Alessandro Geraldini (''also Gerardini or Gueraldini'') (1455 – March 8, 1524) was a

Renaissance humanist Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first Italian Renaissance, in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista ...

scholar at the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He is known for his support of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

. He served as tutor to the royal children and later accompanied the

Infanta ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to ...

Catharine of Aragon to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, as her

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Bishop of Vulturara e Montecorvino (1496-1516); ''(in Latin)'' and in 1519, at 64 years of age, he traveled to the Spanish settlements in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

, and became

Bishop of Santo Domingo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santo Domingo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Sancti Dominici; es, Arquidiócesis Metropolitana de Santo Domingo) is a Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese in the Dominican Republic. The see was erecte ...

(1516-1524). ''(in Latin)''

Biography

Geraldini was born in Amelia, in the region of

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

in Italy. As a young man, he went to Spain, where he served against the Portuguese in 1475/1476. He entered the Church and was entrusted with the education of the princesses of the royal family. While at court, he supported

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, who had come to present to the sovereigns of Castile and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to so ...

his plan for discovering a new road to

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The te ...

. In 1496, he was appointed by the King of Spain and confirmed by

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

as Bishop of Vulturara e Montecorvino. On November 23, 1516, he was nominated by the King of Spain and confirmed by

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

and embarked at

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...

. Geraldini wrote a great many works on theology, letters, poetry, a biography of Catharine of Aragon, treatises on politics and education, and an important account of his voyage to the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

. Geraldini served as Bishop of Santo Domigo until his death on March 8, 1524. Geraldini attended one of the sessions of the

Fifth Council of the Lateran The Fifth Council of the Lateran, held between 1512 and 1517, was the eighteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and was the last council before the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It was convoked by Pope Julius II ...

in 1516, likely making him the first cleric from the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, th ...

to attend a Roman Catholic Ecumenical Council.Hefele, Hergenroether and Leclercq. Histoire des conciles, vol. VIII/1 (Paris, 1917), pp. 522-523

References

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops)

Biography

References

External links and additional sources

Further reading