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 (; 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 son of King Henry ...

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. Situated on the River Carrión, it is 40 kilometers upstream from the provincial capital of Palencia, on the F ...

Old Castile Old Castile ( ) is a historic region of Spain, which had different definitions across the centuries. Its extension was formally defined in the 1833 territorial division of Spain as the sum of the following provinces: Santander (now Cantabria ...

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 Fernán (or Fernando) Pérez de Guzmán (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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

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

. As a youth, he spent time in the court king Alfonso V of Aragón, 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 (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

and

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

, 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 t ...

. 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 Kingdom of Castile, Castilian forces and those of Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre and Crown of Aragon, Aragon, took place on 19 May 1445 outside Olmedo, Spain, Olmedo in Castile (historical region), Castile (now in ...

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

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

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 Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists. Petrarch's redis ...

and

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

Humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

. He is especially remembered for his " serranillas", which are small poems that focus on commonplace subjects. He also wrote

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

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. Biograph ...

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

Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st count of Tendilla Inigo is a masculine given name deriving from the Castilian rendering (Íñigo) of the medieval Basque name Eneko. Ultimately, the name means "my little (man)". While mostly seen among the Iberian diaspora, it also gained a limited popularity ...

* Maria de Mendoza, married Francisco/Pedro Fernández de Velasco, 2nd Count of Haro * Lorenzo Suárez de Mendoza y Figueroa, Conde de la Coruña * Pedro González de Mendoza, cardinal and confidant of Queen

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

* Juan Hurtado de Mendoza, señor de Colmenar, El Cardoso y El Vado * MARIA DE MENDOZA, married FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ-DE-VELASCO * Leonor de la Vega y Mendoza, married Gastón I de la Cerda, 4th Count de Medinaceli * Pedro Hurtado de Mendoza, señor de Tamajón

Bibliography

English * * * * Spanish * *''Obras'', edited by José Amador de los Ríos (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, transl ...

, ''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, 1st Marquis of Santillana Spanish male poets 1398 births 1458 deaths Santillana People from Carrión de los Condes People from Guadalajara, Spain History of Cantabria 15th-century Castilian writers 15th-century Spanish poets