AGUILAR, GASPAR HONORATO de. - Spanish man of letters, born in Valencia and living from 1561 to 1623, he was among the first ten members of the Valencian Academy "de los Nocturnos" (1591), charged with drafting its rules: he also read there various applauded compositions in verse, published, together with those of the other members, in the Proceedings of the Academy itself. He often organized poetic contests, in which he also took part directly.

Also remembered of him is the Fábula de Endimion y la Luna, a fine epithalamium for the marriage of the Duke of Gandía, whose secretary he was almost until his death, and a historical poem in eight cantos in ottava rima on the expulsion of the Moors from Spain by Philip III. Such is the essential output of A. in the lyrical and epic field; but he was also, together with Tárrega, his usual companion at the Academy, among the first and most fervent propagators of Lope's theater, as well as a prolific playwright himself: suffice it here to recall among his comedies of religious tone La vida y muerte de San Luis Bertrán and El gran Patriarca San Juan de Ribero, and, among those of manners, La venganza honrata and El mercader amante, the latter praised by Cervantes. His contemporaries, indeed, were not sparing in their praise of him: besides the author of the Quijote, Lope too remembered him honorably, and he was even called "divine." He must be credited, along with one of the most competent scholars of his work, Marti Grajales, with a free and unaffected dialogue, a style devoid of bombast and conceits, descriptions and thoughts most beautiful "expressed with that difficult ease that is encountered only in privileged talents."

Bibliography6 works

BIBL.: Editions: In the Actas of the Nocturnos, four discourses and twenty poems by A. are published: see also, F. Marti Grajales, Cancionero Acad. de los Nocturnos, (Bibl. de aut. españoles, XI, III), Madrid 1881, pp. 123-85 and Valencia 1916, p. 167; id. Poetas volencianos. Rimas inéd. de... Espinel, Mercader..., Bordeaux 1901. Other poems were published by E. Mele in Bull. hisp., 3 (1901), pp. 330-35; and others are scattered in collections by various authors, for which see J. Cejador y Frauca, Hist. de lit. esp., IV, Madrid 1916, pp. 144-46; various others in Laureados poetas volencianos, collection 4 edited by A. Mey, published at Valencia 1608 (reprinted the following year at Barcelona under the title Doce comedios Janosas de cuatro poetas volencianos) and in the Norte de la poesia española, edited by the same A. Mey, and published at Valencia in 1616; also Fiertas nupciales... de Felipe III, edited by F. Marti Grajales, Valencia 1910 and Fiertas que Valencia hizo, con motivo de la bonificación del santo fr. Luis Bertrán, edited by F. Carreras y Vallo, Valencia 1914. - Studies: F. Marti Grajales, Cancionero cit.; H. Mérimée, Sur la biège de G. de A., in Bull. hisp., 8 (1906), pp. 303-96.

Ruggero M. Ruggieri

@incollection{ec1_aguilar_gaspar_honorato_de, author = {Ruggieri, Ruggero Maria}, title = {Aguilar, gaspar honorato de}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {I}, pages = {584--585}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1948}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/aguilar-gaspar-honorato-de} }

One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.

Aguilar, Gaspar Honorato de

About this entry