Enrique de Villena - Influence and Legacy

Influence and Legacy

Enrique de Villena’s deep interest in science and his great knowledge of astrology and other religious mystical systems gave him the reputation of a necromancer during his lifetime. This brought some of his works into question. Despite this, modern critics now see Villena as one of the most important Castilian intellectual leaders of the 15th century.

Villena exemplified characteristics of vernacular humanism in his translations and adaptations of the classical works. He encouraged Italian humanist thought and took some of the first steps to incorporate Latin culture and intellect into the culture of Castile. This started a movement to convert classical works into modern vernacular languages so that they could be read and enjoyed by more than just Latin scholars.

Villena was a strong believer in poetry’s necessary role in creating the intellectual elite. This is shown in the way he seeks to instruct his readers on various aspects of morality in his texts. He tries to influence the Castilian court and aristocracy on virtue and etiquette.

His most significant classical translation, Virgil’s Aeneid, was the first complete translation of this work into a romance language. He translates the work and provides commentary that enables readers to grasp the obscurity of the text and gives literal interpretations of specific information in order to teach the Castilian society the proper behaviors of courtiers. Typical of vernacular humanism, Villena’s commentary and translation of Virgil’s Aeneid exhibits Villena’s feeling that reading and intellectual curiosity is an important element in the education of the elite.

The accusations of necromancy and the heavy influence Italian Humanism had on his writing made him a bit controversial. The controversy surrounding Villena’s personal character spread his popularity by the interest it sparked in authors who followed. Villena often appears as a character in literature. In El doncel de don Enrique el Doliente, Mariano José de Larra portrays Villena as an evil figure. Lope de Vega’s Porfiar hasta morir illustrates Villena as more of a hero figure who works for justice. There is not one portrayal of Villena’s personal character accurate enough to give us a complete understanding of what he was really like. His literary accomplishments have survived time, but the uncertainty surrounding his life still remains today a mystery. However, he is viewed as an intellectual pioneer who exhibited civic virtue and wrote with poetic eloquence.