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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 December 2023
Owing to this first blessing which God had conferred on Nuno Álvares and the Portuguese, all those in that region who had declared for Portugal were immensely pleased. Thereafter, many willingly volunteered to serve him and obeyed his every command. Similarly, when the Master learned of this in Lisbon, where he was in readiness to withstand a siege, he was delighted at the news. It was quite the opposite with the King of Castile, then in the Óbidos area, who was far from pleased.
On the day after the battle, very early in the morning and without resting from his endeavours, Nuno Álvares got ready and left for Monforte, where Martim Eanes de Barbuda, whom we have mentioned, was to be found. He was a Portuguese knight, renowned for being a good man-at-arms, and was accompanied by large numbers of troops with whom he had fled the battle. Nuno Álvares had it in mind that he would attack the town, if those in Monforte were unwilling to emerge to confront him.
After he reached Monforte, the troops who were inside the town refused to emerge, though they consisted of some 300 lances. Since the town was well fortified and had many troops inside its walls, and since Nuno Álvares had no siege engines, he decided not to attack it. However, he stayed there for one day, during which time there took place several skirmishes between the Portuguese and those in the town in front of its fortifications, without anything significant coming about. On the morning of the next day, which was Holy Thursday, Nuno Álvares walked barefoot on a pilgrimage to Santa Maria do Assumar, which lies a league distant and is a church held in great veneration. All his men accompanied him on foot.
When he arrived at the church, he found it to be filthy because of the Castilians’ horses which they stabled there whenever they were passing that way. Before taking any rest, he ordered it to be cleaned and was the very first to begin to remove the dung.
At this point there arrived a message from certain Portuguese men, informing Nuno Álvares that he could seize Arronches, a township which had declared for Castile, and that they would hand it over to him.
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