Alonso III Fonseca ( – 4 February 1534) was a Galician

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was

Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela The Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Spain. It is the most senior of the five districts into which the church divides the region of Galicia.Archbishop of Toledo The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.

from 1523. He was a major supporter of the

University of Santiago de Compostela The University of Santiago de Compostela - USC (, ) is a public university located in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. A second campus is located in Lugo, Galicia. It is one of the world's oldest universities in continuous o ...

Biography

Early life

Fonseca was the son of the archbishop Alonso II Fonseca and Alonso II's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

María de Ulloa. His older brother was Diego II de Acevedo, first

Count of Andrade Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. They had different surnames because a younger son (i.e. Alonso III Fonseca) would take the surname of his father (“Fonseca”) and the older son would take the name of his grandmother (the mother of his father the archbishop), which was “Acevedo.”

Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela

As archbishop, he was forced to confront Condado de Altamira,

Count of Altamira Count of Altamira () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1455 by Henry IV to Lope Sánchez de Ulloa, Lord of the Fortress of Altamira. The title makes reference to the Fortress of ...

, because the count was meddling in the affairs of the '' Tierras de Santiago'', and also put a stop to the injustices committed by the governors there, taking advantage of his close relations with the

Spanish monarchy The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish monarchy is constitu ...

as well as the

papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

. He was also involved in

lawsuits A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. T ...

against the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monks of San Martín Pinario, during a resurgence of this religious order in Galicia. He presided over his father's funeral in 1512, at which

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman. He led military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars, after which he served as Viceroy of Naples. For his e ...

, known as "The Great Captain", attended, and Fernández de Córdoba symbolically offered his weapons to

Saint James the Great James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...

(''Santiago'') at the funeral.

Political career

He assumed the leadership of the Galician nobility, who wished to maintain their privileges, and was named by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * 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 Others * Charles V, Duke ...

as a member of the Royal Council. The Galician nobility was not included in the ''Cortes'' (Legislature) of Santiago and the ''Cortes'' of

A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...

, and Fonseca led the fight for their inclusion in these legislative bodies. Fonseca presided over an assembly at Melide, whose aims for the

Kingdom of Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. In the early 10th century, the Kingdom of Galicia was formed following the div ...

included demands for legislative representation and a new

board of trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

(''casa de contratación'') based at A Coruña. He also served as a mediator in the

War of the Germanías War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organize ...

Archbishop of Toledo

In 1523, he was named

Archbishop of Toledo The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.

, and in this position, served as a patron to scholars, artists, and humanists. He baptized

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

in May 1527. His main place of residence was at

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish municipality of the Community of Madrid. Housing is primarily located on the right (north) bank of the Henares River, Henares. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municip ...

, where he died on 4 February 1534. He was buried at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

. He had a son, the result of an affair with the noblewoman Juana de Pimentel. Fonseca's son later served the Spanish king and inherited property in Galicia.

Legacy

The definitive consolidation of the University of Santiago de Compostela comes with Fonseca. Fonseca was an extremely erudite man, a

Renaissance man A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

and patron of numerous artists of the time, who was in touch with important thinkers such as

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. Around 1507 the old Pilgrim's Hospital in Santiago de Compostela was purchased with the aim of transforming it into a university college. The Santiago Alfeo College, today known as the Fonseca College, was also built, which became the centre of the university life till the second half of the 18th century and still remains emblematic in today's university.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alonso 03 Fonseca Spanish politicians 1475 births 1534 deaths Archbishops of Santiago de Compostela Archbishops of Toledo University of Salamanca alumni