Fernão Lopes often articulates his narrative by referring to some event that will be mentioned in a future chronicle or which has been registered previously in his works.
Often he uses formulaic sentences or phrases that are interspersed throughout his narrative with comparatively minor variations.
Other times he explains the logic behind the organization of his narrative mentioning that some passages are interrupted because they may tie up with an event that takes place later on. Other times he moves from one location or scene to another in order to narrate simultaneous events. He may also decide that a certain thread of narrative is no longer relevant, and may be cut short, because the reign of a given monarch at the center of a chronicle has come to an end and the sequence of events in Portugal, or another Peninsular country, will develop in another reign and, therefore, another chronicle. See the examples below:
- While they are gathering their men for the battle of which you will hear later, we shall record other matters, as the plan of this work requires. - ."... enquanto eles juntam suas gentes para a batalha que ouvireis, contaremos nós outras cousas segundo requere a ordenança desta obra." [Pedro, ch. 41: 58-60]
- But before we speak of them, hear this which I found written. - "Mas antes que as digamos, ouvii isto que achamos escripto..." [Pedro, ch. 41: 60-61]
- "Let us leave Guimarães under siege and go back to relating where King Fernando was while the aforementioned events took place." [Fernando, ch. 35: 4-6]
- "We have already mentioned on a number of occasions how King Pedro, before he died, strove greatly to send supplies to Carmona and fortify it as much as possible, through fear of finding himself in danger and having to seek refuge there, but we have not explained why he sent supplies to the town and fortified it more than any other place in his kingdom. Therefore, lest it be considered a gap in our account, we shall narrate it in the manner in which some authors have set it down, stating that King Pedro made great efforts to seek certainty from his astrologers about what the future held for him." [Fernando, ch.46: 3-12]
- "If you remember well what you have been reading about, [you will know that] the King of Castile is in the Óbidos area, awaiting the arrival of his fleet, so that he can lay siege to Lisbon. While Nuno Álvares is resting, and the Master is waiting for the mighty siege, in the meantime let us, in order not to waste this interval, consider a number of matters, however trivial they may be, until the fleet arrives, at which point we will return to that part of our story." [CKJ1, ch. 97]