Before these events, in view of how Count Juan Fernández had been slain and the uprising in Lisbon had taken place, the queen had dispatched letters throughout the kingdom, both to the governors of the castles and to the leading citizens in towns large and small, complaining about what had happened and instructing them how to proceed in declaring their loyalty to her daughter Beatriz. She also wrote to the King of Castile, urging him to make every effort to head swiftly into Portugal. He was in fact already in Guarda, as in due course you will be able to see. Consequently, both because of his advance and the fact that all the most prominent people in the kingdom were on the queen's side, loyalties were declared and banners were flown on behalf of her daughter, just as she had instructed in her letters. But these declarations of allegiance and this flying of pennants and banners, under the title which was being proclaimed on her daughter's behalf, were very hard for the ordinary folk in the villages and townships to swallow. Since they were in no position to contradict such prominent figures, their hearts were filled with anguish as they consented, with fear and dread, to what they could not gainsay.

That is what occurred in Estremoz: there, João Mendes de Vasconcelos, who was Queen Leonor's cousin and governor of the castle, gave orders for allegiance to be declared to Queen Beatriz, and for her banner to be flown. Lopo Afonso and Lourenço Dias, along with other citizens, paraded it through the town, but when they noticed that the rest of the populace were troubled and discontented with what was happening, they immediately declared it essential to install an executioner's block and axe in the main square for beheading those who opposed what they were doing.

While this wrangle took hold of people's hearts and minds, setting some against others, it became common knowledge throughout the land that the Master had consented to take on the role of ruler and defender of the realm, that he had captured the castle in Lisbon and now held it in his power. This was very pleasing to some of those in the kingdom, especially ordinary humble folk. By contrast, those who were on the queen's side were much troubled by it, although they thought it all so much vainglory.