Court preacher and man of letters whose didactic work Reloj de príncipes o libro aureo del emperador Marco Aurelio (1529, The Diall of Princess or The Golden Boke of Marcus Aurelius) an attempt to invent a model for rulers became one of the most influential books of the 16th century.
Well received outside Spain the book was widely translated even though much annoyance was voiced over Guevara´s false attribution of parts of the work to Emperor Marcus Aurelius whose Meditations din not come to light until later (1558).
Entering the Franciscan order in 1528 he quickly rose to the office of court preacher to Charles V, through whose influence he was appointed bishop of Guadix and Mondoñedo.
A rhetorician more concerned with developing a golden prose than with content Guevara wrote mostly about trite subjects which enabled him to display his wit and euphuistic diction.
His other major works -Epístolas familiares (1539-42, Familiar Letters), Menosprecio de corte y alabanza de aldea (1539, Scorn of Court Life and Praise of Village Life) and La década de Césares (1539, The Ten Caesars) a rather shallow historical work -also managed to achieve popularity during his lifetime.
His work is now considered of little more than historical interest, clearly reflecting the prevailing tastes of the court of Charles V.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment