Juan Everardo Nithard () (Falkenstein (

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

), 8 December 1607 – Rome, 1 February 1681) was an Austrian priest of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

, confessor of

Mariana of Austria Mariana or Maria Anna of Austria (24 December 1634 – 16 May 1696), was Queen of Spain from 1649 until the death of her husband Philip IV of Spain in 1665. Appointed regent for their infant son Charles II, she remained an influential figure un ...

(Queen and Regent of Spain),

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

, and ''valido'' (royal favorite) of Spain.

Biography

Born in a Catholic family in

Tirol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

, at the age of 21 he entered the

and studied at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...

. Emperor Ferdinand III made him

preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

of his children

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

and Mariana. When Archduchess Mariana married her maternal uncle King

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

in 1649, Nithard accompanied her as her confessor to the Spanish Court. When the King died, Queen Mariana became regent for her four-year-old son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

. She made Nithard

Grand Inquisitor Grand Inquisitor (, literally ''Inquisitor General'' or ''General Inquisitor'') was the highest-ranked official of the Inquisition. The title usually refers to the inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, in charge of appeals and cases of aristoc ...

in 1666, which gave him access to the Regency Board, from where he became the most important person of the Spanish Court. From then on he was the de facto prime minister or ''valido'' of Spain. He allied himself with the influential royal favorite Mariana Engracia Álvarez de Toledo Portugal y Alfonso-Pimentel. When Nithard signed the disadvantageous

Treaty of Lisbon (1668) The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain that was concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668 with the mediation of England in which Spain recognised the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Bra ...

with Portugal and

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668) __NOTOC__ The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle or Aachen ended the War of Devolution between France and Spain. It was signed on 2 May 1668 in Aachen (). Spain acceded on 7 May 1669. Terms of the treaty The treaty was mediated and guaranteed by the ...

with France, the members of the Councils and in particular

John Joseph of Austria John Joseph of Austria or John of Austria (the Younger) (; 7 April 1629 – 17 September 1679) was a Spanish general and political figure. He was the only illegitimate son of Philip IV of Spain to be acknowledged by the King and trained for m ...

started plotting to overthrow him. In 1669 he was dismissed by a military ''

pronunciamiento A is a form of military rebellion or coup d'état particularly associated with Spain, Portugal and Ibero-America, especially in the 19th century. Typology The is one category of praetorianism: the practice of military figures acting as pol ...

'' led by John. After his dismissal, Nithard was named ambassador in Rome, Bishop of Agrigento, and later Archbishop (Titular bishop) of

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

. In 1672

Pope Clement X Pope Clement X (; ; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death on 22 July 1676. Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, born in Rome in ...

made him a cardinal. He wrote his ''Memorias'', died in 1681, and was buried in the

Church of the Gesu Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

in Rome.

References

External links

* *https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-08339-1.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Nithard, Juan Everardo Spanish politicians 1607 births 1681 deaths 17th-century Austrian Jesuits Grand Inquisitors of Spain Bishops of Edessa Jesuit cardinals Court of Charles II of Spain 17th-century regents