Francisco de Enzinas, a Reformationminded humanist with a vernacular dream

Abstract

In sixteenth-century Western Europe there was widespread debate as to whether it was permissible, or even desirable, that the laity read the Bible in the vernacular and whether the Bible might be translated into various national languages. Under the influence of the humanistic ideas of Desiderius Erasmus, several young Spaniards came to Leuven to complete their studies, one of whom was the Spanish humanist, Francisco de Enzinas, whose chief objective was to provide a Spanish translation of Scripture. This article will show that in an eventful life, but cut short, and during which he eventually did admit allegiance to the Reformation, Enzinas was only able to partially achieve this goal. In 1543 he published a Spanish translation of the New Testament and some books of the Old Testament.