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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 December 2023
Through a similar comparison we can on another list nominate as martyrs the residents of Lisbon and those who were in the Master's company while he was besieged. This is just and right because the name of ‘martyr’ is not given only to those who suffer for not adoring idols, but also to those who are persecuted by the schismatic heretics for not abandoning the truth they believe. If by ‘martyr’ we mean ‘witness’, the inhabitants of Lisbon are good witnesses to those who died in the city's siege and in their trials and tribulations. For that reason, since Lisbon is like a city widowed of her king, at that time having the Master as her defender and bridegroom, we can interrogate her, saying,
‘O city of Lisbon, famous among cities, sturdy prop and column that supports all Portugal! Who is your bridegroom? Who were the martyrs who accompanied you in your persecution and your painful siege?’
Responding, she could say,
Are you asking me from which ancestors he descends? He is the grandson of King Afonso IV. As for his bodily height, he is of good and rightful stature and the composition of his limbs is very well balanced with a gracious and honourable presence. He has shown great courage and a strong mind in the deeds that relate to my defence, and all my well-being and protection are placed in his hands alone.
The martyrs who accompanied him were of two kinds: some, seeing the good intention and just quarrel that I took on to defend the kingdom from its mortal enemies, were publicly converted, receiving such a belief in their heart, coming to me so that I could be helped by them, or so it seemed. Yet after a few days, deceived completely by the spirit of Satan and the evil counsel of some false Portuguese, little by little they abandoned their noble purpose, going back to making sacrifices and adoring the idols that they had believed in before.
Among those who did this, not bearing the fruit that would have been expected from the leaves shown in their words, are those who were not so much to blame since they were distorted shoots born of the wild olive tree.
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