Narrative of the Portuguese Embassy to Abyssinia During the Years 1520-1527, by Father Francisco Alvarez.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Original Title -- Contents -- Prologue to the King our Sovereign -- CAP. I. How Diogo Lopez de Sequeira succeeded to the government of India after Lopo Soarez, who was governor before him, and how he brought Mattheus to the port of Maçua -- CAP. II. How the Captain of Arquiquo came to visit the Captain General, and also some Friars of Bisam -- CAP, III. How the Captain General ordered mass to be said in the chief mosque of Maçua, and ordered it to be named St. Mary of the Conception, and how he sent to see the things of the Monastery of Bisam -- CAP, IV. How the Captain General and the Barnagais saw each other, and how it was arranged that Rodrigo de Lima should go with Mattheus to Prester John -- CAP. V. Of the goods which the Captain sent to Prester John -- CAP. VI. Of the day that we departed and the fleet went out of the port, and where we went to keep the feast, and of a gentleman who came to us -- CAP. VII. How Mattheus made us leave the road, and travel through the mountain in a dry river bed -- CAP. VIII. How Mattheus again took us out of the road, and made us go to the monastery of Bisam -- CAP. IX. How we said mass here, and Frey Mazqual separated from us, and we went to a monastery, where our people fell sick -- CAP. X. How Don Rodrigo sent to ask the Barnagais for equipment for his departure -- CAP. XI. Of the fashion and situation of the monasteries and their customs, first this of St. Michael -- CAP. XII. Where and how the bread of the Sacrament is made, and of a Procession they made, and of the pomp with which the mass is said, and of entering into the church -- CAP. XIII. How in all the churches and monasteries in the country of Prester John only one mass is said each day -- and of the situation of the monastery of Bisam where we buried Mattheus -- and of the fast of Lent.

CAP. XIV. How the monastery of Bisan is the head of six monasteries, of the number of the brothers, and ornaments, of the " castar" which they do to Philip, whom they call a Saint -- CAP. XV. Of the agriculture of this country, and how they preserve themselves from the wild beasts, and of the revenues of the monastery -- CAP. XVI. How the friars impeded our departure, and of what happened to us on the road -- CAP. XVII. How we passed a great mountain in which there were many apes, on a Saturday, and on the following Sunday we said mass in a village called Zalote -- CAP. XVIII. How we arrived at the town of Barua, and how the Ambassador went in search of the Barnagais, and of the manner of his state -- CAP. XIX. How they gave us to eat in the houae of the Barnagais, and how in this country the journeys are not reckoned by leagues -- CAP. XX. Of the town of Barua, and of the women and their traffic, and of the marriages which are made outside of the churches -- CAP, XXI. Of their marriages and benedictions, and of their contracts, and how they separate from their wives, and the wives from them, and it is not thonght strange -- CAP, XXII. Of the manner of baptism and circumcision, and how they carry the dead to their burial -- CAP. XXIII. Of the situation of the town of Barua, chief place of the kingdom of the Barnagais, and of his hunting -- CAP. XXIV. Of the lordship of the Barnagais, and of the lords and captains who are at his orders and commands, and of the dues which they pay -- CAP. XXV. Of their method of guarding their herds from wild beasts, and how there are two winters in this country: and of two churches that are in the town of Barua -- CAP. XXVI. How the priests are, and how they are ordained, and of the reverence which they pay to the churches and their churchyards.

CAP, XXVII. How we departed from Barua, and of the bad equipment we had until we arrived at Barra -- CAP. XXVIII. How the goods arrived at the town of Barra, and of the bad equipment of the Barnagais -- CAP. XXIX. Of the church of the town of Barra, and its ornaments, and of the fair there, and of the merchandise, and costumes of the friars, nuns, and priests -- CAP. XXX. Of the state of the Barnagais and manner of his house, and how he ordered a proclamation to be made to go against the Nobiis, and the method of his justice -- CAP. XXXI. How we departed from Barra to Temei, and of the quality of the town -- CAP. XXXII. Of the multitude of locusts which are in the country, and of the damage they do, and how we made a procession, and the locusts died -- CAP. XXXIII. Of the damage which we saw in another country caused by the locusts in two places -- CAP. XXXIV. How we arrived at Temei, and the ambassador went in search of Tigrimahom, and sent to call us -- CAP. XXXV. How the Tigrimahom sent a captain in search of our goods, and of the buildings which are in the first town -- CAP. XXXV.1 How we departed from Bafazem, and went to the town called Houses of St. Michael -- CAP. XXXVI. Which speaks of the town of Aquaxumo, and of the gold which the Queen Saba took to Solomon for the temple, and of a son that she had of Solomon -- CAP. XXXVII. How St. Philip declared a prophecy of Isaiah to the eunuch of Queen Candace, through which she and all her kingdom were converted, and of the edifices of the town of Aquaxumo -- CAP. XXXVIII. Of the buildings which are around Aquaxumo, and how gold is found in it, and of the church of this town -- CAP. XXXIX. How close to Aquaxumo there are two churches on two peaks, where lie the bodies of two saints.

CAP. XL. Of the countries and lordships that are to the west and to the north of Aquaxumo, where there is a monastery, named Hallelujah, and of two other monasteries to the east -- cap. XLI. How we departed from the church and houses of St. Michael, and went to Bacinete, and from there to Maluc -- and of the monasteries which are near it -- CAP. XLII. Of the animals which are in the country, and how we turned back to where the ambassador was -- CAP. XLIII. How the Tigrimahom being about to travel, the ambassador asked him to despatch him, and it was not granted to him, and the ambassador sent him certain things, and he gave him equipment, and we went to a monastery, where the friars gave thanks to God -- CAP. X.LIV. How we went to the town of Dangugui, and Abefete, and how Balgada Robel came to visit us, and the service which he brought, and of the salt which is in the country -- CAP. XLV. How we departed, and our baggage before us, and how a captain of the Tigrimahom who conducted us was frightened by a friar who came in search of us -- CAP. XLVI. How we departed from the town of Corcora, and of the luxuriant country through which we travelled, and of another which was rough, in which we lost one another at night, and how the tigers fought us -- CAP. XLVII. How the friar reached us in this town, and then we set out on our way to a town named Farso: of the crops which are gathered in it, and of the bread they eat, and wine they drink -- CAP. XLVIII. How we departed from the town of Farso, well prepared, because we had to pass the skirt of the country of the Moors -- CAP. XLIX. How the people of Janamora have the conquest of these Doba Moors, and of the great storm of rain that came upon us during our halt in a river channel.

CAP. L. How we departed from this poor place, and of the fright they gave us, and how we went to sleep Saturday and Sunday at a river named Sabalete -- CAP. LI. Of the church of Ancona, and how in the kingdom of Angote iron and salt are current for money, and of a monastery which is in a cave -- CAP. LII. Of a church of canons who are in another cave in this same lordship, in which lie a Prester John and a Patriarch of Alexandria -- CAP.LIII. Of the great church edifices that there are in the country of Abuxima, which King Lalibela built , and of his tomb in the church of Golgotha -- CAP. LIV. Of the fashion of the church of San Salvador, and of other churches which are in the said town, and of the birth of King Lali- bela, and the dues of this country -- CAP. LV. How we departed from Ancona, and went to Ingabelu, and how we returned to seek the baggage -- CAP, LVI. How the ambassador separated from the friar, and how those of us who remained with the friar were stoned, and some captured, and how the ambassador returned, and we were invited by the Angote raz, and went with him to church, and of the questions he asked, and dinner he gave us -- CAP. LVII. How the ambassador took leave of the Ras of Angote, and the friar, with most of us, returned to the place where we were stoned, and from there we went to a fertile country, and a church of many canons -- CAP. LVIII. Of the mountain in which they put the sons of the Prester John, and how they stoned us near it -- CAP. LIX. Of the greatness of the mountain in which they put the sons of Prester John, and of its guards, and how his kingdoms are inherited -- CAP. LX. Of the punishment that was given to a friar, and also to some guards, for a message which he brought from some princes to the Prester -- and how a brother of the Prester and his uncle fled, and of the manner in which they dealt with them.

CAP. LXI. In what estimation the relations of the Prester are held, and of the different method which this David wishes to pursue with his sons, and of the great provisions applied to the mountain.

Translated from the Portuguese, and edited, with notes and an introduction. For a revised edition, see Second Series 114, 115. This is a new print-on-demand hardback edition of the volume first published in 1881.

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