Luisa de Medrano

Diego López de Medrano shield: In gold, a lion in red, with a black tongue[2]

Luisa de Medrano Bravo de Lagunas Cienfuegos was born into the Spanish high nobility, her father was the ricohombre Don Diego López de Medrano y Salvadores, lord of San Gregorio in Almarza and came from the lords of Iguzquiza and Sartaguda; he was a direct descendant of the Navarrese regent and ricohombre Juan Martínez de Medrano. Her father Don Diego López was a member of the prestigious Medrano family, they were the perpetual lords of Iguzquiza (in the merindad of Estella) and one of the most ancient Navarrese high nobility from the Kingdom of Navarre. Luisa's mother Dona Magdalena Bravo de Lagunas came from Berlanga de Duero and Atienza in the Kingdom of Castile and was the daughter of Don Garci Bravo de Lagunas, Alcaide of Atienza and Sigüenza, and his wife Catalina Núñez de Cienfuegos. Luisa's mother Magdalena Bravo de Lagunas was the great-great-granddaughter of Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno (progenitor of the Dukes of Medina-Sidonia). Luisa's mother was also the first cousin of the comuneros captain of Segovia, Don Juan Bravo de Lagunas y Mendoza (son of Gonzalo Ortega Bravo de Laguna).

Coat of arms of Don Diego Lopez de Medrano at the Castle of San Gregorio, Almarza

Don Diego Lopez de Medrano and Dona Magdalena Bravo de Lagunas married in 1476. Nine children were born from the marriage, including Luisa de Medrano on August 9, 1484. Her sister Catalina de Medrano was a lady of the court of Queen Isabel I and took charge of resuming the construction of the convent of San Francisco in Atienza, where her mother had already been buried in 1531. Luisa's father Don Diego López de Medrano (on his mother and grandmother's side) also belonged to the Salvadores lineage (including Barnuevo and Chancellor), members of the Twelve Lineages of Soria (The Diputación de Caballeros Hijosdalgo de los Twelve Linajes) and therefore received royal privileges in Soria. The Lineages of Soria are an ancient historical corporation, used to control the urban government for centuries. It was one of the three institutions that governed the city of Soria from the Middle Ages to the liberal reforms of the 19th century.[3]

The Castle of San Gregorio (Casa Fuerte de San Gregorio) built by Don Diego Lopez de Medrano in 1461

Luisa de Medrano lived in the Castle of San Gregorio (Casa Fuerte de San Gregorio), located in the municipality of Almarza.[4] The origin of this castle is recorded in the document drawn up in Medina del Campo and dated July 29, 1461, by which King Henry IV gave Diego López de Medrano permission to build this fortified house. It is a solid square house with a coat of arms, a central patio, defended with a barrier, part of which still exists, battlements on its walls, and round towers in three of its corners, which still preserve the gargoyles carved in stone and the tubes of artillery pieces of the fifteenth century. Later, under the protection of Don Francisco de Medrano, a Dominican convent was founded in the 16th century, giving up a house and a villa for its establishment.[5]

Church of San Gregorio, Almarza (Spain)

The church has a Latin cross plan and has a central nave with ribs, a wide dome and a beautiful portal. A classic polychrome choir is preserved under which there is a baptismal font from medieval times. The Church was a parish for many years under the patronage of San Gregorio. The cloister consists of two arcaded buildings at an angle and is paved with pebble stones in the traditional style of the great houses of Soria. It is now used for wedding ceremonies.[6]

Isabel I's grandson, Emperor Carlos I of Spain, Karl V of Germany, tried to rid the world of the memory of his mother Joanna I and of other women as well, including Luisa de Medrano. He had one of Lucio Marineo Sículo's books censured, "De Rebus Hispaniae Memorabilibus" which was published in Castilian also, as “Cosas memorables de España”, or "Memorable Things in Spain", a kind of encyclopedia that covered different subjects. There are very few copies of the first edition from 1530 because the Emperor ordered it to be removed, but it contained a chapter that mentions and praises Luisa de Medrano.

Old Library in the University of Salamanca

Luisa de Medrano's intellectual abilities and solid formation enabled her to teach Latin at the University of Salamanca. Her brother Don Luis de Medrano was the Rector of Salamanca University during her time. The scholar Sículo misspelled her name, using Lucia, instead of Luisa. She received the chair left by Antonio de Nebrija (Antonio Martínez de Cala) in 1508 (Poetry and Grammar), although it is not known how long she maintained the post.[7] Luisa de Medrano wrote poems and philosophy, though her work has been lost. She benefited from living in the climate of tolerance and advancement for women that Isabella I actively cultivated in her court, and which disappeared after her death. Under the protection of Queen Isabella I, Luisa de Medrano learned history, culture and humanist philosophy alongside children of the royal family. The news about Luisa de Medrano appears throughout history over and over again copied from two main sources: a note by Pedro de Torres, a student and rector from Salamanca, and by Lucio Marineo Siculo.

Lucio Marineo Siculo left a note of Luisa in his Cosas memorables de España, both in the Latin edition and in the Castilian edition of 1530, and in a Letter addressed to Luisa herself:

"Lucius Marineus Siculus to Lucía (Luisa) de Medrano: Your fame for your great studies and your eloquence had reached me before I had seen you, my dear and illustrious Clara. And now that I have had the privilege of seeing you in person and hearing you speak so elegantly, I have been even more impressed. You are not only learned and eloquent, but also beautiful and charming, surpassing all the Spanish men in eloquence in the Latin language. O happy parents who have given birth to such a daughter! You, my dearest girl, owe much to the Almighty God, who has bestowed great talents upon you, and also to your parents, who have not assigned you to the ordinary duties of women, nor to the unpleasant toils of the body, which are quickly destroyed, but have freed you for the pursuit of the most illustrious studies and arts, and have consecrated you to eternal memory. Debent and they owe you, for you have surpassed them all in hope and opinion with your singular virtue and great zeal. The whole of Spain owes you, as you illuminate it with the glory of your knowledge and steadfastness. As for myself, a most worthy young lady, I certainly owe you more than I can repay. Indeed, thanks to you, I envy neither the muses nor the Sibyls of past ages, nor the Pythian prophets, nor the female philosophers among the Pythagoreans. Now, what was previously in doubt, I easily believe that in Rome there were daughters of Lelius and Hortensius, and in Sicily, the daughters of Sthesicorus, and other most eloquent women. And now I know that nature has not denied women genius, which is especially proven in our time by you, who have raised your head higher than men in letters and eloquence. You, a tender and young girl in Spain, handle not wool, but books, not a spindle, but a pen, not a needle, but a stylus, with diligence and zeal. Farewell, and if there is anything in which you wish to use my help, know that I am always at your service. Farewell again, and please inform me of your health and the course of your life through letters."

Testimony by Pedro de Torres:

On November 16, 1508, Medrano's daughter reads in the chair of Canons.[8]

The Book of the University's Claustro for the year 1668-1669 describes the relationship between the Medrano family of San Gregorio and the University of Salamanca. For at least about one hundred and sixty years, they were linked to the University: in 1508, Luisa de Medrano was a professor, and in 1669, Domingo and García de Medrano y Mendizabal, her fourth nephews, were rectors of the University of Salamanca.[9]

Castle of Atienza

Luisa de Medrano's maternal grandfather Garcí Bravo de Lagunas moved from Soria (or Sigüenza) and came to settle in Atienza. Garcí Bravo who came to Atienza to take care of the Alcaidia of his castle of Atienza did not come alone, but he did it, as usual, with his whole family; wife, children and sons-in-law. García Bravo arrived accompanied by, among others, his daughter Magdalena Bravo de Lagunas and her husband, Diego López de Medrano; they would be accompanied by at least three sons and two daughters, Diego, Garci, Luis, Catalina and Isabel. In Atienza, at least four other children would be born to the marriage, including Luisa.

At the dawn of the reign in Castile of Queen Isabella the Catholic, Atienza was divided, like the rest of the kingdom, between fidelity to the crowned king or the possibility of a new queen, Isabella. During the Castilian War of Succession, Luisa's maternal grandfather Garci Bravo de Lagunas played a prominent role in capturing the city of Sigüenza for Queen Doña Isabel. During the War of the Castilian Succession, Garci Bravo de Lagunas and his relative Pedro de Almazán, boldly scaled the Sigüenza castle and captured the intruding bishop Diego López of Madrid, a Beltraneja supporter. Don Juan Bravo, Alcaide of the Atienza castle, and Pedro de Almazán, launched the ladder so that Garcí Bravo's men could climb up it and take prisoners those who were inside, maintaining the castle and town; placing it under the crown of Queen Isabella I. In this regard, the descendants of Garcí Bravo had quite a bit of influence in the town. Once the city was recovered for the Catholic Monarchs, Garci Bravo de Lagunas remained there as Alcaide. In that year, during the siege of the city, he made a military testament in the royal style, which was later legally recorded on May 31, 1570, by Juan Sánchez Canales, a notary in Toledo. Through this disposition, he established a trust for a third and a fifth of his assets and the perpetual alcaidía (wardenship) of Atienza in Garci Bravo de Medrano, his grandson, the second son of his daughter Magdalena and Diego López de Medrano. This marked the origin of the Bravo estate in Atienza.[10]

Luisa's father Don Diego López de Medrano and her maternal grandfather, Garcí Bravo, died in the Queen's service at the Siege of Málaga in 1487. The Chronicle of the Catholic Monarchs by Don Juan M. Carriazo confirmed the news that Garci Bravo de Lagunas and Diego López de Medrano had died in battle. Mosén Diego de Valera writes about this battle: "And the Christians had received very great damage at the beginning and more than fifty of them were killed and others wounded. Among them, three principal men were killed: Garci Bravo, governor of Atienza; Diego de Medrano, his son-in-law; and Gabriel de Sotomayor, brave knights of noble lineage." Juan Bravo's wife Catalina Núñez de Cienfuegos, on the occasion of the death of her husband and son-in-law in that action, received a heartfelt letter of condolences and gratitude from the Catholic Monarchs on June 7, 1487.[11]

Luisa de Medrano's relatives in Iguzquiza were key players against the Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre. The Alcaide Don Juan Velaz de Medrano y Echauz defended his Castle of Monjardin and his Castle of Santacara in 1512 against Castile;[12] his brother the Alcaide and Mayor of Amauir-Maya Don Jaime Velaz de Medrano y Echauz (b. 1475) with his son Don Luis Velaz de Medrano, defended his Castle of Maya at the battle of Amauir-Maya (1522). The Castle of Maya was the last royal Navarrese stronghold in an attempt to resist the Spanish (Castilian-Aragonese) push in the Kingdom of Navarre sent by Isabella's grandson Emperor Charles V.[13]

• Diego López de Medrano, heir to the paternal estate, and to the fortress of San Gregorio, near Soria. He was born on July 30, 1477.
• Garcí Bravo de Medrano, heir to the maternal estate, was born on November 20, 1478.
• Francisco de Medrano, born on May 15, 1481, the date of his death unknown.
• María Bravo de Medrano, born on May 9, 1492, a nun in Soria, according to the will of her sister Catalina.
• Leonor de Medrano, the other nun sister, was born on June 14, 1483.
• Luis de Medrano, rector of the University of Salamanca around 1511–12, born on November 9, 1485, and died before 1527.
• Isabel Bravo de Medrano, born on January 6, 1487, and died after 1531.
• Catalina de Medrano, born on October 31, 1479, and died without children, in Atienza, on December 2, 1541, being buried in San Francisco. Catalina de Medrano was a lady of the court of Isabel la Católica, married to Hernando de Rojas Sandoval, commander of Huélamo in the Order of Santiago, brother of Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas, II Marquis of Denia, count of Lerma, great seneschal of Sicily, mayordomo of Kings Fernando the Catholic and Juana la Loca and a direct ancestor of Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma, a close relative of Tomas Fernandez de Medrano through his wife Isabel Ibáñez de Sandoval and their children Dona Maria and Don Juan Fernandez de Medrano y Sandoval.

Garci Bravo de Medrano and his desendants

1568 Coat of Arms of Garci Bravo de Medrano y Mendoza (left to right: Medrano, Laguna, Bravo and Mendoza) in Atienza

Luisa de Medrano's brother Garci Bravo de Medrano was perpetual Alcaide of the Atienza castle and lord of the house of Bravo in Atienza, linked to him by his mother and grandfather Don Juan Bravo de Lagunas. He married Catalina de Mendoza, daughter of Íñigo de Molina, III lord of the towns of Embid, Santiuste and El Pobo in the Molina lordship. Catalina was the granddaughter of Pedro Carrillo de Mendoza, second Count of Priego, and María de Quiñones, his wife was the sister of Diego Fernández de Quiñones, the first Count of Luna, chief merino of León and Asturias. Garci Bravo de Medrano and Catalina de Mendoza were the parents of Garci Bravo de Medrano y Mendoza who married Dona Ana Sarmiento de Ayala y Rojas, and Diego López de Medrano y Mendoza, the second son, was the lord of San Gregorio and married Francisca de Vinuesa. They inherited many lands in Soria, and their son succeeded them. From them, the counts of Torrubia are descended. The counts of Torrubia are united with the Dukes of Villahermosa, Dukes of Sotomayor, Dukes of Alba, Marquises of Villamayor, Marquis of Salamanca and the Marquisate of Las Nieves.

Don Garcia de Medrano y Vinuesa, second cousin of Luisa de Medrano and son of Don Diego López de Medrano y Mendoza, later played a significant political role: he was a member of the Cortes of Segovia from 1592 to 1593, and the speeches he delivered are preserved in the protocols of those Cortes. In the trial against Don Rodrigo Calderón, Marquis of the Seven Churches, judge Don Garcia de Medrano y Vinuesa was one of the few who voted against the Marquis's death.[14] His son Don Garcia de Medrano y Castejon, third nephew of Luisa de Medrano, was a professor at the University of Salamanca and married Maria de los Rios y Mendoza. Likewise, his son Don Garcia de Medrano y Alvarez de los Rios, also named García like his father, was a student at the Old College of San Bartolomé and a scholar at the University of Salamanca. According to Ruiz y Vergara, he graduated as a Licentiate in Canons at the College in 1636, and on October 17, the Council gave him the position of Sixth Chair of Property, above all the other professors who had been promoted before him.[15] Don Garcia de Medrano y Alvarez de los Rios was elected Regent of Navarre on January 17, 1645, and two years later judge of the Treasury Council and the Council of the Indies on September 17, 1648. He was also appointed prosecutor of the Council of Castile on September 11, 1652, shortly after, on September 25, he was elected regent of the Audiencia of Seville and therefore, advisor to Castile. The regent died on September 3, 1683.[16] He was married to María Ignacia de Mendizábal y Uribe and had one son, García de Medrano y Mendizabal, I Count of Torrubia and Lord of the Medrano estate of San Gregorio. The county of Torrubia is a Spanish noble title created on August 29, 1694, by King Carlos II in favor of Garcia de Medrano y Mendizabal.[17]

Luisa de Medrano and her brother Don Garci Bravo de Medrano are also direct ancestors of Dona Luisa Bravo de Guzmán, IV Marchioness of Lanzarote and the Countess of Fuerteventura. She was born in Alcalá de Henares in 1595 and passed away in Madrid on November 24, 1661. In 1622 Don Agustín de Herrera y Rojas, the second Marquis of Lanzarote, married Doña Luisa Bravo de Guzmán, daughter of Jerónimo de Guzmán and Antonia Bravo del Castillo. Doña Luisa Bravo de Guzmán became the IV Marchioness of Lanzarote after the death of her son Agustín de Herrera y Rojas, III Marquis of Lanzarote. The IV Marchioness Doña Luisa Bravo de Guzman was the granddaughter of Don Pedro de Guzmán, Lord of Olmedilla, and Doña Luisa Bravo de Lagunas, daughter of Garci Bravo de Medrano y Mendoza, Alcaide of Atienza and Doña Ana Sarmiento de Ayala y Rojas.[18]

Catalina de Medrano and the Franciscan Chapel in Atienza

Town of Atienza

Luisa's sister Catalina de Medrano is considered a person of high culture for her time, she began to serve Isabel of Castile in 1497, remaining with her until the death of the Queen herself, receiving 27,000 maravedís per year for her services. Later, Catalina, together with her husband, Hernando de Rojas y Sandoval, participated in the custody, or care, of Queen Juana I in Tordesillas.[19] In the first half of the 16th century, Doña Catalina Medrano Bravo de Lagunas and her husband Don Hernando de Rojas Sandoval became patrons of the two chapels of the transept, built at their expense and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception (on the Gospel side) and to the saints Sebastian, Fabian and Roque (on the Epistle side). Shortly thereafter, the same couple founded and splendidly endowed a new chapel in the transept, dedicated to Saint Anthony, for which they commissioned chasubles and a vestment, and donated tapestries, an altar frontal, sheets, a chalice, and wine jugs. Catalina de Medrano and her husband also ordered the placement of a good wrought-iron gate at its entrance, and finally commissioned the carving of two recumbent statues that, in the chapel of Saint Anthony, would house their bodies in white alabaster material for eternity. Whether these funeral statues were made is unknown, although it is very likely that they were.

The town of Atienza, which reached its peak during the 14th and 15th centuries as an important center for communication and commerce, had a Franciscan friary from the middle of the 13th century. Dona Catalina de Medrano ordered in a healthy desire to complete and enlarge the religious building of San Francisco in their town of Atienza, the construction of a main entrance, the restructuring of the choir, and many other small details that would make this news endless. Doña Catalina's brother, Don Garcí Bravo de Medrano, took on the patronage of the main chapel of the newly renovated temple. That was the pinnacle moment of the Franciscan monastery. Shortly before, in 1507, while Regent of Castile was Friar Francisco Ximénez de Cisneros, this convent was declared a Royal Convent of Atienza, and its Guardian or Superior was appointed as Dean Regidor of the town, with two votes in the Councils, a designated person to replace him in the council position whenever he deemed it appropriate, and some other preeminences that demonstrated the high power that the friars had in the government of the high town of Atienza. The noble families of the place, which were increasingly dwindling alarmingly, were concerned with being in good standing with them. Catalina de Medrano was the one that helped them with the greatest fervor in this sixteenth century. After this, and even with the visits that various kings of Spain made to the convent (Philip II, in 1592, was in Atienza on his return from the Cortes of Tarragona; Philip III and, in 1660, his son Philip IV. In 1706, the first Bourbon of Spain, Philip V, rested for a few days in the Franciscan convent), the star of the monastery declined, reaching its highest degree that night of January 7, 1811, when the Napoleonic troops devastated almost to their foundations the residence of the religious and the temple, being at that time when all the artistic jewels that Catalina de Medrano had bequeathed to posterity would disappear.

Lucia de Medrano, Hall of Cloisters of the Higher Schools of Salamanca

In 1943, the Ministry of National Education of Spain granted, at the proposal of the Cloister of the National Institute of Secondary Education of Salamanca, female, that this Institute be called "Lucía de Medrano".On October 12, 2015, the Rectorate and the University of Salamanca agreed that the Hall of Cloisters of the Higher Schools of the university be named "Lucía de Medrano" to honour the first female professor in Spain and Europe.[20] In 2015, the Castilla-La Mancha Community Board created the Castilla-La Mancha International Award for Gender Equality "Luisa de Medrano,” which has been awarded annually since 2016 by the Castilla-La Woman Institute in La Mancha with the aim of distinguishing those people, groups, entities or institutions that have stood out or stand out in the defense of equality between women and men.[21]

On August 9, 2022 Google celebrated Luisa's 538th birthday.[22]

There is also a book titled "Luisa de Medrano: The First Professor - Biographical Notes" by Tomas Gismera Velasco.[23]

• Beatriz Galindo
• Francisca de Lebrija
• Isabella Losa
• Juliana Morell
• Juan Martínez de Medrano