151 - Concerning the ambassadors that came to the king from Castile and the reply they took back

Summary

With the truce proclaimed in both realms, the friars who, in accordance with this agreement, were to go to Castile, gathered together in Badajoz, and those who were to go to Portugal gathered in the city of Guarda, fifty days after the proclamation of the truce, according to what had been agreed in the negotiations. Although all the prisoners that were in Portugal were soon released, the same did not happen in Castile. Rather, as the friars travelled through the kingdom, seeking out such prisoners, especially in some places in Andalusia, they had been hidden away so they could not be found; or when they did find others, those who held them did not want to free them, nor did they hand them over to the justices. The worst of all was that some had already been taken to Aragon and elsewhere, while others were killed or so ill-treated that they died of neglect. In some places, even, when the said religious men complained of such a thing, they themselves were so badly treated that they were forced to tell the King of Castile, who was in León at the time, about the slights to their authority and the great insults they had suffered in this matter.

The king replied that he had already sent letters about it to the effect that the prisoners should be handed over and, as a further guarantee, he gave them other valid letters, as the circumstances required. But neither kind of letter was fully acted upon, so the friars had to return. The result was that over 100 prisoners remained in Castile, without release and in the hands of unworthy people.

Such was the situation with Vasco Pires, a bachelor of law and judge on behalf of the King of Portugal, and Pero Martíns, a doctor of laws, on behalf of his adversary of Castile, who were on the borderlands between Castelo Rodrigo and San Felices [de los Gallegos], hearing the disputing parties on the losses that had been suffered on both sides during that resumption of the war we have mentioned. Despite the many verdicts they passed against the inhabitants of Castile amounting to a good 48,000 doblas, and much time having passed beyond the term during which they had to be paid, the King of Castile never bothered to have these verdicts implemented, although he was frequently requested to do so.