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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 December 2023
Just as in the writings about this king we found that he was dearly loved by his people because he ruled according to the law and justice, as well as for the good governance he maintained in his kingdom, so it is fitting that we should say a little about each of these things, so that you can have an understanding of what olden ways were like.
In all the judicial decisions the king proceeded in this way: all the petitions that were given to him were handed to Gonçalo Vasques de Góis, his private secretary, who passed them on to a secretary of his choosing, who in turn was in charge of distributing and giving each one of them to the appropriate magistrate. As for the petitions that were common law cases, the magistrates through whom they had to pass immediately ordered their secretaries to draw up the charters, so that on the same day or the next the parties involved had their cases brought to a conclusion. The secretary who did not act in this way thereby lost the king's favour.
With regard to the other petitions that were subject to royal grace and favour, as they concerned the Crown estate, one of the comptrollers got his secretary to enter those petitions on a list. The secretary would also write out the petitions that the comptroller brought to him, describing whom they were from and what they were about. This document was held by the magistrate. When he later went over the petitions with the king, if he found more petitions to have been entered on the list than he had ordered to be included, according to the document in his power, then the magistrate would lose the king's favour for that mistake.
As soon as decisions had been reached with the king on the listed cases, the magistrates informed each person of the favour the king was granting them and they ordered their secretaries to write up the charters immediately. These had to be done the same day or no later than the following, or they suffered the penalty we have described.
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