Chapter 58 - How the King of Castile invaded Portugal, and concerning a number of noblemen who went over to his side
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 December 2023
Summary
The Bishop of Guarda set off and made his way to that town. The king left Plasencia and reached Perosín, which is close to Fuenteguinaldo. There he received a message from the bishop, informing him that he held the town in readiness for him and that he should make haste to arrive there early next morning, because the townspeople and those who lived in the surrounding area were already aware that he was approaching. Were he not to arrive by that time, it would then be doubtful whether he could have the town, because they would all be prepared for him, and he, the king, would then find it difficult to cope with their opposition.
On receiving this message, the king left Perosín that afternoon and journeyed through the night, along with the queen, arriving at Guarda early next morning. He was accompanied only by some thirty men-at-arms, who were among the officers who accompanied him daily. With his clergy in procession, the bishop went out to receive him as honourably as possible, and thus the king and queen and their retinue entered the town, with the king taking up lodging in the bishop's palace.
Álvaro Gil did not go out to meet him but remained quietly in his castle, without revealing which side he was on. There did arrive, however, Vasco Martins de Melo, who had accompanied the queen [from Portugal] and who was lodging in Fuenteguinaldo; on leaving Perosín, the king had sent him the order to follow him to Guarda, but his brother Martim Afonso, who was a great lord and held Celorico and Linhares, was the first to come and join the King of Castile, becoming his liegeman in Guarda. It greatly displeased his brother Vasco Martins that he had set out to become the king's vassal ahead of anybody else.
The next day the king was joined by a number of men-at-arms for whom he had sent, namely some 200 lances. After three days there arrived the Count of Mayorga, as well as Pedro Fernández de Velasco, Pedro [Ruiz] Sarmiento and other captains with some 500 lances. Noticing that Álvaro Gil had not come to speak to him nor even emerged from the castle, the king told Martim Afonso de Melo to make him come and talk to him.
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- The Chronicles of Fernão LopesVolume 3. The Chronicle of King João I of Portugal, Part I, pp. 117 - 119Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2023