MENÉNDEZ Y PELAYO, Marcelino. — Spanish scholar and critic, b. in Santander on 3 Nov. 1856, d. 19 May 1912. A brilliant interpreter of Spanish literary history and its place in European civilization, he traced this through an extensive cycle of research and evaluations of writers and historical periods, from antiquity to the present day.
An artist himself, he often masterfully recreated the works he examined. Though excessively severe toward Calderón, Menéndez y Pelayo, despite certain concessions to his typically Iberian temperament, generally succeeded in balancing his design, embracing a vision open to modern scholarly advances and the latest literary trends, fairness of judgment, sobriety, and elegance of form. His entire output—whether as thinker, critic, historian, or polemicist—is illuminated by a Christian and patriotic spirit. His works were planned as a complete edition in 19 sections, each comprising several volumes. Among the most notable are: *La ciencia española*, *Horacio en España*, *Historia de los heterodoxos españoles*, *Historia de las ideas estéticas en España*, *Ensayos de crítica filosófica*, *Calderón y su teatro*, *Antología de poetas líricos castellanos*, *Antología de poetas hispanoamericanos*, *Orígenes de la novela*, etc.