LEÓN, RICARDO. - Spanish poet and novelist, b. at Malaga on 15 Oct. 1877, d. at Madrid on 6 Dec. 1943. A bank employee, he devoted himself assiduously to literary activity, which gained him admission to the Academy (1915).
He drew inspiration from the tradition of his native land and from Christian ideals, and championed purity of language and style. Of his output, begun with the poetry of Lira de bronce (1901), the following are noteworthy: Custa de hidalgos (1908), a desire to escape from the anguish of modern scepticism through religion and the nobility of the forefathers; El amor de los amores (1910), the triumph of mystical over profane love; Los caballeros de la Cruz (1916), evocative portrayals of the Castilian past and of the Spanish mystics; Europa trágica (817-18), a chronicle of the First World War; Las siete vidas de Tomás Portales (1931), in which he mocks the theory of moral irresponsibility and its alleged foundations: subconsciente, pluripersonalità, etc.; Cristo en los infiernos (1943), a description of the horrors of the civil war in Madrid.