The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c10.38

v1.c10.38

Before the conquest of Goa, Albuquerque had sent a Franciscan Friar named Frey Luiz to the court of Vijayanagara, to get the Emperor's assistance in attacking the city of Calicut by land whilst the Portuguese operated by sea, with a view to avenging the violation of his promise by the Sovereign of that place¹. It appears also that Frey Luiz invited Krishna Deva Raya to become a Christian and the Sovereign gave no negative answer to the priest's request. In an anonymous letter of a traveller written in Venice to *ser Zuane di Santi*, dated November 10th, 1511, and kept in the *Biblioteca Magliabecchina* of Florence, we read the following words: "It seems that King Narsinga was very near becoming a Christian"². Frey Luiz remained at Vijayanagara, and was finally murdered there in 1511 by a Turk, it seems, by order of the Sultan of Bijapur³. Albuquerque gives this piece of news to his Sovereign in a letter of April 1st, 1512, as follows: "At Bisnagar (Vijayanagara) one Rume (Turk) murdered Frey Luiz; there is nothing extraordinary in this event"⁴.