Juan de Castellanos | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Juan de Castellanos (1589) | |
| Born | March 9, 1522 |
| Died | November 1606 (aged 84) |
| Language | Spanish |
| Notable work | Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias |
Juan de Castellanos (March 9, 1522 – November 1606)[1] was aSpanish poet, soldier and Catholic priest who lived in theNew Kingdom of Granada. As one of the early Spanishchroniclers he has contributed to the knowledge of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, mainly theMuisca.
De Castellanos was born inAlanís,Sevilla,Spain. He travelled toAmerica before 1545 as acavalry soldier, and acquired some property onCubagua island in thePearl Coast. Abandoning the military profession, he became a secular priest inCartagena and, declining the positions ofcanon and treasurer, went ascurate toTunja.
De Castellanos was among the earliestconquistadores and was acquainted with nearly every prominent leader of the time. He relies to some extent uponOviedo for many details, stating that Oviedo communicated to him verbally what he knew by personal experience of the settlement at Cartagena.
De Castellanos died inTunja,Boyacá,New Kingdom of Granada in 1606.
While in Tunja, de Castellanos composed an epic poem,Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias. The first part of this poem appeared inMadrid in 1588, and the first three parts in 1837. It is the longest poem ever in the Spanish language: 113,609 verses.[1] TheLenox Branch of theNew York Public Library possesses a complete copy. The verse recounts successively the deeds of prominent Spaniards in America, beginning withChristopher Columbus, and includes many ethnographic and ethnological details on the colonial history of northern South America.
Castellanos' poem is the second of a series of epic compositions in Spanish treating of the early colonization of America,Ercilla'sLa Araucana being the earliest in date of publication.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Juan de Castellanos".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
