Juan Coronel (1569 in Spain – 1651 at Mérida, Mexico) was a Spanish

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

missionary.

Life

He made his academic studies at the

University of Alcalá de Henares A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, and joined the Franciscans of the province of Castile. He was sent to

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...

, Mexico, in 1590, and there so familiarized himself with the

Maya language The Mayan languagesIn linguistics, it is conventional to use ''Mayan'' when referring to the languages, or an aspect of a language. In other academic fields, ''Maya'' is the preferred usage, serving as both a singular and plural noun, and as ...

that he was able to teach it, the historian

Diego López de Cogolludo Diego López de Cogolludo (Alcalá de Henares 1613 – New Spain 1665) was a Spanish Franciscan historian of Yucatán (state), Yucatán. Biography A native of Alcalá de Henares in Spain, he took the habit of St. Francis at the convent of San ...

being one of his pupils. Father Coronel was one of the foremost Christian teachers in Yucatán in the seventeenth century. He was a strict

Observantine The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachin ...

for sixty-seven years, always travelling barefooted. His austerity impeded his election to the office of Provincial of the Franciscan Order in Yucatán.

Works

Cogolludo says he wrote a Maya grammar (''Arte'') that was printed in Mexico, of which, however, nothing else is known. A catechism in Maya: "Doctrina cristiana en lengua Maya", was published at Mexico in 1620, and in the same year there appeared in print, also at Mexico, "Discursos predicables y tratados espirituales en lengua Maya". Both are exceedingly rare.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **

, ''Historia de Yucatán'' (Madrid, 1688; Mérida, 1842); ** Beristain, ''Biblioteca hispano-americana'' (Mexico, 1816; Amecameca, 1883); **

Ephraim George Squier Ephraim George Squier (June 17, 1821 – April 17, 1888), usually cited as E. G. Squier, was an American archaeologist, history writer, painter and newspaper editor. Biography Squier was born in Bethlehem, New York, the son of a minister, Joel ...

, ''Monograph of Authors who have Written on the Languages of Central America'' (New York, 1861); he merely copies Beristain. {{DEFAULTSORT:Coronel, Juan 1569 births 1651 deaths Spanish Franciscans Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries University of Alcalá alumni Roman Catholic missionaries in New Spain Franciscan missionaries