For as long as the king was encamped before Benavente, he made no attempt to attack the town, because he had not brought with him the siege engines needed for such an onslaught. Besides, since the town was garrisoned by many valiant troops, he realised that it would avail him nothing to prolong his stay and so he decided to leave. However, during the time he remained there, as we have said, skirmishing took place, with the men from the town attacking those in the siege camp, though the Portuguese always won the day.

One day, a contingent from those defending the town emerged across a bridge which they normally used in order to mount a skirmish. It was also their practice, when the besiegers gave chase, to stop at the bridge and retreat no further. There the Castilians would turn about and attack their pursuers once again, inconclusively thrusting to and fro. Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, who habitually participated in these skirmishes, noticed how the Castilians halted each time at the bridge and how the Portuguese came back from the encounter without accomplishing anything further. Accordingly, he told his men that, when they gave chase and the enemy pulled up at that spot, they should force them back across the bridge for, in that way, they would achieve a great advantage over them. That is what happened, for when the Castilians retreated to the bridge, without expecting to be pursued more closely, the Portuguese hurtled at them so hard that they were quite unprepared and could not all find room on the bridge, with the result that some flung themselves into the water, while others were captured or killed. This manoeuvre was not repeated, for the king left, and they had no further opportunity to do so.