Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros
Starting from humble beginnings he rose to the heights of power, becoming a religious reformer, twice regent of Spain, Cardinal, Grand Inquisitor, promoter of the Crusades in North Africa, and founder of the Alcalá University.Cardinal Cisneros' life coincided with, and greatly influenced, a dynamic period in the history of Spain during the reign of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.However, Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña, the Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain, refused to accept the letter, wishing instead to bestow the benefice upon one of his own followers.[4] At Sigüenza, Cisneros won praise for his work and he seemed to be on the sure road to success among the secular clergy, when in 1484 at the late age of forty-eight he abruptly decided to become a Franciscan friar.Giving up all his worldly belongings, and changing his baptismal name, Gonzalo, for that of Francisco, he entered the Franciscan friary of San Juan de los Reyes,[2] recently founded by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile at Toledo.[6] Despite his lavish new position, Cisneros personally still maintained a simple life; although a message from Rome required him to live in a style befitting his rank, the outward pomp only concealed his private asceticism.[2] The Minister General of the order himself came from Rome to attempt to temper the archbishop's strict reforms, but Cisneros, backed by the influence of a strong Queen, managed to impose them.In 1499 Cisneros accompanied the court of the Spanish Inquisition to Granada, and there interfered with Hernando de Talavera's efforts to peacefully convert its Muslim inhabitants to Christianity.He ordered the public burning of all Arabic manuscripts that could be found in Granada — 5,000 is the lowest figure the contemporary sources give — except those dealing with medicine.[5] The indignation of the unconverted Mudéjares (i.e., Iberian Muslims living in Christian territories) over this gross violation of the Alhambra treaty swelled into the open revolt known as the First Rebellion of the Alpujarras.[8] When Philip died in 1506, Ferdinand was in Naples and Cisneros set up a regent government in his absence, and stopped a plot by a group of high nobles to take over the throne.In return for his loyalty, Ferdinand made Cisneros Grand Inquisitor for Castile and León in 1507 and prevailed on the Pope to give him a Cardinal's hat.The next great event in the cardinal's life was the attack against the Moorish city of Oran in North Africa, in which his religious zeal coincided with Ferdinand's prospect for political and material gain.
His Eminence O.F.M.Archbishop of ToledoPrimate of SpainJuan de BorgoñaRoman Catholic ChurchToledoPedro González de MendozaWilliam de CroÿPope Julius IITorrelagunaCrown of CastileRoa de DueroAlcalá de Henares CathedralSpanishAlma materUniversity of SalamancaGovernor of the Kingdom of CastileJoanna IFerdinand II of AragonCharles IcardinalregentGrand InquisitorCrusadesRenaissance in SpainComplutensian Polyglot BiblepolyglotJohannes Gutenbergprinting pressmissalbreviaryMozarabic RiteLiturgy of the HoursEucharistToledo Cathedralhistory of SpainIsabella I of CastileSpanish Golden AgeJohn ElliottCastilehidalgosPalenciaStudium generaleAlcalá de HenaresSalamancaconsistorial advocatePope Pius IIbeneficeAlfonso Carrillo de AcuñaSantorcazchaplaincySigüenzabishop of Sigüenzavicar generaldioceseFranciscanciliceasceticCastañaranchoriteconfessorAlhambra DecreeMinister Provincialpapal bullArchdiocese of ToledoEdwin LongAlejandro FerrantordainedconcubinageparishconfessionMinister GeneralSpanish InquisitionGranadaHernando de TalaveraMuslim inhabitantsArabicMudéjaresAlhambra treatythe First Rebellion of the AlpujarrasbaptismmosquesMoriscosPhilip I of CastileTreaty of VillafafilaNaplesMers El Kébirtaken by stormregent of CastileCharles V, Holy Roman EmperorFlemishFerdinand I, Holy Roman EmperorMadridCastle of XavierFrancis XavierAsturiasValladolidUniversity of Alcalá de HenaresscholasticBenedictinesHieronymitesUniversidad Complutense de MadridComplutensian PolyglotHebrewAramaicTargum OnkelosNew TestamentPope Leo XVilla CisnerosDakhla, Western SaharaServant of GodVenerableMonty Python's Flying CircusOrder of Cisnerospublic domainChisholm, HughEncyclopædia BritannicaCatholic EncyclopediaLyell, James P. R. Starkie, WalterCatholic Church titlesDiego Ramírez de GuzmánAdriaan BoeyensJaime Serra i CauOldest living Member of the Sacred College