Chapter 60 - Concerning the message which Queen Leonor sent to certain town councils after the death of Count Juan Fernández

Summary

In the month immediately prior to that in which there began in Castile the new dating from the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, namely 1384, which is the year 1422 in the Era of Caesar, the queen was to be found in Alenquer, after the death of Count Juan Fernández. She had sent letters to certain town councils, in which she made it widely known how distressed she was at the death of her husband the king, and how, with his passing, the kingdom now belonged to his daughter Queen Beatriz.

Moreover, she added, lest these realms should be joined to those of Castile and in order to keep the two crowns permanently separate, just as till then they had been, as it had been laid down in the treaties and as King Fernando had ordained in his will and testament, she had taken charge of ruling over them, for as long as it was necessary, even though she found this to be both physically arduous and grievous to her soul. Nevertheless, she was doing this in order to keep them in safety to reward them for the very great service and honour which she had received from them.

She told them that, when she was in her palace in Lisbon, busy deciding what was necessary both in God's service and for the benefit of the realm, the Master of Avis had turned back from the mission on which she had sent him, namely to impose due respect on the townships of his Order and on others in that area. She told them that he had killed Count Juan Fernández and, for that reason and because of the tumult which had broken out in the city, she had made her way to Alenquer.

She also declared that she was sending them a message of complaint about those events, so that they might share in her indignation, and that it was not her intention to pursue them with wilful vengeance but only to uphold the law and see that justice be done.