Fray Francisco de Berganza y Arce (10 April 1663 – 29 April 1738), better known as Padre Berganza, was a Spanish
Benedictine monk
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...
and
medievalist
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.
Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo called him ''la lumbrera intelectual de su siglo'' ("the brightest intellect of his age").
He was the son of Francisco de Berganza and Jacinta de Arce, baptised in the parish church of
Santibánez de Zarzaguda, though his family was from
Gumiel de Izán
Gumiel de Izán (formerly Gumiel de Hizán) is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating informatio ...
. On 5 February 1682 he took the Benedictine habit at the monastery of
San Pedro de Cardeña
Castrillo del Val is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain.
It is in the valley of the River Arlanzón.
According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality had a population of 515 inhabitants.
Main sights ...
, making his profession a short while later, on 21 March. He was shortly thereafter sent to study at
San Vicente de Salamanca, where he spent twelve years before returning to Cardeña. There he became chief preacher and finally
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...
, from 1721 to 1725. He died suddenly during suppertime at the convent of
San Martín de Madrid.
As a historian he was innovative and modern, rejecting traditional methods of historical inquiry, he turned to the direct study of the documents. His ''Antigüedades de España'' brought to light many documents, including many from the archives of Cardeña, that had not until then been publicised. It was published in two volumes, the second at Madrid from 1719–21. He uncovered many forgeries that exposed traditional narrative of the origins of
Castile and the unity of Spain. Posthumously at Madrid in 1729 was published his ''Ferreras convencido'', a revision of the history of
Ferreras.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berganza, Francisco De
1663 births
1738 deaths
Spanish Benedictines
18th-century Spanish historians