131 - How the King of Castile had news of the arrival of the English, and the way he acted upon this

Summary

Count Álvaro Pérez de Castro was in Elvas as officer of the marches, as you have already heard. Prince João, his nephew, who was in Castile, together with the Master of Santiago Fernando Osórez and the Master of Alcántara, with many infantrymen, had been laying siege to him for some days. When the English arrived in Lisbon, King Fernando immediately wrote to Count Álvaro Pérez de Castro about their arrival and about the manner of people they were. The count, delighted with the news, sent word to the prince, who was laying siege to him, telling him that if he needed any merchandise or anything else from England, he should send for them from Lisbon, where a few English ships had just arrived, and there he would be able to find anything he needed. When the prince was secretly told about this, the news began to spread quietly throughout the encampment. Some knights, on hearing it, asked Pedro Fernández de Velasco, who was a member of the company, what the news that was being rumoured was about.

‘What could the news be about?’ he said. ‘It's the news that for over nine months King Fernando was pregnant with the English, and has now given birth to them in Lisbon and they are with him.’

They then decided not to stay there any longer and left Elvas on a Tuesday, in the month of August, having laid siege to the place for twenty-five days. The departure, it is said, was carried out at the order of the King of Castile, who had laid siege to Almeida, as we have said. When he was sure the English had arrived [in Portugal], he ordered these men to come to him. Prince João came, as did the Count of Mayorga Pedro Núñez de Lara (the bastard son of Juan Núñez de Lara, the Lord of Vizcaya) and other knights, who found the king to be in poor health at that time.

Now, some writers say that the King of Castile ascertained that the English had come and what manner of people and captains they were, and that even though they were coming to the aid of King Fernando against his kingdom, they also came on behalf and by the authority of the Duke of Lancaster because of Princess Constanza, his wife, who was the daughter of King Pedro [of Castile].