Alonso Tostado (also ''Al(f)onso Fernández de
Madrigal'', variously known as ''Alphonsus Tostatus'', ''Tostatus Abulensis'', and in Spanish as ''El Tostado'' or ''El Abulense''; ca. 1410
[His year of birth is unknown; it is often estimated as c. 1410, or in some publications as c. 1400–1410; ]
Retratos de Españoles ilustres
', Madrid (1791) gives 1415. – 3 September 1455) was a Spanish theologian, councillor of
John II of Castile and briefly
bishop of Ávila. His
epitaph stated "Wonder of earth, all men ''can'' know he scanned."
A leading scholar of his generation, he is particularly known as an early theorist on
witchcraft; in his ''De maleficis mulieribus, quae vulgariter dicuntur bruxas'' (1440) he defended the possibility of
flying witches based on biblical exegesis.
Life
Alonso's father, also called Alonso Tostado, was a ploughman. The nickname ''
Tostado'' refers to a ploughman's tanned or sunburnt complexion.
After a course of grammar under the
Franciscans he entered the
University of Salamanca, where, besides
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
and
theology, he studied civil and canon law,
Greek,
Hebrew, and the other branches then comprised in the curriculum of a university. By great application joined to an unusually brilliant mind and an extraordinarily retentive
memory, he accumulated such a vast store of knowledge that his contemporaries styled him a wonder of the world. At 22 he began to lecture on a wide variety of subjects to large audiences attracted by his learning.
Later he assisted with distinction at the
Council of Basle
The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...
.
During a visit to the
papal
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
court at
Siena in 1443, he was denounced to
Pope Eugene IV as having publicly defended a heretic and some rash propositions, but in an explanatory letter he assured the pontiff of his orthodoxy.
On his return to Spain, in 1444, he was appointed Grand Chancellor and councillor of
John II of Castile. In 1454, shortly before his premature death (likely in his forties or early fifties),
[ he was named Bishop of ]Ávila
Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila.
It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...
.
His sepulcher in Avila was carved by Vasco de la Zarza
Vasco de la Zarza (died 1524) was a Spanish Renaissance sculptor. He flourished between 1499 and 1524, and worked mainly for the Cathedral of Avila and convents of the same city, but also performed works in Ampudia, Cuéllar, Olmedo and Toledo. ...
in 1518.
Works
In his ''Defensorium'', written against Juan de Torquemada and other critics, he gave utterance to views derogatory to the authority of the pope.
Besides a Spanish commentary on the chronicles of Eusebius and other minor works, he wrote commentaries on the historical books of the Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
as far as Second Chronicles, and on the Gospel according to St. Matthew. These are diffuse, containing many digressions on dogmatic and other subjects.
Tostado's works exercised a significant influence on the Jewish Bible commentator and statesman Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508).[Solomon Gaon, The Influence of the Catholic Theologian Alfonso Tosado on the Pentateuch Commentary of Isaac Abravanel (Ktav & Sephardic House, 1993).]
An edition of his works in 13 folio volumes was published at Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
in 1507 and 1547; a more complete edition in 24 folio volumes appeared at the same place in 1615, and another in 27 folio volumes in 1728.
References
* Bechtel, F.
Alonso Tostado
'' The Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1912).
*Fontanus, Franciscus (ed).''Alphonsi Tostati Hispani ... Opera nuperrime vetustissimo originali configurata'' (1615)
google books
.
*Hansen, Joseph, ''Quellen und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des Hexenwahns und der Hexenverfolgung in Mittelalter'', Bonn: Carl Georgi, 1901.
*Gaon, Solomon, The Influence of the Catholic Theologian Alfonso Tostado on the Pentateuch Commentary of Isaac Abravanel (Hoboken, NJ: Ktav & Sephardic House, 1993).
*Suarez P.L., ''Noematica biblico-mesianica de Alfonso de Matrigal, Obispo de Avila (1400-1455)'', Madrid (1956).
*Tomás González Rolán/Antonio López Fonseca: Fernández de Madrigal, Alfonso: Breuiloquium de amore et amicitia = Tratado de amor y amiçiçia. I, De amore. Estudio y edición crítica bilingüe de los textos latino y romance. Madrid: Guillermo Escolar 2021, ISBN 978-84-18093-74-6.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tostado, Alonso
1455 deaths
University of Salamanca alumni
Academic staff of the University of Salamanca
Spanish Christian theologians
15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Castile