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Authority, Fear, and Tolerance in Spanish Religious Dialogues

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Authority, Fear, and Tolerance in Spanish Religious Dialogues AUTHORITY, FEAR, AND TOLERANCE IN SPANISH RELIGIOUS DIALOGUES by MITCHELL ALLEN MCCOY (Under the Direction of Dana Bultman) ABSTRACT Sixteenth-century Spanish scholars engaged in the philological study of classical and biblical literature were inspired by both the content and structure of their readings. The patronage of scholars by the church, university, and aristocracy combined with the late fifteenth-century advent of the printing press to enable these scholars to respond by publishing their own literary expressions. The present study analyzes three distinct religious dialogues by Juan de Valdés, Miguel Servet, and Fray Luis de León that reflect their respective understandings of Christian doctrine and faith with a focus upon how the dialogues express the concepts of authority, fear, and tolerance. While the dialogical form of these intellectuals’ literary production mimicked the classical literary dialogues they were studying, the Christian doctrinal content reflected their personal values and pursuits as well as those of the society. Previous scholars of Juan de Valdés’s Diálogo de doctrina cristiana have intensely focused on Erasmus of Rotterdam’s influence upon early sixteenth-century Spanish spirituality to the neglect of other autochthonous spiritual influences, namely Fray Hernando de Talavera. Establishing Talavera as an inspirational influence upon Valdés recontextualizes the historical milieu and highlights how Valdés’s vernacular Christian dialogue carries on the pedagogical and church reform efforts initiated by Talavera. With the refined historical context in mind, this study is augmented by Paul Ricoeur’s salient characterization of the concept of authority that is then employed to closely read Valdés’s Diálogo de doctrina cristiana, Servet’s Dos diálogos de la Trinidad divina, and Fray Luis de León’s De los nombres de Cristo. The readings of each dialogue demonstrate how these authors used the dialogue form, language, and characters to establish themselves as authorities of Christian doctrine by sanctioning the credibility of scripture, reaffirming their understanding of the doctrinal centrality of Christ, and showing how fear and tolerance play integral roles in the concept of authority. INDEX WORDS: Spanish religious dialogue, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, humanism, studia humanitatis, authority, fear, tolerance, Juan de Valdés, Miguel Servet, Fray Luis de León, Hernando de Talavera, Diálogo de doctrina cristiana AUTHORITY, FEAR, AND TOLERANCE IN SPANISH RELIGIOUS DIALOGUES by MITCHELL ALLEN MCCOY B.A., Samford University, 1992 J.D., Cumberland School of Law, 1995 M.A., The University of Georgia, 2004 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2010 © 2010 Mitchell Allen McCoy All Rights Reserved AUTHORITY, FEAR, AND TOLERANCE IN SPANISH RELIGIOUS DIALOGUES by MITCHELL ALLEN MCCOY Major Professor: Dana Bultman Committee: Luis Correa-Díaz Jan Pendergrass Elizabeth Wright Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia July 2010 iv DEDICATION To my mother and father, Susan and Bob, who have loved me well and enabled me to pursue my heart’s desire. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In The Call by Os Guinness, he reflects upon the concept of vocation and in doing so, includes a chapter fittingly titled “Let All Your Thinks Be Thanks.” At the beginning of the chapter, he relates how upon accepting the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921, Albert Einstein acknowledged his debt of gratitude to his predecessors without whose work he would never have achieved what he did. It is in that same vein of gratitude that I would like to take a few lines to express my thanks to just a few of the many people to whom I owe thanks for the roles they have played in support of my pursuing a Ph.D. in Romance Languages. First and foremost to be thanked are my father and mother, Bob and Susan, two individuals to whom I owe multidimensional gratitude. Thank you for teaching, supporting, disciplining, and loving me so very well. Likewise, I recognize a deep debt of gratitude to my sister, Amanda, my brother-in-law, Allen, my nephew, Nicholas, and my niece, Claire. The holiday visits with you, phone calls, care packages, and comfortable feeling of being part of such a wonderful family has been and is brilliant. Without the guidance of Dr. Dana Bultman, my major professor, this project would not have come to fruition. It is with deep, heartfelt thanks that I want to recognize and acknowledge you for your counsel, understanding, and consistent encouragement to me during my time at UGA. Because of your guidance, I have learned much about researching, writing, and teaching. Thank you, Dana! The other members of my committee, Dr. Luis Correa-Díaz, Dr. Jan Pendergrass, and Dr. Elizabeth Wright have been no less inspirational to me for the time they each spent with me in an effort to help me see this dissertation project to its end. Thank you to vi each of you for reading and critiquing the dissertation, and for offering your professional advice and personal friendship. To Dr. Noel Fallows, I would also like to express gratitude for your participation as a member of my committee through the written examinations and for your invaluable advice while I was engaged in the job search. I would be remiss if I did not also extend my thanks to Dr. Jose C. Nieto who so kindly wrote me a letter a few years ago with suggestions about additional paths to investigate that helped further my understanding of Juan de Valdés and his writings. Another integral part of my formation has been the opportunity to spend time abroad and for those experiences I want to say thanks to Dr. Betina Kaplan, Dr. José B. Alvarez IV, and Dr. John Ross. Each of you saw potential in my ability to teach, tutor, and mentor students and gave me priceless opportunities to travel in Argentina and Spain. For your confidence in me and for your friendship I am grateful. To my undergraduate professors of Spanish, Dr. Sheri Spaine Long, Dr. Myralyn Allgood, Ms. Charlotte L. Coleman, Dr. Grace Ezell Marquez, and Ms. Stephanie Crider Turman, thank you for leading me toward such a satisfying profession. Were it not for the ways in which you engaged me as a student, it is likely I would have missed the distinct pleasure and responsibility I now enjoy – that of joining the academy. With no less enthusiasm do I express my thanks to friends with whom I have shared these years at UGA. Amy Hernandez, you were my first friend here. Thanks for your acts of selflessness when I needed your help! I would not have finished this without you. Thank you, Dr. Diego del Pozo for listening, laughing, and sharing your friendship with me. To Dr. María Mizzi, I would like to say that I could not have survived this experience without the frequent sushi lunches with you. Carmen María Navarro Ferrer, though you are far away in Vinalesa, I vii cherished spending time with you at UGA, learning much from you about Spain, and cannot wait to meet your son, Víctor. Dr. María del Puig Andrés Sebastiá, your commitment to teaching and personal discipline never ceases to astound me, and I count it a privilege to call you my friend. Thank you, Idoia Cebriá and Dr. Aurora Thorgerson for your friendship and kindnesses to me. To Carl Wise, it was great fun researching last summer with you in Madrid in the Biblioteca Nacional. Thanks for the birthday lunch. Anne Wesserling, thanks for being such a hospitable neighbor. What a great thing to live next to a budding literary critic like you. Dr. Deana Shuman, you have been a great friend and someone upon whom I relied for sage advice about finishing the dissertation in those moments when the path was less certain. Laura Shedenhelm, it was good to run into you in the library and to get your e-mails about newly arrived books that helped me in my research of Spanish religious dialogues. To my lifelong friend Terri Potter, your visits were wonderful. Your generosity toward me and the longevity of our friendship is deeply satisfying. Jill Robinson, you have been a consistent friend and a great traveling companion. Jeff Goodman, your encouragement and sense of humor kept me rolling along. Mike and Lynn Luster, thanks for calling, listening, and joining me for an occasional slice of caramel cake here in Athens. Ron and Amy Luster, thanks for giving me a truck to drive to the grocery store. Every time I drive someplace, I am reminded of your generosity. Mark Bondi, thanks for interjecting on occasion to talk about the concept of entropy. Gary Baker, thanks for preparing and sharing a few meals with me during the long haul. Thanks also to my friends, Todd Lindley, Jim Hitson, Tim Smith, and Jason Phillips, whose interest in language and culture while we were students at Samford University inspired me to keep at the task of learning. Also, thanks to Mecole Springer, Brenda Hayes, and Shawn Johnson, my former work colleagues who still meet me for lunch around the winter holidays, and viii who wished me well in this endeavor when I left Tennessee several years ago for Athens, Georgia. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1. STATE OF SCHOLARSHIP ON JUAN DE VALDÉS AND HIS DIALOGO DE DOCTRINA CRISTIANA .......................................................................................................1 2. ACCESS TO AUTHORITY: LEGACIES OF FRAY HERNANDO DE TALAVERA IN JUAN DE VALDÉS’S DIALOGO DE DOCTRINA CRISTIANA .......................................31 3. AUTHORITY, FEAR, AND TOLERANCE IN VALDÉS’S DIALOGO DE DOCTRINA CRISTIANA ...........................................................................................................................71 4. MID AND LATE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY DIALOGUES: MIGUEL SERVET AND FRAY LUIS DE LEÓN ......................................................................................................119 5.
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