Antonio Enríquez Gómez (Cuenca 1601 - Seville 1663), Spanish

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

of Spanish-

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

origin, was known in the early part of his career as Enríque Enríquez de Paz. Furthermore, certain of his works feature the alternate spelling Antonio Henrique Gómez.

Life

Born into a family of

Converso A ''converso'' (; ; feminine form ''conversa''), "convert" (), was a Jew who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, or one of their descendants. To safeguard the Old Christian popula ...

s at

Cuenca Cuenca may refer to: People * Cuenca (surname) Places Ecuador * Cuenca Canton, in the Azuay Province ** Cuenca, Ecuador, capital of Cuenca Canton and Azuay Province ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuenca Peru * Cuenca District, Huarochirí ...

, Gómez entered the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

, where he obtained a Captaincy. Captain Gómez was suspected of

Crypto-Judaism Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden'). The term is especially applied historically to Spani ...

, or being, "a

Marrano ''Marranos'' is a term for Spanish and Portuguese Jews, as well as Navarrese jews, who converted to Christianity, either voluntarily or by Spanish or Portuguese royal coercion, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but who continued t ...

", and fled to France about 1636. He adopted the name Antonio Enríquez Gómez, and became

major-domo A majordomo () is a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another. Typically, this is the highest (''major'') person of a household (''domūs'' or ''domicile'') staff, a head servant who acts on behalf of the owner of a larg ...

to King

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

, to whom he dedicated ''Luis dado de Dios 4 Anna'' (Paris, 1645). He returned to Spain in 1649 and lived first in Alcalá, then in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

and, from 1651, in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, under the false name of Fernando de Zárate. The

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition () was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile and lasted until 1834. It began toward the end of ...

had Gómez

burned in effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

on January 1, 1651, and in Seville on April 1660. On September 21, 1661 his true identity was discovered and he was detained at his home in Seville by the Inquisition. He died there in his prison cell on March 19, 1663.Rafael González Cañal
Biografía de Antonio Enríquez Gómez
Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.

Writings

Three of his plays, ''El Gran Cardenal de España, don Gil de Albornoz'', and the two parts of ''Fernán Mendez Pinto'' (based on the life of the Portuguese explorer

Fernão Mendes Pinto Fernão Mendes Pinto (; 1509 – 8 July 1583) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese explorer and writer. His voyages are recorded in ''Pilgrimage'' (), his autobiographical memoir, which was published posthumously in 1614. The historical accura ...

) were received with great applause at

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

about 1629; in 1635 he contributed a

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

to Montalbán's collection of posthumous

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

s on

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist who was a key figure in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque literature. In the literature of ...

, to whose dramatic school Enríquez Gómez belonged. The ''Academias morales de las Musas'', consisting of four plays (including ''A lo que obliga el honor'', which recalls

Calderón Calderón () is a Spanish and occupational surname. It is derived from the Vulgar Latin "''caldaria''" ("cauldron") and refers to the occupation of tinker. "Calderón" without any further specifics usually refers to Pedro Calderón de la Barca, t ...

's '' Médico de su honra'') was published at Bordeaux in 1642; ''La torre de Babilonia'', containing the two parts of ''Fernán Mendez Pinto'', appeared at Rouen in 1647; and in the preface to his poem, '' Sansón Nazareno'' (Rouen, 1656), Enríquez Gómez gives the titles of sixteen other plays issued, as he alleges, at Seville. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, " s dramatic works, though effective on the stage, are disfigured by extravagant incidents and preciosity of diction. The latter defect is likewise observable in the mingled prose and verse of ''La culpa del primer peregrino'' (Rouen, 1644) and the dialogues entitled ''Política angélica'' (Rouen, 1647). Enríquez Gómez is best represented by ''El siglo pitagórico y vida de don Gregorio Guadana'' (Rouen, 1644), a striking

picaresque novel The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for ' rogue' or 'rascal') is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish but appealing hero, usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrup ...

in prose and verse which is still reprinted."

Publications

* J. Amador de los Rios, ''Estudios históricos, políticos, y literarios sobre los judíos de España'' (Madrid, 1848)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enriquez Gomez, Antonio 1600s births 1663 deaths 16th-century Sephardi Jews 17th-century Sephardi Jews 17th-century Spanish poets Jewish poets 17th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights Spanish male dramatists and playwrights 17th-century Spanish novelists Spanish male novelists Spanish male poets Conversos