Cristóbal de Villalón ( – ) was a Spanish professor and

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

. He was probably a native of

Villalón de Campos Villalón or Villalon may refer to: * Alberto Villalón (1882–1955), one of the greatest musicians in the Cuban trova style * Consuelo Villalon Aleman (1907–1998), a well-known Mexican pianist during the 20th century * Eric Villalon (bo ...

. He obtained a bachelor of arts degree from the

University of Alcalá The University of Alcalá () is a public university located in Alcalá de Henares, a city 35 km (22 miles) northeast of Madrid in Spain and also the third-largest city of the region. It was founded in 1293 as a ''Studium Generale'' for t ...

in 1525 and a licentiate in logic from the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

in 1529 or 1530. From 1530 to 1545, he was a professor of logic at the

University of Valladolid The University of Valladolid is a public university located in the city of Valladolid, Valladolid province, autonomous region of Castile and Leon, Spain. Established in the 13th century, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. The ...

. In 1532–1534, he was a private tutor in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

to the family of the Counts of Lemos. He won a lawsuit against the countess for back wages. In 1545, he obtained a degree in theology from Valladolid. He may have become a priest around this time. He retired to , where he died.José Miguel Martínez Torrejón and Pedro Schwartz Girón
"Villalón, Cristóbal de"
'' Diccionario biográfico español'' (Real Academia de la Historia, 2018).

Works

*''Tragedia de Mirra'', written while a student and published at

Medina del Campo Medina del Campo is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Part of the Province of Valladolid, it is the centre of a farming area. It lies on the banks of the Zapardiel river, in the centre of t ...

in 1536 *''Ingeniosa comparación entre lo antiguo y lo presente'', written while a student and published at Valladolid in 1539 *''El Scholástico'', written while a student at Salamanca, known from a manuscript of 1542–1544. This was his most ambitious work. Influenced by the ideas of

Desiderius Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

and imitating

Baldassare Castiglione Baldassare Castiglione, Count of Casatico (; 6 December 1478 – 2 February 1529),Dates of birth and death, and cause of the latter, fro, ''Italica'', Rai International online. was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissan ...

's '' Book of the Courtier'', it describes the ideal scholar and university. It met with the disapproval of ecclesiastical officials, including

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda (1490 – 17 November 1573) was a Spanish humanist, philosopher, and theologian of the Spanish Renaissance. He is mainly known for his participation in a famous debate with Bartolomé de las Casas in Valladolid, Spai ...

. *''Tratado de cambios y contrataciones y reprobación de usura'', published at Valladolid in 1541 with further editions in 1542 and 1546. His most popular work, it condemned the innovations of merchants in response to Spanish inflation as usurious. *''Exhortación a la confesión'', published as an appendix to the ''Tratado'' at Valladolid in 1546 *''Gramática castellana'', written at Santa Eulalia and printed at

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

in 1558 In addition, two anonymous satiric works in manuscript from the period 1552–1556 are usually attributed to him: *''Diálogo de las transformaciones de Pitágoras'', probably written at Santa Eulalia *''El Crótalon'', probably written at Santa Eulalia

References

{{Authority control 1550s deaths Spanish Renaissance humanists 16th-century Spanish writers University of Alcalá alumni University of Salamanca alumni Academic staff of the University of Valladolid University of Valladolid alumni Year of birth uncertain