Gómez Manrique , Gómez Manrique y de Castilla (c. 1412 - c. 1490) was a
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, soldier, politician and dramatist born in
AmuscoAmusco is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 507 inhabitants....
. The fifth son of Pedro Manrique de Lara y Mendoza, (1382 - 1440), adelantado mayor of Leon. Gómez Manrique was introduced into public life at an early age, took a prominent part against the constable
Alvaro de LunaÁlvaro de Luna y Jarana , Duke of Trujillo, 1st Count of San Esteban de Gormaz, was a Spanish politician...
during the reign of
John IIJohn II was King of Castile from 1406 to 1454.He was the son of Henry III of Castile and his wife Catherine of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster by Constance of Castile, daughter of King Peter of Castile.-Regency:He succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, at the age of...
, went into opposition against Miguel Lucas de Iranzo in the reign of
Henry IVHenry IV , King of the Crown of Castile, nicknamed the Impotent , was the last of the weak late medieval kings of Castile...
, and declared in favor of the then infanta Isabel, soon to be Queen Isabel I of Castile, whose marriage with Ferdinand of Aragon, King
Ferdinand II of AragonFerdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
, he promoted.
Besides being a distinguished soldier, he acted as a moderating political influence and, when appointed corregidor of
ToledoToledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, was active in protecting the converted Jews from popular resentment. His will was signed on the 31st of May 1490, and he is known to have died before the 16th of February 1491.
He inherited the literary taste of his uncle Iñigo López de Mendoza y de la Vega, Marquis of
SantillanaSantillana may refer to:*Santillana del Mar, a town in Spain*Carlos Alonso González, nicknamed Santillana, a Spanish footballer*Grupo Santillana, a Spanish publisher owned by PRISA...
, and was greatly esteemed in his own age; but his reputation was afterwards eclipsed by that of his nephew
Jorge ManriqueJorge Manrique was a major Spanish poet, whose main work, the Coplas a la muerte de su padre , is still read today...
, (deceased 1478), the son of his eldest brother Rodrigo Manrique de Lara, (deceased 1476), and whose
Coplas por la muerte de su padre were continually reproduced.
Gómez Manrique's poems were not printed until 1885, when, they were edited by Antonio Paz y Melia. They at once revealed him to be a poet of eminent merit, and it seems certain that his
Consejos, addressed to Diego Arias de Avila, inspired the more famous
Coplas of his nephew. His didactic verses are modelled upon those of his uncle the Marquis of Santillana, Don Iñigo . He wrote the
Representación del nascimiento de Nuestro Senor, a play on the Passion, and two momos, or interludes, played at court, and a large number of poems.