FLOREZ, ENRIQUE. - Augustinian, b. at Villadiego (Burgos) on 21 July 1702, d. at Madrid on 5 May 1773.
A man of great virtue and vast erudition, at the age of 28 he composed a Treatise on Theology and several volumes. Devoting himself to historical studies, he wrote *La clave historiale*, a chronological synopsis of popes, emperors, kings, councils, saints, heretics and writers, arranged by centuries, conceived as an introduction to Spanish ecclesiastical geography. His major work is the *España sagrada*, a general history of the Church in Spain in 29 volumes (Madrid 1747–75), rich in unpublished documents, conducted with great diligence and a remarkable critical apparatus, which still makes it an essential work today. It was continued from volume XXX to XLVI by the Augustinians Emm. Risco, Ant. Merino, Gius. Candoli; then, up to volume LI, by secular scholars (vol. LI, Madrid 1879, Index there 1978).