It is certainly extraordinary that they chose a bastard for their king, but they found no stronger claim, for the
Portuguese said, and still maintain, that the
queen of Castile, my
lady Beatriz, daughter of my lady
Leonor da Cunha, is a bastard, and worse, for the reasons previously given, and as such will never be
queen of Portugal, nor will any of her descendants. This is the same opinion the
count of Foix expressed to his people when he had summoned them to
Orthez, giving them a feast before they took their leave of him, for he was suitably informed of the affairs of
Portugal and
Castile, and said to them,
"Lords, remain here. You have no business interfering in the conflict between
Castile and
Portugal because you know it to be true that neither the
king of Portugal nor the
queen of Castile, the daughter of
king Fernando of Portugal, have any claim on the
Portuguese crown. This war began through foolishness and evil, and something terrible might befall you and all those who meddle in it."
His men had replied that since they had received and accepted pay from a lord such as
king Juan of Castile, they would go to serve him. The
count of Foix let them be for the time being, but most never returned, as you have previously heard.
SHF 3-72 syncNow let us return to the affairs of
Portugal, for they should not be neglected, owing to the great feats of arms and exploits which arose as a result, and in order to record and chronicle all of these events so that in future they may be found written down and documented, for it would be a terrible shame if they were lost.
It is because of clerks in former times who wrote down and recorded histories and books that details are known, for there is no memory better than the written word. I can honestly say to you, and wish those who will come after me to know, that to root out the truth of this history and accurately investigate everything that happened, I have taken great pains in my time, travelling through many countries and kingdoms to find things out. I have become acquainted with many valiant men and met with them face to face, as many from
France as from
England,
Scotland,
Castile,
Portugal and from the other territories, duchies and counties who have become engaged, with their men, in these wars, with whom I have spoken and by whom I have been informed. And once I have embarked upon an inquiry I have never willingly neglected to ensure that the information is accurate and trustworthy, no matter the country to which it may relate. And because, while I was in
Béarn with the noble
count Gaston of Foix, I was informed of many events which had happened between
Castile and
Portugal, I returned to my country and to the place of my birth, to the county of
Hainaut and the town of
Valenciennes; having rested there a while, I felt strongly inclined to continue and work upon the history I had begun. For I considered that I could not continue impartially having only heard one side of the story from those espousing the view of the
king of Castile.
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