They also besieged the town by sea as well as by land, and the army were well supplied with plentiful provisions which came to them from all parts of the realm of
Castile. During a mighty skirmish which the
Spanish instigated at one of the gates of
Lisbon,
Sir João Lourenço, who was
captain of Lisbon surged over the barriers, his pennant before him bearing the arms of
Cunha in
Portugal, and a great many able companions with him. That day at the barriers many great deeds of arms were performed and many javelins thrown.
"By my faith," said the
duke to
Lourenço, "of all the weapons that the
Castilians and your countrymen know and use, the throwing javelin is the one which most pleases me and which I most enjoy seeing. I am fond of it and they are so proficient with it. I can tell you that whoever is hit by one must have very strong armour so as not to be completely run through."
"By my faith my lord," replied the
squire, "you are absolutely right. During the arms and assaults there I saw as many fine blows landed and dispensed than I have ever before witnessed in my lifetime. There was one in particular which cost us dear and greatly offended us, because
Sir João Lourenço was struck by one of those, in such a way that the metal pierced his breastplate, coat of mail and also his jacket lined with twice-spun boar's hair, passing straight through his body so that we had to saw it off and push it right through.
The skirmish ceased because of the death of this
knight. This is how
lady Leonor was widowed within a year by both of her husbands."
SHF 3-86 sync"I can assure you, my lord, that
Lourenço da Cunha was greatly mourned, because he was a valiant man-at-arms and full of wise counsel. After the death of this
knight, a cousin of his, also a most courageous man, named
Lopo Vasques da Cunha, became
captain of Lisbon. He made three or four sorties on the
Spanish, causing them great harm. The siege of
Lisbon continued in this way and I can tell you that on several occasions the inhabitants of the town were in a state of panic because no aid was reaching them from any quarter. When they realised that nobody was coming from
England, where all their hopes lay, the present
king was advised to board a ship and travel to that country, because
Sir João Rodrigues de Sà,
Sir Jean Teste d'Or and the
archdeacon of Lisbon, who had been sent to the
king of England and to yourself and your brother, my
lord of Cambridge, to request relief and succour, had brought news to
Portugal that you would lend them your support."
"In God's name," replied the
duke of Lancaster, "that is true. I was on the point of setting off with everything prepared, but at that time the war of
Flanders and
Ghent was raging. So the
Ghenters came to us for aid and all or most of those whom I was to take to
Portugal were led by the bishop of Norwich,
Sir Henry Despenser, across the sea. And so the voyage to
Portugal was postponed."
"In God's name my lord," said the
squire, "we thought that there must have been some major setback in
England which meant that you could not come.
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