Rita Costa Gomes is Professor of History at Towson University (USA), where she teaches Medieval and Renaissance history. A historian of medieval Portugal with strong interests in Iberian and Mediterranean history, she published in book form the first complete study of the royal court of Portugal (Portuguese version 1995, English version 2003), two volumes on the history of the Portuguese frontiers, and a biography of King Fernando I (r. 1367-1383). She collaborates in the project for the English edition of the works of the historian Fernão Lopes (c. 1380-c.1460).