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86 - How the duke replied to the matters which the envoys raised
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2024
Summary
Forthwith, 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, who was a 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.
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- The Chronicles of Fernão LopesVolume 4. The Chronicle of King João i of Portugal, Part II, pp. 211 - 212Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2023