Hernando de Aragón y de Gurrea, OCist (25 July 1498 – 29 January 1575),

Archbishop of Zaragoza The Archdiocese of Saragossa (; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Zaragoza (Saragossa in English), part of the autonomous community of Aragón. The archdiocese heads the ecclesiastical ...

and Lieutenant General of Aragon, was an Aragonese humanist and historian.

Family

Born in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, Aragón was the second illegitimate son of

Alonso de Aragón Alonso de Aragón or Alfonso de Aragón (1468 – 24 February 1520) was Archbishop of Zaragoza, Archbishop of Valencia and Lieutenant General of Aragon. Born in Cervera, he was an illegitimate son of Ferdinand II of Aragon by a Catalan ...

, then Archbishop of Zaragoza and future Archbishop of Valencia and Lieutenant General of Aragon. His father was an illegitimate son of King

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

, while his mother was Ana de Gurrea. Through his grandfather he was first-half cousins with

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

his wife

Isabella of Portugal Isabella of Portugal (; 24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was the empress consort of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Burgundy. She was Queen of Spain and Germany, and Lady of the Netherlands fr ...

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...

John III of Portugal John III ( ; 6 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious ( Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarve from 1521 until he died in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of ...

and

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek ...

. The Archbishop had a son by María Jiménez Cerdán, Pedro, Lord of Ballobar.

Clerical career

Although he was meant to pursue a military career, he chose to enter the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

Monastery of Piedra. He was ordained in 1524. His first cousin, King Charles I of Aragon, made him Abbot of Veruela Abbey. On 21 May 1539, the King made him Archbishop of Zaragoza, a position previously held by his father and elder brother

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philip ...

. He was consecrated on 9 November 1539. King Charles I made him his deputy in the Aragonese Cortes in 1524, while Charles' son and successor, King Philip II, made him Lieutenant General of Aragon in 1566.

Patron

The Archbishop was a great patron and promoter of art in Aragon. He was especially interested in

La Seo Cathedral The Cathedral of the Savior () or La Seo de Zaragoza is a Catholic cathedral in Zaragoza (also known as Saragossa), in Aragon, Spain. It is part of the World Heritage Site ''Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon''. The cathedral is located on the Pla ...

, where he had two chapels built on his own expense, on the condition that he and his mother are interred there together. He also came up with the idea of constructing Lonja de Zaragoza, ordered the construction of the

Charterhouse of Aula Dei The Charterhouse of Aula Dei () is a Carthusian monastery, or charterhouse, located about 10 kilometers north of the city of Zaragoza in Aragon, north-eastern Spain. It was declared a national monument on 16 February 1983. 16th–20th centuries Th ...

. Aragón also functioned as the Official Chronicler of Aragon and wrote "History of the Kings of Aragon" (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Historia de los Reyes de Aragón''). He was buried in La Seo Cathedral along with his mother.

Ancestry

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernando de Aragon Archbishops of Zaragoza Hernando Viceroys of Aragon 16th-century Spanish historians 1498 births 1575 deaths