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127 - How the king ordered that the things which his fleet might seize should be distributed
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2024
Summary
With 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, 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.
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.
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- The Chronicles of Fernão LopesVolume 4. The Chronicle of King João i of Portugal, Part II, pp. 280 - 281Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2023