Book contents
193 - Concerning the words that the ambassadors spoke to the queen, in person and in writing
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2024
Summary
The 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 princesses 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.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Chronicles of Fernão LopesVolume 4. The Chronicle of King João i of Portugal, Part II, pp. 420 - 422Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2023