Gabriel Patricio Álvarez de Toledo y Pellicer de Tovar (15 March 1662—17 January 1714) was a Spanish poet, historian and theologian. He was a humanist, interested in philosophy and philology. He knew classical, semitic and modern languages, among French, Italian and German. He was the senior librarian of king Felipe V of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and a member of the Secretary of State. He belonged to the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

and was one of the founders of the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...

. There are two periods in his life, one profane and the other religious. His poetic works appeared after his death in Madrid in 1744.

Biography

Don Gabriel Patricio Álvarez de Toledo, was the son of Francisco Álvarez de Toledo, a native of Bragança,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, who belonged to the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava (, ) was one of the Spanish military orders, four Spanish military orders and the first Military order (society), military order founded in Kingdom of Castile, Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bu ...

, and Luisa María Pellicer de Tobar, a native of

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 ...

. He was a native of

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, ...

, a descendant of the

House of Alba The House of Alba de Tormes (), commonly known as the House of Alba, is a prominent Spanish noble family that descended from 12th-century nobility of post-conquest Toledo. The family's claim to Alba de Tormes dates from 1429, when Gutierre Ál ...

, one of the most illustrious families of the Spanish, and Portugues nobility. He was a founder Member of the

in 1713, Secretary of the King of Spain and a Knight of the

Military Order of Alcantara A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...

. Of Portuguese descent, he was a true

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 ...

, interested in philosophy and philology.

Poetic work

Some of Don Gabriel's poetic works were printed in 1744 by

Diego de Torres Villarroel Diego de Torres Villarroel (169319 June 1770) was a Spanish writer, poet, dramatist, doctor, mathematician, priest and professor of the University of Salamanca. His most famous work is his autobiography, ''Vida, ascendencia, nacimiento, crianza y ...

, Professor of Mathematics and astronomer at the

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

, in

, under the title ''La Burromaquia'', (something like "Treatise on the things related to Donkeys"), accompanied by some 17th-century mystical style religious poems.

Main works

*1713, ''Historia de la Iglesia y del mundo, desde su creación al diluvio''. *1744, ''Obras pósthumas poéticas, con la Burromaquia''.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez De Toledo, Gabriel 1662 births 1714 deaths Spanish untitled nobility Spanish poets Knights of the Order of Alcántara

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Spanish male poets