Spanish cardinal, religious reformer, and statesman
1436 CE
to 1517 CE
Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, O.F.M.
(1436 – November 8, 1517), known as Ximenes de Cisneros in his own lifetime, and commonly referred to today as simply Cisneros, is a Spanish cardinal, religious reformer, and statesman.
Starting from humble beginnings he rises 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 Complutense University, today the Complutense University of Madrid.
Among his intellectual accomplishments, he is best known for funding the Complutensian Polyglot Bible, the first printed polyglot version of the entire Bible.
He also edits and publishes the first printed editions of the missal (in 1500) and the breviary (in 1502) of the Mozarabic Rite, and establishes 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 coincides with, and greatly influences, a dynamic period in the history of the Spanish language during the reign of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.
During this time Spain undergoes many significant changes, leading it into its prominent role in the Spanish Golden Age (1500–1700).
