A Wind From the North Read Online Free Page A

treaty was concluded with Castile, there was no available battlefield on which the young princes might win their spurs. To remedy this, King John suggested that he should hold a series of tournaments—to take place every day throughout a year—to which all the European nations would be invited to send their champions. Amid such a gathering of European nobility, the princes might honorably win their spurs and be knighted in front of their peers.
    But the blood that the young men had inherited from their fiery father and from the House of Lancaster revolted against such a means of winning their knighthood. Tournaments might be a suitable field for the minor nobility or the sons of merchants, but not for the Portuguese royal house and the grandsons of John of Gaunt.
    It was at this point that Joao Affonso, the King’s treasurer, introduced the name of the Moorish city, and to him must go the credit for perceiving Ceuta’s economic and strategic importance.
    “Why not a campaign against Ceuta?” he said.
    The young men enthusiastically proposed the idea to the King, who countered it with many logical objections. Among them were the financial expense of such an expedition and the fact that while the Portuguese fleet and army were away, the kingdom would be defenseless if Castile should see fit to break the peace treaty. The princes digested their father’s arguments and returned to the subject a few days later. Having heard them out, King John sent privately for Prince Henry.
    It is a mark of distinction that the King should have sent for the youngest of his sons. Even at seventeen Henry must have shown evidence of a nature stronger and more dedicated than his brothers’. If he said less than the volatile Peter, and was less sensitive than the heir, Prince Edward, he had a quiet certainty inherited from his mother.
    “Everything we do in this world,” said the young Prince, “must be based on three factors: the past, the present, and the future. In the past, my father, you had nothing but this city of Lisbon on your side. Nearly all the strongholds of Portugal were barred against you. Yet, all the same, with the help of God, you triumphed. You are stronger now, and there is no reason to think that God’s help is withdrawn from you. To judge, then, from the past, I maintain that if you did not then fear Castile, there is less reason why you should do so now. As for the present, reason again tells me that you should not shrink from war against the infidels out of fear of Castile. The Castilians are Christians like ourselves, whereas the others are our natural enemies. As for the future, I cannot see how the capture of Ceuta can in any way be construed as a threat against Castile. In fact, the Castilians will only see it as further evidence of the strength of our nation. It will deter, rather than encourage them. They will also see that our taking Ceuta will one day facilitate the conquest of Granada—something that can only please them.”
    The expense of the expedition, he pointed out, would cost little more than the series of tournaments would have done. The King’s other objections were those that any thoughtful ruler would have put forward, and could easily be dismissed. But Henry had gone straight to the root of the matter, in perceiving that the thing that really troubled his father was the possible threat from Castile while his back was turned. There was little time in those days for a protracted adolescence, and young men of the nobility became involved in adult affairs soon after the sixteenth birthday. Even so, this discernment shown by a seventeen-year-old was remarkable.
    The King seemed to hear his own voice echoed in his son’s words. When Prince Henry had finished, his father embraced him.
    “There is no need for further argument,” he said. “With the help of God I will begin this enterprise and continue it to the end. And since you and I have been together in making this decision, you must be the