Alonso de Ercilla y Zuniga. La Araucana. Madrid: Casa de Pedro Madrigal, 1589.
Ercilla grew up in the court of the prince, later king Philip II, and received an excellent renaissance education. He traveled to Chile in 1555 where he fought the untamed Araucanian Indians. His poem, La Araucana, published in three installments (1569, 1578, 1589) is partly an account of Ercilla's own experiences on the battlefield against the Indians, but also narrates other events of European history and the chivalric tradition in the manner of Ariosto. This is the first epic poem written in the New World and became a model for succeeding generations. Also, for the first time in the epic tradition the main characters are Araucanian Indians. Interestingly these Indians are portrayed as being guided by the concept of honor.
La Araucana originally had 35 cantos. After the author's death an apocryphal section was added between cantos 34 and 35 consisting of an extension of four folios onto canto 34 plus two full cantos listed as cantos 35 and 36. From then on all editions have been printed with 37 cantos. The opening shows the start of the added material on the right hand page. Note the renumbering of the pages.
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