Pedro Mexía

Pedro Mejía

Pedro Mexía (also Pedro Mejía , * between January 17 and September 6, 1497 in Seville ; † January 17, 1551/52 ibid) was a humanist author of the 16th century. The writer spent most of his life in his hometown, for which he always expressed a special affection in his writings.

Life

There is not much information about Mexía's childhood. It is believed that Pedro Mexía lived with his family in Seville until 1516, where he developed an interest in humanistic and spiritual studies.

In the autumn of 1516, at the age of 19, Mexía began studying law in Salamanca , which he continued for ten years. However, it is not known whether he earned a degree. There is also no more detailed information about his place of residence and his activities during the period between his graduation and the year 1530, when he returned to Seville.

Most is known about the last stage in Pedro Mexía's life, which he spent in Seville. Both professionally and literarily it is considered to be the most fruitful phase of his life, in which he was publicly active. In 1537 Mexía was appointed cosmographer of the Casa de Contratación de Sevilla , a year later he took over the office of mayor of Santa Hermandad de Sevilla, in 1548 after the death of Guevara he became the official imperial chronicler of the court and later (between 1530 and 1540) for Appointed knight veinticuatro of the Seville City Council. In literary terms, Mexía completed its most important literary and scientific productions between around 1540 and 1550.

education

Pedro Mexía was interested in many things and continued to educate himself in a wide variety of sciences. Before studying law in Salamanca, Mexía learned Latin and acquired a rudimentary knowledge of Greek over the course of his life. In addition, Mexía acquired a comprehensive mathematical and astrological knowledge, which is why he was called "el Astólogo" (based on Aristotle , who was nicknamed "el Filósofo"). In addition, Mexía devoted himself to the study of history and made his mathematical, cosmographic, hydrographic and historical knowledge available to pilots and seafarers. It is believed that Pedro Mexía acquired most of his knowledge through self-study, because since he mastered Latin, the universal cultural language in Europe in the 16th century, he was able to read ancient and modern treatises on these subjects.

Personality and character

Mexía's biographer Francisco Pacheco has given us some details about Pedro Mexía's personality and character. As a teenager, Mexía is said to have presented himself very brave, determined and determined. Over the years he acquired more and more knowledge and dealt with different areas of knowledge. Mexía was in correspondence with Juan Luis Vives ; Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and Erasmus of Rotterdam and had family contacts with Hernando Colón and don Baltasar del Río, the Bishop of Escalas.

During the last phase of his life, Mexía was known as a very controlled, hardworking and inquisitive person who ate and drank very little and slept a maximum of four hours. According to his biographer, he performed his religious duties in the morning, pursued his professional duties and public offices during the day and devoted himself to reading and writing until late at night. He was considered grumpy, orderly and tireless and, despite his irascible and choleric personality traits, had a gentle, compassionate and honest heart, so that he always tried to cheer up, encourage and stand up for the truth.

Works

Mexía achieved great fame (especially among Romanists) through his work Silva de varia lección (1540), which - mediated by Michel de Montaigne - is a forerunner of the essay as a literary form. Other larger works are Historia imperial y cesárea (1545), Historia del emperador Carlos V (unfinished and unpublished) and Coloquios y diálogos (1547). In addition, Mexía is said to have written some historical and genealogical writings and it is believed that he also translated Romances , devoted himself to dramatic art and - albeit unsuccessfully - to poetry.

literature

• Pedro Mexía: Silva de varia lección. Edited by Antonio Castro Díaz. 2 volumes. Ed. Cátedra, Madrid 1989, ISBN 84-376-0889-9 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Pedro Mexía in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See Wolfgang Adam: Poetic and Critical Forests. Studies of the history and forms of writing 'on occasion'. Carl Winter, Heidelberg 1988 (= supplements to the Euphorion. Journal for the history of literature , issue 22), p. 231.