132 - Concerning the bad behaviour of the English towards the inhabitants of the realm, and how the king did not put a stop to it because he needed them
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2024
Summary
When the English troops we mentioned billeted in Lisbon, they behaved not as men who had come to help defend the land but rather as if they had been called to destroy it and cause all manner of evil and dishonour to the people who lived in it; they began to stray further afield in the city and beyond, killing, robbing and raping women, showing such arrogance and contempt for everyone, as if they were their mortal enemies whom it was necessary to subjugate. At first, no one dared to face up to it, for the great fear they had of the king, who had ordered that nobody should offend them, owing to the great need he had of them, little thinking at first that men who came to help him and on whom he intended to bestow great favours would behave like that in his own realm. Therefore, when certain people complained to him about the outrageous deeds they suffered at their hands, the king spoke about it to the earl, but all in all, little was done to make amends.
What else is to be said? People from the city and beyond were put through such suffering and subjection, being as afraid of the English as of their great enemies, that the earl, to keep the farms and estates safe, ordered that each one of them should display a banner with his device, which was a white falcon on a red field. Any farm or estate that the English found without such a banner was immediately robbed of all its contents. Every pack-animal that came into the city, from the farms, estates and surrounding hills, with wares to sell, had to carry one of those banners, which cost a certain price, so that no harm should befall them. Just see how clever the Englishmen's game was: when the king's animals were being taken to water, they seized them, and took them by force, saying that the king owed them payment and that they wanted him to forfeit the animals. These were in fact seized but later given back by order of the earl.
On one occasion, some of the Englishmen arrived at the house of a man called João Vicente, who was in bed at night with his wife and little son, who was still being breastfed.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Chronicles of Fernão LopesVolume 2. The Chronicle of King Fernando of Portugal, pp. 231 - 232Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2023