Biography
Villegas studied grammar in Madrid and later enrolled at the University of Salamanca in 1610. There he obtained a degree in Law, though he never entered the legal profession. Though he was the royal treasurer in Nájera, he did not obtain any of the positions he wanted. Despite coming from a wealthy family, he spent his entire life in financial difficulties due to his numerous children and his continuous involvement in litigation. At the age of 36, he married Doña Antonia de Leyva Villodas, twenty years younger than him. In 1659 he was tried by the Inquisition which accused him of believing himself in possession of the absolute truth. He was jailed after responding that, he knew more about thorny questions than the Church Fathers. He wrote satires against religious communities. Many of these writings are lost, as they were confiscated by the Inquisition. The Inquisition condemned him to four years of exile in Santa María de Ribarredonda, but he was pardoned after a year, and died at the age of 84 in Nájera.
Read more about this topic: Esteban Manuel De Villegas
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