At this council the
king discussed many things, and said,
"My dear sirs here assembled, I know that you are all my friends, for you have made me
king and you see now how many of my subjects have refused to assist me in my time of great need, so that I am unable to send them into the field. In truth, to see them as eager as I am to meet my enemies in combat would give me great joy, but that is not to be, since I can see that they are holding back and keeping their own counsel. I am in dire need of guidance on this matter and as to how should I act. I beg of you to give me your advice."
At this
Sir Gomez de Gabaston, a Portuguese knight, spoke up and said,
"My lord, I advise you, for your own honour and gain, to march into the fields as soon as you can with the men that you have at your disposal, and take your chances. We will stay with you and assist you to the very death, for we have made you lord and king of this town. If any of the Portuguese are showing themselves rebellious or haughty towards you, then I say, as do many in this town, that it is because nobody has yet seen you ride out to battle or even show your face to your enemies. Until now you have had the favour and renown of being a courageous man-at-arms, but now when it is needed your courage fails you. This has given confidence to your enemies and curbed the enthusiasm of your subjects, for if they were to see you perform feats of courage and prowess they would obey and fear you, as would your enemies."
"By my head," said the
king, "you have spoken well and it is just as you say. I say to you,
Sir Gomez, order our men to prepare themselves for we will ride out very soon and face our enemies, and this time we will either gain everything or lose everything."
"My lord," replied the
knight, "it will be done, for if the day is yours and God sends you good fortune, you will remain
king of Portugal for ever and be praised and honoured in all foreign lands where you will become known. You can only wholly achieve this inheritance through battle. As an example, I give you
king Enrique, your cousin, the father of
Juan who is presently king of all
Castile,
Spain,
Toledo,
Galicia,
Cordoba and
Seville. He gained all of his inheritances through combat; they would not have come to him otherwise, for you know that the power of the
prince of Wales and Aquitaine restored
king Pedro, your cousin, to the possession of the lands within
Spain, but that following a battle he fought against Enrique outside
Montiel, he lost everything.
King Enrique regained possession as before by risking himself and his men. You too must take a risk if you wish to live with honour."
"By my head," said the
king, "you speak the truth and I do not wish for any other advice but this, for it brings us honour and gain."
SHF 3-36 syncWith that the council broke up and orders were given that after three days the army should march out into the field and take up positions to await the enemy. During those three days the gates of
Lisbon remained so tightly shut that neither man nor woman could leave, for neither the
king nor the
Lisbonners wished their enemies to discover their intentions or plans.
pb 236r