Here beginneth the Chronicle in which are set down all the notable deeds that were achieved in the Conquest of Guinea, written by command of the most high and revered Prince and most virtuous Lord the Infant Don Henry, Duke of Viseu and Lord of Covilham, Ruler and Governor of the Chivalry of the Order of Jesus Christ. The which Chronicle was collected into this volume by command of the most high and excellent Prince, and most powerful Lord the King Don Affonso the Fifth of Portugal.
CHAPTER I.
Which is the Prologue, wherein the Author sheweth what will be his purpose in this Work.
We are commonly taught by experience, that all well-doing requireth gratitude. And even though the benefactor doth not covet it for himself, yet he should desire it, that the recipient may not suffer dishonour where the giver hath acquired virtuous merit. And such a special communion is there between these two acts, to wit, giving and thanking, that the first requireth the second by way of obligation. And did not the formerA exist, it would not be possible for there to be gratitude in the world. Wherefore, Saint Thomas,B who was the most clear teacher1 among the Doctors of Theology, saith in the second book of the second part of his work, in the 108th section, that every action returneth by nature to the cause from which it first proceeded. Therefore, since the giver is the chief cause of the benefit received by the other, it is requisite, by the ordinance of Nature, that the good he doth should come back to him in the shape of a fitting gratitude. And by this return we are enabled to understand the natural likeness between the works of Nature and those that give moral aid, for all things bring about a proper return, starting from a commencement and progressing till in the end they accomplish the recompence we speak of. And, in proof of this, Solomon saith in the book of Ecclesiastes, that the sun riseth over the earth, and, having encircled all things, returneth to where it first appeared. The rivers also proceed from the sea, and ceasing not their course, are continually returning to it. A like thing happeneth in the moral order, for all good that cometh from a generous will, doth run a straight course until it arrive at the fitting recipient, and then afterwards it returneth naturally to the place where the generosity allowed it to begin; and such a return bringeth about that sweet union between those that do good and those that receive it, of which Tully speaketh when he saith that no service is more necessary than gratitude, in order that the good may return to him who gave it.
And in that the most high and excellent Prince and most mighty Lord, the King Don Affonso the Vth (who at the time of the writing of this book reigned in Portugal, by the grace of God, whose reign may God in his mercy increase in length and in virtues), in that he, I say, saw and knew the great and very notable deeds of the Lord Infant Don Henry, Duke of Viseu and Lord of Covilham, who was his highly-valued and beloved uncle, and in that the said deeds appeared to him so noteworthy among the many actions of Christian princes in this world—it seemed to him a wrong thing not to have some authentic memorial of the same before the minds of men. And this most of all because of the great services which the said Lord had ever rendered to past kings, and the great benefits which by his efforts the Prince's countrymen had received.
For these reasons the King bade me engage in this work with all diligence, for although great part of his other actions are scattered through the Chronicles of the Kings of his day, as, for instance, what he did when the King Don John, his father, went to take Ceuta,2 and when on his own account he went with his brothers and many other great lords to raise the siege of the aforesaid town, and afterwards when in the reign and by the command of the King Don Edward of glorious memory, he attacked Tangier, where were done many very notable deeds, which are mentioned in his history, yet all that followeth was done by his ordinanceC and mandate, not without great expense and trouble, all which is truly to be set down to his account. For though in all kingdoms men compile general Chronicles of their Kings, they do not fail also to write separately of the deeds of some of those Kings' vassals, wherever the greatness of the same is notable enough to warrant such especial mention—as was done in France in the case of Duke John, Lord of Lançam,3 and in Castille in the matter of the deeds of the Cid Ruy Diaz,4 and in our own kingdom in the story of the Count Nunalvarez Pereira.5 And with this Royal Princes ought to be not a little contented, for so much the more is their honour exalted as they have seigniory over greater and more excellent persons; for no Prince can be great, unless he rule over great men; nor rich, unless he rule over the wealthy. For this cause said the virtuous Roman Fabricius, that he would rather be lord over those who had gold, than have gold himself.
But because the said deeds were written by many and various persons, so the record of them is variously written, in many parts. And our Lord the King, considering that it was not convenient for the process of one only ConquestD that it should be recounted in many ways, although they all contribute to one result, ordered me to work at the writing and ordering of the history in this volume so that those who read might have the more perfect knowledge. And that we may return the benefit he conferred on us by gratitude to him from whom we received it, as I began to set forth at the commencement of this chapter, we will follow the example of that holy Prophet Moses, who, desiring not to let the people of Israel forget the good that God had shewn them, often commanded the receivers to write them upon their hearts, as in a book that should display to those who considered it what was written therein. Further, seeing that the remembrance of injuries is tender, and that the good deed is soon forgotten, those that came afterE set up signs that should be lasting, on which people might look and remember the benefits they had received in time past. And so likewise it is written of Joshua, that God bade him take twelve great stones from the midst of the river Jordan, and carry them to where the camp was pitched, after all had crossed. For this was done in order that they should be in remembrance of the wonderful miracle which God had wrought in presence of the people, when he parted the waters, so that those which came from above stood up in a heap and did not flow out towards the sides, while those which were below flowed on until the river was dry. But some, considering that even by such signs it was not always perfectly well known what had been done (just as we see that the Pillars of Hercules6 do not signify clearly to all who see them that they were placed there as a memorial of his Conquest of Spain), began the custom of writing what could not otherwise be long remembered. And in proof of this it is related in the book of Queen Esther, that King Ahasuerus kept a record of all the notable services that had been rendered to him, and that at certain times he caused this record to be read, that he might reward the authors of those services. So, too, the King Don Ramiro, desiring that the men of Spain should not allow themselves to forget the great aid that the blessed apostle Saint James had given them, when he delivered them from the power of the Moors, and promised to be our helper in all our battles with the Infidel, caused to be written the story of that event in the privileges that he granted the Church of Santiago,7 that is to say, in providing for the entertainment of the poor—privileges which that Church now receives from every part of Spain where Christians then lived.
Now this care that the ancients showed ought to be a custom of to-day, and inasmuch as our memory is weaker than theirs was, and less mindful of the good that it receiveth, so much the more careful should we be to keep ever before us the benefits bestowed on us by others, since we cannot afford to forget them without manifest injury to ourselves. And because we received of God great benefit in the deeds hereinafter recorded, in three ways—firstly, by the many souls that have been already saved, and yet will be saved, of the lineage of our captives; secondly, by the great benefits we all of us receive from the said actions; thirdly, by the great honour that our realm is now gaining in many