RICARDO LEÓN. — Spanish poet and short-story writer, born in Málaga on 15 Oct. 1877, died in Madrid on 6 Dec. 1943. A bank employee, he devoted himself assiduously to literary activity, which earned him admission to the Academy (1915).
He drew inspiration from the traditions of his homeland and Christian ideals, championing purity of language and style. His literary output, which began with the poetry collection *Lira de bronce* (1901), includes: *Casta de hidalgos* (1908), a yearning to escape the narrowness of modern scepticism through religion and the nobility of the fathers; *El amor de los amores* (1910), a triumph of mystical love over the profane; *Los caballeros de la Cruz* (1916), evocative depictions of Castilian past and Spanish mystics; *Europa trágica* (1917–18), a chronicle of the First World War; *Las siete vidas de Tomás Portolés* (1931), in which he satirises the theory of moral irresponsibility and its alleged foundations: the subconscious, multiple personality, etc.; *Cristo en los infiernos* (1943), a portrayal of the horrors of the civil war in Madrid.