It is important for us to continue this narrative a bit further, following the most appropriate order, rather than keeping to the order that we had originally intended to observe. The reason is that, in relating everything that befell the duke in Spain, which needs to be set down in detail, it is necessary for us to mention forthwith all that happened to him regarding the King of Castile. After that, we shall turn to his dealings with the King of Portugal and how they both invaded Castile and how long they stayed there. Then we shall mention how the duke came to terms with his adversary and returned to England. Since a person of discernment and intelligence wishes to know the whole truth, our narrative would be difficult to follow, were we not to present it in this way. Therefore, the first of the above four accounts, which we now offer you, truly happened in the following manner.

As soon as the duke arrived in Galicia, he sent a message to the King of Castile; not by means of his brother, as some would have it, for he had not brought him along, but rather through another messenger. He informed the king of his arrival in the country, as he surely had already heard, adding that he had brought with him his wife Queen Constanza, who was the daughter of Don Pedro, the erstwhile King of Castile and León, in order to win back those kingdoms which were rightfully hers. She intended to regain them because they belonged to her, and, if he, King Juan, insisted that they were not hers and sought to prevent her from doing this, then he, the duke, was determined to resolve the issue between the two sides in a pitched battle.

The King of Castile received the messenger well and gave him some jewels. In reply he sent Don Juan Serrano, who was the Prior of Guadalupe and Chancellor of the Privy Seal, along with a knight named Diego López de Medrano and a doctor in canon and civil law, whose name was Álvaro Martínez de Villarreal. Having first obtained a safe conduct, they made their way to the town of Orense, where the duke was at that time.