The Pastrana Tapestries of Alfonso V

Portuguese Assault on Asilah

Detail of Right

Picture Source: Iolanda Andrade

King Alfonso V on Horseback
While Alfonso sits motionless in the other tapestries, here he raises his sword, ready to enter the fray. The king is preceded by his standard-bearer, Duarte de Almeida, dressed in full armour and carrying Alfonso’s personal emblem, the golden waterwheel. In another battle five years later, Duarte would lose both hands defending the banner of Portugal.