We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2024
When the count saw that the master and those with him in no way wanted to attack him and were afraid of joining battle, he moved his forces ahead, leaving the Castilians behind. He thought that it would be as much to his honour to overrun the land, with them watching, while they did not dare to do battle, as it would be to fight and defeat them. He departed for Zafra, which was 2 leagues distant, and there he set up his quarters for the day. They found plenty of provisions there and much good wine. Since this town belonged to the master, the men started felling the trees and setting fires round about. However, the count was displeased at this. Nevertheless, they did it deliberately so the master could see his land burning before his very eyes without daring to come to its aid. While the count was making his way through Zafra, Gonçalo Eanes de Abreu, who along with other captains led one of the wings, chased after 200 Castilian lances, who had come to spy on the army, pursuing them for a full league, because they did not dare to confront him, despite his being accompanied by very few men.
That day, with the count already quartered, a great disturbance broke out in the camp. There was so much brawling, involving so many men, that the count came out of his tent, covered only with a mantle, to see what the matter was. By the time he got to the scene of the fighting, he already had a number of men with him. When those who had nothing to do with the disturbance saw the count approaching like that and thinking it was directed at him, they drew their swords, holding them above him to protect him. The count was so squashed among them as they led him forward that he lost his mantle and was left wearing only his doublet. He walked a good while like that until people found out what it was and the fighting stopped. When an inquiry was held on the count's orders, it was discovered that a squire called Afonso Pires Sarrazinho had instigated the disturbance. Others said that it was due to the good wine.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
