THE ECCLESIASTICAL POLICY OP CARDINAL XIMENEZ THE ECCLESIASTICAL POLICY OF CARDINAL XIMENEZ By Theodore C. Henderson, M. A., B. D. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Edinburgh University RKTRATO DE EL CAKDEN AL DON FR. FRANCISCO XIMENEZ, D E Z J X N E RO S Js-r/rn /c<il FOREWORD This Thesis is intended to be a historical survey of the ecclesiastical policy that governed the activities of Cardinal Ximenez on his becoming a public servant, following his appointment as confessor to Queen Isabella. It is not designed to be a biography, although of necessity many bio­ graphical notes have entered therein. For the most part, excepting in the Introduction, many facts relating to his life, while interesting, have been omitted as not germane to the study. Hence, anyone familiar with the life of Ximenez will note the absence of much material which apparently has been overlooked. He may likewise discover a great deal to which seemingly undue emphasis has been criven. If this be true, it is only because it was essential for a truer inter­ pretation of the Cardinal's policy or to correct several er­ rors that recent investigation has demonstrated to be present in many of the standard works on Ximenez and the period in which he lived. The same policy has been adopted in dealing with the gen­ eral history of Spain. When events or movements had a dis­ tinct bearing on shaping the Cardinal's activities and atti­ tudes, they have been considered in this relation; otherwise, they have been omitted as not essential to this work. The plan that has been largely followed is to present ii the distinct fields of endeavor in which the Cardinal labor­ ed, following them to their conclusion, rather thanto study the events in their chronological order. However, these dif­ ferent subjects have been considered in their order of origin. One exception to this scheme is found in Chapter V. where it was necessary to discuss then the first regency of Ximenez, and not later on, as out of it grew his appointments as Car­ dinal and Inquisitor-General. With but a few exceptions, the bibliography is a compi­ lation of works consulted in the preparation of this thesis. In all cases, unless otherwise stated, they are the sources to which reference is made. The Author has been greatly indebted to the many libra­ rians and their assistants who, in Great Britain, the United States of America, and Spain, have liberally assisted him in his search for authentic and original sources. Particularly is he indebted to the librarians of the TJniversidad Central and the Centre de Estudios Historicos of Madrid for their kindness in giving him full and free access to many priceless manuscripts and documents under their care, as well as to many rare books which only a privileged few are permitted to examine. The Author San Anselmo, California T/i arch, 1939 ° Foreword ... INTRODUCTION Fifteenth Century Spain. The Birth and Early Life of Ximenez . .,...«... • • • • 1 CHAPTER I The Public Life of Ximenez Begins. He Becomes Confes­ sor to the Queen. Monastic Reforms ..... 30 CHAPTER II Ximenez Is Appointed Archbishop of Toledo. Activities in His Diocese and Reforms ........ 63 CHAPTER III The Ecclesiastical Reform. Further Activities in His Diocese .............. 98 CHAPTER IV The Fall of Granada. The Cover sion of the Moors . 125 CHAPTER V Promoter of Learning. The University at Alcala. The Complutensian Polyglot Bible. Cultural Activ­ ities ••••«••»«...,,. 1V1 iv CHAPTER VI First Regency. Cardinal. Inquisitor-General . 226 CHAPTER VII The Conquest of Oran ........... 270 CHAPTER VIII Regent. Last Days. Death ......... 297 CONCLUSION The Character of Ximenez and His Ecclesiastical Pol­ icy ....«. ..«.••••• • APPENDIX Bibliographical Apparatus ......... 347 Bibliography .............. 360 INTRODUCTION FIFTEENTH CENTURY SPAIN Cardinal Ximenez, in common with other great persons of history, was, to a large extent, the product of his times. 1 He began his life during the first half of the fifteenth century, when Spain was casting off the shackles that had enslaved her during the Middle Ages. His infancy and youth were unfolded during the tempestuous and grievous reigns of Kings John II and Henry IV. The most fruitful years of his life were spent during Spain's golden era when politically she came to her own under Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic; when the Kingdom of Granada, through the de­ feat of the Moors, and the Americas, through the intrepid journeys of Columbus, were added to the crown; and when the Church, greatly aided by the Inquisition, was gaining in as­ cendency and power. His life spanned that very critical per­ iod wherein an old form of culture gave way to a new, with the emerging of the Modern Period out of the Middle Ages; For a more detailed and complete survey of this period see Ballesteros y Beretta, "Historia de Espana y Su Influencia en la Historia Universal," vol iii; LaFuente y Zamalloa, "His- toria General de Espana"; Mariana, "Historia General de""Eipa- nj.."Isabella and Prescott,the CatholicT*————————————————————— "History of the Reign of Ferdinand and ' when men had become restless and confused in their thinking by their sudden impact with new patterns of thought, and when strong leadership was required to make Spain ready for the new day that was dawning in world history. The invasion of the Moors, in the beginning of the eighth century, had broken Spain up into a number of inde­ pendent states which, though peopled by members of the same race, were often hostile to each other and would engage in such fierce warfare as to threaten the very life of the na­ tion. About the only time they maintained anything like friendly relations was when they were fighting their common enemy, the Moor. By the beginning of the fifteenth century, however, most of these states had been conquered and absorbed by either Aragon or Castile so that besides these two, there existed only the Kingdom of Navarre, in the heart of the Pyrenees, at the north, and the Moorish Kingdom of Granada, at the south. Of the four, Castile ranked first in importance and exacted homage from the other states both because of her size, extending as she did from the Bay of Biscay to the Med­ iterranean, and because of her antiquity since it was in Cas­ tile that the Gothic culture was first revived after the Sar­ acen invasion. Of outstanding significance during this period was the high state to which the principles of free government had been developed. Two forces united in bringing this about. The first of these was the very liberal theories of govern­ ment that had been a part of the Spanish heritage since the 3. Visigoths had conquered the Peninsula in the fifth century and by which the commoner was granted many privileges un­ known elsewhere. The second of these forces was the pres­ ence, from the eighth century onward, of the Saracen in­ vader who, "because of his many predatory incursions and de­ struction of crops and other real property, compelled the Spaniards to develop a strong local government in each com­ munity for their own protection. Hence, each city became a fort and every citizen was required to become proficient in the use of arms and to be ready, at a moment's notice, to battle the Saracen. In re­ turn for this service, the householder demanded and received certain municipal and judicial privileges. While these var­ ied somewhat in detail, they were in general uniform through­ out the Peninsula. 3y virtue of them, magistrates, instead of beinr- appointed by the crown, were elected to their of­ fice by the townspeople who also provided them adequate funds for the discharge of their official duties. Similar­ ly, justices for the administration of both civil and crim­ inal law were appointed not by the crown but by the magis­ trates. Their decisions, however, were always subject to appeal to the royal court. Mo person could be deprived of personal or property rights except by action of the munici­ pal court and no case might be carried to a higher court while a decision was still pending in a lower one. AS an additional safeguard to guarantee that the rights of every citizen would be respected and not violated by the unwar­ ranted interference of the powerful nobility, many of the town charters prohibited nobles from acquiring property within the limits of the township; neither could tlisy erect palaces or fortresses there; nor could they claim exemption from the laws of the community in which they were residing but were to become subject of that, town. Each town had, as a part of its officiary, an appointee of the crown whose function was to aid in the maintenance of order, to superin­ tend the collection of the royal tax, and to assure an armed force for national defence. Popular representation existed as early as the twelfth century. Each city had the privilege of sending to the "cortes'' two or more representatives who were selected from persons eligible to the magistracy, but whatever their num­ ber, each city was entitled to only one vote. In Castile, these deputies were originally elected by the householders but eventually the municipalities usurped this privilege, a practice which defeated the principles of popular and free government in that only too often the persons selected were under obligation to the crown. Notwithstanding this and other defects, the commons ex­ ercised a vastly greater power than did similar bodies in other European nations. No taxes could be levied without The earliest date on record in Aragon was 1153; in Castile, 1169.