author
Duarte Galvão
1446–1517
A Portuguese courtier, diplomat, and chronicler from the age of exploration, he is best remembered for writing a vivid life of Portugal’s first king. His career also took him across Europe and toward Ethiopia on a royal mission that ended with his death far from home.
1 Audiobook
Chronica de el-rei D. Affonso Henriques
by Duarte Galvão
About the author
Born in Évora in the 15th century, Duarte Galvão served at the Portuguese court during a period of major political and maritime expansion. He worked as a diplomat and royal official under King Manuel I, taking part in embassies and negotiations that linked Portugal with other European powers.
He is best known as the author of Crónica de El-Rei D. Afonso Henriques, a chronicle about Portugal’s founding king. The work helped shape how later generations imagined the early history of Portugal, blending courtly history with a strong sense of national identity.
Late in life, Galvão was sent on a mission connected with Portugal’s hopes of building ties with Christian Ethiopia. He died in 1517 on the island of Kamaran in the Red Sea region before completing the journey, giving his life story an ending as dramatic and far-reaching as the age he lived in.