ABSTRACT
Since Emperor Za Denguîl was very intelligent and well read in the books of Ethiopia, he easily recognized their errors and he decided with Lâca Mariâm, whom we mentioned above, and other great men whom he trusted, to give obedience to the Roman Church and make all his empire receive its holy faith. He summoned me in order to discuss this with me while he was alone with Lâca Mariâm. When I arrived, he made me sit very close to him, and he took a gold cross that he wore on his chest on a magnificent chain and told me to swear to keep what he was about to tell me secret from the people of Ethiopia. I replied that my word was enough for me to die before I revealed what he might {say} <reveal> to me in secret, since fathers did not have the habit of swearing. ‘What harm is there in swearing’, he said, ‘if the matter is lawful and necessary and afterwards the oath is kept, for my peace of mind? In any case, Your Reverence must do this, because afterwards you will like what I am going to say.’ I therefore swore, and he also gave the oath to the Portuguese captain, who was the interpreter, and then he said, ‘Your Reverence’s words have pierced my heart and your arguments have won over my understanding and I have formed a good opinion of what you teach. And, most of all, you have confirmed to me what you {proved} <seek> in the disputations, that <[f. 372/361 ]> no one but the Roman pontiff can be the universal pastor of the Church and vicar of Christ on earth, and so anyone who denied him obedience would be denying Christ Himself and would remain outside His Church. I have therefore decided to obey him and to request that he send me a patriarch and fathers to teach my people. And to establish this {[f. 417v]} more firmly, I shall ask King Dom Phelippe to send me his daughter to marry my son, and thus we shall be forever united.’2
