Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros
Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Toledo Primate of Spain | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Toledo |
| Province | Toledo |
| Appointed | 20 February 1495 |
| Term ended | 8 November 1517 |
| Predecessor | Pedro González de Mendoza |
| Successor | William de Croÿ |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 11 October 1495 by Hernando de Talavera |
| Created cardinal | 17 May 1507 by Pope Julius II |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gonzalo Jiménez de Cisneros 1436 |
| Died | November 8, 1517 (aged 80–81) |
| Buried | Alcalá de Henares Cathedral |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Alma mater | University of Salamanca |
| Signature | |
| Coat of arms | |
| Governor of the Kingdom of Castile | |
| In office 23 January 1516 – 8 November 1517 | |
| Monarch | Joanna I |
| Preceded by | Ferdinand II of Aragon |
| Succeeded by | Charles I |
Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, OFM (1436 – 8 November 1517) was a Spanish cardinal, religious figure, and statesman. Starting from humble beginnings he rose to the heights of power, becoming a religious reformer, twice regent of Spain, Cardinal, Grand Inquisitor, promoter of the Crusades in North Africa, and founder of the Alcalá University. Among his intellectual accomplishments during the Renaissance in Spain, he is best known for funding the Complutensian Polyglot Bible, the first polyglot version of the entire Bible, which was mass produced using Johannes Gutenberg's printing press. He also edited and published the first printed editions of the missal (in 1500) and the breviary (in 1502) of the Mozarabic Rite, and established a chapel with a college of thirteen priests to celebrate the Mozarabic Liturgy of the Hours and Eucharist each day in the Toledo Cathedral.
Cardinal Cisneros' life coincided with, and greatly influenced, a dynamic period in the history of Spain during the reign of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. During this time Spain underwent many significant changes, leading it into its prominent role in the Spanish Golden Age (1500–1700). Modern historian John Elliott said as far as any particular policies that can be attributed to Spain's rise, they were those of King Ferdinand and Cardinal Cisneros.