Battle of Aljubarrota
Conflict	1383–1385 Crisis
Date	August 14, 1385
Place	Near Aljubarrota, central Portugal
Result	Decisive Portuguese victory
Combatants Portugal and English allies Castile and French allies Commanders João I of Portugal Juan I of Castile Strength 6,500 men 31,000 men Casualties Unknown Unknown
Battle before Battle after Battle of Trancoso (none, as decisive)

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 batalya, 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. File links The following pages link to this file: Battle of Aljubarrota Wikipedia:Todays featured article/May 2005 Wikipedia:Todays featured article/May 14, 2005 Categories: Protected main page images ... The 1383–1385 crisis is a period of civil war and anarchy in the Portuguese history, also known as the Interregnum, since there was no crowned king. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... Events August 14 - Battle of Aljubarrota between the Portuguese under John I of Portugal and the Castilians, under John I of Castile. ... The Kingdom of England has no specific founding date. ... A former kingdom of Spain, Castile comprises the two regions of Old Castile in north-western Spain, and New Castile in the centre of the country. ... João I, tenth king of Portugal (in English, John I) (the Good or sometimes, the Great or even the One With Good Memory), was born in Lisbon in April 11, 1357 and died in the same city in August 14, 1433. ... John I (August 24, 1358 – 1390) (in Spanish: Juan I) was the king of Castile, was the son of Henry II and of his wife Joan, daughter of John Manuel of Villena, head of a younger branch of the royal house of Castile. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... Events August 14 - Battle of Aljubarrota between the Portuguese under John I of Portugal and the Castilians, under John I of Castile. ... João I, tenth king of Portugal (in English, John I) (the Good or sometimes, the Great or even the One With Good Memory), was born in Lisbon in April 11, 1357 and died in the same city in August 14, 1433. ... Blessed Nuno Álvares (also spelled NunÁlvares) Pereira was a Portuguese general of great success with an decisive role in the 1383-1385 Crisis that assured Portugals independence of Castile. ... A former kingdom of Spain, Castile comprises the two regions of Old Castile in north-western Spain, and New Castile in the centre of the country. ... John I (August 24, 1358 – 1390) (in Spanish: Juan I) was the king of Castile, was the son of Henry II and of his wife Joan, daughter of John Manuel of Villena, head of a younger branch of the royal house of Castile. ... Leiria is a city in Portugal . ... Alcobaça is in the district of Leiria, in Portugal (though formerly included in the province of Estremadura), on the Alcoa and Baca rivers, from which it derives its name. ... The 1383–1385 crisis is a period of civil war and anarchy in the Portuguese history, also known as the Interregnum, since there was no crowned king. ... This is a List of Portuguese monarchs from the independence of Portugal from Castile in 1139, to the beginning of the Republic in October 5, 1910. ... The House of Aviz is a dynasty of kings of Portugal. ... Events Births December 27 - Anne Mortimer John Dunstable, English composer (d. ... Santa Maria da Vitória na Batalha is a Dominican monastery that was built to thank the Virgin Mary for the Portuguese victory over the Castilians in the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, fulfilling a promise of King João I. The monastery took two centuries to build, started in... Philippa of Lancaster (1359 - July 19, 1415) was an English princess, daughter of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster by his wife and cousin Blanche of Lancaster (daughter of Henry of Lancaster). ...

Prelude

The end of the 14th century in Europe was a time of revolution and crisis, with the Hundred Years' War devastating France, the plague decimating the continent, and famine afflicting the poor. Portugal was no exception. In 1383, King Ferdinand of Portugal died with no son to inherit the crown. The only child of his marriage with Leonor Telles de Menezes was a girl, Princess Beatrice of Portugal, married to Juan I, king of Castile. The Portuguese nobility was unwilling to support the claim of the princess because that would mean the incorporation of Portugal in Castile (see note 2). Without an undisputed option, Portugal remained without king between 1383 and 1385, in an interregnum known as the 1383–1385 Crisis. On April 6, 1385, the council of the kingdom (cortes in Portuguese) summoned in Coimbra and declared king João, Master of Aviz (bastard son of Pedro I de Portugal). However, the Castilian king would not relinquish his wife's claim to the throne and invaded Portugal in June, with an important French cavalry detachment under his command. (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ... A map of Europe in the 1430s, at the height of the Hundred Years War The Hundred Years War is the name modern historians give to what was actually a series of related armed conflicts fought over a 116-year period between the Kingdom of England and France, beginning in... Plague redirects here. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Chokei of Japan Emperor Go-Kameyama ascends to the throne of Japan Births Pope Eugenius IV Deaths March 1 - Amadeus VI of Savoy, Count of Savoy (b. ... Fernando king of Portugal, sometimes referred to as o Formoso (the Beautiful), was born on October 31, 1345. ... Princess Beatrice of Portugal, Beatriz in Portuguese, (1372, Coimbra-1410) was the daughter of king Fernando of Portugal and his wife, the Castilian Leonor Telles de Menezes. ... Events August 14 - Battle of Aljubarrota between the Portuguese under John I of Portugal and the Castilians, under John I of Castile. ... An interregnum is a period between kings, or between popes of the Roman Catholic Church. ... The 1383–1385 crisis is a period of civil war and anarchy in the Portuguese history, also known as the Interregnum, since there was no crowned king. ... April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... Coimbra is a city and the capital of the district of Coimbra in Portugal. ... Pedro I of Portugal, king of Portugal (in English, Peter I), sometimes known as Pedro the Cruel (not to be confused with Pedro I of Castile, also known as Pedro the Cruel), was born in April 8, 1320 and died in January 18, 1367. ... June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ...

Portuguese dispositions

After his accession to the throne, João proceeded to conquer the Portuguese cities that supported Princess Beatrice and her husband's claims, namely Caminha, Braga and Guimarães among others. On the news of the invasion by João, the king's army met with Nuno Alvares Pereira (the Portuguese field marshal) in the town of Tomar. There, they decided to face the Castilians in battle, before they could get close to Lisbon, capital of the kingdom. Braga is a city in northwestern Portugal, in the province of Minho. ... Partial view of Guimararães city from the castle Guimarães is a city in northwestern Portugal, in the province of Minho, in the Braga district. ... Blessed Nuno Álvares (also spelled NunÁlvares) Pereira was a Portuguese general of great success with an decisive role in the 1383-1385 Crisis that assured Portugals independence of Castile. ... Coat of Arms Convent of Christ Tomar, also known in English as Thomar, is a city of some 20,000 and also a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 351. ... District Lisbon Mayor   - Party Pedro Santana Lopes PSD Area 84. ...

Along with its English allies, the Portuguese army set out to intercept the invading army near the town of Leiria. Nuno Alvares Pereira took the task of choosing the ground for the battle. The chosen location was near Aljubarrota, in a small flattened hill surrounded by creeks. At around 10 o'clock in the morning of August 14, the army took its position at the north side of this hill, facing the road where the enemy would soon appear. As in other defensive battles of the 14th century (Crecy, for example, or Poitiers), the dispositions were the following: dismounted cavalry and infantry in the centre with archers occupying the flanks, protected by natural obstacles (in this case, creeks). In the rear, reinforcements were at hand, commanded by João himself. In this topographically high position, the Portuguese could observe the enemy's arrival and were protected by a steep slope in their front. The Kingdom of England has no specific founding date. ... Leiria is a city in Portugal . ... For the landform that extends above the surrounding terrain and that is smaller than a mountain, see the article on mountain. ... Creek can be: A native American tribe, see Creek (people) The language of that tribe, see Creek language In US and Australian usage, a waterflow, smaller than a river, see Creek (stream) In UK usage, a tidal watercourse, usually drying to little or no flow at low tide, see Creek... The Battle of Cr cy took place on August 26, 1346, near Cr cy-en-Ponthieu, in the Somme d partement of northern France and was one of the defining combats of arms of the Hundred Years War. ... Battle of Poitiers Conflict Hundred Years War Date September 19, 1356 Place Near Maupertuis, 3km south of Poitiers, France Result Decisive English victory The Battle of Poitiers was fought between England and France on September 19, 1356, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred... The longbow (or English longbow, or Welsh longbow, see below) was a type of bow about 2. ... Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ...

Download high resolution version (597x752, 77 KB)Battle of Aljubarrota, drawn by Muriel Gottrop. ...

Castile arrives

The Castilian vanguard arrived at lunch time from the north. Seeing the strongly defensive position occupied by the Portuguese, Juan made the wise decision to avoid combat on João's terms. Slowly, due to the numbers of his army (about 30,000 men), the Castilian army started to contour the hill where the Portuguese were located. Juan's scouts had noticed that the south side of the hill had a gentler slope and it was through here that the Castilian king wanted to attack.

In response of this movement, the Portuguese army inverted its dispositions and headed to the south slope of the hill. Since they were fewer than the enemy and had less ground to cover, they attained their final position very early in the afternoon. To calm the soldiers' nervousness and to improve his army's defensive position, general Nuno Alvares Pereira ordered the construction of a system of ditches, pitches and caltrops. This tactical procedure, very typical of the English, was perhaps a suggestion of the English allied troops, also present in the field. Caltrop with hollow spikes to puncture self-sealing rubber tires Contemporary caltrop improvised from large nails welded together. ...

Around six o'clock in the afternoon the Castilian army was ready for battle. According to Juan's own words, in his report of the battle, his soldiers were by then very tired from the march that started early in the morning under a blazing August sun. There was no time to halt now, and the battle would soon begin. Note: as an adjective (stressed on the second syllable instead of the first), august means honorable. ... A sun is the star at the center of a solar system. ...

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.

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.

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.

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. Polydactyly, or polydactylism, also known as hyperdactyly, is the anatomical abnormality of having more than the usual number of digits on the hands or feet. ... A legend (Latin, legenda, things to be read) is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. ... Hearsay in its most general and oldest meaning is a term used in the law of evidence to describe an out of court statement offered to establish the facts asserted in that statement. ...

Aftermath

In the morning of the following day, the true dimension of the battle was revealed: in the field, the bodies of Castilians were enough to dam the creeks surrounding the small hill. Juan himself had to run at full speed to save his life. Behind him he was leaving not only common soldiers but also many noblemen, causing mourning in Castile that would last until 1387. The French cavalry contingent suffered yet another defeat (after Crecy and Poitiers) by English defensive tactics. Agincourt decades later would show that they still had a lesson to learn. The Battle of Agincourt was fought on October 25, 1415, Saint Crispins Day, in northern France as part of the Hundred Years War between the slightly outnumbered army of King Henry V of England (previously wrongly thought highly outnumbered, see below) and that of Charles VI of France, the...

With this victory, João was the uncontested king of Portugal. Independence was assured and a new dynasty, the House of Aviz, started. Scattered border skirmishes with Castilian troops would persist until the death of Juan in 1390, but posed no real threat to the Portuguese crown. To celebrate his victory and acknowledge divine help, João ordered the construction of the Monastery of Santa Maria of Batalha, and the founding of the town of Batalha (battle in Portuguese). The king, his wife Philippa of Lancaster, and several of his sons are buried in this Monastery, an important part of Portuguese heritage. The House of Aviz is a dynasty of kings of Portugal. ... Events Births December 27 - Anne Mortimer John Dunstable, English composer (d. ... Philippa of Lancaster (1359 - July 19, 1415) was an English princess, daughter of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster by his wife and cousin Blanche of Lancaster (daughter of Henry of Lancaster). ...

Notes

1. The original Portuguese and Spanish names of the kings are used because in English they both translate as "John I," which is confusing.
2. At this time (fourteenth century), Castile did not belong to Spain. That country appeared only in the end of the fifteenth century, with the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon (the rulers, together, of present-day Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands)—"The Catholic Monarchs."

(13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Isabella of Castile Isabella of Castile (Spanish: Ysabel, Isabel or Isabela) (April 22, 1451 – November 26, 1504) was Queen of Castile and Leon, with her husband Ferdinand V as co-ruler. ... Ferdinand of Aragon can refer to two different kings of Aragon: Ferdinand I of Aragon, a. ... Capital Zaragoza Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 4th  47 719 km²  9,4% Population  â€“ Total (2003)  â€“ % of Spain  â€“ Density Ranked 11th  1 217 514  2,9%  25,51/km² Demonym  â€“ English  â€“ Spanish  Aragonese  aragonés Statute of Autonomy August 16, 1982 ISO 3166-2 AR Parliamentary representation  â€“ Congress seats  â€“ Senate... Capital Barcelona Official languages Spanish and Catalan In Val dAran, also Aranese. ... Valencia from space, June 1996 The Hemispheric at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències by Santiago Calatrava, Valencia, Spain. ... Capital Palma de Mallorca Official languages Catalan and Castilian Area  – Total  – % of Spain Ranked 17th  4 992 km²  1,0% Population  – Total (2003)  – % of Spain  – Density Ranked 14th  916 968  2,2%  183,69/km² Demonym  – English  – Catalan  – Spanish Balearic balear balear Statute of Autonomy March 1, 1983 ISO 3166...

References

• João Gouveia Monteiro, Aljubarrota — a Batalha Real (in Portuguese)
• A.H. de Oliveira Marques, Historia de Portugal (in Portuguese)