Cisneros visits the construction of the Hospital of the Charity. Sanctuary of the Charity of Illescas (Toledo) by Alejandro Ferrant (1844-1917)

Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros¹ (1436 - November 8, 1517) was a Spanish Cardinal and statesman. Starting from humble beginnings he rose to the heights of power becoming a religious reformer, twice regent of Spain, Cardinal, Grand Inquisitor, missionary of the Moors, promoted the Crusades in North Africa, and founded the Complutense University of Madrid. Among his literary works he is best known for funding the Complutensian Polyglot Bible, the first printed polyglot of the entire Bible. Events April - Paris is recaptured by the French End of the Hussite Wars in Bohemia. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... Events January 22 - Battle of Ridanieh. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals, during a consistory. ... The term statesman is a respectful term used to refer to diplomats, politicians, and other notable figures of state. ... A regent is an acting governor. ... A translation of the Latin Inquisitor Generalis, meaning the leading official of an Inquisition. ... Moors is used in this article to describe the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including the present day Spain and Portugal) and the Maghreb, whose culture is often called Moorish. Origins of the Name Juba II king of Mauretania The name derives from the ancient Berber... This article is about the medieval Crusades . ... North Africa is a region generally considered to include: Algeria Egypt Libya Mauritania Morocco Sudan Tunisia Western Sahara The Canary Islands, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Azores and Madeira are sometimes considered to be a part of North Africa, though they do not share a common culture with North Africa. ... The Complutense University of Madrid, in Spanish Universidad Complutense de Madrid, is a prestigious Spanish university, located in Madrid. ... The Complutensian Polyglot Bible is the name given to the first printed polyglot of the entire Bible, planned and financed by Cardinal Cisneros (1436-1517). ... Polyglot can mean: The property of speaking multiple languages A person that can speak many languages A book that contains the same text in more than one language, usually a bible such as the first polyglot bible the Complutensian Polyglot Bible A language that is a combination of other languages... A Bible handwritten in Latin, on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ...

Cardinal Cisneros' life coincided with a dynamic period in Spanish history during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella when Spain underwent many reforms, from which it emerged in the Golden Age of empire (1500-1700), and Cisneros had much to do with it. Modern historian John Elliott said as far as any particular policies that can be attributed to Spain's rise "they were those of Ferdinand and Cardinal Cisneros." ² This is the history of Spain. ... Ferdinand and his wife Isabella of Castile Ferdinand II (Fernando de Aragón in Spanish and Ferran dAragó in Catalan), nicknamed the Catholic (March 10, 1452 – June 23, 1516) was king of Aragon, Castile, Sicily, Naples, Valencia, Sardinia and Navarre and Count of Barcelona. ... Isabella of Castile Isabella of Castile (Spanish: Ysabel, Isabel or Isabela) (April 22, 1451 – November 26, 1504) was Queen of Castile and Leon, with her husband Ferdinand V as co-ruler. ... History of Spain Series Prehistoric Spain Roman Spain Medieval Spain Age of Reconquest Age of Expansion Age of Enlightenment Reaction and Revolution First Spanish Republic The Restoration Second Spanish Republic Spanish Civil War The Dictatorship Modern Spain Topics Economic History Military History Social History During the reign of Emperor Charles...

Rise to power

Gonzales Jimenez de Cisneros was born to a poor family in Torrelaguna in Castile in 1436 and studied at Alcalá de Henares and Salamanca. In 1459 he traveled to Rome to work as a consistorial advocate where he attracted the notice of Pope Sixtus V and returned to Spain in 1465 carrying an "executive" letter from the Pope giving him possession of the first vacant benefice. That turned out to be Uzeda, however Carillo (the Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain) refused to accept the letter, wishing instead to bestow the benefice upon one of his own followers, and when Cisneros insisted he was thrown in prison. For six years Cisneros held out for his claim, free to leave at any time if he would give it up, but at length in 1480 Carillo relented at Cisneros' strength of conviction and gave him a benefice. Cisneros exchanged it almost at once for a chaplaincy at Siguenza, under Cardinal Mendoza the bishop of Siguenza, who shortly appointed him vicar-general of his diocese. A former kingdom of Spain, Castile comprises the two regions of Old Castile in north-western Spain, and New Castile in the centre of the country. ... Alcalá de Henares is a Spanish city. ... Salamanca: Plaza Mayor Salamanca (population 156,006 (2002)) is a city in central Spain, the capital of the province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. ... Rome - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... Sixtus V, né Felice Peretti (December 13, 1521 - August 27, 1590) was pope from 1585 to 1590. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... Originally a benefice was a gift of land for life as a reward (beneficium) for services. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop heading a diocese of particular importance due to either its size, history, or both, called an archdiocese. ... The façade of Toledo cathedral The largest Toledo in the world is Toledo, Ohio. ... Families 13, See classification A primate is any member of the biological order Primates (Latin primus first), the group that contains all lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans. ... Events Great standing on the Ugra river - Muscovy becomes independent from the Golden Horde. ... A chaplain is a priest or a member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organized as a mission or church. ... Pedro González de Mendoza (May 3, 1428 - January 11, 1495), Spanish cardinal and statesman, was the fourth son of Íñigo López de Mendoza, marquess of Santillana, and duke of Infantado. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... In the broadest sense, a vicar is anyone who is acting as a substitute or agent for a superior (compare vicarious). In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant. ... In some Christian churches, the diocese is an administrative territorial unit governed by a bishop, sometimes also referred to as a bishopric or episcopal see, though more often the term episcopal see means the office held by the bishop. ...

At Siguenza Cisneros won praise for his work and he seemed to be on the sure road to success among the secular clergy, when in 1484 at the late age of 48 he abruptly decided to become a Franciscan friar. Giving up all his worldly belongings, and changing his baptismal name, Gonzales, for that of Francisco, he entered the Franciscan friary of San Juan de los Reyes, recently founded by Ferdinand and Isabella at Toledo. Not content with the normal lack of comforts for a friar, he voluntarily slept on the bare ground, wore a hairshirt, doubled his fasts, and generally denied himself with enthusiasm; indeed throughout his whole life, even when at the height of power, his private life was rigorously ascetic. The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ... Ferdinand and his wife Isabella of Castile Ferdinand II (Fernando de Aragón in Spanish and Ferran dAragó in Catalan), nicknamed the Catholic (March 10, 1452 – June 23, 1516) was king of Aragon, Castile, Sicily, Naples, Valencia, Sardinia and Navarre and Count of Barcelona. ... Isabella of Castile Isabella of Castile (Spanish: Ysabel, Isabel or Isabela) (April 22, 1451 – November 26, 1504) was Queen of Castile and Leon, with her husband Ferdinand V as co-ruler. ... The façade of Toledo cathedral The largest Toledo in the world is Toledo, Ohio. ... A hairshirt (see also Cilice)is an uncomfortable shirt worn by some Catholics and, earlier, by Jews as a sign of penance. ... The word ascetic derives from the ancient Greek term askesis (practice, training or exercise). ...

He retired to the isolated friary of Our Lady of Castanar and built a rough hut in the neighboring woods, in which he lived at times as an anchorite, and later became guardian of a friary at Salzeda. Meanwhile Mendoza (now Archbishop of Toledo) had not forgotten him, and in 1492 recommended him to Isabella as her confessor. Jimenez accepted the position on condition that he might still live in his community and follow the religious life, only appearing at Court when sent for. The post was politically important, for Isabella took counsel from her confessor not only private affairs but also matters of state. Cisneros' severe sanctity soon won him considerable influence over Isabella, and in 1494 he was appointed Minister Provincial of the order for Spain. Cardinal Mendoza died in 1495, and Isabella had secretly procured a papal bull nominating Cisneros to Mendoza's Archdiocese of Toledo, the richest and most powerful in Spain. With this office was also given the office of chancellor of Castile. Despite this, Cisneros personally still maintained a simple life; although a message from Rome required him to live in a style befitting his rank, the outward pomp only concealed his private asceticism. A hermit, also known as an anchorite or anchoress, is a person living in voluntary seclusion, often for religious reasons. ... Events January 2 - Boabdil, the last Moorish King of Granada, surrenders his city to the army of Ferdinand and Isabella after a lengthy siege. ... The title confessor is used in the Christian Church in two separate ways. ... Events February 22 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the citys throne. ... Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla. ... In some Christian churches, the diocese is an administrative territorial unit governed by a bishop, sometimes also referred to as a bishopric or episcopal see, though more often the term episcopal see means the office held by the bishop. ... A former kingdom of Spain, Castile comprises the two regions of Old Castile in north-western Spain, and New Castile in the centre of the country. ... Asceticism has appeared in both religious and secular settings. ...

Reform, Revolt and Crusade

From his new position Cisneros set about reforming the Franciscan order in Spain. The ordained friars had to give up the practice of having "wives" (or concubines). They had to reside in the parish where they were supposed to work, attend confession, and preach every Sunday. There was intense opposition. By 1498 the reforms were expanded to included not only Franciscans but other religious orders as well. The resistance was so fierce that four hundred monks and friars fled to Africa with their "wives" and became Muslims. The Minister General of the order himself came from Rome to interfere with the archbishop's strict reforms, but the stern and inflexible Jimenez, backed by the influence of a strong Queen, held firm in his convictions. This article is about the sacrament. ... A parish is a subdivision of a diocese or bishopric within the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, and of some other churches. ... In criminal proceedings, a confession is a document in which a suspect admits having committed a crime. ...

El Cardinal Cisneros

In 1499 Cisneros accompanied the court of the Spanish Inquisition to Granada, and there joined Archbishop Talavera in his efforts to convert the Islamic Moors to Christianity. Talavera had used the more gentle measure of slow conversion through education, but Cisneros proceeded with the more direct and quick means of forced mass conversion and ordered the burning of all Arabic manuscripts in Granada except those dealing with medicine. The indignation of the unconverted Mudejar swelled into open revolt known as the First Rebellion of the Alpujarras. The revolt was suppressed and they were given a choice of baptism or exile. The majority accepted baptism and by 1500 Cisneros reported that "There is now no one in the city who is not a Christian, and all the mosques are churches". However, he had created an insolvable problem that would not end until 1609 when the Moriscos would be expelled from Spain. Muslims would remember him as a tyrant. Events July 22 - Battle of Dornach - The Swiss decisively defeat the Imperial army of Emperor Maximilian I. July 28 - First Battle of Lepanto - The Turkish navy wins a decisive victory over the Venetians. ... Pedro Berruguete. ... The City of Granada Alhambra, Courtyard of the Lions Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in Spain. ... Moors is used in this article to describe the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula including the present day Spain and Portugal) and the Maghreb, whose culture is often called Moorish. Origins of the Name Juba II king of Mauretania The name derives from the ancient Berber... Mudejar Medieval Spanish corruption of the Arabic word Mudajjan مدجن, meaning domesticated. The term means those who accepted submission to non Muslim authorities in lands taken over by Christians in the Mediterranean. ... Baptism is a water purification ritual practiced in certain religions such as Christianity, Mandaeanism, Sikhism, and some historic sects of Judaism. ... Morisco (Spanish Moor-like) or mourisco (Portuguese) is a term referring to a kind of New Christian in Spain and Portugal. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

On November 26, 1504 Isabella died. Ferdinand made a claim for the throne against his son-in-law Philip I of Castile, and Cisneros helped mediate the dispute in the Agreement of Salamanca which left Philip as king of Castile. When Philip died in 1506, Ferdinand was in Naples and Cisneros set up a regent government in his absence, and stopped a plot by a group of high nobles to take over the throne. In return for his loyalty, Philip in 1507 made Cisneros Grand Inquisitor for Castile and Leon and gave him a Cardinal's hat. November 26 is the 330th day (331st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 1 - French troops surrender Gaeta to the Spanish under Cordoba. ... Philip and his wife Joanna of Castile Philip I (July 22, 1478 – September 25, 1506), sometimes called Philip the Handsome (Felipe el Hermoso - Filips de Schone) was king of Castile, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and husband of Joanna the Mad, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, was... Location within Italy Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning New City) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region. ... A regent is an acting governor. ... A translation of the Latin Inquisitor Generalis, meaning the leading official of an Inquisition. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals, during a consistory. ...

The next great event in the cardinal's life was the Crusade against the Moorish city of Oran in North Africa, in which his religious zeal was supported by Ferdinand's prospect for political and material gain. A preliminary expedition, equipped at the expense of Cisneros, captured the port of Mers-el-Kebir in 1505; and in 1509 a strong force accompanied by the cardinal in person set sail for Africa, and in one day the wealthy city was taken by storm. Cisneros returned to Spain and attempted to recover from Ferdinand the expenses of the expedition, but Ferdinand was content with taking Oran and because of his greater interest in Italy he would not support Cisneros' plans for a larger North African crusade conquest. This article is about the medieval Crusades . ... This article is about the city in Algeria. ... Mers-el-Kebir is a town in northwestern Algeria, located by the Mediterranean Sea near Oran, in the Oran Province. ...

Final years

On January 28, 1516 Ferdinand died, leaving Cisneros as regent of Castile for Charles (afterwards Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor), then a youth of sixteen in the Netherlands. Though Cisneros at once took firm hold of the reins of government, and ruled in a determined and even autocratic manner, the turbulent Castilian nobility and the jealous intriguing Flemish councilors for Charles combined to render Cisneros position peculiarly difficult. In violation of the laws, Cisneros acceded to Charles's desire to be proclaimed king; he secured the person of Charles's younger brother Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor; he fixed the seat of the courts at Madrid; and he established a standing army by drilling the citizens of the towns. January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events March - With the death of Ferdinand II of Aragon, his grandson Charles of Ghent becomes King of Spain as Carlos I. July - Selim I of the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Mameluks and invades Syria. ... Charles V Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V (Spanish: Carlos V) (24 February 1500–21 September 1558) was effectively (the first) King of Spain from 1516 to 1556 (in principle, he was from 1516 king of Aragon and from 1516 guardian of his insane mother, queen of... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Ferdinand I Habsburg Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (March 10, 1503 – July 27, 1564) was one of the Habsburg emperors that at various periods during his life ruled over Austria, Germany, Bohemia and Hungary. ...

In September 1517 Charles landed in the province of Asturias, and Cisneros hastened to meet him. On the way, however, he fell ill (not without a suspicion of poison³). While thus feeble, he received a letter from Charles coldly thanking him for his services, and giving him leave to retire to his diocese. A few hours after this virtual dismissal (which some say the cardinal didn't have time to learn about) Cardinal Cisneros died at Roa, on the 8th of November 1517. Capital Oviedo Area  – Total  – % of Spain Ranked 10th  10 604 km²  2,1% Population  – Total (2003)  – % of Spain  – Density Ranked 12th  1 056 789  2,5%  99,65/km² Demonym  – English  – Spanish  Asturian  asturiano/a, astur Statute of Autonomy January 11, 1982 ISO 3166-2 O Parliamentary representation  – Congress seats...

Influences

Cisneros was a bold and determined statesman. Stern and inflexible, with a confidence that became at times overbearing, he carried through what he had decided to be right, with as little regard for the convenience of others as for his own. In the midst of a corrupt clergy his morals were irreproachable. He was giveing to all, and founded and maintained very many benevolent institutions in his diocese. His whole time was devoted either to the state or to religion; his only recreation was in theological or scholastic discussion.

In 1500 was founded, and in 1508 was opened, the university at Alcalá de Henares (now known as Complutense University of Madrid), which, fostered by Cardinal Cisneros, at whose sole expense it was raised, attained a great reputation. At one time 7000 students met within its walls. In 1836 the university was moved to Madrid, and the costly buildings were left vacant. Cisneros published religious treatises by himself and others. He revived also the Mozarabic liturgy, and endowed a chapel at Toledo, in which it was to be used. Events Europes population was ~60 million. ... Events February - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor attacks Venice June 6 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three year truce and cede several territories to Venice December 10 - League of Cambrai formed as an alliance against Venice between... Alcalá de Henares is a Spanish city. ... The Complutense University of Madrid, in Spanish Universidad Complutense de Madrid, is a prestigious Spanish university, located in Madrid. ... Mozarabic was a continuum of closely related Iberian Romance dialects spoken in Muslim dominated areas of the Iberian Peninsula during the early stages of Romance languages development in Iberia. ...

He is best known for his sponsorship of the Complutensian Polyglott, the first printed polyglot translation of the Bible in which six different versions were put in parallel columns with the original Aramaic, Greek, Latin and Hebrew so that readers for the first time could check all the translations simultaneously. The text occupies five volumes, and a sixth contains a Hebrew lexicon, etc. The work commenced in 1502. The New Testament was finished in January 1514, and the whole in April 1517. It was dedicated to Leo X, Cardinal Cisnero died months after it was completed but did not live to see it published. Polyglot can mean: The property of speaking multiple languages A person that can speak many languages A book that contains the same text in more than one language, usually a bible such as the first polyglot bible the Complutensian Polyglot Bible A language that is a combination of other languages... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ... Pope Leo X - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ...

Notes

Note 1: Cardinal Cisneros is known by many name variations:

1. His birth name was Gonzales, which he droped in favour of Francisco when he coverted to a Franciscan friar, and kept the rest of his life.
2. Jiménez is the modern Spanish spelling variation of the original Ximénes. Often the "é" is dropped in favour of "e" for English readers, see for example the title of Erika Rummel's 1999 book.
3. The name "Cardinal Cisneros" is often used.

• Note 2: Rummel (1999), pg.1
• Note 3: According to 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.

References

• Merton, Reginald (1934), Cardinal Ximenes and the Making of Spain
• Rummel, Erika (1999), Jimenez De Cisneros/on the Threshold of Spain's Golden Age, ISBN 086698254X
• Starkie, Walter (1940), Grand Inquisitor
• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
• "Francisco Ximénez de Cisneros" from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ... The Catholic Encyclopedia is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by the Roman Catholic Church, designed to give authoritative information on the entire cycle of Catholic interests, action and doctrine. Starting in 1993, the encyclopedia (now in the public domain) was placed on the Internet through a world-wide...

External links

• Chronology for Ximenez