Little information is available about his early life and familial background. Historians speculate that he could be a descendant of Lord of Alba de Yeltes, who fled to Portugal to escape persecution by Isabella I of Castile due to his support of Joanna la Beltraneja's claim to the throne of Castile.[2]
Career
He was chaplain to the Bishop of Viseu, João Manuel de Ataíde, who made him a canon of his cathedral on 8 October 1622, following the death of canon Cristóvão de Mesquita. From some of his miniatures signed "Abbas Sereiiensis", he seems to have been previously abbot of Cerejo [pt], in Pinhel, near Guarda (though some older authors erroneously interpret this as Serém,[1] a place in Macinhata do Vouga, Águeda).
^ abCastro, Abade de (1867). "A Exposição Retrospectiva Portugueza em Paris" [The Portuguese Retrospective Exhibition in Paris]. Archivo Pittoresco (in Portuguese). X (9): 72. Retrieved 13 November 2018.