Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st Marquess of Santillana (19 August 139825 March 1458) was a Castilian politician and poet who held an important position in society and literature during the reign of

John II of Castile John II of Castile ( es, link=no, Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405. Regency John was the ...

Biography

He was born at

Carrión de los Condes Carrión de los Condes () is a municipality in the province of Palencia, part of the Autonomous Community of Castile and León, Spain. It is 40 kilometers from Palencia, on the French Way of the Way of Saint James. History Carrión de los Condes ...

Old Castile Old Castile ( es, Castilla la Vieja ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions along the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: San ...

to a noble family which figured prominently in the arts. His grandfather, Pedro González de Mendoza I, and his father, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza

Admiral of Castile Admiral of Castile was the representative of the King of Castile at the head of the Navy. It was a dignity created in 1247 that lasted until 1705. Admiral of Castile The title of Admiral of Castile was created by King Ferdinand III the Saint in ...

, were both poets with close ties to the great literary figures of the time: Chancellor Lopez de Ayala,

Fernán Pérez de Guzmán Fernan (or Fernando) Perez de Guzman (1376–1458) was a Spanish historian and poet. He belonged to a family distinguished both for its patrician standing and its literary connections, for his uncle was Pero López de Ayala, Grand Chancellor of Cas ...

and

Gómez Manrique Gómez Manrique y de Castilla (c. 1412 – c. 1490) was a Spanish poet, soldier, politician and dramatist. Biography Gómez Manrique was born in Amusco. The fifth son of Pedro Manrique de Lara y Mendoza, (1382–1440), adelantado mayor of L ...

. His mother, Doña

Leonor Lasso de la Vega Leonor Lasso de la Vega (b. before 1367 - d. 1432) was a Spanish noble woman from Cantabria and head of the prestigious House of Lasso de la Vega from 1367 - 1432. Family origins Leonor was the paternal great-granddaughter of Garci Lasso de ...

, was a wealthy heiress belonging to the

House of Lasso de la Vega The House de la Vega, Laso de la Vega or Lasso de la Vega (sometimes even Garci Lasso de la Vega or Garcilaso de la Vega depending on the family member referenced) is a Spanish noble line from the Kingdom of Castile. The family origins lie in the ...

. Lopez de Mendoza's father died when he was five years old, which brought his family into financial difficulties. Part of his childhood was spent living in his grandmother's household, and in the home of his uncle, the future

Archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

. As a youth, he spent time in the court king

Alfonso V of Aragón Alfonso the Magnanimous (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfonso V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfonso I) from 1442 until his death. He was involved with struggles to the th ...

, where he was exposed to the work of poets in the Provençal, Valencia and Catalan traditions, the classic Humanist works of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

and

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

, and the lyricism of troubadours such as

Enrique de Villena Enrique de Villena (1384–1434), also known as and , was a Spanish nobleman, writer, theologian and poet. He was also the last legitimate member of the House of Barcelona, the former royal house of Aragon. When political power was denied to ...

. In 1412, Don Íñigo married a wealthy heiress, Catarina Suárez de Figueroa. With this union, he acquired great fortune and became one of the most powerful nobles of his time. His sixth son from the marriage would one day become Cardinal Mendoza. As a politician, Don Íñigo remained loyal to Juan II throughout his life, for which he was richly rewarded with land and the title of Marquess of Santillana in 1445, after the

First Battle of Olmedo The First Battle of Olmedo, between Castilian forces and those of Navarre and Aragon, took place on 19 May 1445 outside Olmedo in Castile (now in the province of Valladolid, Spain). The war was in part prompted by the decrees of John II of C ...

. When his wife Doña Catarina de Figueroa died, the Marquess retired to his palace of

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

to spend the rest of his life in peaceful study and contemplation. Lopez de Mendoza was a great admirer of Dante Alighieri and his work is categorized within the allegorical-Dantesque School. He also assimilated

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...

and

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...

Humanism 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 "humani ...

. He is especially remembered for his "

serranilla A serranilla is a genre of short poem in Spanish literature which focus on commonplace subjects, the best known authors of which were Juan Ruiz also known as the Arcipreste de Hita (''Por la ruta serrana del Arcipreste'') and Íñigo López de Mend ...

s", which are small poems that focus on commonplace subjects. He also wrote

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

novels inspired by French tradition, and was originator of the Castilian Sonnet.

Children

Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 1st Duke of the Infantado Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Figueroa, 1st Duke of the Infantado, or Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Suarez de Figueroa (Guadalajara, Castile, 25 September 1417 – Manzanares el Real, Spain, 25 January 1479) was a Spanish noble. Biography ...

* Pedro Lasso de Mendoza, señor del valle del Lozoya *

Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st count of Tendilla Inigo derives from the Castilian rendering (Íñigo) of the medieval Basque name Eneko. Ultimately, the name means "my little (love)". While mostly seen among the Iberian diaspora, it also gained a limited popularity in the United Kingdom. Ear ...

* Mencía de Mendoza, married

Pedro Fernández de Velasco, 2nd Count of Haro Pedro Fernández de Velasco, 2nd Count of Haro (in full, es, Don Pedro Fernández de Velasco y Manrique, segundo conde de Haro, sexto Condestable de Castilla, señor de los valles de Saba y Ruesga, y de las villas de Briviesca, Puebla de Arganzó ...

* Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza y Figueroa, Conde de la Coruña *

Pedro González de Mendoza Pedro González de Mendoza (3 May 1428 – 11 January 1495) was a Spanish cardinal, statesman and lawyer. He served on the council of King Enrique IV of Castile and in 1467 fought for him at the Second Battle of Olmedo. In 1468 he was named bi ...

, cardinal and confidant of Queen

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as List of Aragonese royal consorts, Queen consort ...

* Juan Hurtado de Mendoza, señor de Colmenar, El Cardoso y El Vado * María de Mendoza, married Pero Afán de Ribera, Conde de los Molares * Leonor de la Vega y Mendoza, married Gastón I de la Cerda, 4th Count de Medinaceli * Pedro Hurtado de Mendoza, señor de Tamajón

Bibliography

*''Obras'', edited by

José Amador de los Ríos José Amador de los Ríos y Serrano (30 April 1818 – 17 February 1878) was a Spanish intellectual, primarily a historian and archaeologist of art and literature. He was a graduate in history of the Complutense University of Madrid. In 1844 ...

(Madrid, 1852) *

Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo (; 3 November 1856 – 19 May 1912) was a Spanish scholar, historian and literary critic. Even though his main interest was the history of ideas, and Hispanic philology in general, he also cultivated poetry, transla ...

, ''Antologia de poetas liricas castellanos'' (Madrid, 1894), vol. v. pp. 78–144 * B. Sanvisenti, ''I Primi Influssi di Dante, del Petrarca e del Boccaccio suite letteratura spagnuola'' (Milan, 1902), pp. 127–186. *

External links

*
Bías contra Fortuna
��Facsimile edition from the original, 1545. Real Academia Española.

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez de Mendoza, Inigo Spanish male poets Writers from Castilla–La Mancha 1398 births 1458 deaths Santillana People from Carrión de los Condes People from Guadalajara, Spain History of Cantabria 15th-century Spanish writers