44 - How the King of Castile left Santarém and returned to his own country

Summary

Since those suffering from misfortune are more beset by fear than are other men, the King of Castile was afraid, indeed he was quite sure of it, that, if he stayed in Santarém any longer that night, great harm could befall him. For that reason, he ordered a barge to be prepared at once to take him swiftly to Lisbon and without further delay he boarded it with a number of his companions. He kept his face hidden, and four torches, burning low, lit his way.

Next day, which was the Feast of the Blessed Virgin, he reached the city at nine o’clock in the morning; that day and the following day he spent aboard the nao under the command of Pero Afán [de Ribera]. On Thursday, 17 August, with four companions, he departed for Seville on board a galley, whereas the other naos and galleys remained there, with the order from him that they should sail back to their home ports once they saw that the weather was propitious.

The king entered Seville by night, for fear of the clamour and lamentations of the people. However, once it became known next day that he had arrived and in what manner, many of the city's high-ranking gentlemen and ladies wept so much for their sons and husbands, relatives and great lords, that it was a sorrowful sight to behold, to such an extent that, with the continued loud clamour day after day, the king was so stricken with sadness and distress that he left for Carmona, which lies 6 leagues away.

It is important that you should know that on the day he reached Seville there were held captive in the city's shipyard a number of Portuguese who had been taken prisoner from the Oporto naos at the time of the Lisbon naval battle. Those who were charged with such matters ordered them to sweep and clean the palace where the king was due to lodge.