Hernán Nuñez
Encyclopedia
Hernán Núñez de Toledo y Guzmán (Valladolid
, 1475 - Salamanca
, 1553) was a Spanish
humanist
, classicist, philologist, and paremiographer
. He was called el Comendador Griego, el Pinciano or Fredenandus Nunius Pincianus. He earned his degree in 1490 from the Spanish College of San Clemente in Bologna
. He returned to Spain in 1498 and served as a preceptor
to the Mendoza family, in Granada
. In this city, he studied classical languages as well as Hebrew and Arabic. Cardinal Gonzalo Ximénez de Cisneros hired him as censor of the cardinal’s press at Alcalá de Henares
. There, Nuñez worked on the Complutensian Polyglot Bible
, specifically on the Septuagint. Nuñez was named professor of rhetoric
at the Universidad Complutense, which had recently been founded. He then taught Greek from 1519. During the Castilian War of the Communities
, Nuñez sided with the comuneros but avoided execution. He then taught at the University of Salamanca
, occupying the post once filled by Antonio de Nebrija
. At the age of 50, he retired from teaching to dedicate himself fully to research, although he seems to have still given classes on Hebrew at the University of Salamanca.
by Juan de Mena
, which appeared in two editions (Seville, 1499; and Granada, 1505).
In 1508, he collected and glossed a diverse body of proverbs and adages, first published in Seville
. After his death, it was published as Refranes o proverbios en romance (Salamanca
, 1555). He included proverbs from many languages, including Catalan
, Galician
, Portuguese
, French
, Italian
, Asturian
, Aragonese
, Latin
, and Greek. The work was popular: it was reprinted several times, although it suffered censorship
(some of its obscene or foreign proverbs were removed). It inspired imitators in Spain and abroad, such as the French work Proverbiorum Vulgarium Libri Tres (1531) and the Italian Opera quale contiene le Dieci Tavole de proverbi (Turin, 1535).
In 1509, he translated into Castilian Enea Silvio Piccolomini's History of Bohemia
. In 1519, he published a Greek and Latin text of the letter “To the Christian youths,” written by Saint Basil.
He published critical studies on the works of Pliny the Elder
, Theocritus
, Seneca
, and Pomponius Mela
. He also studied the work of Saint Jerome
.
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
, 1475 - Salamanca
Salamanca
Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...
, 1553) was a Spanish
Spain
Spain , 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...
humanist
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
, classicist, philologist, and paremiographer
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
. He was called el Comendador Griego, el Pinciano or Fredenandus Nunius Pincianus. He earned his degree in 1490 from the Spanish College of San Clemente in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
. He returned to Spain in 1498 and served as a preceptor
Preceptor
A preceptor is a teacher responsible to uphold a certain law or tradition, a precept.-Christian military orders:A preceptor was historically in charge of a preceptory, the headquarters of certain orders of monastic Knights, such as the Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar, within a given...
to the Mendoza family, in Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
. In this city, he studied classical languages as well as Hebrew and Arabic. Cardinal Gonzalo Ximénez de Cisneros hired him as censor of the cardinal’s press at Alcalá de Henares
Alcalá de Henares
Alcalá de Henares , meaning Citadel on the river Henares, is a Spanish city, whose historical centre is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, and one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain...
. There, Nuñez worked on the Complutensian Polyglot Bible
Complutensian Polyglot Bible
The Complutensian Polyglot Bible is the name given to the first printed polyglot of the entire Bible, initiated and financed by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros . It includes the first printed editions of the Greek New Testament, the complete Septuagint, and the Targum Onkelos...
, specifically on the Septuagint. Nuñez was named professor of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
at the Universidad Complutense, which had recently been founded. He then taught Greek from 1519. During the Castilian War of the Communities
Castilian War of the Communities
The Revolt of the Comuneros was an uprising by citizens of Castile against the rule of Charles V and his administration between 1520 and 1521. At its height, the rebels controlled the heart of Castile, ruling the cities of Valladolid, Tordesillas, and Toledo.The revolt occurred in the wake of...
, Nuñez sided with the comuneros but avoided execution. He then taught at the University of Salamanca
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European...
, occupying the post once filled by Antonio de Nebrija
Antonio de Nebrija
Antonio de Lebrija , also known as Antonio de Nebrija, Elio Antonio de Lebrija, Antonius Nebrissensis, and Antonio of Lebrixa, was a Spanish scholar, known for writing a grammar of the Castilian language, credited as one of the first published grammars of a Romance language...
. At the age of 50, he retired from teaching to dedicate himself fully to research, although he seems to have still given classes on Hebrew at the University of Salamanca.
Works
He wrote a gloss on the Laberinto de FortunaLaberinto de Fortuna
Laberinto de Fortuna is the major work of Juan de Mena, who completed the poem in 1444. It is an epic poem written in “arte mayor”...
by Juan de Mena
Juan de Mena
Juan de Mena was one of the most significant Spanish poets of the fifteenth century. He was highly regarded at the court of Juan II de Castilla, who appointed him veinticuatro of Córdoba, secretario de cartas latinas and cronista real...
, which appeared in two editions (Seville, 1499; and Granada, 1505).
In 1508, he collected and glossed a diverse body of proverbs and adages, first published in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
. After his death, it was published as Refranes o proverbios en romance (Salamanca
Salamanca
Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...
, 1555). He included proverbs from many languages, including Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
, Galician
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Asturian
Asturian language
Asturian is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spanish Region of Asturias by the Asturian people...
, Aragonese
Aragonese language
Aragonese is a Romance language now spoken in a number of local varieties by between 10,000 and 30,000 people over the valleys of the Aragón River, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza in Aragon, Spain...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, and Greek. The work was popular: it was reprinted several times, although it suffered censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
(some of its obscene or foreign proverbs were removed). It inspired imitators in Spain and abroad, such as the French work Proverbiorum Vulgarium Libri Tres (1531) and the Italian Opera quale contiene le Dieci Tavole de proverbi (Turin, 1535).
In 1509, he translated into Castilian Enea Silvio Piccolomini's History of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. In 1519, he published a Greek and Latin text of the letter “To the Christian youths,” written by Saint Basil.
He published critical studies on the works of Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, Theocritus
Theocritus
Theocritus , the creator of ancient Greek bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC.-Life:Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings. We must, however, handle these with some caution, since some of the poems commonly attributed to him have little claim to...
, Seneca
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
, and Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera and died c. AD 45.His short work occupies less than one hundred pages of ordinary print. It is laconic in style and deficient in method, but of pure Latinity, and occasionally relieved by pleasing...
. He also studied the work of Saint Jerome
Saint Jerome
Saint Jerome is a Christian church father, best known for translating the Bible into Latin.Saint Jerome may also refer to:*Jerome of Pavia , Bishop of Pavia...
.
List of works
- Glosa sobre las Trezientas de Juan de Mena, Sevilla (1499) y Granada (1505) [Hernán Núñez de Toledo, Las ‘Trezientas’ del famosíssimo poeta Juan de Mena con glosa. Julian Weiss & Antonio Cortijo Ocaña eds. http://www.ehumanista.ucsb.edu/projects/Weiss%20Cortijo].
- L. Annaei Senecae Opera, Basilea, 1529. Se hicieron diez ediciones hasta 1627.
- Observationes Fredenandi Pintiani in loca obscura et depravata Hist. Natur. C. Plinii, Salamanca, 1544.
- Refranes de la lengua castellana, Salamanca, 1555. Hay edición crítica moderna, Refranes o proverbios en romance (1555) de Hernán Núñez. Edición crítica. Madrid, Ediciones Guillermo Blázquez, 2001; 2 vols.