Person
Nebrija, Antonio de (ca. 1444-1522)Other forms
Lebrija (Sevilla, España) 1444 - Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, España) 1522-07-02
Antonio Martínez de Cala y Xaraba, better known as Antonio de Nebrija, stands out by being one of the most important Spanish humanists.
He was born in Lebrija (Seville). He created his pseudonym from the combination between the current place name of Lebrija and the old one, Nebrissa. He started his studies in Salamanca, the most prestigious university in Spain, to later move to Italy, where he went all over the cities of Bologna, Rome, Florence, Pisa and Padua. Then, he returned to Seville, where he stayed for 3 years at the service of Seville's bishop. After this period, he decided to start teaching, so he moved to Salamanca, where he was in charge of the Grammar and Rhetoric chairs. His fame reached the ears of the cardinal Cisneros, who requested the Nebrija's collaboration to the revision of Greek and Latin texts of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible, one of the greatest companies of the recently founded University based in Alcalá de Henares. After a 5-year stage in Salamanca, where he continued teaching, he returned to Madrid's university to be in charge of the Rhetoric chair. He was the disciple of the Italian Lorenzo Valla and considered his science as an essential element for the understanding of the universal order. He dominated Latin and Greek, theology, law, history and cosmography. For this reason, he fought for the birth of a new man that dominated his own universe. We can find the way to reach the ultimate goal of the Renaissance philosophy. Among them, the ones dedicated to the philology and grammar stand out: "Introduciones latinae" (1481), "Vocabulario latino-español" (1492), "Reglas de la ortografía castellana" (1517) and "Gramática castellana" (1492). This last-mentioned one was the first that was written in a Romance language.
Se casó con Isabel de Solís, hija de Sancho Montesinos de Solís y fueron padres de:
-Marcelo de Nebrija o de Lebrija, comendador de Puebla, autor de las Triacas.
-Alonso Montesinos, caballero de la orden de Santiago.
-Sancho de Lebrija.
-Fabián de Lebrija, que falleció colegial de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares.
-Sebastián de Lebrija, gemelo del anterior.
-Antonio de Lebrija.
-Isabel de Lebrija, casada con Juan Romero