Alonso Fernández de Madrigal

The El Tostados tomb (around 1515) in the ambulatory of the Cathedral of Ávila is one of the great masterpieces of European sculpture of the early 16th century.

Alonso Fernández de Madrigal (* around 1400/10 in Madrigal de las Altas Torres ; † September 3, 1455 in Bonilla de la Sierra ) was a theologian and writer who made it to the Bishop of Avila . It is also known under the name Tostado (Latin for Tostatus ) "sunburned, brown".

biography

Alonso Fernández was born to Alfonso Tostado and Isabel de Ribera in Madrigal de las Altas Torres in the province of Avila . At a young age he began his studies in theology and canon law at the University of Salamanca and was appointed to the Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé , founded in 1401 , which was the oldest teaching institution of its kind in Spain. He gained an excellent reputation as a theologian and speaker - for example, at the age of 22 he was already giving well-attended lectures.

In 1443 he took part in the Council of Basel . In Siena he was reported to Pope Eugene IV for alleged support of heretics and heretical opinions - but with a letter he was able to get rid of this hostility. After his return to Castile (1444), King John II appointed him his adviser. A year before his untimely death he took over the office of bishop of Ávila .

aftermath

Alonso Fernández de Madrigal remained popular in Spain after his death - Fernando del Pulgar and Alfonso de Palencia were among his students . A colloquial expression is still saber más que El Tostado ("to know more than El Tostado").

Works

In his writing Defensorium he opposed certain pope-centered views of Juan de Torquemada , which he had represented at the council. In addition, he wrote commentaries on Eusebius of Caesarea , on the historical books of the Old Testament ( 1st and 2nd books of the Chronicle ) and on the Gospel of Matthew . In the Libellus de statu animarum post mortem (1436) he reflected on the state of the soul after death. In his work Libellus de optima politia (1436) he dealt with forms of government and the book Libro de las paradoxas (approx. 1437) deals with questions of logic. He also dealt with the topics of love and friendship in his treatise Breviloquio de amor e amiciçia (approx. 1437–1441).

Tomb

The El Tostados tomb in Ávila Cathedral is one of the highlights of European sculpture of the early 16th century. It was not commissioned from the sculptor Vasco de la Zarza until 1511, many years after his death by his admirer and successor in office, Alonso Carrillo de Albornoz . Completion could have taken several years, so that the work could not be shown to the noble public until around 1520. It was set up - like an altarpiece - in the ambulatory of the cathedral of Ávila above an altar where masses were read for the salvation of the bishop's soul. The sideways, concentrated reading posture of the figure and the extremely detailed decoration of the brocade coat , in which scenes of the Passion of Christ are incorporated, testify to the great artistic sensitivity and craftsmanship of the sculptor.

literature

• Sánchez Caro, José Manuel u. a. (Ed.): Alfonso do Madrigal, el Tostado: Introducción al Evangelio según San Mateo. Universidad Pontifica de Salamanca 2008.
• Alfonso de Madrigal "El Tostado": El gobierno ideal. EUNSA, Ediciones Universidad de Navarra 2003, ISBN 978-84-31321-41-3

Web links

• El Tostado - fictional portrait + info (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Francisco de Vitoria, Political Writings Cambridge University Press (1991), p. 367 .