490 THE INSCRIPTIONS AT COPAN. 
This, of course, was not the first introduction of Christianity to the peninsula, 
the expeditions of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba in 1517, Juan de Grijalva in 
1518, and Fernando Cortés in 1519 having all carried priests and having all touched 
at the mainland. Cogolludo states that no religious accompanied the first entry of 
Francisco Montejo in 1527 to 1535, although it would seem certain that at least a 
secular priest must have accompanied that expedition.! 
The first evangelical mission of the friars was under Father Jacobo de Testera 
and four companions, one of whom was Father Lorenzo de Bienvenida, in 1535. 
The next entry of the friars was some 4 or 5 years after the conquest, when a 
group of six headed by Father Luis de Villalpando and again including Father de 
Bienvenida, came in 1545 or 1546.° And finally, Landa himself had arrived in 1549, 
13 years prior to the first arrival of Bishop Toral in 1562. 
The Christian years 1544 and 1546, associated with the entries relating to the 
arrival of Bishop Toral in III, IV, and IX, are clearly confusions with the earlier 
entry of Father Villalpando, and according to no correlation could they have fallen 
in Katun g Ahau as stated. 
. The native authorities thus appear to have regarded the beginnings of Chris- 
tianity as having taken place with the arrival of the first bishop. The two entries 
in I concerning this event are very brief: 
“Tt was during [Katun] 9 Ahau that Christianity was introduced.’ 
“They were baptized by the first bishop to the Maya people, Don Francisco Toral; 
and when he baptized us, our father, the bishop, showed the images of the saints to all the 
villages.”’® (I.) 
The versions from III, IV, and IX are almost identical: 
“{Katun] 9 Ahau; Christianity began; baptism took place; also in this katun came the 
first bishop, Toroba by name; this was the year 1544.7 (III.) 
“{Katun] 9 Ahau; Christianity began; baptism took place; also in this katun came the 
first bishop Toral; the year which was passing was 1544.’° (IV.) 
“{Katun] 9 Ahau; Christianity began; baptism took place; also in this katun arrived 
bishop Toral here; also the hanging ceased in the year 1546.’ (IX.) 
The version in X is somewhat more explicit, the tun being given as usual: 
“{Katun] 9 Ahau; no stone was taken at this time; in this katun first came the bishop 
Brother Francisco Toral; he arrived in the sixth tun of Katun g Aha? 7x 
The date in Christian chronology of Event E is fixed by VI as having occurred 
in the year 1562: 
“The same year of [15]62 came to this province the Ge Bishop, who took possession 
of this Bishopric (although he was the third one to be presented, as has been said elsewhere). 
This was Don Fray Francisco Toral of the Seraphic Order of my father San Francisco.” 
(VI.) 
This event is mentioned only briefly in II: 
“In this time [not specified] there arrived at Campeche Father Francisco Toral, a Fran- 
ciscan friar, native of Ubeda, who had been for 20 years in Mexico, and who came as bishop 
of Yucatan. *o (1) 
1Cogolludo, 1688, p. 102. 
2Cogolludo (ibid. Ps 103) says that Lizana gives the year of raue de Testera’s entry as 1531, but that he 
does not believe this is correct. Molina Solis (1896, p. 524), says that Father de Testera arrived at Champoton 
on March 18, 1535, probably the correct date, since the Spaniards under Gongalo Nieto had withdrawn from Yuca- 
tan temporarily at the beginning of that year (Cogolludo, ibid., p. 94). 
SCogolludo, zbid., p. 242. In I the date of this event is given as 1545 (Brinton, 1882, p. 230), the list of the 
fathers who came being the same as in Cogolludo. 4Cogolludo, ibid., p. 268. 
5Brinton, 1882, p.216. %Ibid., pp. 233,234.  ‘Ibid.,p.104. *Ibid.,p.149. Jbid.,p.162.  °Jbid., p. 172. 
UCogolludo, 1688, p. 322. Landa, 1881, p. 79. 
