Battle of Aljubarrota

The Battle of Aljubarrota took place on August 14 1385, between Portuguese forces commanded by King João I and his general Nuno Alvares Pereira, and the Castilian army of King Juan I. The place was Aljubarrota, between the towns of Leiria and Alcobaça in central Portugal. The result was a decisive defeat of the Castilians and the end of the 1383–1385 Crisis, establishing João as King of Portugal. Independence was assured and a new dynasty, the House of Aviz, was established. Scattered border confrontations with Castilian troops would persist until the death of Juan I in 1390, but these posed no real threat to the Portuguese monarchy. To celebrate his victory and acknowledge divine help, João I ordered the construction of the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória na Batalha and the founding of the town of Batalha (pronounced {{IPA|/bɐtaʎɐ/}}, the Portuguese word for "battle"). The king, his wife Philippa of Lancaster, and several of his sons are buried in this monastery, which is an important part of Portuguese heritage.

Battle

The initiative of starting the battle was on the Castilian side. The French allied cavalry charged, as they were accustomed to do: in full strength, in order to disrupt order in enemy lines. Even before they could get in contact with the Portuguese infantry, however, they were already disorganized. Just like at Crecy, the defending archers along with the ditches and pits did most of the work. The losses on the cavalry were heavy and the effect of its attack completely null. Support from the Castilian rear was late to come and the knights that did not perish in the combat were made prisoners and sent to the Portuguese rear.

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It was time now for the main Castilian force to enter the battle. Their line was enormous, due to the great number of soldiers. In order to get to the Portuguese line, the Castilians had to disorganize themselves, to squeeze in the space between the two creeks that protected the flanks. It was not an auspicious start. At this time, the Portuguese reorganized. The vanguard of Nuno Alvares Pereira divided into two sectors. Seeing that the worst was still to come, João ordered the retreat of the archers and the advance of his rear troops, through the space opened between the vanguards. Here a very uncivil event took place. With all troops needed at the front, there were no men available to guard the knight prisoners. João ordered them to be killed on the spot and proceeded to deal with the approaching Castilians.

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Squashed between the Portuguese flanks and advanced rear, the Castilians did their best to win the day. At this stage of the battle, both sides sustained heavy losses, especially on the Castilian and Portuguese left wing (known in Portuguese tradition as the Ala dos Namorados, meaning, not literally, flank of the young ones). By sunset the Castilian position was indefensible and the situation quite desperate. Juan ordered retreat and the remaining Castilian soldiers started to flee. Portuguese pursued them and, with the battle won, killed many more.

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According to Portuguese tradition surrounding the battle, there was a woman called Brites de Almeida, the Padeira of Aljubarrota (the baker-woman of Aljubarrota), said to be very tall, strong and ugly and to possess six fingers on each hand, who ambushed and killed by herself many Castilian soldiers. This story in particular is clouded in legend and hearsay. But the popular intervention in the massacre of Castilian troops after the battle is, nevertheless, historical.

Related Topics:
Six fingers on each hand - Legend - Hearsay

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