Le Canarien, ou Livre de la conqueste et conversion faicte des Canariens á la foy et Religion catholique apostolique et Romaine (1406)Written by
Pierre Bontier and finished by
Jean le Verrier,
Le Canarien records the journey of
Jean de Béthencourt to the Canary Islands from 1402-1405. Béthencourt, a Norman knight, undertook the journey on behalf of the French crown; however, due to an increased reliance on Castilian instruments and support, the campaign eventually shifted its allegiance to the Spanish crown.
As described in
Le Canerien, the expedition included plans to visit the western coast of Africa in order to locate the famed "River of Gold" and visit the kingdom of Prester John. Specifically, the text, as summarized by
Fracesc Relaño, describes "the story of a mendicant friar who travelled from the coast of Guinea easteards through many countries till he reached a kingdom called Dongala, in the province of Nubia. At this point, the text goes on to say that the 'Patriarch of Nubia has for one of his titles the name of Prester John."
Despite the crew's failures in these regards, subsequent expeditions (1420s) commissioned by
Henry the Navigator outlined similar goals.
Read an English translation. 