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Arnaud-Michel d'Abbadie d'Arrast, listed in the Chambers Biographical Dictionary as Michel Arnaud d'Abbadie (born 24 July 1815 in Dublin; died 8 November 1893 in Ciboure) was an Irish-born French and Basque explorer, best known for his travels in Ethiopia with his elder brother Antoine d'Abbadie d'Arrast. Arnaud was a geographer, ethnologist, linguist, familiar with the Abyssinian polemarch and an active witness to their battles and the life of their courts. The general account of the two brothers' travels was published by Arnaud in 1868 under the title Douze ans de séjour dans la Haute-Ethiopie. Early life Arnaud's father, Michel Arnauld d'Abbadie (1772–1832), descended from an old family of lay abbots of Arrast, a commune in the canton of Mauléon. In 1791, to escape the consequences of the Revolution, Michel Arnauld emigrated first to Spain, then to England and Ireland, where he became a shipowner and imported Spanish wines. He married Eliza Thompson of Park (1779–1865), the daughter of a doctor, on 18 July 1807 in Thurles, County Tipperary. Arnaud d'Abbadie, born in Dublin on 24 July 1815, was the fourth child and second son of six: Elisa (1808–1875), who married Alexandre Glais-Bizoin; Antoine (1810–1896); Celina (1811–1894), Arnaud Michel (1815–1893); Julia (1820–1900), who married Bernard Cluzeau de Cléran; Charles Jean (1821–1901), who married Marie-Augustine-Émilie-Henriette Coulomb Arnaud's father returned to France in 1820 and obtained from Louis XVIII the addition of d'Arrast to his patronymic d'Abbadie. 1815–1836 Like Antoine, Arnaud was educated by a governess until the age of 12, when he entered the Lycée Henri IV in Paris. Arnaud had a great ability to learn languages and was fluent in English, Latin and Greek. At seventeen, his friends introduced him to Freemasonry as a benevolent, philanthropic society. Arnaud was interested, but on the day of his initiation he was asked to take an oath not to reveal the secrets of the sect. It was a revelation for him: "If these men hide, it is because they are guilty. Only those who are ashamed of their deeds flee from the light." So he refused to take the oath. At twenty, Arnaud wanted to join the military because he was fascinated by the colonization of Algeria. His mother, however, was adamantly opposed to a military career and sent him to Audaux in the Basque Country, to the land of his ancestors. Arnaud travelled around the Basque country and learnt the Basque language. He lived with his brother Antoine at the castle of Audaux. Arnaud knew of his elder brother's plan to explore Abyssinia and decided to accompany him and discover the sources of the Nile. . Exploration of Abyssinia (1837–1849) Antoine and Arnaud spent twelve years exploring Abyssinia, which was largely unknown to the Europeans of the nineteenth century, who were increasingly exploring Africa, but initially confined themselves to the great rivers. The geography, geodesy, geology and ethnography of vast areas of Africa remained completely unknown and the Harar-Mogadishu-Cape Guardafui triangle on the Horn of Africa remained blank on the maps of 1840. The territory was vast. The provinces of Abyssinia covered more than 300,000 km2. The conditions were extremely difficult. Wars were constant and loyal allies could become enemies from one day to the next. Historians call this period the Era of Princes or the Zemene Mesafint. Linguistic barriers were many. The Ethiopian alphabet has 267 characters used by about thirty languages and dialects. Endemic diseases were numerous: typhus, leprosy and ophthalmia. The suspicions of the colonial powers also hindered research: The British, Italians, Germans and Turks all suspected the d'Abbadie brothers of spying. Arnaud was an ethnologist whose main objective was to study the different peoples he met during his travels. Antoine, on the other hand, aimed to locate the sources of the Nile, map the country, and take geodetic and astronomical measurements. He invented new techniques, and the maps he produced were surpassed only by the advent of aerial and satellite photography. Arnaud and Antoine were both devout Catholics from a family of lay abbots. Antoine himself said that without the events of 1793, he would have signed as "Antoine d’Abbadie, abbé lai d’Arrast en Soule." They went to the Ethiopian mountains to assist the declining Christian religion, which was threatened by the conquering Islam. Arnaud aimed to rebuild the former Christian Empire of Ethiopia and link the state to the "protection" of France, thereby thwarting British colonization in East Africa. In order to travel to this challenging country, it was essential for them to have a thorough understanding of its customs and traditions. They made inquiries to the best of their ability before departing from France, and their observations on the country's ethnology, language, and politics were of utmost importance. Stay in Abyssinia The two brothers had contrasting personalities. Antoine, the scientist, appeared to be the more conciliatory of the two, but he achieved his goals through perseverance and patience. He dressed as an Ethiopian scholar, known as a 'memhir', and walked barefoot, as only lepers and Jews wore sandals. He worked diligently to assimilate and was soon referred to as "the man of the book". Arnaud was flamboyant and stood out, forging ties with princes and warlords, participating in battles, and coming close to death many times. Above all, he was the friend and confidant of Dejazmach Goshu, prince of Gojjam, who considered him his son. Arnaud was known as "ras Michael". In 1987 the historian, jurist, linguist and high Ethiopian official Berhanou Abebe published verses, distiches from the Era of Princes which refer to Arnaud ("ras Michael"): "I have not even provisions to offer them, / Let the earth devour me in the place of the men of ras Michael. / Is it an oversight of the embosser or the lack of bronze / That the scabbard of Michael's saber has no ornamentation?. For tactical reasons, Arnaud and Antoine travelled separately and spent little time together, but kept in touch. They united for the Ennarea expedition to the kingdom of Kaffa in search of the source of the White Nile. In general, Arnaud prepared the ground for Antoine by making the first visits and approaches to the local lords. Antoine then quietly gathered valuable information on the geography, geology, archaeology, and natural history of Ethiopia. Sources of the Nile Since ancient times it had been known that the Nile results from the confluence of two rivers near Khartoum in Sudan, the Blue Nile and the White Nile. The source of these two rivers remained a mystery until the eighteenth century. The goal of the brothers was to find the source of the White Nile, which some geographers (especially Joseph-Pons d'Arnaud) believed to be in the kingdom of Kaffa. Blue Nile The source of the Blue Nile had been found by the Portuguese monk Pedro Páez in 1618 .... Discover the Michel Arnaud popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Michel Arnaud books.