Martín de Azpilcueta

Renowned in his time, he was the first to formulate the quantity theory of money in 1556 and was with Francisco de Vitoria and Domingo de Soto one of the main thinkers of the School of Salamanca in relation to law and economics.

Life

Born in Barásoain in a noble family of Navarre, Martín de Azpilcueta was a relative of Francis Xavier. In 1508, he was amongst the rare students accepted in the new Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso, founded by the cardinal Cisneros.

After his obtention of degrees in philosophy and theology at Alcalá, then for political reasons he fled to France in 1516 to study at the university of Toulouse and obtained a degree of doctor in civil and canon law in 1518.

Beginning in 1524, Azpilcueta served in several canon law chairs at the University of Salamanca. He got the chair of Decretum in 1532 and then obtained the first chair of canon law in 1537, when he taught to Diego de Covarrubias and Arias Piñel.

At the invitation of Charles V of Spain and John III of Portugal, he taught at Coimbra University in Portugal from 1538 to 1555. There he became friendly with Henry, future king of Portugal.

Back to Spain in 1555, he was charged by Philip II of Spain to defend his friend Bartolomé Carranza, Archbishop of Toledo, accused before the Tribunal of the Inquisition. At the age of eighty, he went to Rome to followed the process. Though he failed to exculpate the Archbishop, Azpilcueta was highly honoured at Rome by several popes, and was looked on as an oracle of learning and prudence. His humility, disinterestedness, and charity were proverbial. Pope Pius V made him counsellor of the Apostolic Penitentiary and tried, without success, to make him a cardinal.

Azpilcueta died in Rome at the age of 94. He is buried in the national Church of San Antonio de' Portoghesi. Among other lives of Azpilcueta is one by his nephew that is prefixed to the Roman edition of his works.