GUEVARA, ANTONIO de. — Spanish ecclesiastic and writer, b. at Treceño in 1480 (?), d. at Valladolid in 1545. He was page to the Infante Don Juan and, upon the death of Isabella the Catholic, donned the Franciscan habit, rising to the highest offices in his Order. Appointed preacher and chronicler to the Emperor, he accompanied Charles V on the expedition to Tunis and on his journey to Italy. He was also inquisitor at Toledo and Valencia and worked assiduously for the conversion of the « moriscos ». In 1528 he was made bishop of Guadix and, in 1537, of Mondoñedo.
A man of broad, though not profound, learning, he left in the Libro llamado Relox de Principes or Libro durero del emperador Marco Aurelio (Valladolid 1529) a manual intended for the moral and political education of the prince, whose conduct, like a clock, must regulate that of the Christian people. G. pretends to translate from a Florentine manuscript; in reality, he draws on Xenophon, Plutarch, Valerius Maximus, Diogenes Laërtius, but above all on his experience at court. The work, inspired by a lofty social and moral conception, contains imaginary letters by Marcus Aurelius, whose romanticized biography is outlined therein. The Relox enjoyed enormous success and was soon translated into various languages, exerting a particular influence on the rise of euphuism in England. In the Menosprecio de corte y alabanza de aldea (ibid. 1539), G. contrasts country life with court life, assigning preeminence to the former. The 85 Epistolas familiares (ibid. 1539–41), which evocatively portray the author and his milieu, are of interest. Through its conceit and expressive exuberance, lavish in parallelisms, antitheses, and assonances, G. belongs to the Spanish pre-Baroque current. Ascetic in subject are the Monte Calvario (Salamanca 1542) and the Oratorio de religiosos y exercicio de virtuosos (Valladolid 1542).