You have already heard, in the chapter in which we spoke of this, how the king, because of the harassment of the war in which he had become embroiled after he began to rule, had no way of establishing an allowance for his vassals, nor did he take them into his service as the other kings used to do; instead, each one served with those whom he could supply, both men-at-arms and foot soldiers, and there was a salary for all.

Thus, the king decided to establish an allowance for the nobility, not like the other kings, as we have said, who gave it to the father and then to the son as soon as he was born. Rather, he decreed that the personal fealty of a nobleman of the lowest rank, once written down in the book of the king, should cause him to receive 1,000 libras, and the one who accompanied him would have 700; and so on for each nobleman, fewer or more [libras] according to the rank of each one. Not that the son was to receive this income when he was born, but rather after he reached the age at which he could serve; then he was ascribed his allowance according to the one his father had, although always smaller. Those 1,000 libras for the allowance, at the time when the king established them, were 20 Castilian doblas, each dobla at the time being worth 50 libras in the coinage of reais of 10 soldos, then in circulation.

Furthermore, he granted lands to the queen and an allowance to the women of her household, which each one should receive each month. He ordered that Beatriz Gonçalves [de Moura], whom he had assigned as personal companion to the queen because she did not know the customs of the country – as otherwise it would have been unnecessary – should receive 800 libras every month, which were 16 Castilian doblas. To Dona Beatriz de Castro, who was the highest in rank among the other ladies-in-waiting, he awarded 1,000 libras, which were 20 doblas; to Teresa Vasques Coutinha, her gentlewoman of the bedchamber, 200; and to all the others, 150. Other less important attendants received 60.