A bewildering problem facing all who have written on Francisco Vázquez de Coronado has been to determine the number and the names of the friars who accompanied his great expedition of 1540-1542. Who they all were does not appear in any of the known contemporary records, in the residencia testimony, in the chronicles which were subsequently written, or even in the numerous recent scholarly studies. But from a solid understanding of Franciscan organization, an intensive study of contemporary personnel, a careful analysis of the basic literature on the subject, and on little textual criticism, Angélico Chávez has unraveled the tangled threads of this confusing problem.
In addition to the celebrated Fray Marcos de Niza, who went along only as a guide and only as far as the Zuñi villages, there were five friars in all, three ordained priests and two lay brothers. These were the well-known Father Juan de Padilla, who was martyred near Quivira; Father Juan de la Cruz (Jean de la Croix), a French priest; Father Antonio de Castilblanco, a personal friend and adviser of Coronado; Brother Luis de Úbeda, who was martyred near the Pecos pueblo; and Brother Daniel (no surname), an Italian.
Some may question the need for a book, rather than an article, on this small subject, especially since it deals more with the identification of the friars than with their deeds. But it is a fascinating study in historical detective work; it does set the record straight; it contains valuable historiographical data; and this reviewer found it both stimulating and fulfilling.