73 - How King Enrique arrived at Lisbon, and the way the residents of the city went about protecting themselves

Summary

No one could have imagined that King Enrique would invade the kingdom in the way he did, especially in going from Coimbra to Lisbon, where King Fernando was when he departed from Viseu, nor that King Fernando would not go forth right away to confront him and block his progress. He could very well have done so, as he had plenty of men of his own country to put in the field, and also the aid of the nobles and lords who had come to him from Castile because of the death of King Pedro, as you have heard. Thus no one could believe that King Fernando would tolerate King Enrique’s penetrating so far into the kingdom, so much so that in the cities and towns through which he was marching the people were consequently so unaware of danger that none of them took any trouble to protect themselves nor to store their goods in safety, so that men were caught relaxing and dining, without having secured any of their property. The enemy was already on the outskirts of the town, and they still did not believe it. As a result, the enemy robbed and apprehended many of them, without encountering anyone who could in any way hinder them.

When the people of Lisbon learned that King Enrique had passed through Santarém and that King Fernando had not come out to confront him nor sent anyone to hinder his progress, they were thrown into consternation on account of the vast losses that they could expect to suffer, because the city was quite unprotected and without a wall where most of the people were. It had no protection or defence except the old city wall, which extends from the Iron Gate to the Alfama Gate, and from the King's Fountain to Martim Moniz Gate. All the rest of the city was unprotected, in which area lived many people of great wealth and property, and they fully realized that they and those who lived on the outskirts had perforce to take refuge there, and they would not be able to fit inside with all their belongings without great trouble and anguish.