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68 - Concerning the letter which the Antipope sent in reply to the King of Castile
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2024
Summary
The 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 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; and that Saul and Jonathan, his son, were both vanquished and slain by the Philistines. 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. We know that it was not long ago that the Englishmen's noble Fleur de Lys was brought down. 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.
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- The Chronicles of Fernão LopesVolume 4. The Chronicle of King João i of Portugal, Part II, pp. 178 - 180Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2023