Francisco de Enzinas (1 November 1518? – 30 December 1552), also known by the
humanist name Francis Dryander (from the Greek ''drus'', which can be translated ''encina'' in Spanish), was a classical scholar, translator, author, Protestant reformer and apologist of Spanish origin.
Family and education
Francisco de Enzinas was born in
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...
, Spain, probably on 1 November 1518. (Herminjard, ', v9 (1897), p462, n3.) He was one of ten children of the successful wool merchant Juan de Enzinas. The ''mater'' of his correspondence was his stepmother, Beatriz de Santa Cruz, whose family included the wealthy
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
merchant Jerónimo de Salamanca Santa Cruz and the churchman Alonso de Santa Cruz, treasurer of
Burgos Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos ( es, Santa Iglesia Basílica Catedral Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos) is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the historical center of the Spanish city of Burgos. Its official ...
.
Enzinas was sent to the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
around 1536 for commercial training, but on 4 June 1539 he enrolled at the Collegium Trilingue of
Louvain. There he fell under the spell of
humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
scholarship as popularized by
Desiderius Erasmus. Around that time he developed an acquaintance with the Polish Reformer
Jan Łaski
Jan Łaski or Johannes à Lasco (1499 – 8 January 1560) was a Polish Calvinist reformer. Owing to his influential work in England (1548–1553) during the English Reformation, he is known to the English-speaking world by the Anglicised form Jo ...
. (''Epistolario'', letter 1.) He also made a connection with the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, as shown by a letter he wrote to a certain Edmund Crispin of
Oriel College
Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...
, later published by the martyrologist
John Foxe
John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587), an English historian and martyrologist, was the author of '' Actes and Monuments'' (otherwise ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs''), telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the s ...
in the first edition of his ''Acts and Monuments''. (Pratt ed. (1870), v6, p139, n1.) The same work, more popularly known as ''
Foxe's Book of Martyrs
The ''Actes and Monuments'' (full title: ''Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, Touching Matters of the Church''), popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, is a work of Protestant history and martyrology by Protestant Engli ...
'', also contains eyewitness accounts originally penned by Enzinas.
A brother,
Diego de Enzinas, studied with him at the Collegium Trilingue and collaborated on a Spanish edition of the 1538 Catechism of
John Calvin
John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
and the ''Freedom of the Christian Man'' by
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
, printed at
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, in 1542. Diego was burned during the
Roman Inquisition
The Roman Inquisition, formally the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, was a system of partisan tribunals developed by the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church, during the second half of the 16th century, respons ...
in 1547.
New Testament translation
In the summer of 1541, Enzinas went to Paris where he was present at the deathbed of his relative,
Pedro de Lerma, dean of the faculty of theology at the
Sorbonne. On 27 October 1541, he enrolled at the
University of Wittenberg
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university ...
. His desire to study there with the famed hellenist
Philip Melanchthon was an extension of his admiration for
Erasmus.
In Melanchthon's house, Enzinas finished a
translation of the New Testament into Spanish.
[Gilly, Carlos (1985). p.328] He took it to
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, to be printed by
Steven Mierdman in 1543. The Spanish New Testament was dedicated to Emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Inf ...
who also received the first printed volume during a personal interview with Enzinas in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
Emperor Charles V passed the book on to his confessor
Pedro de Soto, who then ordered Enzinas arrest.
An attempt to confiscate the printed copies of the New Testament was only partly successful.
Enzinas escaped from the Vrunte prison in Brussels in February 1545. He made his way back to
Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north ...
and wrote an account of his adventures, titled ''De statu Belgico et religione Hispanica''. It is better known as his ''Mémoires''. The same year in
Basel
Basel ( , ), also known as Basle ( ),french: Bâle ; it, Basilea ; rm, label= Sutsilvan, Basileia; other rm, Basilea . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zürich a ...
, he edited and published an account of the murder of his friend and fellow Protestant
Juan Díaz, the ''Historia vera'', which became a best seller in the overheated religious atmosphere of the day.
Enzinas's New Testament had a marked influence on subsequent translations, of which the most important was the
Reina-Valera
The Reina–Valera is a Spanish translation of the Bible originally published in 1602 untilAnon. ''¡Refrescante y más brillante que nunca!'' Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas (1995) p.9 United Bible Societies in 1909 revised the earlier translation pr ...
version, still the standard Bible of the Protestant Spanish-speaking world.
Marriage, England
In March 1548, Enzinas married fellow religious exile
Margaret Elter (d. 1553), a native of
Guelders
The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.
Geography
The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') ...
. Soon after, the couple moved to England at the urging of
Martin Bucer
Martin Bucer ( early German: ''Martin Butzer''; 11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a me ...
, the reformer of
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
, who also had set his sights on the relative safety of
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first En ...
's realm.
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry' ...
took the couple into his palace at
Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
and soon afterward appointed Enzinas to teach Greek at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...
. His status at the university is uncertain; there is no evidence that he held a professorship, and more likely was paid by Cranmer to cover an extended absence of
Regius Professor of Greek John Cheke
Sir John Cheke (or Cheek) (16 June 1514 – 13 September 1557) was an English classical scholar and statesman. One of the foremost teachers of his age, and the first Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, he played a great ...
.
Enzinas's move to the university was also influenced by the wish of
Catherine Willoughby
Katherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, '' suo jure'' 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby ( Willoughby; 22 March 1519 – 19 September 1580), was an English noblewoman living at the courts of King Henry VIII, King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth I ...
, Duchess of Suffolk, that he should tutor one of her sons, probably
Charles. (''Epistolario'', letter 45i.) The Duchess combined Protestant convictions with a Spanish bloodline traced through her mother,
Maria de Salinas, lady in waiting to
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previousl ...
. (In this connection, it is worth noting that Enzinas's translation of
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for h ...
's ''Lives'' was published under the pseudonym, 'Juan Castro de Salinas'.)
Last years on the Continent
Enzinas left his wife and newborn daughter in England at the end of 1549 to print Spanish translations of
Lucian
Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed superstiti ...
,
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
, and
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for h ...
. The reasons are not difficult to understand: his primary interest was publishing Spanish literature, and he knew and trusted the Continental printers more than any in England. In June 1550 his family joined him in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
. There he built what was effectively a small Spanish publishing house, which for the next two and a half years produced editions of classical works and Old Testament books in Spanish. A second daughter was born in 1551.
Enzinas came close to publishing his major life project, a complete Bible translation, but died before seeing it through the press. Carlos Gilly has demonstrated, from the Old Testament portions issued at Strasbourg, that Enzinas translated from the Latin version of
Sébastien Castellio rather than the original Hebrew
It is possible that the manuscripts passed into the hands of
Casiodoro de Reina, who published his own Bible in 1569. Enzinas commissioned a remarkable set of engravings and capitals for his project, and some have recently been discovered in other editions of the period.
Enzinas died on 30 December 1552, a victim of plague at
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
;
Margaret Elter died about 1 February 1553. Their two daughters, Margarita and Beatriz, became wards of the city and were the objects of an extended custody battle with Beatriz de Santa Cruz. As late as 1566 she was still claiming guardianship over the girls, though they were by then living in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultur ...
.
Posthumous editions
Enzinas's ''Mémoires'' were published posthumously in French translation (Ste. Marie aux Mines, 1558), probably through the efforts of
Margaret Elter's relatives in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...
. They were translated into German only a hundred years ago, and have been rendered, in the past half century, into modern French, Spanish, and Dutch.
Enzinas's collected letters appeared in 1995, and include correspondence with
Philip Melanchthon,
Heinrich Bullinger
Heinrich Bullinger (18 July 1504 – 17 September 1575) was a Swiss Reformer and theologian, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Church of Zürich and a pastor at the Grossmünster. One of the most important leaders of the Swiss Re ...
,
Martin Bucer
Martin Bucer ( early German: ''Martin Butzer''; 11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a me ...
,
John Calvin
John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
, and other religious figures, students, rulers, and printers of the period.
References
* Boehmer, Eduard, ''Bibliotheca Wiffeniana: Spanish Reformers of Two Centuries'', vol. 1 (Strasbourg 1874).
* Enzinas, Francisco de, ''Epistolario'', Ignacio J. García Pinilla (ed.) (Geneva 1995). Collected letters in original Latin with Spanish translation. "Dryander" is used throughout
* Carlos Gilly: ''Spanien und der Basler Buchdruck bis 1600: Ein Querschnitt durch die spanische Geistesgeschichte aus der Sicht einer europäischen Buchdruckerstadt.'' Helbing und Liechtenhahn, Basel 1985, , p. 326–353
PDF; 64,1 MiB.
* Nelson, Jonathan L., 'Francisco de Enzinas', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford 2004)
External links
*Extensive article in the German Wikipedia, with graphics:
:de:Francisco de Enzinas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enzinas
1510s births
1552 deaths
People from Burgos
Spanish Protestants
16th-century Spanish writers
16th-century male writers
Translators of the Bible into Spanish
16th-century Spanish people
16th-century deaths from plague (disease)
Regius Professors of Greek (Cambridge)