Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros

Reform, revolt, and crusade

From his new position Cisneros set about reforming the Franciscan order in Spain. The ordained friars had to become celibate, giving up the practice of concubinage. They had to reside in the parish where they were supposed to work, attend confession, and preach every Sunday. There was intense opposition. By 1498 the reforms were expanded to include not only Franciscans but other mendicant orders as well. The Minister General of the order himself came from Rome to attempt to temper the archbishop's strict reforms, but Cisneros, backed by the influence of a strong Queen, managed to impose them.

In 1499 Cisneros accompanied the court of the Spanish Inquisition to Granada, and there interfered with Hernando de Talavera's efforts to peacefully convert its Muslim inhabitants to Christianity. Talavera favored slow conversion by explaining to the Moors, in their language, the truths of the Catholic religion, but Cisneros said that this was "giving pearls to pigs", and proceeded with forced mass conversion. He ordered the public burning of all Arabic manuscripts that could be found in Granada — 5,000 is the lowest figure the contemporary sources give — except those dealing with medicine.

The indignation of the unconverted Mudéjares (i.e., Iberian Muslims living in Christian territories) over this gross violation of the Alhambra treaty swelled into the open revolt known as the First Rebellion of the Alpujarras. The revolt was violently suppressed and they were given a choice — contrary to the terms of Granada's surrender — of baptism or exile. The majority accepted baptism and by 1500 Cisneros reported that "there is now no one in the city who is not a Christian, and all the mosques are churches". However, he had created a problem that would only end with the expulsion from Spain of Moriscos in 1609.

On 26 November 1504 Isabella died. Ferdinand claimed regency against his son-in-law Philip I of Castile, and Cisneros helped mediate the dispute in the Treaty of Villafafila which left Philip as king of Castile. When Philip died in 1506, Ferdinand was in Naples and Cisneros set up a regent government in his absence, and stopped a plot by a group of high nobles to take over the throne. In return for his loyalty, Ferdinand made Cisneros Grand Inquisitor for Castile and León in 1507 and prevailed on the Pope to give him a Cardinal's hat.

The next great event in the cardinal's life was the attack against the Moorish city of Oran in North Africa, in which his religious zeal coincided with Ferdinand's prospect for political and material gain. A preliminary expedition, equipped at Cisneros' expense, captured the port of Mers El Kébir in 1505. In 1509, a strong force accompanied by the cardinal in person set sail for Africa, and in one day the wealthy city was taken by storm. Cisneros returned to Spain and attempted to recover from Ferdinand the expenses of the expedition, but Ferdinand was content with taking Oran and because of his greater interest in Italy he would not support Cisneros' plans for a larger North African crusade and conquest.

Final years

On 23 January 1516 Ferdinand died, leaving Cisneros as regent of Castile for Charles (afterward Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor), then a youth of sixteen in the Netherlands. Though Cisneros at once took firm hold of the reins of government, and ruled in a determined and even autocratic manner, the turbulent Castilian nobility and the jealous intriguing Flemish councilors for Charles combined to render Cisneros' position peculiarly difficult. Cisneros acceded to Charles' desire to be proclaimed king; he secured the person of Charles' younger brother Ferdinand (afterward Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor); he fixed the seat of the courts at Madrid; and he established a standing army by drilling the citizens of the major towns. During his regency, he dealt with the Spanish conquest of Navarre. He is remembered for ordering the demolition of most of the fortresses of Navarre (e.g., the Castle of Xavier, home to Francis Xavier's family) aimed at dampening any spirits of resistance and thwarting future rebellions against Spanish occupation.

In September 1517, Charles landed in Asturias on the northern coast of Spain. He arranged to meet with Cisneros in Valladolid and receive a briefing on the situation in his Spanish kingdoms. While making preparations for the meeting, Cisneros fell ill. He was still weak from illness when he began his journey to Valladolid and only made it as far as Aranda when his weakness and rumors of the plague forced him to seek shelter in the Monastery of Aguilera. Cisneros never recovered. In early November Charles sent a note thanking him for his services and giving him leave to retire. It is not clear whether Cisneros ever received the letter. He died on 8 November 1517 at Roa.

Influence

Cardinal Cisneros was a bold and determined statesman. Described as stern, fanatical and inflexible even by the harsh standards of his time, with a confidence that became at times overbearing, he carried through what he had decided to be right, with little regard for the convenience of others or for himself. He was seen as incorruptible, and founded and maintained numerous benevolent institutions in his diocese. His whole life was devoted either to the state or to religion; and his only recreation was in theological or scholastic discussion.

The university at Alcalá de Henares was founded in 1500 and opened in 1508. The university, raised at the sole expense of and fostered by Cardinal Cisneros, attained a great reputation. At one time 7,000 students met within its walls. All the religious orders in Spain, except the Benedictines and Hieronymites, established houses at Alcalá in connection with it. In 1836 the university, with falling enrollments and in some disarray, was moved to Madrid, renamed the Universidad Complutense de Madrid ("Complutense" means "from Alcalá", whose Latin name is Complutum), and the buildings in Alcalá de Henares were left vacant until the creation of the modern University of Alcalá de Henares in 1977.

Cisneros published religious treatises by himself and others. He also revived the Mozarabic liturgy, and endowed a chapel in Toledo where it was to be used.

He is well known for his sponsorship of the Complutensian Polyglot, the first printed polyglot translation of the Bible, in which three different versions of the Old Testament were put in parallel columns – Greek, Latin, and Hebrew – with the Aramaic text of Targum Onkelos and its own Latin translation added at the bottom, so that readers for the first time could check all the translations simultaneously. The New Testament consisted of parallel columns of Greek and the Latin Vulgate. The text occupies five volumes, and a sixth contains a Hebrew lexicon, etc. The work commenced in 1502. The New Testament was finished in January 1514, and the whole in April 1517. The book was dedicated to Pope Leo X. Cisneros died months after it was completed and did not live to see it published.

Cause of beatification and canonization

A cause for Cisneros's beatification was formally opened on 15 October 1669, granting him the title of Servant of God. His spiritual writings were approved by theologians on 1 March 1681. He was later granted the title of Venerable.

Commemoration

In 1884, Spanish colonists commemorated Cisneros by founding Villa Cisneros, now Dakhla, Western Sahara.

The Spanish Navy armored cruiser Cardenal Cisneros, commissioned in 1902, was named for Cisneros.

Other languages

• Pérez, Joseph (2014) Cisneros, el cardenal de España. Barcelona: Taurus ISBN 978-84-306-0948-2