What Portuguese woman beat back which 7 Castillians with a breadpaddle?
November 21, 2019 7:12 AM Subscribe
Long shot here. I'm reading a 16th century history of Portugal in which the author refers to an anecdote concerning a Portuguese woman who beat back even Castilians with a bread paddle.
Sound familiar? If there are other references to this story, something with some kind of context (who the woman, who the Castilians, what the problem), I'd be glad to hear of them.
Response by poster: By George, I do believe you've got it!
Since my source is Spanish, I can see how they downgraded the number from eight to seven.
My thanks to lost_lettuce, by contrast, are over a thousand.
posted by BWA at 9:14 AM on November 21, 2019
Since my source is Spanish, I can see how they downgraded the number from eight to seven.
My thanks to lost_lettuce, by contrast, are over a thousand.
posted by BWA at 9:14 AM on November 21, 2019
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"(...)there was a woman called Brites de Almeida, the Padeira de Aljubarrota (the baker-woman of Aljubarrota), said to be very tall and strong, and to possess six fingers on each hand, who by herself killed eight Castilian soldiers as they were hiding in her bakery in the town of Aljubarrota after the battle. This story is clouded in legend and hearsay, but the popular intervention in the massacre of Castilian troops after the battle is, nevertheless, historical and typical of battles in this period, when there was no mercy toward the defeated enemy".
posted by lost_lettuce at 7:32 AM on November 21, 2019 [3 favorites]