Kings of Peru given by Montesinos did not originate with him, but was due to earlier writers long before his time. He, however, collected some interesting traditions, but his absurd contention that Peru was peopled by Armenians under the leadership of Noah's great-grandson Ophir destroys all confidence in his statements.
The work of Montesinos was found by Muñoz in the convent of San José at Seville. Muñoz got possession of the manuscripts, and Ternaux Compans obtained a copy, of which he published a French translation in 1840. The manuscripts were brought to Madrid, and Jimenez de la Espada published the second book, containing the long list of Peruvian Kings, in 1882.
By far the greatest of the clerical authors who wrote on Inca civilisation had the advantage of being a mestizo. Blas Valera was the son of Lius de Valera, a soldier of the conquest, by a Peruvian lady of the court of Atahualpa, and was born at Chachapoyas in about 1540. He was brought up at Caxamarca, and afterwards at Truxillo, until his twentieth year. At Truxillo he learnt Latin, while Quichua was his native tongue. He took orders at the age of twenty-eight, and became a Jesuit. In 1571 he was sent to Cuzco as a catechist, and was there for at least ten years. He then went to Juli and La Paz, and later was at Quito and in the northern parts of Peru. In about 1594 he embarked at Callao for Cadiz. He was in that city when it was taken
