Luis de Leon, Luis de Leon poetry, Christian, Christian poetry, Catholic poetry, poetry, poetry Luis de Leon
Spain (1527 - 1591) Timeline
Christian : Catholic


Poems by Luis de Leon
Books - Links

Luis de Leon was born to a Jewish family in Cuenca in the La Mancha region of Spain.

When he was 14, he became a student at the University of Salamanca, becoming a disciple of the humanist scholar Melchor Cano. In 1544 he entered the Augustinian monastic order of the Catholic Church, where he became a respected scholar of Hebrew and theology.

This was during the time of the Counter Reformation within the Catholic Church, and Inquisition had taken on a particularly harsh form in Spain. Salamanca was at the center of many Church conflicts, and Fray Luis de Leon was often embroiled in those disputes. He was imprisoned by the Inquisition in 1572 and only released in 1576.

His best known prose works are The Names of Christ and The Perfect Housewife. Only 29 of his poems are known to exist.

Poems by Luis de Leon


Recommended Books: Luis de Leon

Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty Ten Centuries of Spanish Poetry: An Anthology in English Verse with Original Texts, from the Xith Century to the Generation of 1898 Poetry and Truth in the Spanish Works of Fray Luis de Leon Luis de Leon: The Names of Christ: (Classics of Western Spirituality) Poesias: (Spanish Language)



Related Links

Shearsman Gallery: Notes on Luis de Leon
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/gallery/smith/6luisdeleon_notes.html
A good, but brief biography of Fray Luis de Leon and introduction to his philosophy and poetry. Some poems.

Catholic Encyclopedia: Luis de Leon
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09177b.htm
A detailed biography of Luis de Leon.
Luis de Leon