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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 December 2023
Leaving aside certain things that happened in Oporto at this time, we shall briefly recount just one matter, in order to keep on track. This concerned Aires Gonçalves de Figueiredo, who had been entrusted with the castle of Vila Nova de Gaia by Count Gonçalo [Teles]. Aires Gonçalves's wife was in the castle with some squires and foot soldiers as guards. These guards were so unneighbourly in the surrounding villages, stealing and seizing by force anything that they were minded to take, that everybody felt most maltreated. The people of Oporto felt very strongly about this and desired to avenge it as best they could.
One day it happened that the wife of Aires Gonçalves sent word to a local village, demanding that the villagers should supply certain things for herself and for those she had with her. They refused to do it, saying that even if that castle had declared for Castile they could not have received worse neighbourliness than they had up to that point. The villagers did not want to allow the men to take what they wanted. When this message reached the wife of Aires Gonçalves, with little sense and much complaining she went to the said village, taking with her as many men as she had in order to take vengeance on the villagers and bring away everything she might wish.
When the city dwellers found out about this, they joined together immediately and went there [to Vila Nova de Gaia], taking and stealing from the castle whatever they found there. They brought down the wall and towers, leaving it all in ruins.
When Aires Gonçalves found out about this in Torres Vedras, where he was, he became very angry, saying to Count Gonçalo whom he accompanied, because he had been mentor of the latter and steward of his household when he was a boy: ‘Take notice, my lord! Just see what kind of lord we serve, and from whom we expect benefits and favours! A man goes off in his service and spends bad nights and arduous days serving him, endangering his own life, and he has us honoured in the way you see! It's clear that the people of Oporto didn't dare do such a thing unless he told them to.
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