I was informed there of the affairs of
Portugal and
Castile and of the events of past wars, battles and encounters which the two kings and their allies had fought against one another, and of all these things I will provide you with a reliable account.
SHF 3-28 syncYou will know, as it has been previously mentioned, how
king Juan of Castile had laid siege to the fair city of
Lisbon with
king João of Portugal inside, whom the towns of
Portugal had crowned for his valour, although in truth he was a
bastard. You have also heard how this
king had sent special ambassadors to
England to request aid from the
duke of Lancaster and the
earl of Cambridge, who had married his
cousins. These ambassadors were two knights,
Sir João Rodrigues and
Sir Jean Teste d'Or, and with them a law clerk who was
archdeacon of Lisbon. These ambassadors set out by sea and with a favourable wind behind them they reached
Southampton harbour. There they disembarked from their vessels and stayed in the town for a day to refresh themselves. They hired horses, because they had not brought any with them, and rode along the great road to
London until they arrived there. It was during the month of August when the
king of England was in the
Welsh marches enjoying some hunting, and his three uncles, the
duke of Lancaster, my lord
Edmund the earl of Cambridge and
Sir Thomas the earl of Buckingham were also each at leisure on their own lands. This meant that the
king of Portugal's ambassadors had even more work to do. First they went to the
duke of Lancaster who was residing at
Hertford, twenty miles from
London.
The
duke received them well, opened the letters which they handed to him and read them three times over, the better to understand their contents. Then he replied,
"You are welcome in this country, but you could not have come at a worse time in the whole year for swift assistance, for the
king and my
brothers and this country's entire government are spread here and there. In consequence you will not be able to obtain a response or any aid unless it be from the special council meeting in
London at Michaelmas, when the country returns to
Westminster. However, as the business you have come about particularly affects my
brother and me, I will write to him and ensure that we will both soon be here in
London, or close by. This will allow us to discuss these matters and to consider how we may best proceed. You will return to
London and await us there. When my
brother has arrived, you will receive further news from us."
The
Portuguese ambassadors were content enough with this response and left the
duke of Lancaster after remaining with him for a day. They returned to
London, found lodgings there and waited at their ease.
The
duke of Lancaster did not forget what he had told them, on the contrary, he immediately wrote private letters to his brother,
Cambridge, with an account of what you have just heard. When the
earl received these letters from his brother the
duke, he read them through carefully and wasted no time in setting off for
Hertford, near
Ware, where the
duke of Lancaster resided. They spent three days there together discussing the business as best they could, then came to
London just as the
duke had planned and promised the
Portuguese, and dismounted at their lodgings.
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