Pedro Sainz Rodríguez (14 January 1897 in

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 ...

– 14 December 1986) was a Spanish writer,

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

, publisher and politician, an adviser to

Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona (Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg; 20 June 1913 – 1 April 1993), was a claimant to the Spanish throne as Juan III. He was the third son and designated heir of King Alfonso XIII o ...

and one of the main architects of the reign of

Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

and the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

. Within the wide coalition of

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

opinion that was the early movement behind

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

he was the leading figure of the

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...

wing. In terms of character Sainz Rodríguez was noted for his quick wit, whilst physically he was known for his

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

Academic career

Sainz Rodríguez first came to prominence as a philology academic and a disciple of

Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo (; 3 November 1856 – 19 May 1912) was a Spanish scholar, historian and literary critic. Even though his main interest was the history of ideas, and Hispanic philology in general, he also cultivated poetry, transl ...

. He became noted as an expert in '

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

' mysticism and a defender of traditional

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He argued that Spain had become decadent because of an invasion of

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

into the ruling classes from the 18th Century onwards and called for a return to the ideals of Catholicism and the heroic spirit of

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

. His 1925 work, ''La evolución de las ideas sobre la decadencia española y otros estudios de crítica literaria'', became one of the most widely read books on the theme of the

decline of Spain The decline of Spain was the gradual process of financial and military exhaustion and attrition and suffered by metropolitan Spain throughout the 17th century, in particular when viewed in comparison with ascendant rival powers of France and Eng ...

, a popular theme for rightist authors at the time.

Alliance with Franco

As a friend of Franco he was instrumental in convincing him to join in the coup attempt of

José Sanjurjo José Sanjurjo y Sacanell (; 28 March 1872 – 20 July 1936) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the military leaders who plotted the July 1936 ''coup d'état'' that started the Spanish Civil War. He was endowed the nobiliary title ...

Emilio Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of José Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, M ...

and other right-wing generals that led to the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. A close associate of Mola, he shared his ally's belief that Franco's tenure at the head of the nationalists would be a short one designed only to take advantage of Franco's personal popularity. Despite his personal reservations about his leadership, Sainz Rodríguez was appointed

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

in 1938 as part of Franco's first cabinet. During his time in office Sainz Rodríguez ensured that Spanish education would once again be dominated by the Church. As a cabinet Minister he took the lead in attacking the Constitutional proposals put forward by the

Falangist Falangism () was the political ideology of three political parties in Spain that were known as the Falange, namely first the Falange Española, the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FE de las JONS), and afterwa ...

hard-line of

Manuel Hedilla Manuel Hedilla Larrey (July 18, 1902 – February 4, 1970) was a Spanish political figure who was a leading member of the Falange and an early rival for power towards Francisco Franco. He was a mechanic by trade. Early life Hedilla was born i ...

, Dionisio Ridruejo,

Agustín Aznar Agustín Aznar Gerner (18 August 1911 – 2 May 1984) was a Spanish medical doctor, political activist with the Falange and a leading figure during the Spanish Civil War. Aznar was part of a radical element within the followers of Francisco Fra ...

and Fernando González Vélez which sought to build Spain into a party state along the lines of

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Sainz Rodríguez was supported in his opposition by Franco and both Aznar and González Vélez were imprisoned for their part in the proposal. Unsurprisingly Sainz Rodríguez became a target of abuse from the Falangists and, damaged by the criticism, he requested his own removal from office in April 1939. Despite this he did not last long in his position, being replaced in 1939 by

José Ibáñez Martín José Ibáñez Martín (18 December 1896 in Valbona, Aragon – 21 December 1969 in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who was a long-serving member of the Cabinet of Francisco Franco. From 1939 to 1967 he also served as President of the Spanish N ...

Monarchism

Sainz Rodríguez drifted from the government and in 1943 was involved in a plot with Generals Antonio Aranda and

Luis Orgaz Yoldi Luis Orgaz Yoldi (28 May 1881 in Vitoria-Gasteiz – 31 January 1946 in Madrid) was a Spanish general who was a leading figure of the Nationalist faction in the Spanish Civil War. He later went on to become a critic of the regime of Francisco Fra ...

, who intended to restore the monarchy with a coup. Ultimately, however, nothing came of that initiative. However, he remained committed to monarchism and, along with

Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right The Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (, CEDA) was a Spanish right-wing political party in the Second Spanish Republic. A Catholic conservative force, it was the political heir to Ángel Herrera Oria's Acción Popular and defined ...

leader

José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones de León (Salamanca, 27 November 1898 – Madrid, 13 September 1980) was a Spanish politician, leader of the CEDA, and a prominent figure in the period leading up to the Spanish Civil War. He served as ...

and the author Eugenio Vegas Latapié, he was one of the three main consellors of Juan. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was also a regular contact of Samuel Hoare, whose role was to keep Spain from joining the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

. Increasingly distant from Franco, he was even accused by ''el caudillo'' of organising international criticism of Spain in a

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

plot with Santiago Montero Díaz, a dissident from the Falange wing although Sainz Rodríguez had no link. Despite the lack of evidence, Franco would keep repeating his allegations of Freemasonry against Sainz Rodríguez. Indeed, when the staunch Falangist Mauricio Carlavilla produced the book ''Anti-España 1959'', which criticised the monarchist cause as a tool of Freemasonry, Franco indicated to Juan that he shared many of its views because of the prominence of Sainz Rodríguez in monarchism. Juan, however, rejected Franco's opinions and retained Sainz Rodríguez as a close advisor.

Later years

Sainz Rodríguez became noted as a prolific writer on the history of

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

in Spain, producing such works as ''Historica de la literatura mística en España'' (1984) and the four volume ''Antología de la literatura espiritual español'' (1980–1985). His autobiography came out after Franco's death and reflected the deterioration between Franco and himself. Indeed, in keeping with the memoirs of many of his contemporaries, it largely dismissed ''El Caudillo'' as a bland and mediocre individual.Preston, ''Franco'', p. 782

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainz Rodriguez, Pedro 1897 births 1986 deaths Politicians from Madrid Renovación Española politicians Education ministers of Spain Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Spanish male writers Writers from Madrid Spanish monarchists 20th-century Spanish philologists