made it known to the King of Portugal when and where these discussions were to occur. They agreed that they should take place between San Felices [de los Gallegos] and Castelo Rodrigo, on the border between both kingdoms. The Castilian delegation was made up of Don Juan, the Bishop of Sigüenza; Pedro Viegas, the Chief Provincial Governor of Córdoba; and a doctor called Pero Sánchez. The Portuguese delegates were 440 He

died on 25 December 1406. to Peter Russell, Enrique III ‘had arranged for the custody of the child to be given to a team of tutors.’ See The English Intervention, p. 551. 441 According



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Dom João, the Archbishop of Lisbon; Martim Afonso de Melo, and a doctor by the name of Gil Martins. Because over four years had elapsed since the truce was proclaimed, and thereafter so much time passed that nine years had elapsed by the time peace was agreed upon, any sensible person is likely to wonder how these delays came about or could have led to such a long postponement. You need to be aware that there were two main causes. First were the illness of King Enrique and the death that overcame him, which gave rise to so many doubts and alarms in the kingdom of Castile about the upbringing and safekeeping of the new king, as well as other matters. As a result, the King of Portugal became absolutely convinced that, to prevent anything from arising that might jeopardise the honour and status of the queen and of her son, he had to take an active role in these matters, to the point, if necessary, of going in person to Castile, for the sake of his own kinship with them both; and this he made known in his letter to them. It pleased God that the situation became more satisfactory for the queen. The second and longer delay came about after the peace talks had started, and was caused by the unreasonable grounds on which the king was being invited to agree to a peace. So as not to leave this question open and to let you know what was being demanded of him, we will leave aside the many lengthy arguments advanced by either side on more than one occasion. Instead, it is more fitting to organise an outline of all the outcomes into two brief chapters.442 The first presents the demands put forward by the Castilian ambassadors and the reply that was given to them; the second concerns the messages that the queen sent with regard to the matter and the replies that she was given. Then we will name those who actually went to Castile to negotiate this peace and how they came to an agreement; and, finally, we will relate how, in general terms, peace was ratified and the war ceased altogether. To continue, however, following what we have said concerning the arrival of these negotiators, they all assembled at the aforementioned place after Easter, on the Feast of Ascension, and they decided to hold their discussions on the border, close to Escarigo.443 Each side sent squires to find where it might be appropriate to hold such discussions; and they came across a handsome walnut tree of great height and with ample shade, most suitable for the purpose. However, they did not wish to hold discussions there because it stood on the Portuguese side of the frontier. So they went farther up, where there was a small marsh bordered by flowing water; they agreed to hold their discussions there and that all six of them were to make their way onto the

442 In

fact, Lopes needed the lengthy Chapter 190 below, followed by Chapters 191–196, to cover the matters which he now goes on to list. 443 This Portuguese village lies 1 mile from the frontier, by the River Águeda.

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marshland, whereas the squires that each brought along were to stand on the side of their respective kingdoms. On a set Monday, the Castilians were the first to arrive at that place, all riding mules. The Portuguese, who arrived soon after, outnumbered them for they were sixty on horseback, their swords girded on, but bearing no other arms at all. When the Castilians saw that the Portuguese were as near the river as they were, everyone moved further downstream, where they waded through the water and on to the marsh. The squires remained off the marsh, all of them keeping to their own side. Then they paid their respects bowing to each other, taking off their hats and kissing each other’s cheeks. The Portuguese wanted to talk on foot, but the others said that they would rather speak sitting on their mules. With them all duly assembled, there was a brief period of silence; then the bishop invited the archbishop to talk, and he replied that the bishop should open the talks. One kept insisting so many times that the other should start that the archbishop decided to be the first to speak, saying that they were well aware that it had been agreed in the ten-year truce that, as soon as six months had elapsed from its proclamation and the completion of the handovers, the peace treaty should be discussed; that the said time-limit had subsequently been deferred at their own behest; and that now they had come there for the very same reason and, since they were gathered for this purpose, it seemed right to him that they should so act on it that, with the help of God, peace should be signed between the kings with all due amity. He submitted a wealth of reasons why it should be done, expounding his arguments fully and systematically. When the archbishop finished his speech, the bishop took off his hat, repeating that it was true, adding other equally good arguments in Latin and in the vernacular to his quotations of Cassiodorus,444 and other doctors of the Church, on the benefits deriving from peace, whose sayings he cited verbatim as appropriate. Drawing to a conclusion, he went on to say that, as this peace had already been called for by the Portuguese on other occasions, and now this was precisely what they were seeking, they should be ready to negotiate it. However, since the King of Portugal should make some amends to the King of Castile for things not duly carried out in the bygone wars, it behoved them to discuss those issues; and so that all matters that were negotiated should be dealt with on an equal footing, in the first place, these needed to be considered in detail. They then discussed those matters for as long as they deemed fit, saying that they would later send them a longer written version. Those from Portugal said that such things were not to be amended by spoken words nor in writing, nor to be committed to memory, but by speaking in 444 Roman

writer, statesman, and monk. His full name was Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator, the last being a surname. Born c. 490 in Squillace, in Calabria, Southern Italy, died c. 583.



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favour of an alliance between one party and the other and of the good kinship ties that existed and similar matters that could lead to peace; furthermore, that the wounds now healed should be let alone, lest such arguments open them up again. Indeed, they said that it could not be done otherwise for the good and harmony of both parties, for they saw that these things truly mattered. So they took their leave of one another and went their way.

Chapter 190

Concerning the arguments that were discussed by the negotiators, and how they did not reach an agreement

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he ambassadors, having returned to where they were staying, sent a written declaration to their Portuguese counterparts, which started as follows: It seems right and fitting that, for all men, particularly kings who wish to proceed with establishing a relationship through affection, the disagreements and wars that exist or may exist between them be totally eliminated, so that they may reach clear peace through goodwill by rooting out the disagreements and eliminating whatever has caused danger in the past. Accordingly, negotiations aiming at agreements ought to be such and so fairly designed that where there is a just and reasonable request for amends to be made or rectifications introduced, these can reasonably and in fairness satisfy what is rightly being demanded. Therefore, in view of the bygone issues that have until now existed between Portugal and Castile, and recognising too that we, by the grace of God, are gathered here to negotiate a peace that, if it so please Him, will prove perpetual, it is right and proper, lest other issues should arise, to order matters so that all things are dealt with in good faith, and subject to fair and equitable treatment. Thus, the great lords who have ordered these negotiations may be bound together by a shared desire for peace and goodwill. Furthermore, as the ambassadors of our liege lord the King of Castile, we propose to set aside many matters that could in all justice and fairness be demanded on his behalf, and indeed granted by the opposing party. This is, because the wishes of the king our liege lord, of the queen his mother and of Prince Fernando, as our king’s tutors and guardians of his realm, who sent us here, are in every respect clear and honourable with regard to the peace process on which we are now embarked. Accordingly, we declare before you that for that peace to be firm as it should be between the king our liege lord and his Portuguese adversary, we deem the latter liable to concede and fulfil the following obligations:

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First, we consider that, after peace had been made, those princes could not remain free of great toils and anxieties if those from whom towns, places and any other fixed assets had been taken did not receive them back, and unless those persons, whom until then the Portuguese held in Castile or the Castilians held in Portugal since the time of King Juan of Castile and of King Fernando of Portugal, were all handed back to whichever of the two kings had formerly held them as his own. We further consider that inasmuch as good deeds go some way towards conquering hearts and bringing them together in great friendship, the King of Portugal, in serving God and for the exaltation of his faith, should help the King of Castile whenever there should be a war against the Moors, namely at sea with ten galleys for a period of six months at his own expense, or similarly on land with 600 lances and 2,000 foot soldiers. Likewise, we consider that the King of Portugal should be held liable to pay in full all the expenses which the grandfather of this King Juan, the King of Castile who reigned then and fought in the Battle [of Aljubarrota], incurred in warfare during his lifetime and all he had spent in maintaining the places that had declared for him, as well as what had been expended in the war which had started with the assault on Badajoz, during King Enrique’s lifetime – all of which expenses amounted to a great sum of contos in Castilian currency. However, for the sake of concord and friendship we do not wish to venture to demand so much, thereby reducing to a great degree what we could ask for, so that the King of Portugal would not be held liable to pay more than 60 contos in the old Castilian currency, which amounted to 1,616,000 doblas, each dobla being valued at 35 maravedís, all this being not more than one tenth of the sum which he was under obligation to pay.

On seeing these and many other things that were demanded in that document, the ambassadors of Portugal sent back their own written declaration, replying that those who raised such issues between kings who have close kindred ties, and use the same issues to censure them, have little desire and interest in bringing them to an agreement and make peace. They further observed that if the King of Portugal should wish to demand and exact similar or much greater things, he was fully entitled in law to do so. However, for the honour of both parties it would be best to bring animosity to an end once and for all rather than to discuss those issues. Nevertheless, since their liege lord was so compassionate and of such clear conscience that he wanted all the people of both kingdoms to be satisfied, he should be pleased to see in writing which persons they were and of what estate, and they [the Portuguese ambassadors] would submit to him another document with the property that they could claim. With regard to the support that the King of Portugal was being asked to provide, they said that such a request was inappropriate, inasmuch as both verbally and in writing the kings called each other adversaries. However, after an agreement had been reached and peace fittingly restored over the other



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issues, only then and in no other circumstances was it appropriate to discuss and demand any kind of support. Concerning the damage and expense that resulted from past wars, in response to all the things that were being demanded of them in those matters, they said that the Castilians’ own liege lord was held and obliged to pay for those and many more things whenever the Portuguese might wish to submit their lawful demands, as could well be shown. However, to serve God and for the sake of peace and the honour of both kingdoms, it was not fitting to discuss such matters. Indeed, these should be removed from the discussions and deemed to be fully paid by one party to the other. But if they did not want this, preferring instead to go ahead with their claim, the persons concerned should submit a written list of their property; they in their turn would submit a similar document which would be more demanding than the other party’s. The Castilian ambassadors then presented a list of those whom they requested should receive back the property and lands that they and the sons of some of them had held in Portugal. These people were: the Count of Viana, João Rodrigues Portocarreiro, Aires Gomes da Silva, Fernão Gomes da Silva, Afonso Gomes da Silva, Martim Afonso de Melo, Álvaro Gil de Carvalho, Fernão Gonçalves de Sousa, Gonçalo Rodrigues de Sousa and Gonçalo Vasques de Azevedo, among others named, numbering up to fifty-six in all, besides other knights, ladies, squires and persons whose names they did not remember at that time, or of whom they had no details. The Portuguese ambassadors submitted their own list of property and lands that their liege lord was entitled to demand. These were half the lands that had been taken from Count Alfonso, lands that belonged to his wife Countess Isabel, the niece of the King of Portugal and daughter of his brother King Fernando. Also Aguilar de Campóo together with all the lands that had been given to Pedro, the son of the Count of Viana; and Salvatierra together with all the places that had belonged to Álvaro Pérez and now belonged to his son Pedro de Castro; the lands and places that had belonged to Vasco Martins de Melo, and in addition the rocky terrain on the queen’s lands which had been given to his wife and likewise the payments that were due from the lands belonging to their son, Vasco Martins de Melo.445 Likewise, Master Lançarote, who had Fuenteguinaldo and other places; as well as the castles and places owned by Martim Gonçalves and his son. Also Alarcão and other lands that had been granted to Gil Vasques da Cunha; and the titles and property that the Abbot of São Justo used to hold. More than a score of others were named, with a note to the effect that they had not yet been advised of the matter and so no further details could be given at this stage. In addition, there were 180,000 445 This

is Vasco Martins de Melo, the Younger, born of his father’s second marriage to Maria Afonso de Brito. This Vasco Martins de Melo had been killed at the Battle of Aljubarrota. See Chapter 43 above.

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dobras with respect to prisoners’ fines, 50,000 dobras from verdicts imposed, plus another 50,000 dobras for the naos coming from Genoa, which had been seized, as well as losses from damage sustained, profits lost and many other things. They continued their arguments in writing and added by word of mouth: ‘My lords, the more we think of the points contained in your document, the more it seems to us that it is useless to argue over them, because such matters can hardly be reasoned over if they spawn nothing but offence and ill-will rather than peace or any other benefit. For, as we have said, it seemed to us more reasonable to discuss not past disagreements and hatreds but only peace, which must not be blocked for the benefit of a few individuals who are responsible for most of what you have described verbally and expressed in writing. For those men, who for whatever reason left this kingdom and came back to wage war against its people, truly deserved to lose the property they possessed for they did a disservice to our liege lord the king by attacking the land where they had been born. Theirs was no lesser a crime, given that most of those now in Castile were his vassals, having recognised him specifically as their liege lord, and in return received many favours from him. ‘As for the cost which you maintain that the King of Portugal must pay to make amends for past issues, seeing that they were the causes which led to the war, it can be clearly proved by the treaties you refer to that he cannot be held answerable for anything at all, for he was very justifiably right to defend himself from his adversaries. On the other hand, the kings of Castile broke those treaties and are thus held liable for what you have requested and much more which we could demand on our king’s behalf if we so wanted. For, besides what has been said, the king our liege lord could well demand that the lands which the Duke of Lancaster gave to his daughter Philippa, when she married our king, be handed to him. The duke had made an outright endowment of those lands when he was King of the Kingdom of Castile446 and his wife was Queen Constanza, and his daughter Princess Catalina who is now your lady the Queen of Castile, granted them. She has the legal endowment signed by his hand and sealed with his seals, which we could have submitted for you to confirm its legality. We could also have submitted the names of many other people, had we known that you wanted to discuss such matters. However, since to serve God and for the harmony of these negotiations such means are not required to achieve peace, they were not mentioned to us nor did we come prepared to respond to such demands. Indeed, if it were fitting to request such matters for the sake of peace, we, on our part, could put forward as many arguments as you present, and stronger ones at that. ‘However, for the sake of concord neither for you nor for us would it be fitting to discuss matters which reawaken hatred and enmity, especially when 446 John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, assumed the title of King of Castile and León by right of his wife, Princess Constanza of Castile.



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you know that your party has made these demands on another occasion, namely when peace between both kingdoms was subject to arbitration and that these demands never went in your favour either in part or in whole. Besides, you knew quite well that neither party would pay such an amount of money, however culpable the party might be, as it would more readily have a mind to spend it in a war against its adversary. Therefore, it was not fitting to mention matters that engender new hatreds, which are so adverse to the cause of peace and contrary to the preamble of your written submission. However, if it pleases you to reach for peace, by cutting everything short and leaving aside the matter you have touched on, acquitting both parties, then we shall discuss the [military] support which you request as well as any other matter that may well be required honestly and with honour for both parties.’ The Castilians replied, saying: ‘We really see eye to eye on your arguments, the same that you have in the past and do now put forward with good and honest intentions, both by word of mouth and in writing. However, since we are engaged in the sacred business of working in the cause of peace – which may God in His mercy bring to a good conclusion – it is nonetheless fitting that we discuss, as we have stated, the wrongdoings committed and damages caused in the past, as well as any other matters which we plainly and with a clear conscience understand need to be discussed so that all matters remain clarified as if there had never been war between these kingdoms, but in their stead good peace and brotherhood. Indeed, this should greatly please your liege lord because discussing such matters is the best possible way of coming to understand the reasons and entitlements on which each party relies. By dealing with them, fairness is achieved and an end is put to any obstinacy on the part of their subjects with which the princes may have to contend after peace has been made. ‘However, although we submit many explanations as to why those who came against the kingdom did what they were bound to do, given the wording of the treaties, you claim that they were very wrong in waging a war against the land where they had been born, and should not be rewarded for the wrongs they committed. Likewise we show clearly that the King of Portugal is held liable to pay what we have claimed for and much more if we should wish to demand it. Yet you insist that the king our liege lord is under an obligation for a much greater amount; and being so opposed as we are in matters on which hangs the greater force of the treaty, we shall never reach an agreement. So it seems fair to us that for the good of both parties we should have one judge who, reviewing everything, might decide with certainty which of the parties is right. But, since we cannot have such a judge, the best solution would be for the first pope to whom all will be obedient to apprise himself of this matter and for His Holiness to make a ruling as he deemed fit, valid for up to ten years. The kings should then be obliged to follow his order and decision without casting any doubts on it. Moreover, while there is as yet no

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such pope, or even if there were he did not decide on all the matters we are discussing, these should remain at the stage where they are now. Thus it will please God that it is a real peace and that we will more swiftly achieve it, should you wish to be reasonable.’ The Portuguese replied that there were other issues which were more pertinent to arriving at peace, as they had already told them, than those which they insisted on discussing, as a decision about them could hardly ever be reached; but since they spoke of a judge and a pope, the king their liege lord did not need any pope or judge to resolve that situation other than Almighty God, Who on similar occasions had already passed His judgement. Although their liege lord for his part left aside all that he could demand, and the Castilians for their part did not wish to do the same, it could well be said of them what Jesus Christ had said to the Jews, when He warned them not to think that He had come to send peace on earth, but to send a sword, and to set fathers against sons and daughters against mothers.447 ‘As for you’, they continued, ‘it seems that you have not come to send peace in these realms, but rather to send a sword and strife, as has already happened in previous times, setting asunder the bonds of affection that exist between both kings.’ The Castilians then repeated once more that they could do nothing else, nor would they water down what had been proposed by them at the outset, because they had been so instructed, and they had it in writing. To this, the reply was that if such were the instructions given by their lords, then their presence there served no purpose and it was pointless to spend more time over the business; and that it would be best that the king their liege lord should remain on a war footing after the truce, rather than grant the things which the Castilians were asking for, since they did not wish to consent to what he was demanding. Thereupon both parties departed, leaving the treaty process open and unresolved.

Chapter 191

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he ambassadors went to Castile and told their liege lords how things had fared between them and the Portuguese, and how such matters had remained inconclusive; moreover, they believed that it would always remain so, however many times they went there on this business.

447 Matthew

10. 34–35.



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Queen Catalina very much desired peace and harmony between Portugal and Castile. She saw how necessary peace was for her son because of his tender age, both with the years of truce being used up, and with the close ties between the two royal families, which were at odds with their being at war. Feeling this very strongly, she worked in such a way that Prince Fernando, the king’s uncle, and all the grandees of the kingdom belonging to her son’s royal council, charged her with the task of speaking about the peace treaty and smoothing out any matters pertaining to it. She immediately made it known to the King of Portugal, who was then in Viseu, saying that, owing to the close bond that existed on both sides, if he wanted to come to a just agreement on the matters that up to then they had not agreed on, she had the intention of putting in place such measures that the situation might come to a good conclusion, and that he should send his ambassadors to her. The king replied to the messenger that he had already sent his ambassadors to the border many times to talk about the question of this peace, and that always from the Castilian side there were so many varied and disproportionate requirements that nothing ever came of it, and the treaty had always remained inconclusive and negotiations fruitless. Therefore, he was very doubtful about sending them because, should his ambassadors be sent to her residence, and be asked such things as had been asked in the past, things that they could not grant, only to return without a good resolution, then he was not going to send them there without learning from her beforehand what was going to be discussed. The king having left for Santarém, Juan Rodríguez, the Archdeacon of Gordón, arrived with a reply from Queen Catalina, saying again to King João that he should send word letting her know of his intention in those things which he thought should be discussed regarding the question of peace. She, as a good mediator, would do all in her power to come to a good agreement. The king sent her the same reply that he had given through his negotiators to the envoys from Castile about the things that they had requested, saying that he and his realms were those to whom harm had been done; war had been waged unjustly against him, and it was fitting to receive reparation. Yet, in order to negotiate a good peace between them, such things should not be asked from either side, because either of them, if forced to accept those conditions, would rather launch as bitter a war as they could sustain than have to comply with them. As for what they said about putting the matter in the hands of the pope, who would consider their case, and waiting for him to pronounce on it, such a thing would bring little benefit to either party. If peace were to be based on such a hope, the years pending referral to the pope, and from then until he pronounced his verdict, would be a time of perpetual doubt and litigation. After that, when the pope, as was to be expected, had declared in favour of one of the parties, the other one was scarcely going to welcome the execution of the verdict on his holdings to the value of three to four million in gold.

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Moreover, to place the matter in the hands of a judge, even of the pope himself, ran the risk that, through inclination or for some other reason, on whose basis humans are accustomed to act, he might judge leniently in favour of one of the parties, with the result that the other would be very much the loser. Such a thing was not to be considered. Likewise, as for what they demanded he be obliged to do by treaty – to provide help against the Moors – he said that in no way would he do it, because the most effective way a person of [high] estate and honour could use to dissuade him from carrying out some important deed was to demand such a thing, making him appear to do it out of subjection. For such help, if provided by treaty, would clearly show it to have been done for this reason, and such a proposal was not to be ventured on. Therefore, kinship and friendship, if established by God between them, would compel him to give such help. Thus, there was no need for such a requirement which, if made, would cause him shame. To the other demand in which he was required to pardon all the Portuguese [who had sided with Castile] and return their property, he answered that to hear such a thing was abhorrent to everybody, especially to those who had received him as their liege lord. For there was nothing more contrary to human nature than to have to be generous to one who had wronged him despite having received from him much honour and favour. Her Grace could well see, and those of her royal council could understand that, whoever was confronted daily in his own house by such a mirror would find the reflection most disagreeable, especially with regard to those who went off with Martim Vasques, and all the more so when having it enforced by means of a treaty, as was being demanded. For the peace to be well made and to safeguard the honour of each one of the parties, he asked her as a sister and as a friend, since she had taken charge of this matter, to do her best to bring it to a good conclusion. Having left [for Castile] with this message, Juan Rodríguez returned to Lisbon once again where the king was then relaxing. He came not in the guise of an ambassador but with a letter of credence furnished, however, with many arguments to put forward on the matter of the peace, as he seemed to have been commissioned to do. He presented them to the king in the following brief summary. ‘In short, what the most high and noble lady Queen of Castile sent me, Juan Rodríguez, at her service, to convey on her behalf to you, most noble lord King of Portugal, her much beloved and dear brother, is the following: ‘She welcomed the letter that you sent to her about the matters that were required of you on your part by the negotiators of the peace, of which neither the first nor the second pleased you. As for the third you said that kinship and friendship compel you to provide such help without further obligation from a treaty, and that in any other way it would bring shame and censure to whoever provided it. The fourth demand, concerning whether amends



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should be made to the Portuguese [who defected to Castile], you concede that, to those of the first war who were not your vassals, that should be the case, but not to the others. All having been well considered, those on her side understand that the king her son is right to demand this and that the excuses you offered are not to be accepted. However, because the wishes of men are various and thus do not readily agree, it was [thought] necessary to resort to a judicial decision between them so that the judge may declare which side is right, even though this is against the will of one side, and they both have to wait for the judgement. Moreover, since there is no superiority among kings, the pope becomes their judge by right; so, she asks whether it pleases you that the first pope to whom everyone is able to owe obedience should determine this matter.448 You ought not to refuse this since reason requires it of you, and if you want it, there will be no hindrance to peace, which will remove the great evils that can happen in war. For even if the lawsuit can be called a battle, such a battle has more need of laws and canon law and law books than of other arms (which may, even so, be conquered), and the one who may be condemned, according to the law of God and natural reason, must accept its execution. The greater the power that princes receive from God, the more they should be subject to right reason and the law, especially when judgement is given by one to whom all laws are related and who is himself above suspicion. ‘As for the other article, my liege lady the queen says that she understands well, according to the close bond that there is between you and the love that will grow, please God, on account of this peace, that it is right that she and her son help you and your sons in the things that fall upon you to undertake, and that you should help them. Yet, between kings and princes, even if there are close bonds, it is always customary to confirm their friendships with alliances and obligations, for this always increases the friendship and brings greater security. There is another gain too: those who know of such alliances and obligations do not dare to bring between them anything but good and love, and they are always more cautious, for not only do they fear him against whom they want to fight but also his allies. If it pleases you to consider this carefully, it will be of great benefit to you and your sons, reigning in peace and tranquillity, always empowered to exert your will. Men should be on their guard against what may come about, for often it is the case that some are at war and then make peace lightly to have some respite; others, who think they are at peace, suddenly see rising among them cause to live amid wars and tribulations. ‘Therefore, Her Grace wanted, as is right, that those who are obliged by nature and kinship to love each other well, in fact, should act accordingly so 448 The ongoing papal schism meant that there were two or sometimes three popes at any one time. This situation was not resolved until 1417 with the election of Pope Martin V.

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that everyone can see that you are both of one mind and that your deeds are theirs and theirs are yours. It was not her intention, and God forbid that any treaty should be made that could be shameful for you; rather, it should be equal on both sides. If perchance it pleases you that this clause, about providing aid against the Moors be removed, then let the treaty make it clear that, in the wars that the king her son and those who descend from him may have generally, you and your successors will assist him with a certain number of galleys at your cost, and that he will do the same for you and those who reign after you. In this manner no side will have the advantage over the other. If you wish these terms to apply to land-based forces too, let it be so. By doing this, you and your sons will gain greater benefit than the king, her son, may derive from any substantial support in ships or men-at-arms that you might provide him with, for in this way, you will secure your estate and lineage forever. ‘In requiring you to return the estates to the Portuguese who left for Castile in the first and the second war, my liege lady the queen says that you ought not to take it amiss; you ought to do it for your own sake, as they are persons of note and natives of your land, and they live abroad because of the way things often turn out. Any dispute now as to whether they did well or acted wrongly is a matter between you and Queen Beatriz, regarding your respective claims to the kingdom. For everyone, whether participating in the first war or in the second, will have reasons and excuses for doing what they had to do. To make this a matter of dispute is not worthy of your honour and estate; instead, leave aside the bitterness you feel towards them, returning what is theirs and granting them other favours, with which they may serve you and not leave their homeland. For it behoves kings to pardon, especially in what touches their persons, and if you compare past events, both in Castile and in other kingdoms you will find that princes were accustomed to taking this course of action, thus perpetuating their honour and estate, and receiving from such persons great services and benefits. Therefore, my liege lady the queen earnestly pleads that, since this is the right thing to do, you no longer insist on your position, and grant this article.’ Hearing these arguments in the presence of his royal council, the king attempted a faint smile and answered: ‘I say to you, archdeacon, that you would have spoken very well if your homily had been new and had not already been heard. But this sermon has been preached so many times already, both by the ambassadors who come to speak about peace and in the queen’s letters that she has sent us, that we all already know it by heart. It is not fitting for you to repeat it any more, even if you further sweeten the words to persuade me that I have to believe you. For what I said and what was my opinion the first time, is what I say now and will think forever: an alliance with the sort of conditions such as those that you continue to ask, I intend never to contract. Leaving aside the other articles, which should not be discussed for the sake of bringing peace to an honest conclusion, but focusing only on this alliance, with such expedients as you require, I would not allow it to be carried out because



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it is shameful for us and will cause us great loss. For, even if in your words it seems to be quite equitable, in practice it is very unequal. Castile could go to war with many nations – for example, France, England, Navarre, Aragon and Granada – as they have done before, for which they could require such aid, but should we go to war we only have Castile against whom to wage it. Once peace is made with Castile, we are obliged to give them aid, as will immediately become imperative, but they do not have such obligation toward us because we do not have occasion to need it. Even if we did not want to protect ourselves from such circumstances, whoever saw us giving such aid but receiving none from them would say that we were doing so just to buy peace, and that we were giving it to them in place of a tribute, which is quite unequal and very detrimental to us.449 On this therefore it is not appropriate to preach any further.’ ‘Most high and noble lord’, said Juan Rodríguez, ‘since Your Grace does not consent to such a condition being included in the act of alliance, saying that it is unequal, even if it seems of rightful equality to my lady the queen, she asks that it please you to negotiate this peace without putting in that article. Rather, let the arrangements for aid be agreed separately by signed letters on both sides. Both would swear to keep this secret so that it would only be discovered if one side did not want to fulfil what their letter might contain. When such aid has to be requested, let it be based on bonds of love and kinship and not by the strength of an alliance, and that will remove all possible objection on this point.’ ‘I ask you to tell me’, said the king, ‘what distinction do you make between that other article and this one that you have just spoken of? They are one and the same, except that the interchange of letters you have described appears to be an underhand effort to cover up the unsatisfactory nature of our arrangements. Rather, it is more shameful than the first [article], because, as the two respective royal councils would be aware of this, as they should be, it would be impossible to prevent its being discovered. Furthermore, once it were known, as would be bound to happen, it would be seen as grounds for even greater shame and censure, because it would be clearly understood that this was being done for no other reason than to cover up the subjection we had put ourselves under. Since such an expedient is most shameful, it is not appropriate to speak of it any further. ‘Well, Sire’, said the Castilian, ‘since you have bidden farewell to both these expedients, I still have another to put forward, which you should perforce agree to out of respect for the queen, your sister. For the service of God, for 449 Lopes

uses the word pareas here, which seems to be a reference to the tribute system (paria) common in earlier centuries whereby the Muslim cities of Al-Andalus paid gold to the Christian rulers of the north in a kind of protection racket to avoid attack. King João is implying that the terms of the treaty would reduce Portugal to tributary status.

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which it is principally done, moreover for peace on both sides, we hope it pleases you to help her son the king in this war against the Moors which he has begun, for a period of four years in person, with a number of ships and men-at-arms, as befits your honour, and let all the rest be left for another time. This you should do willingly: firstly, because it is for the service of God that the war is principally waged; secondly, because you have spent all your life in wars against Christians, shedding much of their blood. This would be a form of reparation and penance for your sins and, as far as the world is concerned, it would be more praiseworthy to help conquer lands from which so much evil has come to all of Spain.450 For you know well that in times past the great ones of the world have considered themselves honoured to go and help in this conquest.’ ‘I have already answered you’, said the king, ‘that in no way do I intend to give support by treaty. If the queen had looked carefully at the letter that we sent from Santarém through Álvaro Gonçalves da Maia, the clerk of our privy council, she would not have sent us this request, as it is not fairly made and it is very ill-advised. For, if we have written to her that we do not intend to grant any aid by treaty, much less would we do so in person, if compelled to do so by the terms of a treaty, even if it were under the guise of an alliance and for the service of God. Therefore, it would not be fitting to speak of this further, or to send other messengers as she writes that she will do. However, bearing in mind the great love that there is between us, because it pleases her to take on this charge, and moreover, in order not to allow the enemy of mankind an opportunity to spread hate and discord where God has established such firm family ties, even though we have already sent to her a full answer in the terms that I have discussed with you, it pleases us to send our messengers to her; so take this message to her.’

Chapter 192

Which ambassadors the king sent to Castile, and the letter that he wrote about it to Queen Catalina

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he archdeacon left for Castile, whither the king ordered that there be sent an honourable nobleman, his lord lieutenant, namely João Gomes da Silva, and with him two doctors [of laws]. One was called Martim do Sém and the other Fernão Gonçalves Belágua. The king sent them equipped as was appropriate to their honour and estate, and they took with them a letter which read as follows: 450 The

Iberian Peninsula.



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My dear and much beloved sister and friend whom we love with all our heart and most entirely, the Queen of Castile and León: we the King of Portugal and the Algarve send you many greetings as the sister and friend whom we greatly love and esteem, and for whom we wish God to provide as much health, life and honour as you yourself desire. My dear and much beloved sister, we are letting you know that Juan Rodríguez, the Archdeacon of Gordón, at your service, came to us and brought us your letter of credence, in which you proposed to us the three terms of the alliance that you had previously sent to us through him, saying that it seemed good to you to draw it up in that way, as a peace treaty to be negotiated between us and your son. The first term was that in all the wars which your son and all his successors might fight against any people, we and our heirs would aid him with ten galleys fitted out at our expense, and that he and those who came after him would also do the same for us and for our descendants. The second term was that such a commitment would not be recorded in the treaty but simply agreed outside it by our letters and yours, and that any other aid, if it were required, would be given out of the close family ties and friendship existing between both sides and without reference to the said letters; and we would all swear regarding the things contained in them not to disclose them to anyone, except if one side failed to carry out the conditions contained in them; then, the other side could speak of them and make demands without censure at breaking the oath. The third term of which he told us was that we in our person, with certain ships and men, as was appropriate to our estate, would aid your son for a period of four years in his war with the Moors, but no further help would be given beyond that time. My dear and much beloved sister and friend, since all three of these terms seem to be very unfair to our side and go far beyond what you always sent to say to us, especially the third which we can well believe was never put forward by you but by some person who has little desire to bring these things to a good conclusion; and since the archdeacon has not brought us any other message from you, we would prefer not to talk about it any more. This is because so many different and unjust things are always proposed on behalf of your son that it seems pointless to spend more time on this matter. However, for the service of God and not to act counter to the good ties that exist between us, which could open the way to the Prince of Discord, and also out of respect for you, we have agreed to send you messengers about this, from whom you will know our final intention. We ask you as sister and friend that it may please you, promptly and without delay, to declare your son’s intention once and for all, so that this matter can be brought to an end immediately. For when we consider the close bonds that there are between us and the long time that has passed with no fruitful outcome [to our negotiations] with you, who are our sister, God knows that our soul is much afflicted. Be assured that you will give us extreme pleasure by bringing these things to a final decision one way or another, since, my dear and beloved sister, the task of bringing them to a [good] conclusion is yours.

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Chapter 193

Concerning the words that the ambassadors spoke to the queen, in person and in writing

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he Portuguese ambassadors arrived in Castile, where they were well and honourably received and made welcome by the lords and nobles of the court. Leaving aside the greetings given to the queen and the king her son, and the regards that the Portuguese princesses451 requested to be sent to their cousins, the King of Castile’s sisters, and also to Prince Fernando, his wife and children, and the hand-kissing ceremonies, because it is a thing that everybody knows about, let us turn our brief account to the discussions about the content of the peace treaty. Let us start by saying that, after the greetings had been given to the queen, before they spoke to Prince Fernando, the king’s uncle and tutor, the ambassadors addressed her as follows: ‘My lady, we are sent to you to say certain things on behalf of your brother the King of Portugal, our liege lord, and therefore we graciously request you to assign the time and the day when we can return to you to speak of what he has ordered us to say.’ The queen said that it pleased her to do so and she told them the time and day when they could return. They then went to see Prince Fernando. Having conveyed the salutations that they had brought to him, they addressed him as follows: ‘My lord, we have come here because the queen, the mother of your nephew the king, made it known to our liege lord the king, by envoys and through the letters that were sent to him, that you and the whole kingdom have charged her with the task of negotiating the terms of this peace treaty, about which there has been no agreement up to now. As the king saw that these negotiations were becoming most prolonged, and having seen the message that the Archdeacon Juan Rodríguez took to him, he decided to send us here to conclude this treaty. Since we know for certain, my lord, that you must know all the things that we have told the queen, we will not for now speak to you about it. Yet, my lord, we earnestly ask of you the favour that in these negotiations you consider the service of God, as well as the advantage and honour of both sides, doing all that is in your power to bring the matter that has brought us 451 In fact, only one of the king’s daughters, Isabel, was a princess (infanta), as Beatriz, his illegitimate daughter, never enjoyed that title. If this error was not the result of a scribal error that read infantas for infantes (to mean all his children), Lopes may have intended to simplify matters by referring to both daughters with one single word.



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here to a reasonable conclusion, so that our liege lord the king may feel you have brought to bear on such a goal the same goodwill and positive intention, which you have always shown in these kingdoms.’ The prince listened to all they said with gracious countenance, and the ambassadors left his presence. Then they went to speak to the queen, and they said this: ‘My lady, your brother the king, our liege lord, sends us to say to you that you know well, how through Álvaro Gonçalves da Maia, his private secretary and a man in whom he has full trust, you made it known that you had done your best with the prince and with those of the royal council of your son the king to bring from these negotiations a good agreement, and that everybody had approved of your mediating in them. And since these matters were entrusted to you, should my liege lord come to reasonable terms, you believed that you would be able to bring both parties to a good agreement, and that it should please him to send his messengers to you in order to put this in train. ‘The king answered you through Álvaro Gonçalves, as he had already sent his messengers several times [before], replying to the article of the truce where this peace is mentioned, but every time such demands have been made of our kingdoms that those talks have never borne any fruit. He was therefore very doubtful about sending his messengers to you, as you requested, without learning first from you what things you were content should be discussed. For, if they were the ones that they always mentioned and required from him, their journey would be pointless, since those were things that could not be granted. ‘You charged Archdeacon Juan Rodríguez, the first time he went to Lisbon, with asking King João to convey his intentions in those matters that he thought it necessary to discuss, adding that you would work with all your power to bring them to a good settlement. Without delay, our liege lord the king conveyed his final intention to you through the archdeacon. Now, on this second occasion when he came to Lisbon, he said on your behalf certain things that to the king, our liege lord, seemed to be very unreasonable, and to which he immediately replied, making it clear that he did not want to discuss them ever again. Yet out of respect for you, and in accordance with what you wrote to him, the king decided to send us here, to ask you, as a sister and friend in whom he has great confidence, that, bearing in mind the close bonds between you, and also the great service to God arising from it, you might resolve these matters with honour on both sides in such a manner that we might be justified in consenting to the terms of the treaty.’ The queen said that she remembered it all well and that she was very pleased at their coming. However, for things to proceed better and to be carried out more quickly, it was necessary for them to present to her in writing those things that they wished to say on behalf of their liege lord the king. They acknowledged that this pleased them and went to their lodgings. They returned afterwards with a document, the content of which was this:

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Most high, noble and most excellent lady: on behalf of the king our liege lord, your brother, we declare to Your Grace that he and those of his royal council have thought much about these peace negotiations, regarding the proposals that, up to the present, have been advanced on behalf of the king, your son. Our liege lord the king and all his royal council, seeing the rights to which they have a claim and the measures that are required from each kingdom, cannot devise a better way for these matters to come to a good conclusion with justice on both sides, yet without any embarrassment or shame to any, other than through sealing a good, unconditional and true peace. For neither side can say about unconditional peace that one or both of them suffered loss or shame. This is not the case when there are certain conditions involved; and the more there are, the more they create new tensions and suspicions, owing to which it could be said that one of the sides would gain more honour, or suffer greater loss. When one side feels that its honour has been left lacking or some of its worthy men understand it to be so, their hearts would always be affronted by it, and they would persist in seeking ways and means of extricating themselves from such a deal. Therefore, such amity is never as solid and firm as unconditional peace. Moreover, my lady, you will find that for both parties more benefit and advantage and much more willingness will follow from this unconditional peace than from one made by adding conditions. For, in the case of an unconditional peace, all the things that follow on from it between the parties proceed from great love and free will, unconstrained by the obligation to observe conditions. Indeed, where there are such close bonds, no other approach is necessary, except that which removes all vexation and outrage from the things of the past, and that is an unconditional and genuine peace without adding to it other clauses or conditions. If you consider what happened in the past, you will not find peace made other than in this way; and there were not then such strong bonds as by the grace of God there are now. Therefore, most noble lady, we beg you to be graciously pleased to consider this, the final response of your brother the king, and to ponder well all that it contains, and in a short time grant us leave to depart.

Chapter 194

The arguments put forward by both sides in Queen Catalina’s royal council

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he queen asked her counsellors how they should discuss this peace treaty, and, all being agreed, they said that they did not think there was any subject better to discuss, in order to bring the peace to a good conclusion, other than that which the archdeacon had proposed in Portugal, and which her own ambassadors had already demanded at other times. For they thought that



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an unconditional peace, without further binding clauses based on conditions of aid, would not bring their liege lord the king any advantage. ‘For in an unconditional peace’, they said, ‘although some might argue that it is fairer to both sides, neither side can be sure of to what extent and in what form it will be supported by the other party, or whether they will say afterwards that they cannot do so at that time, or perhaps that they do not want to. Therefore, if no better way can be found, then this is the one that should be discussed.’ Thus, they all came to the same conclusion. The Portuguese, learning about this council meeting and [understanding] how they should respond to it, duly appeared on the day appointed for that purpose and presented the following argument: ‘My lords, you are of one mind that we should not discuss an unconditional peace but a conditional one, with certain binding clauses. You say that there is no benefit to be had from an unconditional peace and that you see many advantages in a peace made with certain binding clauses. My lords, we do not see it like this but think very much the opposite. For in conditional peace, the more terms there are, the more tensions and suspicions will arise. As a result of the strained relations deriving from it, it is easy to find reason to say: this is more honourable or dishonourable, which cannot happen when the peace is unconditional. If you insist on this point in order to profit by some aid from our liege lord the king, and he expects the same from you out of equal entitlement, the unconditional peace guarantees this in a more complete way and with more goodwill from both sides than a conditional peace, which leads to very strained relations among those who sign it. Indeed, one of the parties could feel that they were being disadvantaged or would worry that others would think so, even if they knew that this was not the case, or that others could think that they had acted out of necessity. Either way, their hearts would always be filled with resentment, and such resentment would deter them from doing anything beyond that strictly prescribed by the peace treaty. ‘Besides, as soon as those of either side would get that idea into their heads, or were told that some worthy men shared the opinion that it was not to their honour, they would immediately try to find ways to get out of such a deal. In this case, the aid that one side thought they would get from the other through a peace with binding clauses would inevitably be lost, and moreover the amity between them would never be firm or genuine. An unconditional peace does not bring forth any of these things, for there is no shame involved on either side, nor is there anything that could be taken as disrespect but only as a demonstration of pure good will, in such manner that, where one side could not give aid, whatever it might be, on such a scale, they could not thereby be reduced to shame. The members of the royal council said, ‘It is true that one could well interpret and rely on such aid in the manner that you say. However, it would

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be necessary for the side which was to receive such aid to know exactly to what extent and in what form each side was to help the other.’ The Portuguese answered as follows: ‘What you say would be wise to demand between enemies, or those who did not share bonds of kinship. Yet between kings who have such ties, these blood relationships alone would suffice for firm resolve and certainty in giving such aid, and nothing else is necessary. We have been assured by our liege lord the king that as soon as the peace were made, the kings would form such great and noble amity, beyond the bonds that exist between them, that there would be no further need for assurance or confirmation other than the love that would unite them both, in order to benefit and aid each other.’ ‘[Indeed,] we very much wonder’, continued the one who was speaking, ‘why you do not want such a good peace as that we have described, for you see well that our liege lord the king does not offer you anything [otherwise], nor any expectation of it, and since you are getting nothing from him nor can expect anything, why do you not risk this nothing on the chance of getting much more? For if you do not settle for an unconditional peace, you are not getting anything from him nor any expectation of getting it. But if you settle for such a peace, you will find a good and true friend in him, getting that aid that you are demanding by treaty, and in a better form when conditions allow. For, as we have said, in circumstances that attract suspicion of shame, men are motivated to stop doing many of the things that are asked of them; and where such shame does not come about and in circumstances which give rise to honour and renown, they are much readier and happier to do that which is required of them out of their preference and free will. Therefore, as we have said, you ought to put at risk the very little you are asking, which is aid by treaty, in order to gain the great deal that could follow by right and opportunity of an unconditional peace. In particular, this support that you demand of ten to twelve galleys is quite small and of little benefit, which does not increase your honour in any way, considering the grandeur of Castile. Therefore, it seems to us reasonable to put at risk this small item of support, which you ask for, but are not getting, in order to gain the much greater support that you could have through the good and generous will of our liege lord the king, whenever you require it. Thus, we conclude that a peace with binding clauses will never be as beneficial as an unconditional peace could be.’ With some members of the [Castilian] royal council insisting that a treaty with binding clauses led to a more transparent amity, and the others insisting that it did not do so, there was no further discussion that day.



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Chapter 195

How the ambassadors spoke to the queen separately, and were granted the peace that they demanded

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hen the ambassadors saw that, however many arguments they could put forward, they would not change the mind of the counsellors to settle for an unconditional peace, instead of one with binding clauses to be sure of the support that they were to have, they found a way to speak to the queen when the members of the royal council were not present. Addressing her, they told her: ‘My lady, you have seen what was proposed by us in the presence of your royal council. Although both then and afterwards we told some of its members several times that we did not think there was a finer way to settle matters equitably than an unconditional peace, neither then nor afterwards have they given us to understand that they will agree to it. Although the things said by us are so reasonable that no other better means can be conceived – for if we could conceive it, we would discuss it willingly – it seems we are in disagreement. Since such is the situation, my lady, it rests on you to mediate in these matters: according to what you sent to say to the king your brother, it is for you to act as you think best in order to distribute equal honour to both sides. For in our opinion, in this disagreement there is only a small matter to be settled, so as to serve God, for great peace and harmony to ensue in these kingdoms.’ ‘In truth’, said the queen, ‘I understand well the arguments you have put forward, but I am very doubtful about their wanting to settle on any treaty without binding clauses, because of their not being sure or certain of the aid that would be given.’ ‘My lady’, they replied, ‘it seems to us that all the doubt about this peace is due to your receiving less reassurance than you would like. Now, we think that you should feel totally reassured, with no further doubts about it, considering the great and close bonds that there are between our liege lords the king and queen, and yourself, and their children and yours. This alone, as we understand it, allows for enough certainty and confidence that our liege lord the king should provide you with any aid, when it was required from him by you, without there needing to be further obligation by treaty, which would not be proper between those united by such ties. For the question is: either you want this aid as a treaty condition because of the great benefit that you intend to get from it, or because you expect to reap honour from it. As for benefit, this seems to be very small, considering the things that your son the king has to do in the war, by both land and sea. For where there is such a huge fleet as the one that your son the king fits out each year to fight the Moors, and

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given what he does on land as well, ten to twelve [extra] galleys provided through aid established by a treaty condition, will make little difference to your endeavours. That is not worth the risk of forfeiting the noble undertaking you have started, which is so great a service to God. ‘If, my lady, you are acting so that honour may accrue to your son through having this aid by treaty, then this is not in accordance with what you have always written to our liege lord the king, saying that it pleased you for the agreement to be equal on both sides. Moreover, were so great a realm as Castile, furnished with so many good soldiers of its own, to seek help from such a small kingdom as Portugal in order to battle against a pitiable handful of Moors ‒ too few to be worth anyone’s attention ‒ the very request for such help would seem proof of a faint and feeble heart, rather than the resolute courage of true warriors. ‘So, my lady, we must say what we would prefer to be silent about, but because we see your intention, we are forced to say it. My lady, we are much astonished that you do not trust our liege lord the king when he declares that, as soon as he made peace with your son, he would give you all the aid necessary for your war and anything else. For there is a man who showed love and benevolence to your son and to you, as you very well know, when your husband died, leaving you and your son with great uncertainties in these kingdoms. Our liege lord the king, thinking that there might be something plotted against the honour of your estate, sent you a letter offering all the help and favour that you might need from him and his kingdoms, and even from him in person, if you needed it, as you well know. It is to be assumed that such a man would help you if you required it. ‘My lady, if he offered himself thus out of such goodwill, as one who was most concerned with your honour, how can you show that you have such little faith in him that, if there were peace between you, he would not help you or the king your son in things that were to your advantage and honour? Certainly, my lady, in our opinion it would be better to trust in a man who loves you and knows how to value the point at issue between you, and another much greater (which is his own honour), than to want to obtain it from him by a peace with binding clauses and do it subject to a treaty. All the world would see clearly, if you did this, that you had little faith in him and that you would trust more in words written on a scrap of paper than in the noble love and the bonds that there are between you and him, or in the goodwill that he might show towards you. Such is the close kinship that the queen his wife and their children have with you and yours, and it ought to be enough for you to be reassured about this matter, as we have said.’ The queen listened to these arguments and praised them, saying that she saw things the same way. However, according to the rule that one should first defend one’s own interests before those of others, she and her counsellors, on



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behalf of the king her son, nevertheless clung to a conditional peace drawn up by treaty. It was fully debated for several days, and it pleased the Lord God, Who is the true peace, that on a Sunday after vespers on 14 June in the year stated below,452 peace was agreed between these monarchs. With the queen seated on her dais, she ordered the ambassadors to be summoned. There were present the Bishop of Palencia, the Bishop of Segovia, Admiral Alfonso Enríquez, Diego López de Estúñiga and other nobles and prelates whose names it is not necessary to mention. In the presence of all, she said that she had worked with her brother Prince Fernando and with her son’s counsellors and other great nobles of the kingdom, as well as with the proctors of the cities and towns who were there, and she had presented such arguments to them that, thanks be to God, peace was agreed, as had been sought by the ambassadors. The ambassadors replied in the manner they understood to be to the service of their liege lord the king. As Prince Fernando was not present, they went to speak to him at his lodgings, where he was with Juan Álvarez de Osorio, the steward of the king, Juan Alfonso, the queen’s secretary, and others. Before these men, the prince said that he knew well the response about peace that his sister Her Grace the queen had given them, and that he gave great thanks to God that these matters were to come to such a good conclusion, considering that it was to the service of God and a great good for both kingdoms. God knew that it had always been his desire not to fight a war against Christians, and it seemed to him that it was a great evil, where there were such close bonds, to have war or discord. He spoke other fine words which they considered to be extremely gracious on his part. So, a good, unconditional and perpetual peace was arranged, with those clauses and conditions which could give it greatest validity. Setting aside the general articles on handovers and sentences and similar things common to both sides, the essence of it was in the two following articles: the King of Portugal would make restitution to those Portuguese who were living in Castile, who had left with Queen Beatriz in the lifetime of her husband the King [Juan I of Castile], namely those who had not recognised João I as their liege lord or accepted his overlordship. This concerned the inherited property which they had in Portugal when they left it. The King of Castile would do the same for those who were living in Portugal but had property in Castile; likewise, the Portuguese who had inherited property in Castile at the time the war began, would have it returned or be recompensed for it. This was also to be done for the Castilians who had some inherited property in Portugal. This was the essence of the whole peace treaty.

452 As

stated in Chapter 196 below.

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Chapter 196

How the peace treaty was made and approved by the king, and when

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ith the peace agreed, and the Portuguese wanting to draw up the treaty, they were confronted with a formidable doubt which worried them a good deal, namely the tender age of the King of Castile, who was a minor aged seven. At that age he could not swear an oath or be bound by the conditions of such a peace until he was fourteen years old. Alternatively, he could have authority bestowed by the magistrates of his court, but the necessary procedure was so complicated and took so long that it would be very difficult for him to get it, and not soon enough. ‘Therefore, my lords’, said the Portuguese to those who were charged with this task, who were the Bishop of Zamora and Pedro Yáñez, a doctor of laws, ‘what are we going to do about this problem? For when the king reaches fourteen years of age, he could well accept or reject this treaty. Supposing he accepted it, such a peace in the meantime will seem more like ravages of war or truces rather than a rightful and perpetual peace, until that age at which the law holds a man to be perfect in his understanding of whether what he does is right or wrong, which is accounted to be twentyfive years. Below this age, whatever he does is in vain and may be deemed fallacious, and will not be valid. Thus, the firmness of this peace would depend purely on the oaths of the queen, the prince, the prelates, the nobles and the representatives of the towns. ‘Without validating the peace treaty in this manner, there would be no reason why the letter of this document should be fulfilled until the day when the king, at the age demanded by law, confirmed it by oath. In any other way, the King of Portugal would remain without a peace and suffer grave loss, having given aid to his enemies which they could use to destroy him and make war against him. Added to this, there was the huge cost of fitting out fleets, and many forms of support that would certainly need to be provided, when they were required of him.’ Granted that this was so, they went to talk to the queen. These arguments having been put to her, she said that they should not bother about another approach other than the one they had simply decided on, the peace resting on her oath and on that of the other people of the kingdom. As for the satisfaction [of the terms] that had to be reached by both parties, she trusted in her brother King João, and she also understood that it could not but be considered wise to venture a little to achieve much; and what she would be giving to satisfy the agreement was very little in respect of the good that would follow from



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the peace. Agreed on this, they signed the treaty in the town of Jaén, where the queen was staying, on the last day of October 1411. After the King of Castile reached the age of fourteen,453 those same ambassadors went there again to ask him to approve this treaty drawn up in his name by his mother the queen and his uncle Prince Fernando, who later became King of Aragon; both of whom had died by then.454 The king ordered the treaty to be read, but for certain reasons that made him want to think it over, it was not signed or ratified at that time, and the envoys returned to Portugal. Later, the King of Castile sent to the King of Portugal on this matter Alfonso García [de Santa María], the Dean of Santiago, and Juan Alfonso de Zamora, the king’s private secretary.455 They came to an agreement with the King of Portugal about the manner in which the King of Castile would swear [to the treaty]. Then the King of Portugal sent to Castile the very honourable nobleman Dom Fernando de Castro, a member of his royal council, and a doctor of law called Fernando Afonso, to ask for this approval. In the town of Ávila, where the King of Castile then was, on the last day of April 1423, which was the date by then, the king approved the said treaty, not in perpetuity but until 6 March 1434, in which year he would be twenty-nine years old, and then for as long as he wanted. Thus the treaty was always respected until that time. Some three years before that time was up, two knights of the King of Portugal’s royal council, called Pero Gonçalves [Malafaia] and Luís Gonçalves, both brothers, as well as a doctor of law, Rui Fernandes, went to Castile. The King of Castile agreed with them a perpetual peace in Medina del Campo on 30 October 1431, in which were settled all the restitutions that the kings had to make to those whose property had been seized, as we said above,456 and all the other things that could be a cause for dissent.457 Thus the war ended completely, and the love and good peace came which still lasts today. May it please God that it last for ever, as these noble kings granted unto themselves and on behalf of their heirs.

453 That

is, after March 1419. Fernando de Antequera acceded to the throne of Aragon in 1412 and died in 1416. Queen Catalina died in 1418. 455 Alfonso García de Santa María, later known as Alfonso de Cartagena, made his first diplomatic visit in 1421–1422. 456 In Chapter 195 above. 457 It is probable that Queen Beatriz, daughter of King Fernando of Portugal and widow of Juan I of Castile, had died childless by this time, meaning that Castile no longer had a claim to the Portuguese throne and that it was pointless for either side to continue to support or pursue exiled opponents. 454 Prince

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Chapter 197

How the Queen of Castile sent a letter to the King of Portugal to ask for the aid of a certain number of galleys, and the answer that he sent her in another

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n the same way as one rule is born from another, according to what scholars say, thus, for those versed in such matters, from this peace is born the desire to know two things. Firstly, whether, after this peace was made, the King of Portugal was required to provide any aid to the Queen of Castile and how much and in what form, and if he did so or promised to, what was the reply he gave. Secondly, since, thanks to God, there were children on both sides, how it was that there was no marriage planned between them in order for there to be a greater bond of love and goodwill. To satisfy a little those who want to know this, you should know that there was a request and that it was not long in coming, for immediately the Castilians wanted to put to the test whether they had a faithful friend in the King of Portugal, as his envoys had affirmed so many times. The peace negotiations having been completed, a very few days after the envoys arrived back in Portugal the queen immediately wrote a letter to the king, requesting aid from him for the war against the Moors, the text of which was this: To my dearly beloved and with all my heart much loved brother the King of Portugal: I, the hapless Queen of Castile and León, mother of the king, and his tutor and ruler of his kingdoms, send you warm greetings, wishing you as much health and honourable life as you desire. My dearly beloved brother, you know well how, with your embassy on the matter of peace, you sent to me João Gomes da Silva and Martim do Sém, a doctor of laws in your royal council, as well as the doctor of laws Fernão Gonçalves Belágua and Álvaro Gonçalves da Maia, a servant of yours. My dear and much beloved brother, I endeavoured, along with my brother the prince and all those of the royal council of my son the king, to apply the best method that I considered appropriate to bring such matters to a good conclusion, Thus, God be thanked, peace is agreed between my son the king and his kingdoms and you and yours, according to what you sent to say to me. This I write to you, my dear and much beloved brother, because God knows that this thing is a great consolation and cause of gladness to me, as I am sure it will be to you and your wife the queen, my much beloved and esteemed sister, for it pleased God that by this peace the great and close ties there are between us have been strengthened and confirmed in good and true love. My dear and much beloved brother, you know well how my son the king has since started to wage war against the Moors of Granada, which war he is prepared to continue, pleasing God by his service. I think that in order to



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do it he greatly needs to have from you the support of ten to twelve galleys in the first spring in which the war is to start. Therefore, my very dear and beloved brother, I ask you as earnestly as I can, for the service of God and for my honour and respect, and to demonstrate by deeds the warm affection that I always felt that you had for me and for my son the king, by reason of the strong and close ties that we have between us, that it would please you to grant and give to my son the king the said support. I assure you that he will do the same for you, when you need him to do so. In this, my dear and much beloved brother, you will do service to God and perform for me the deed of a good and true brother, and you will demonstrate the goodwill that you have always had for me and my son the king. It is a deed, my dear and much beloved brother, for which he and I will be very grateful. May the Holy Trinity hold you always in its sacred keeping. Given at [date and place omitted].

The king received the messenger very well, giving him a good and gracious welcome for bringing such a letter, and he sent through him his letter to the queen in reply, which declared: My very dear and much beloved sister and friend, whom we wish well with all our heart, Queen of Castile and León. We, the king of Portugal and of the Algarve, send you many greetings as our sister and friend whom we deeply love and esteem and for whom we wish that God give as much health, life and honour as you yourself desire. My dear and much beloved sister, we are letting you know that we saw the letter you sent to us through Álvaro Gonçalves da Maia, a clerk of my privy council, in which it is stated that you have worked on the matter of the peace, along with the prince your brother and all those of the royal council of your son the king, applying the best method that you could in such a way that, thanks to God, peace has been agreed between the king your son and his kingdoms and our kingdoms, in the manner in which we had sent to tell you through our ambassadors. You confirmed this to us because God knew that you have received great consolation from this matter, and you thought that this was also the case for us and the queen my wife, your sister, because through this peace the close ties that there are between us will be strengthened and confirmed in good and true love. Most beloved and esteemed sister, God knows that we and your sister the queen, my wife, are very glad about this matter, and we thank God that there is peace between us; it would be very bad, where there are such close ties between us, for there to be war or any other thing that might bring harm. Likewise, much beloved and esteemed sister, in reply to what you say, since the issue of establishing peace between us has been concluded, we know well that the king your son is at war with the Moors of Granada, which he is prepared to continue for the service of God and his own honour, and for which you ask of us that, for the first spring when the war is to be fought, we provide to the king your son the support of ten to twelve galleys,

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of which he stands in great need. Much beloved and esteemed sister, you should be assured that since it pleased God to remove the obstacle of war that there was between us, anything that from here onwards we can do for you and your son the king, we will do it with great pleasure in such a way that, God willing, you will find us a very true and upright brother. Concerning these galleys that you have requested from us, we are pleased that in the first spring when your son wages war, we will send them to his aid, much beloved sister.

In giving this aid as requested, the King of Portugal’s most magnanimous heart, full of the noblest aspirations, was not content just to do it in this way; he thought, since it was requested so earnestly, that the urgency of the request demanded it and constrained him to comply, although it did not greatly enhance his honour and reputation. A little after this, when Prince Fernando was already king of Aragon458 but still held onto government in Castile as before, this noble King of Portugal, seeing such a devout conquest that those kingdoms were keen to inflict on the Moors, and eager both to serve God and remove the obstacle that Spain endured by having infidels in the emirate of Granada, sent to King Fernando offering that, when it pleased him to go to war against them and continue his conquest, the King of Portugal would with great pleasure help him in person and with his forces. King Fernando was very pleased with such an embassy, but while making preparations to fulfil it, death overcame him, ending his days. After his death, this Catholic prince, the King of Portugal, continuing with his good intentions, had a similar proposition sent to Queen Catalina, the mother of the King of Castile, who thanked him as deeply as can be imagined. Yet she said that she was a woman, to whom acts of war did not pertain, and that the king her son was not old enough for them; for this reason, she felt it unfitting to devote herself to such an undertaking. After the King of Castile was of an age to rule his kingdoms, and started to conquer the Moors, the noble King of Portugal sent word to remind him about these past requests and why they had not taken effect. Now that God had brought him to his full maturity and he with good and holy intention was beginning such conquests, then, if he wanted to continue, King João would personally and most willingly help him to do so, accompanied by his eldest son and the other princes and counts of his land. He declared immediately the manner in which he intended, with the grace of God, to go about it. If by chance he was prevented from going in person, he would send all his sons or those whom the King of Castile thought would serve him best. On this and on other occasions when such help was offered, the King of Castile always replied that he was very thankful for the King of Portugal’s 458 See

Chapter 196, note 454 above.



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generous offer and that he would send him his reply shortly. At no time was it sent, neither shortly nor long after, thus dismissing all of this support as time went by, which they had at first requested piecemeal and in great haste.

Chapter 198

How certain marriages of the children of these monarchs were mooted on both sides, yet did not take place

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s an answer to the other question that it is desirable to know about, namely why marriages were not arranged between the princes since there were children on both sides and it would make the alliance firmer, it is important that you should know that they were in fact discussed. But, although marriages between the children of kings may be commended, they are not easy to bring about because of the many things that have to be negotiated. Moreover, other lords, although they may have children of their own, do not openly dare to marry them outside the kingdom without permission from their liege lord, as such marriages are sometimes obstructed. Even though matters might be agreed according to the parents’ wishes, and everything is perfectly settled, Dame Fortune, powerful in all things, overturns the arrangements in unforeseen ways when she wishes to, as she did with some of those marriages that had begun to be negotiated. Before the aforesaid peace treaty, the King of Portugal was secretly negotiating a great alliance and friendship with Prince Fernando, the [present] king’s uncle and guardian, in which, among other things, they were to marry their children to each other. Once it was agreed in letters, and by people who served as intermediaries between them, this prince asked the [then] King of Castile [Enrique III] whether it pleased him that he, the prince, should negotiate the very peace treaty which we have talked about and marry his [own] children to those of the King of Portugal.459 The king sent word to him that, yes, he could talk about the peace treaty but that he should not get involved in marriages. So this alliance was dissolved and nothing more was done about it. This was at the time that the King of Portugal went to lay siege to Alcántara.460 When afterwards Queen Catalina made it known to the King of Portugal that the prince and all the kingdom of Castile had charged her with arranging the peace treaty, he immediately wrote to her that they thus agreed that her daughter Princess Catalina should marry his son Prince Duarte, the eldest

459 At

the time, 1401, Enrique III of Castile only had an infant daughter, Catalina. Chapter 184 above.

460 See

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son and heir to the kingdom; through their marriage it would please God that they would avert war, and peace would come. The king having spoken to his son the prince about this marriage the latter was very doubtful and with good reason, saying that the wife who was intended for him was very young, for she was not more than four years old and he was aged twenty. This was not a good match, for it would be necessary to wait nine or ten years before he could marry her.461 Nevertheless, in order to make peace, seeing the good that would flow from it, he would, with God’s help, shoulder that responsibility, provided he was truly married before God and the world. But as she was so young, he was very doubtful about marrying, because he would immediately enter the married state though she would not. Before she took charge of her household, some misfortune might affect her body, for example madness, blindness, paralysis or leprosy, so that he could not, in reality, be married to her, which was of great concern to him. Since none of these misfortunes could prevent her from being his wife, the thing would be impossible for him, and hence for the whole kingdom.462 After the peace treaty was signed, much was spoken about this marriage and the things pertaining to it, such as the 100,000 doblas which were promised as the bride’s dowry, whether they would be all paid in gold or in some other way, until the queen got to the stage of saying that she would like to see her sister the Queen of Portugal about this. Then they would speak about the matter of this dowry and everything else necessary. To King João this seemed a delay that would take much too long to come to an end. He then sent to propose the marriage of his daughter Princess Isabel, who later became Duchess of Burgundy, to the present King of Castile, thinking that it would easily be done, for while his father King Enrique [III] and also the prince his uncle had been alive, they had agreed to proceed with this match, had death not taken them away so early. When this peace was proclaimed at 461 The

legal age of marriage for girls in the Middle Ages was 12. By suggesting a delay until the princess was 13 or 14, Duarte was in keeping with European royal practice at the time. We know that he considered compatibility in marriage to be important, as he discussed it at length in chapters 44–48 of his Leal Conselheiro [Faithful Counsellor], which was compiled at roughly the same period that Lopes was writing his chronicles. 462 Duarte’s concerns about betrothal to a four-year-old also stem from the fact that he would be bound by the betrothal as if it were a marriage, but that she as a minor who could not give consent would not legally be married until the marriage was properly consummated. In theory, physical illness (which included madness in this period) was not sufficient grounds for the annulment of marriage or betrothal as long as there was no impediment to consummation. Since some of the conditions listed by Lopes were usually seen as adult-onset illnesses, it would indeed be premature to assume that a child-bride would remain healthy (and fertile – which is the implication of the statement that the whole kingdom would be affected by the mismatch).



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Valladolid, before the ambassadors left, the queen asked the king her son, in their presence, ‘My lord and my son, whom would it please you to marry?’ The king answered, saying, ‘The Princess of Portugal, who they tell me is one of the most beautiful maidens in the world.’ So by this you can see which marriages were mooted. Yet although they were reasonable and equal matches, both in lineage and estate as well as other things, as in the popular saying, ‘Death and marriage are forged in heaven’, none of these went ahead. Therefore, let us speak of other things, since we have nothing more to say about the relationship between Castile and Portugal, which has been recounted here more fully than in any other part of this work.

Chapter 199

The comportment of the constable during wartime

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ince it pleased God that the war ceased completely, and both kings enjoyed the tranquillity of peace, before we make mention of other things let us say a little about the ways of the constable in wartime, although we have already touched on this in scattered places of brief record throughout this work. This is not only in praise of him, for he well deserves it, but to serve as an example to those who are yet to come, especially those who will hold his rank and office. It is true that the practice of successful deeds over a long period of time gives men the authority to praise the man to whom they pertain, saying that great age made him wise and long practice gave him good outcomes, just as is said of Diogo Lopes Pacheco and other people like him whom we might name. Yet what shall we say of this Nuno Álvares Pereira as a young warrior, while the king was still Master of Avis, when he was appointed lord of the marches of the Guadiana region at the age of twenty-two? Setting out from Lisbon with such a difficult charge, especially in a war so fiercely fought in so many places, unacquainted with and unused to the stratagems that pertain to such activity, he preferred not to take with him the large number of men that captains are accustomed to depend upon. Instead, he chose Pedro Eanes Lobato, who knew who were the fine men-at-arms, especially those whom Nuno Álvares would welcome in his company, acting in such matters as a faithful go-between. It was thus his custom later on, when taking some squire or foot soldier to live with his army, always to inquire whether for his deeds as much as for his name he deserved to be called a man. How wise he was, on arriving in Setúbal and preparing to sleep outside the walls, when he ordered to post scouts surveilling the castle of Palmela, and

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told Lourenço Fernandes to come and give the news you have heard about,463 to see if they were indeed the men whom he thought he was taking with him, and whether he would find them ready at the right time, and in what way, if his enemies came to attack him. If some men who accompanied him did not meet his standards, he had the knack of making them good soldiers, and the good ones much better, speaking well of them when they were not present, praising them as fine men-at-arms, which was a good opportunity to increase their confidence through the reputation that he gave them. Whenever his camp was set up, he rode around and visited it all, and if any of his men were lodged apart from him, even just a small distance away in order to give the animals better grazing or in order to have companionship or whatever else, although only one man might be concerned, and he of lowly status, Nuno Álvares would go over there in a mild manner and graciously inquire, ‘What is this, my friend? What lodging is that which you take so distant from mine? Let your tent be struck immediately and set up next to mine, for I want my tent accompanied and my banner guarded by men such as you.’ Without accepting any excuse, showing that he had a good opinion of the man’s service, he gently made him do it, even though it might be much against that person’s will. Nuno Álvares was gracious in his speech, receiving in a courtly manner whoever came to him from the army, whether captains or men-at-arms, in such a way that his courtesy always honoured them more than each man’s status deserved. Yet with all this, in the commotion of the camp, arranging the disposition of his forces, he wanted to be feared as their leader, so that nobody should overstep the mark, otherwise he could turn as wild as a lion, if somebody disobeyed the orders that he was given. He would hurry to him and, if he were a knight or person of some rank, he would say in a scowl, ‘You, my friend!’ or just ‘You!’ He said this word with such a countenance that it caused the man great embarrassment, and he immediately complied with his orders. If they were men of lower status, he killed the horses of some or subjected them to corporal punishment, which they felt deeply. In this way the lesser people went in fear of him, and the nobles and knights were frightened of angering him. Thus, all obeyed him and loved him, because afterwards, quietly, in disguised ways and in a gracious manner, so that they did not know he did it for that reason, he made ample amends to whom he had treated harshly, although he had acted justly and for the benefit of all. The captains of his men were the Master [of the Order] of Santiago [Fernando Afonso de Albuquerque], the Prior [of the Order] of the Hospitallers [Álvaro Gonçalves Camelo] and Martim Afonso de Melo, who had 200 lances.

463 See

CKJ1, Chapter 90.



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In general, all the noblemen of the Alentejo and of the kingdom of the Algarve followed his standard, and were very happy to do so, the exception being the Master of Avis [Fernão Rodrigues de Sequeira] who served with King João but went with the Constable to Cáceres. Regarding all the things that were taken from the enemy in battles and feats of arms when he entered Castile, or in whatever other way, he showed himself to be without greed, not taking anything from those who had seized it, however noble and fine the things were, but ordered the raided plunder and booty of war to be shared out equally, putting in place honest men without greed as quartermasters to share it out so that all were happy. If he very much desired something, even if it was offered to him, he refused to take it but ordered it to be bought according to the wish of its owner, with no concession to his overlord rights; otherwise, he did not want anything. In war and truce, he frequently sent out scouts among the enemy in order to learn about their actions whenever the Castilians wanted to make some move. When he entered Castile, he ordered that no one set fire to wheat fields or villages, or any castle suburb or any other buildings. If somebody did so, the constable became very angry and sometimes he would dismount and help to kill him, showing by his action how much it grieved him, and teaching a lesson to those who would set fires; though, he was not as harsh to them as to those who entered churches to take something from them. If his men captured any women, girls or small boys while out foraging or in another way, even if they did their best to conceal them, he managed through faithful informers to find out all about it and made them bring all these captives before him. He then ordered the women and the children to go to the town or castle if they were nearby. But if they were on the road he ordered them to be placed in a church if there were one there, and if they could not find one he had them put in a wood, ordering a number of trustworthy men to guard them until after all his troops had passed, and they could then come out and go to their homes. People praise Scipio Africanus, as is right, for something that he did in Hispania.464 A daughter of a great man, betrothed to a young man who was her equal in lineage and estate, was captured by his men in the war there. Her father and relatives sent to Scipio to say that if he handed over the maiden they would give in return for her any ransom they could negotiate. He answered that this pleased him on condition that they celebrated the marriage in his house, which they were very happy to do. Scipio gave to the bride on her marriage everything that he had been given as her ransom, as well as other jewels to those who came to the feast. History says that on account of this, he 464 Scipio

Africanus (d. c. 183 B.C.) campaigned against the Carthaginians in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. The following story of the captured maiden is based on Livy’s History of Rome, Book 26, Chapter 50.

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won more of Hispania than by the many battles he had fought up to that time. Yet Scipio did this in an age when he and the other captains were liberally endowed with noble customs and adorned with natural virtues, as is found at length in historical documents. Yet now, in these recent times when all the vices have replaced the virtues, this constable deserves much praise. Once, while he was entering Castile, a number of men from his camp and their captain went on a foray ahead. When they reached a village where the inhabitants were not guarding against such an event, because a wedding was taking place that day, the men seized the bride and groom as they were being taken to the church for the ceremony. They also seized a number of people who were attending the feast. Many hid in the church and others fled as best they could. When the men returned in joyful mood, bringing their captives, the constable became very angry, harshly reprimanding the captain for doing it, for he had not given consent to his men or to anyone else to inflict any harm on a person’s wedding day. He ordered the bride and groom to be brought before him, and he asked her if any dishonour had been done to her that would affect her or her husband. She answered no, which pleased the constable greatly. He ordered the bridal couple and those who had come with them as prisoners to be released and he sent ahead to reassure those they found in the church or elsewhere. On this account, he went to the village saying that he wanted to honour the bride more than the men who had seized her had done. He had their feast made once again, and the marriage ceremony, his men singing in the celebration, and left the bridal couple and the others in peace, going back to his lodgings saying that it was fitting to behave in this way as marriage was one of the sacraments of Holy Church. As for his protection of the churches and the people who took refuge in them, we have already touched on it a little. For example, nobody, under pain of death, dared to break sanctuary, nor take anything that was inside the churches, and he enforced such a command with great diligence and conviction, as was revealed several times. One case was immediately after his arrival from Alcántara, when Fernão Lopes Lobo, the officer of the marches at Redondo, launched a surprise attack on Villanueva del Fresno, with the intention of taking the governor of the tower of that place and those who were with him when he came out on the eighth day after his father died to bury him in the church near the barbican of the tower. As it was not done that day, the governor did not come out but his wife, his sister and the latter’s three children did; they seized them all while they were inside the church and others, up to as many as forty people, and took them prisoner. The Castilians made it known to the count that they were being held captive by Fernão Lopes Lobo. He ordered straightaway that as many people as were taken from the church should be returned to it, along with everything that had been taken from it. Those who had done this became very annoyed, saying that it was



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neither reasonable nor right, since they already had the mounts and weapons of some as ransom. Moreover, that church was a den of thieves, from where the fifty or so inhabitants that were there came out to inflict much damage on the district of Évora and that whole region. Although masters of theology have demonstrated that, under canon law, this is permitted, the count never consented to this and maintained that those who had taken things from the church should return there with all they had taken, but those who had seized things from outside it could keep them. Thus it was carried out immediately without further delay. For these and for other fine conduct shown by the count in warfare against his enemies, both farmers and the common folk all loved him very much and prayed to God for him. The lords and nobles with whom he fought did not show him such goodwill, yet they held him to be a very good man, for he could do them much harm if he wanted. However, being in his time a clear mirror of chaste habits for the great lords, his contemporaries, he refused to do evil. One can clearly see in him the truth of what is written, ‘Potuit enim facere malum et non fecit.’465 Thus his military deeds and human virtues are abundant lessons for any prince, and it is fitting that their great and immortal renown should endure for ever.

Chapter 200

What way of life the count led during peacetime

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aving heard how the count conducted himself in wartime, let us see how he lived in peacetime and then we will cease to talk further about him. On this matter, it is important you should know that his way of life in continually maintaining his estate was as follows. Both in time of peace and of war he was always accompanied by thirty squires, with fine horses and full suits of armour, dressed in fine clothes and maintained in such a manner that there was no lord in the kingdom whose men were better equipped. He disciplined these and the others who lived with him so well that he did not allow any of them to inflict harm or damage. In the places in which most often he used to stay, his men did not lodge in the town nor did he allow them to bring women along with them, except those who were married [who could bring their wives]. The men lodged in the castles in chambers and beds that the count ordered to be prepared, in order to prevent them from doing by night, through some unhappy circumstance, anything that they ought not to do. Nor did he allow any layman, and much less any priest, to live openly in mortal sin. When such 465 ‘For

he could do evil and did not do it’ (Ecclesiasticus 31. 10).

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people knew that he was coming to the place where they lived in that manner, they quickly made off elsewhere until he left. By mild-mannered persuasion he got men to marry their concubines, so that he fulfilled well in his house and lands the saying of Saint Augustine to his brother monks, ‘Si non castus, tamen cautus.’466 If certain married women behaved badly, and he knew for sure that their husbands knew about it and consented to it, he banished them from his lands against the will of their husbands, saying that, because of the sins of the women, and theirs, since they consented to their conduct, he did not want God to vent His rage where he happened to be. His land was very well governed, as regards justice, it being strictly forbidden for men to be in conflict with one another nor do one another harm. All the petitions that came before his magistrates were dealt with swiftly and with equal weight given to both parties and no decision was taken over serious cases if he were not present. As to the Divine Office he was extremely attentive in keeping it separate from other business, always fulfilling his decision to attend two said masses each day, and on Sundays and holy days he had an extra one celebrated very solemnly, with a sermon. He never deviated from this custom, even if he was at war, and it was necessary for him to do some great deed, the masses still had to be to be said at night if he could not wait until morning to hear them. For this purpose, a well-appointed chapel would go with him, furnished with ornaments and vestments, and with good clerics and precentors, who were always ready before the count came, each one knowing in advance what he had to say and do, not speaking of anything other than that which pertained to their office, and this very meekly without any laughter or joking, or else he would be severely reprimanded. This count built the monastery of Santa Maria do Carmo in Lisbon, and the church of Santa Maria dos Mártires in Estremoz; he also rebuilt and renovated other churches making them much better than they were before. We have plenty of examples of men who undertook with great fervour to amend their lives and customs, but their perseverance soon waned. They abandoned what they had begun, and were left racked by guilt and liable to shameful rebuke. The count did not change; rather, having begun in his youth a virtuous and honourable way of life, he maintained it always in all his deeds, whether of a worldly or spiritual nature, and was never seen to deviate from it whatever might arise. Thus it could not be written of him what certain wise men have remarked, that at the beginning of their life everyone lives badly, and others begin their life when they ought to be ending it, and still others die before they have begun [to live].467 This constable, by persevering in a certain way of life, did not deviate from that path. The chastity of this noble man is 466 ‘If you can’t be good, be careful.’ This well-known Latin proverb seems to have been used only from the 11th century so is unlikely to have originated with Saint Augustine (d. 430). 467 This is a very free allusion to Ecclesiasticus 18. 7.



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no little marvel, for, becoming a widower at the age of 36 with the death of the countess his wife,468 he always thereafter remained chaste, even though he could have had the most honourable wife in the kingdom. The count was in the habit of giving alms, and of being very charitable to the poor, especially to the humble poor, widows and orphans. In each of his towns he maintained certain pensioners to whom he gave provisions and clothing. It happened that at the time of the truce that we spoke about, there came a year of poor harvest in which wheat was very expensive. Many Castilians came to Portugal, short of food as they were. To all those who happened to reach Estremoz and the lands of the constable, he ordered to be given each week, to each person, one eighth of a bushel of wheat; that is, one eighth of a bushel to the husband, another to the wife and another to each child, whether grown up or small; each one got his or her eighth of a bushel.469 Thus, he maintained them throughout that period until God provided a new harvest to the kingdom of Castile and they went home.470 In the giving of these alms the constable used up a lot of the grain that he had stored from his estates,471 which greatly proclaimed his good reputation.

Chapter 201

How the King [of Portugal] charged the count with the maintenance of justice in the Alentejo

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s the king was in such a relaxed state, freed from matters of war, he thought to improve certain things that seemed to him worthy of amendment in his household and lands. He talked about it all to the constable, telling him the way in which he meant to have it done and how he wanted everything 468 In some manuscripts of Fernão Lopes’s chronicle, the count’s age at his wife’s death is given as 26 and in others it is 36. Dona Leonor probably died in 1388 so he is likely to have been around 28 at the time. 469 Alqueire was a measure of capacity, both dry and liquid that varied across time and place. An alqueire was roughly equivalent to a quarter of a bushel, or two gallons. Half an alqueire, as stated in the original Portuguese, would have been equivalent to an eighth of a bushel, or one gallon (c. 4.4 litres). 470 Chapter 80 of the Crónica do Condestabre, which Fernão Lopes paraphrases here, states that men, women and children received four alqueires per month each and that the situation lasted for four months. See Estória de Don Nuno Alvrez Pereyra, ed. Adelino de Almeida Calado (Coimbra: Universidade de Coimbra, 1991), pp. 200–01. 471 The word for ‘stored’ in the original Portuguese is encovado reflecting a practice, particularly common in the Alentejo until modern times, of storing grain in underground silos.

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concerning the kingdom and the great expenditure of his household and that of the queen his wife to be decided and ruled by him and the members of the royal council. He especially spoke at length to him about the question of justice, which the circumstances of the recent war had caused to be more and more faulty and thrown into disarray, with men daring to commit much mischief and thinking that by serving in the war they would be pardoned, putting themselves under the protection of captains who obtained pardon for their crimes. The king had this to say: ‘Although I know that it was wrong to do so, it suited me to grant pardons during that period in order to please the nobles who petitioned me. However, I believe justice to be one of the things which my soul is most obliged to maintain, as far as God and the world are concerned, for it is so highly commended to kings by God.’ Accordingly, he requested of the constable that, just as he had helped him and been his partner in winning the kingdom and had aided him in defending it, so might he now help him to govern it in good and righteous justice, by taking charge of judicial matters in the Alentejo and also in the kingdom of the Algarve. The king would not intervene in this; everything should be decided only through the constable’s wise judgement and mature discretion in that region; thus he would bring the king pleasure, do him a service and be of great assistance in alleviating his conscience. ‘Sire’, said the count, ‘I understand well your desire, and may God be greatly praised for causing you to think in this way. For certainly, as you say, this is the greatest charge that a kingdom puts on a king and is among the things for which he will be held most responsible, from which he should not deviate because of ties of affinity with those he has brought up in his own household472 or by petitions from anybody, or anything else that might be said. It is not only the king when he ceases to do justice, but those, too, who petition him, who cause good work to be obstructed; they will give a serious account of it to God. It is because I think, as is true, that such petitions are a great burden on the conscience of those who make them, that I have never wanted to put to you such a request, even though I was very certain of your favour and that you would grant it to me. But, whenever any of my men commits such a misdemeanour that he deserves to be punished or to make some other amends, I neither allow my house to be a refuge for him, nor do I write to you on his behalf, but I tell him to leave my household, appear before your judges, and then to return only after he is acquitted. When he comes and shows me a letter with the judicial decision on his case, then I receive him and not otherwise. On account of this, they are discouraged from 472 This

sentence refers to criação, with the implication that the ties formed by such close affinity between king and criado should not pervert the course of justice through the granting of special favours.



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much wrongdoing that they might otherwise commit, because they know they would not find any protection from me through some petition I might make for them. Yet, as Your Grace wishes to charge me with doing justice, it pleases me, for the service of both God and you, because I see that the land is much lacking in justice, to accept this task and to put my hand to it the best way that God may guide me.’ The king was happy with this reply, since he accepted the charge. Then he had the members of his royal council summoned, such as the Masters of the Orders of Christ and of Avis and other great lords and prelates, and notified them of the things that he wanted to reform in his household and the kingdom. All of these, together with the constable, assembled each day in council and decided about every matter as best appeared to them to be of most service to the king and of benefit to the kingdom. Speaking immediately of justice they determined that whoever took in any wrongdoer among his own followers or otherwise defended him, should pay 50 dobras for the first offence, 100 for the second and 300 for the third. If those who did this were counts or masters of orders, they would pay 500 dobras each time it happened. All these monies were to be spent on the construction of defensive walls. As they realised that in the kingdoms there were many coutos473 where outlaws sought refuge fleeing justice for their wrongdoing, which thus encouraged men to be bolder about perpetrating crimes, they ordered that there should be no more coutos in the realm, except for three which were found to have had this status in earlier times, namely: Noudar in the Alentejo; Sabugal in Beira; and Freixo de Espada à Cinta in Trás-os-Montes. After this, the count took on the task of administering justice in that region which the king had entrusted to him and put his hand to it in such a way that in a little while the land was pacified and justice made itself felt. For in such a matter he took no account of legal subtleties or ties to high-ranking or lowly people, or criados or friends, however close they were; before his eyes he had God alone, from Whom nothing is hidden, and before Whom the scales are equal for everyone. He did it in such a way that those men of high rank who accompanied him in the service of the king removed themselves from his company because of the harshness that he showed to them in judicial acts, although they were reasonable and righteous. Then on one occasion the king wrote to him about a knight who was his criado, for whom the count had ordered the death penalty, asking him to deal with him in a different manner, although the knight deserved the sentence. The count answered that, if that were the case, then the charge which he exercised 473 A couto was a place of immunity, a territory exempt from royal impositions and laws. This exemption was usually a privilege granted to lords or clergymen by kings lacking resources for land settlement and defence. It is significant that the three that were permitted to remain were close to the border with Castile.

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belonged to the king alone, and he asked that he graciously divest him of it. From then onwards he no longer wished to exercise it.

Chapter 202

Concerning more things that the royal council decided, and the fact that excise taxes [sisas] were not created

L

et us return to speak of more things that were agreed in that royal council by the constable and the other lords, for they made decisions regarding war, into which state they could afterwards, by chance or some circumstance, easily enter unexpectedly, despite the peace in which they were engaged.474 For the good maintenance and better security of the country, they arranged that the king might always have for the defence of his kingdoms 3,200 lances: that is, 500 captains, 2,360 squires of one lance and, from the military orders of the kingdom, 340 men. This comprised 100 from the Master of the Order of Christ for himself and his commanders; another 100 from the Master of the Order of Santiago; 80 from the Master of the Order of Avis; and 60 from the Prior of the Order of the Hospitallers. In addition, the king was to have 500 complete suits of armour; the constable, Dom Afonso (the king’s bastard son), the Master of the Order of Christ, the Master of the Order of Santiago, the Bishop of Coimbra, the Archbishop of Lisbon, the Archbishop of Braga and the Bishop of Évora, 50 suits each; the Master of the Order of Avis would have 40; Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, the Bishop of Oporto and the Prior of Santa Cruz [of Coimbra], 30 each; the Prior of Crato, the Bishop of Silves, the Bishop of Viseu, the Bishop of Guarda and the Bishop of Lamego, as well as the Prior of Alcobaça, would each have 20. With these 1,150 suits,475 as well as the weapons that there were in the kingdom, the land would be evenly prepared for its hour of need, whenever such a thing might happen, although this might be thought unlikely, owing to the good friendship and peace that had been established, as you have heard. In order to reform the king’s household, the royal council also dealt with what was the total value of his income and royal dues. They found that the

474 This royal council was held in 1402, the year in which the third peace treaty of Segovia between Portugal and Castile was signed, by which hostilities were suspended for a period of ten years. 475 In the original the figure reads as ‘1,500’ but this is an obvious mistake (frequently made in the reading of numbers in manuscripts).



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whole kingdom rendered to him 81 contos476 and a little over 600,000 libras; that is, the sales taxes brought in some 60 contos and 600,000 libras and the royal dues brought in 20 contos and 950,000 libras. This altogether came to 185,300 dobras, the Moorish or crowned dobra, whichever name you prefer, being worth 440 libras, which were 126 [reais at 3] libras and a half each.477 The king spent all this, yet it was not sufficient, owing to his liberality and the excessive number of people, both men and women, who lived in his and the queen’s households. They estimated that while maintaining a lifestyle appropriate to his honour and estate, the reduction of such costs could make his income suffice for regular expenditure, and in addition leave enough for other gifts, whenever it became necessary to make them. They therefore ordered that no more than four members of the royal council should accompany the king continually, and that these might have lodgings in the court while they were there. If other counsellors came to court, beyond the four who were to be permanent in the council, they were not to have their lodgings there. Yet, if other counsellors beyond the four were summoned by order of the king to meetings of the Cortes or the council, they would get lodgings after 15 days of being present, and for a shorter period if they came to court to look after their own business. The king could change those four counsellors and bring in four others, whenever it might please him to do so. Beyond the members of his royal council, the king was to have habitually with him 20 people from among the great nobles who were to accompany him, the queen and the princes, who were still young, and 80 resident squires, counting among them the king’s guards. Of the 57 attendants of the bedchamber that served him, there should remain, including the pages, no more than 12, and the other 45 should be made squires. Of the grooms of the stirrup together with their master there should be ten; huntsmen no more than 20; and 25 foothuntsmen. Thus, they curtailed the number of officials that there should be in the king’s household, from the courts of appeal to the squires, the clergy, as well as any other persons. In addition, they decided that there were to be four ladies-in-waiting resident in the queen’s household, and where there had been 25 maidens she was to keep no more than 14, and the king would provide lodging for the others. There was also one lady of the bedchamber and one lady-in-waiting as well as other women and officials. They took away from the princes the chamber women who had looked after their clothes, and kept them clean, and had done all the 476 A conto means the count of one million units. In monetary terms, a conto was the value equivalent to 1,000,000 maravedís. See above, Chapter 146, note 328. 477 The words ‘reais at three’ (reais de tres), are missing in the Entwistle edition of the chronicle but are included in that of M. Lopes de Almeida and A. de Magalhães Basto, 2 vols (Oporto: Livraria Civilização, 1945–1949), vol. 2, ch. 201, p. 457.

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other cleaning that women can decently do for boys. Instead, they gave them squires to take on these tasks. The king consented to his counsellors’ decisions and considered everything they did to be very well organised. As we have mentioned here that the excise taxes rendered much more than did the royal dues of the kingdom, and since some people believe nowadays that kings have only recently discovered such an oppressive measure and inflicted it on the population, though it did not happen like that, we want to explain briefly how these taxes began, in order to rebut this opinion. It is important that you should know that we do not find nor is it demonstrable, until the time of King Dinis, who died in 1325, that there were any excise taxes levied on the people for any reason. However, trustworthy documents testify to us that in the time of King Afonso IV, son of the said King Dinis, before the great plague478 which came twenty-four years into his reign in 1348, indeed well before that mortality, there were taxes that communities raised among themselves, each in their locality as suited them, when such needy times arose as caused them to be required. Thus the inhabitants of Setúbal, their town having no walls at that time, and King Afonso having ordered them to be built, raised among themselves two kinds of excise tax in order to get the money to build the walls; namely, one excise tax, which was called the great tax, on wine, which rendered the equivalent of 4,000 libras, which were 1,300 dobras; and another smaller excise tax which brought in about 500 dobras. All these 1,800 dobras were spent on building the circuit of walls around Setúbal and things pertaining to them. This was the first sales tax that we have found raised by a local community, and it lasted until the town walls were completed. Afterwards, in the reign of King Fernando, because of the great necessities of the war in which the kingdom found itself, the communities raised taxes among themselves in order to support the many burdens that grew out of such situations, each one in their locality. This happened especially in Lisbon, which bore the largest share of the charges, including building walls around that city.479 After the need had passed, if no other crisis occurred, they withdrew all the taxes, or most of them, in accord with what the communities understood to be to their benefit, calling for accounts from the collectors of these taxes and from the treasurer, to whom they were handed over, without any intervention from the lord of the land. Seeing the revenues that came from these taxes and desiring to have them, kings demonstrated to the people their past needs or those that were to come, and graciously asked for them for a period of two or three years, promising that immediately after they would drop them. After they had been granted to them in this manner, the kings then added further needs for which they required the taxes and asked for them for a further 478 The 479 See

Black Death, or bubonic plague. CKF, Chapter 88.



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period. Thus they remained in possession of them, but not because they had imposed them to start with. As the constable and the other members of the royal council were fully convinced of what we have said, they therefore arranged that the excise taxes should be reduced by a third across the whole kingdom, and in this manner: whoever paid one soldo in each libra in taxation would pay no more than 8 dinheiros.480 Despite the reduction in excise taxes of a third and having paid the wages of 160 captains and all the other people that had to be paid, and the many expenses that the king and queen and the princes were accustomed to accrue, there still remained a further 10,000 dobras for the king to spend on other things that he had to fulfil. The king praised this reform as a good thing, putting into practice everything just as they had set it out.

Chapter 203

How the king married his illegitimate son Dom Afonso to the daughter of the constable

I

t did not please kings in ancient times that the lords and noblemen of their kingdoms married their children to the great lords of neighbouring lands without the king’s permission and consent, fearing that such a bond and alliance, as ensued from this kinship, could at some time give rise to disorder contrary to their interests. According to this rule the very wise and discreet Nuno Álvares Pereira, the Constable of Portugal, having a grown-up daughter called Dona Beatriz who was of marriageable age, was solicited by certain Castilian lords and noblemen over the matter of her marriage. Very respectfully, the constable went to his liege lord and king, as was his custom, and showed him the letters that had been sent to him about this, asking the king to graciously give him permission for such a matter. The king deferred making a decision on this, telling him that it would please him very much that all honour and good fortune should come to his daughter. However, the constable should not be in too much of a hurry because it might so chance that God would bring her another better and more honourable marriage than those offers that had been sent to him. The constable deemed it a great favour to receive such an answer from the king. Thus the matter kept being deferred until that time when the constable was with the king in Leiria. With the king also was that illegitimate son of 480 Each

libra (Portuguese pound), had 20 soldos (copper coin), and each soldo had 12 dinheiros. For further information on money and equivalent values, see CKF, Chapter 55.

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his called Dom Afonso, whom he had fathered before he was married, as we said when we listed his children.481 They arranged the marriage, and [the king] confirmed it, of this Dom Afonso, the king’s son, with the daughter of the constable, which gave the constable great joy. Besides her hand in marriage, the latter gave the groom the county of Barcelos with the lands of Penafiel de Bastuço, and Montalegre with the land of Barroso, and Chaves, Guimarães, Baltar, Arco de Baúlhe and certain estates that he had in the Minho, along with other income. Since he gave the county of Barcelos to the king’s son, he petitioned him to graciously make the groom the count of that place.482 This was because the king had promised that for as long as he lived he would not create another count in Portugal, as you have heard.483 They decided that the wedding celebrations should take place in Lisbon. The marriage ceremony was conducted with great honour and all the lords and notables of the kingdom came. There were jousts and tourneys and great pleasure was had from matinadas and other entertainments, provided by both the king and the constable.484 This Count Afonso had a daughter by his wife the countess whom they named Dona Isabel, later married to her uncle Prince João, who controlled the mastership of the Order of Santiago in Portugal. This was by licence of the pope who gave them dispensation to marry. Count Afonso had two more sons: one called Dom Afonso, who later became the Count of Ourém, and another called Dom Fernando who was the Count of Arraiolos. Both became counts after the death of their grandfather, as we will recount in the appropriate place.485 This Count of Ourém later became Marquess of Valença, and the Count of Arraiolos later became Marquess of Vila Viçosa and Duke of Bragança. The latter had a son who, during his father’s lifetime, became Duke of Guimarães and married a daughter of Prince Fernando, the brother of King Afonso V.486

481 In

Chapter 148 above. title of count did not automatically come with possession of the lands of a county. The petition was successful. 483 In Chapter 52 above. 484 Matinadas were popular festivities, occasionally transposed to royal or lordly palaces, the main feature of which was the use of noisy instruments. 485 This passage proves that the chronicler intended to continue the account of João I’s reign to the end. However, he stopped short by twenty years, in around 1411, except for the mention of a few later isolated facts in the last chapters. 486 The events mentioned in these last two sentences took place after Lopes’s death in c. 1459, and were, therefore, added at a later date by another writer. 482 The



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Chapter 204

How the marriage was arranged between Dona Beatriz, the sister of the aforesaid Count of Barcelos, and the Earl of Arundel

A

little while after this – it could have been around three years later – the marriage was arranged between King João’s daughter [Beatriz],487 the sister of the said Count of Barcelos, son-in-law to the constable, and Thomas, Earl of Arundel, an honourable lord of the House of England. The man who arranged this marriage was the honourable knight João Vasques de Almada, a citizen of Lisbon, who at that time was in England. The king sent this man and a doctor of laws called Martim do Sém to London where they arrived in the month of February. On the seventh day of that month they talked to the earl in person in his palace about the things pertaining to this marriage. After discussing many things necessary for such business, they came to an agreement, as follows: If the earl’s ambassadors, whom the earl intended to send to Portugal on this matter in order to see her, were content with the beauty, physical makeup and gracefulness of this Dona Beatriz, they were to receive her in his name. The king would give as her dowry 50,000 crowns, 25,000 paid in the first instance and the rest from the day on which she was received in England up to a year following. The king would send her at his expense, with all due honour, as befitted them both. If the earl died before she did, she would afterwards have a third of the sum he was given for the maintenance of her status during her lifetime. There were other conditions that are not worth recording. The Portuguese ambassadors left and English ambassadors came to Portugal, namely Sir John Wiltshire, a knight of the earl’s household, who was his principal proctor for this matter, Master John, a doctor in canon law, along with a worthy squire who came with them. All three arrived in Lisbon where the king then was and spoke to him about the matter for which they had been sent. All was agreed and the ambassadors were indeed content with the beauty and physical makeup of the king’s daughter. Some days later, it being the month of April, in a spacious chamber in the king’s palace, richly appointed for what was to take place, the king was present with Dom João, the Archbishop of Lisbon, Gonçalo Vasques de Melo and other members of the royal council, and a good number of ladies and maidens attended his daughter. The king called his daughter to his side, and the said Sir John, who 487 The

marriage of this illegitimate daughter of João I took place in 1405.

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was the special proctor for this event, took her right hand with a deep bow and in the Portuguese language without adding a word or changing their form, he made the following declaration: Most noble and honourable lady Dona Beatriz: the most excellent and most distinguished lord Dom Thomas [FitzAlan], Earl of Arundel and of Surrey and Warenne, greets you and sends to say to you, through me, Sir John Wiltshire, knight, his authorised proctor and legally appointed intermediary in this matter, that he receives you, Dona Beatriz, as his true and legitimate wife as is ordained by the Holy Mother Church of Rome, and consents to take you as his wife. Through my person here present he plights you his troth under the condition that all and each of the things promised, and recorded in public documents, between the said magnate my lord earl on the one part, and João Vasques de Almada, knight, and Martim do Sém, doctor of laws, ambassadors of the most noble prince Dom João, by the grace of God King of Portugal and of the Algarve, your father, on the other part, concerning the arrangements made for your dowry and your passage to England with all due honour, are completed; and those in the written undertaking made to my lord the earl by the same most powerful prince and king and sealed with the seals of the said lord the king and drawn up in the public instrument about this on your behalf and for you, are paid for fully and in good faith and settled in every way. Thus I, Sir John Wiltshire, already stated as the proctor, and in the name of and as the proxy of the said earl, Dom Thomas, and by his special mandate, receive you Dona Beatriz as the wife of my lord Dom Thomas, earl, and I in his name consent and he in his person consents to take you as his wife. For this, in his name and on his soul, I swear and plight you my troth in the name of his faith and his soul under the aforesaid conditions.

[Dona Beatriz responded]: I Dona Beatriz, through you Sir John Wiltshire, knight and proctor of the aforesaid most excellent and distinguished lord Dom Thomas, Earl of Arundel and Earl of Surrey and of Warenne, take and receive the said Earl Thomas your lord as my true and legitimate lord and husband, as is ordained by the Holy Mother Church of Rome. Through you, as intermediary, I receive him most willingly and manifestly as my husband. To this end, to him, the aforesaid most excellent and distinguished lord Earl Thomas, and to you who receive me on his behalf and in his name, I duly swear and plight you my troth under the conditions and in the form that were stated by you in the name of the said earl. Thus I consent to those things about which you have notified me on his behalf.



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All this was done in the presence of public notaries for both parties. The appropriate documents were drawn up, both for the king and for the ambassadors of England, and afterwards Dona Beatriz was conveyed with due honour to England.488

488 The

Entwistle edition of the chronicle ends at ‘ambassadors’, leaving the sentence unfinished. The following and closing words appear in a different manuscript, also dating from the 16th century, namely MS E, 25–24 from the library of the Count of Tarouca. See Fernão Lopes, Crónica del rei Dom Joham I, Parte Segunda, ed. William Entwistle, p. 461, note 2.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS CITED For a comprehensive bibliography including all chronicles see volume 5. Ainsworth, Peter and Godfried Croenen (eds), The Online Froissart, version 1.5 (Sheffield: HRIOnline, 2013), [Accessed 6 March 2023] Almeida, Carlos A. Brochado de, ‘Sinais de Romanização na Torre da Lapela – Monção’, Portugalia, Nova Série 26 (2015), 119–48 Almeida, Jorge (ed.), Crónica da Regência e do Reinado de D. João I (Famalicão: Húmus, 2016) Almeida, Virgínia C. e (ed.), Conquests and Discoveries of Henry the Navigator: Being the Chronicles of Azurara – Portuguese Navigators and Colonizers of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, trans. Bernard Miall (London: Routledge, 1936) Amado, Teresa, Bibliografia de Fernão Lopes (Lisbon: Edições Cosmos, 1991) Baleiras, Isabel de Pina, Leonor Teles, uma rainha inesperada (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2012) Baubeta, Patricia A. O. de, ‘Towards a History of Preaching in Medieval Portugal’, Portuguese Studies, 7 (1991), 1–18 Bell, Aubrey F. G., Fernam Lopez (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1921) Bibliografia de textos antigos galegos e portugueses (BITAGAP) Work ID number 1046, online at [Accessed 18 October 2022] Bluteau, Raphael, Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 10 vols (Lisbon: Officina de Pascoal da Sylva, 1728), vol. 7 Bradbury, Jim, Medieval Siege (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1992) Calado, Adelino de Almeida (ed.), Crónica de Portugal de 1419 (Aveiro: UA Editora, 1998) ―― (ed.), Estória de Don Nuno Alvrez Pereyra (Coimbra: Universidade de Coimbra, 1991) Cepeda, Isabel V., Bibliografia da prosa medieval em língua portuguesa: Subsídios (Lisbon: Instituto da Biblioteca Nacional e do Livro, 1995) Courroux, Pierre, L’Écriture de l’histoire dans les chroniques françaises (XIIe–XVe siècle) (Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2016) Damião de Góis, Cronica do felicissimo rei D. Manuel, 4 vols, eds Joaquim M. T. de Carvalho and David Lopes (Coimbra: Universidade de Coimbra, 1926) Deyermond, Alan D., The Petrarchan Sources of La Celestina (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1961)

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Dias, João J. A. and Pedro Pinto (eds), Cortes portuguesas: reinado de D. Afonso V (Cortes de 1439) (Lisbon: Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2016) Duarte, King of Portugal, Leal Conselheiro, ed. Maria Helena Lopes de Castro (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, 1998) ―― Livro dos conselhos de El-Rei D. Duarte (livro da cartuxa), ed. João J. A. Dias (Lisbon: Editorial Estampa, 1982) Duarte de Armas, Livro das Fortalezas Situadas no Extremo de Portugal e Castela por Duarte de Armas, Escudeiro da Casa do Rei D. Manuel [Accessed 25 October 2020] Entwistle, William J., ‘Prolegomena to an Edition of Fernão Lopes’, Hispanic Review, 3:2 (1935), 138–48 Fernández Gallardo, Luis, ‘La Crónica de D. Fernando de Fernão Lopes: una perspectiva hispánica’, in A. Martínez Pérez and A. L. Baquero Escudero (eds), Estudios de literatura medieval. 25 años de la Asociación Hispánica de Literatura Medieval (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, 2012), pp. 379–88 Given-Wilson, Chris, Chronicles: The Writing of History in Medieval England (London and New York: Hambledon and London, 2004) ―― ‘General Introduction to The Chronicles of Fernão Lopes’, in Amélia P. Hutchinson, Juliet Perkins, et al., The Chronicles of Fernão Lopes, I: The Chronicle of King Pedro of Portugal, trans. R. C. Willis, Philip Krummrich, et al. (Woodbridge: Tamesis, 2023) ―― ‘Official and Semi-Official History in the Later Middle Ages: The English Evidence in Context’, The Medieval Chronicle, 5 (2008), 1–16 Góis, Damião de, Cronica do felicissimo rei D. Manuel, ed. Joaquim M. T. de Carvalho and David Lopes, 4 vols (Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade, 1926) Guenée, Bernard ‘Histoires, annales, chroniques. Essai sur les genres historiques au Moyen Âge’, Annales, 28 (1973), 997–1016 Lisbon, Torre do Tombo, Chancelaria de D. Afonso V, liv. 19, f. 22, published by Freire in Crónica, Part I, p. xlv (doc. 1) Lomax, Derek W. and R. J. Oakley (eds and trans), Fernão Lopes. The English in Portugal 1367–87: Extracts from the Chronicles of Dom Fernando and Dom João, (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1988) Lopes, Fernão Crónica del Rei Dom João I da boa memoria. Parte primeira, ed. Anselmo B. Freire (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, 1977) ―― Cronica del Rei Dom Joham I de boa memoria e dos reis de Portugal o decimo, Parte Segunda, ed. William J. Entwistle (Lisbon: Imprensa NacionalCasa da Moeda, 1977) ―― Crónica de D. João I, eds M. Lopes de Almeida and A. de Magalhães Basto, 2 vols (Oporto: Livraria Civilização, 1945–1949) ―― The English in Portugal, 1367–87: Extracts from the Chronicles of Dom Fernando and Dom João, ed. and trans. Derek W. Lomax and R. J. Oakley (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1988) López de Ayala, Pero, Chronicle of King Pedro: Crónica del rey don Pedro, transl. Peter Such, Aris & Phillips Hispanic Classics (Liverpool: University of Liverpool, 2020) ―― Cronicas, ed. José-Luis Martín (Barcelona: Editorial Planeta, 1991)



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Monteiro, João Gouveia, Aljubarrota 1385: A Batalha Real (Lisbon: Tribuna da História, 2003) ―― Fernão Lopes: texto e contexto (Coimbra: Minerva, 1988) ―― ‘The Battle of Aljubarrota (1385): A Reassessment’, Journal of Medieval Military History, 7 (2009) ―― with Miguel G. Martins, and Tiago V. de Faria, ‘Another 1415: Portugal’s Military Landscape at the Time of Agincourt’, Journal of Medieval History, 43 (2017), 118‒35, reprinted in Rémy Ambühl and Craig Lambert (eds), Agincourt in Context: War on Land and Sea (London and New York: Routledge, 2018) Moreira, Filipe A., A Crónica de Portugal de 1419: fontes, estratégias e posteridade (Lisbon: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 2013) Oliveira, Luís Filipe, ‘Os Estabelecimentos da Ordem de Santiago em 1389’, Medievalismo, 24 (2014), 307–19 Palmer, John and Brian Powell, The Treaty of Bayonne (1388) with the Preliminary Treaties of Trancoso (1387), Exeter Hispanic Texts (Exeter: University of Exeter, 1988) Pereira, Bento, Thesouro da lingua portugueza (Lisbon: Paulo Craesbeeck, 1647) Rebelo, Luís de Sousa, A concepção do poder em Fernão Lopes (Lisbon: Horizonte, 1983) Russell, P. E., The English Intervention in Spain and Portugal in the Time of Edward III and Richard II (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1955) ―― ‘On the Sources of Fernão Lopes’, in Portugal, Spain and the African Atlantic, 1343–1490: Chivalry and Crusade from John of Gaunt to Henry the Navigator (Aldershot: Variorum, 1995), II, reproducing Peter E. Russell, As fontes de Fernão Lopes (Coimbra: Coimbra Editora, 1941) Saramago, José, ‘“A nua verdade”’, Deste mundo e do outro (Lisbon: Editorial Arcádia, 1971), pp. 171–73 Simonatti, Selena, ‘Fernão Lopes ”traductor” de Pero López de Ayala: Pedro I “el Cruel” de Castilla en la Crónica de don Pedro’, in F. Bautista Pérez and J. Gamba Corradine (eds), Estudios sobre la Edad Media, el Renacimiento y la temprana modernidad (San Millán de la Cogolla: Cilengua, 2010), pp. 383–92 Sousa, Bernardo V. e, ‘Medieval Portuguese Royal Chronicles. Topics in a Discourse of Identity and Power’, e-Journal of Portuguese History, 5:2 (2007), 1–7 Spiegel, Gabrielle M., ‘Medieval Canon Formation and the Rise of Royal Historiography in Old French Prose’, Modern Language Notes, 108:4 (1993), 638–58 Sumption, Jonathan, The Hundred Years War, III: Divided Houses (London: Faber and Faber, 2009) Tarouca, Carlos da Silva (ed.), Crónica dos Sete Primeiros Reis de Portugal, 3 vols (Lisbon: Academia Portuguesa da História, 1952), II Zurara, Gomes Eanes de, Conquests and Discoveries of Henry the Navigator: Being the Chronicles of Azurara – Portuguese Navigators and Colonizers of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, ed. and trans. Virgínia C. e Almeida (London: Allen & Unwin, 1936)