Coímbra is presented as a distinguished Portuguese city whose river setting, monumental buildings, and nearby stronghold make it a striking landmark in Felismena’s journey. The city enters the narrative not as a place she has sought, but as the unexpected edge of populated country: while wandering in exile, she finds herself near a settlement she had been carefully avoiding.

Setting and Approach

Felismena first sees the city from above a broad, fertile plain. A substantial river crosses the landscape, its banks alternating between stands of willows and alders and exposed stretches of clear water; a wide sandbank opens along one side. Crops are high and close to harvest, stirred by a mild breeze. The plain is described as about three miles wide and somewhat longer, ending roughly twelve miles ahead at the foot of distant mountains.

Beyond this open country, a large grove of green alders and wild olive trees partly screens numerous finely built houses. From a nearby height, Felismena then sees Coímbra extending down to the river, with a remarkable bridge spanning the water. The approach moves from cultivated field and wooded outskirts to the city’s concentrated mass of towers, temples, houses, walls, and defensive works.

The City and Its Stronghold

Duarda identifies Coímbra as one of the most important cities in its kingdom and in Europe, praising the antiquity and nobility of its lineages as well as the richness of the surrounding land. The city’s architecture is described on a grand scale: tall buildings, elaborate towers and pyramids that seem to rise into the clouds, numerous imposing temples, strong houses, and formidable walls and bulwarks. The bridge over the Mondego River is singled out as exceptionally splendid.

A prominent castle stands on a hill above the surrounding country. Duarda names it Castle of Montemor-o-Velho and recounts its history of endurance: though besieged for many years by King Marsilio, it repeatedly prevailed rather than being conquered. She presents the castle as a monument to the ingenuity, courage, and strength of its inhabitants, and describes the ladies and knights who live there as distinguished by virtue.

Felismena’s Arrival

Coímbra becomes known to Felismena through a meeting with Portuguese shepherdesses in the countryside outside the city. After hearing one of them sing, Felismena emerges from concealment; the shepherdesses welcome her and ask where she comes from. In tears, she explains that her speech identifies her as being from the Province of Vandalia and that misfortune has driven her into exile. They sympathize with her and offer her food.

Felismena asks what land she has reached, and specifically asks about the city by the river and the castle on the highest hill. Duarda supplies their names and history, turning the landscape Felismena has just seen into an intelligible place. The encounter remains in a pastoral setting rather than moving into the city itself: Felismena is astonished to find herself so close to a populated area, precisely the kind of place she has been trying to avoid.

Narrative Significance

The episode sets two kinds of grandeur beside one another. Coímbra and its castle represent the scale of urban life, inherited noble distinction, military defense, and crafted architecture; the adjoining countryside offers fields, trees, water, flocks, and shepherds’ songs. Felismena’s approach links these settings without erasing their difference: she arrives as an exile through open country, and learns the history of a powerful city from shepherdesses who receive her with practical kindness. Coímbra thus marks both a geographical threshold in her wandering and a meeting point between the pastoral world and the histories of political and military power.