Between Sin and Virtue. The Archbishops Don Alonso de Aragón (1478–1520) and His Son Don Juan de Aragón (1520–1530)

• Autores: Jaime Elipe
• Localización: Christian Discourses of the Holy and the Sacred from the 15th to the 17th Century / coord. por Teresa Hiergeist, Ismael del Olmo, 2020, ISBN 978-3-631-80081-2, págs. 325-338
• Idioma: inglés
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• Dialnet Métricas: 1 Cita
• Resumen

  • This book chapter focuses on two different characters, namely Don Alonso de Aragón (1478–1520) and his son Don Juan de Aragón (1520–1530). Both were illegitimate children of royal blood, both were archbishops of Zaragoza. They had some commonalities: they were deceitful politicians and they pursued a worldly lifestyle, which was not decent at all. The chapter compares the two careers and points out the reasons why the attitude of the first-mentioned was widely approved, whereas the lifestyle of his son was not. The dawning of Modernity undoubtedly marked one of the greatest moments in time, being one of the periods in history that sparks most fascination. To a large extent, this may be due to the persistence in people’s minds of the image – partly due to the Reformation – of the highest levels of dissolution in ecclesiastical life and very little respect for the three vows that were supposed to be kept by the clergy. Just like with any other image, this one also has a semblance of truth: the autumn of the Middle Ages produced in equal numbers clergymen with a deep spirituality, important builders, skilful politicians who forged a great reputation in their own lifetime, but also nepotists, licentious individuals and kleptocrats. These vices and virtues sometimes went hand in hand without serious complications, like two sides of the same coin. This can be seen in specific cases, but also in some of...