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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 December 2023
The night passed quickly, for it was in the month of May; in the early morning as soon as dawn broke, all the Galicians were ready, both horsemen and foot soldiers, with their unfurled banner bearing the insignia of Saint James. The Portuguese, when the y saw them, sought a place where they could cross [the river], but could not find one; they showed plainly by their outward demeanour the great desire they bore in their hearts to fight.
Upstream they had to push through a very dense thicket, and they found a ford, though not very well suited for crossing. But they laid on top of it many sticks and tree branches, and began to get across that way as well as they could, up to about 300 of them, including crossbowmen and foot soldiers, and some horsemen. With them was a citizen of Oporto who was leading them, named João Ramalho.
When the Galicians saw that they were crossing at such a bad spot, they were amazed, and said, ‘Let's allow as many to pass as can do so; once they are on this side, before they have any leadership and are lined up as they should be, we will take them by surprise, and thus defeat them.’
The Portuguese realised this, and [then] went further downstream to look for another, better place where they could all go across together. Before they could cross, the Galicians, on horseback and on foot, all in a rush, came to attack with great ferocity those few who were already on the far side. The Portuguese, notwithstanding, did not scatter, but kept together, and the two sides began to strike each other vigorously; the crossbowmen did much harm to the Galicians, a horseman and two foot soldiers immediately falling dead, and the Galicians perforce were driven back.
The archbishop then spoke to his men saying: ‘My friends, do you not perceive how these men come at us, like men who do not fear death? Certainly we would be put in a very difficult spot, and it does not seem right to me that we should get entangled with them. This is because they have many crossbowmen, which gives them a great advantage over us. If our horses were killed, we could quickly be defeated.
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