Most Reverend Alonso Fernández de Madrigal | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Ávila | |
.jpg) Alonso Tostado | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Diocese of Ávila |
| In office | 1454–1455 |
| Predecessor | Alonso de Fonseca y Ulloa |
| Successor | Martín Fernández de Vilches |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1410 |
| Died | 3 September 1455 |
| Nationality | Hispanic |
Alonso Tostado (alsoAl(f)onso Fernández deMadrigal, variously known asAlphonsus Tostatus,Tostatus Abulensis, and in Spanish asEl Tostado orEl Abulense;c. 1410[1] – 3 September 1455) was a Spanish theologian, councillor ofJohn II of Castile and brieflybishop of Ávila.[2] Hisepitaph stated "Wonder of earth, all [that] mencan know he scanned."[3]
A leading scholar of his generation, he is particularly known for providing the first indication of the end of the pre-critical era of biblical studies, allowing us to foresee the beginning ofTextual criticism. In hisComentaria in Deuteronomium, III/2 (Köln, 1613) pp. 317-319, he asks:An Moyses potuerit scribere prophetice in verbis suis ista quae habentur hic vel scripserit literam istam Esdras et Josue (Could Moses have written these things prophetically in his own words? Ezra and Joshua are said to have written this text). A few centuries later, the question of whether the Pentateuch was entirely the work of Moses or of other authors would become a central topic of discussion among Pentateuch scholars.[4] He is also known as an early theorist onwitchcraft; in hisDe maleficis mulieribus, quae vulgariter dicuntur bruxas (1440) he defended the possibility offlying witches based on biblical exegesis.[5]
Alonso's father, also called Alonso Tostado, was a ploughman. The nicknameTostado refers to a ploughman's tanned or sunburnt complexion.[6]After a course of grammar under theFranciscans he entered theUniversity of Salamanca, where, besidesphilosophy andtheology, he studied civil and canon law,Greek,Hebrew, and the other branches then comprised in the curriculum of a university. By great application joined to an unusually brilliant mind and an extraordinarily retentivememory, he accumulated such a vast store of knowledge that his contemporaries styled him a wonder of the world. At 22 he began to lecture on a wide variety of subjects to large audiences attracted by his learning.
Later he assisted with distinction at theCouncil of Basle.During a visit to thepapal court atSiena in 1443, he was denounced toPope Eugene IV as having publicly defended a heretic and some rash propositions, but in an explanatory letter he assured the pontiff of his orthodoxy. On his return to Spain, he entered briefly theCarthusianmonastery of Scala Dei in January 1444 but was appointed Grand Chancellor and councillor ofJohn II of Castile just three months later and moved to the court.[7] In 1454, shortly before his premature death (likely in his forties or early fifties),[1] he was named Bishop ofÁvila.His sepulcher inAvila was carved byVasco de la Zarza in 1518.
In hisDefensorium, written againstJuan de Torquemada and other critics, he gave utterance to views derogatory to the authority of the pope. Besides a Spanish commentary on the chronicles ofEusebius and other minor works, he wrote commentaries on the historical books of theOld Testament as far asSecond Chronicles, and on theGospel according to St. Matthew. These are diffuse, containing many digressions ondogmatic and other subjects. Tostado's works exercised a significant influence on the Jewish Bible commentator and statesmanIsaac Abravanel (1437–1508).[8]
An edition of his works in 13folio volumes was published atVenice in 1507 and 1547; a more complete edition in 24 folio volumes appeared at the same place in 1615, and another in 27 folio volumes in 1728.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Bishop of Ávila 1454–1455 | Succeeded by |
