Volume I of the first complete English translation of the chronicles of
Fernão Lopes chronicles the reign of Pedro I (1357-67), dubbed both 'the
Just' and 'the Cruel', including his dealings with the kingdom of
Castile, the war between Castile and Aragon, and the revenge he took on
the men who murdered the woman he loved, Inês de Castro.
Until now, the chronicles of Fernão Lopes (c.1380-c.1460) have only been
available in critical editions or in partial translations. Comparable to
the works of Froissart in France or López de Ayala in Spain, the
chronicles provide a wealth of detail on late fourteenth-century
politics, diplomacy, warfare and economic matters, courtly society,
queenship and noble women, as well as more mundane concerns such as
food, health and the purchasing power of a fluctuating currency. Lopes
had a keen eye for detail and a perspective especially attuned to the
common people, and his chronicles provide an invaluable source for the
history of Western Europe in the later Middle Ages.