Casiodoro de Reina facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Casiodoro de Reina
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| Born | 1520 |
| Died | March 15, 1594 (aged 73–74) |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Theologian |
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Notable work
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Biblia del Oso |
Casiodoro de Reina (born around 1520 – died March 15, 1594) was an important Spanish theologian. He is best known for being the first person to translate the entire Bible into Spanish directly from its original languages. This translation became very famous and is still used today.
Contents
Casiodoro de Reina's Early Life
Casiodoro de Reina was born in a town called Montemolín in Spain around the year 1520. From a young age, he spent a lot of time studying the Bible.
In 1557, he was a monk at a monastery called St. Isidore of the Fields, near Seville. Around this time, he learned about new religious ideas, including Lutheranism, which was part of the Protestant Reformation. He decided to follow these new ideas.
Leaving Spain for Safety
Because of his new beliefs, Casiodoro de Reina and about a dozen other monks faced problems with the Spanish Inquisition. The Inquisition was a powerful group that punished people who had different religious views. To stay safe, Reina and the other monks had to leave Spain.
They first went to Geneva, a city known for its Protestant leaders like John Calvin. However, Reina did not like the strict rules and atmosphere there. In 1558, he said that Geneva felt like "a new Rome" because it was so rigid, and he decided to leave.
In 1559, Reina traveled to London, England. There, he worked as a pastor for Spanish people who had also left Spain because of their Protestant beliefs. But King Philip II of Spain tried to get him sent back to Spain, so Reina had to move again.
Life in Exile on the Continent
Around 1562, the Spanish Inquisition believed that Reina was the one who had influenced the monks of St. Isidore to adopt Protestant ideas. They held a public ceremony where they burned a dummy of him. His writings and those of his friends were put on a list of forbidden books. He was called a "leader of different beliefs."
Around 1563, Reina moved to Antwerp, a city in what is now Belgium. There, he worked with people who were creating a special Bible with many languages. In April 1564, he moved to Frankfurt, Germany, where he settled with his family.
While in Frankfurt, Reina wrote an important book against the Inquisition. It was called Sanctae Inquisitionis hispanicae artes aliquot detectae, ac palam traductae, which means "Some arts of Holy Inquisition." This book was printed in 1567. He also secretly translated another book that spoke against punishing people for their beliefs.
Translating the Bible into Spanish
While living in different cities like London, Antwerp, and Frankfurt, Casiodoro de Reina started his huge project: translating the Bible into Spanish. He received help from various people and used several existing texts to make his translation.
For the Old Testament, he used a Spanish Bible written in Ladino (a language spoken by some Jewish people) and compared it to other ancient texts. For the New Testament, he used a well-known Greek text by Erasmus and compared it to old Latin and Syriac versions. He also got a lot of help from earlier Spanish translations by Francisco de Enzinas and Juan Pérez de Pineda.
Reina became a citizen of Frankfurt in 1571. He worked as a silk trader to support his family. In 1569, his Spanish Bible, known as the Biblia del Oso (Bible of the Bear), was finally published in Switzerland. It was a huge achievement and became the foundation for the famous Reina-Valera Bible, which is still widely used today. Many believe that this Bible was a team effort by several Spanish exiles, with Reina leading the project.
Over time, he became a strong supporter of Lutheran ideas. Around 1580, he published a Catechism, which is a book of Christian teachings, in Latin, French, and Dutch.
Casiodoro de Reina's Death
Casiodoro de Reina passed away in 1594 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Casiodoro de Reina's Works
Besides his famous Spanish Bible translation, Casiodoro de Reina published other important works:
- Confessión de Fe cristiana (Christian Confession of Faith). London, around 1560.
- Sanctae Inquisitionis hispanicae artes aliquot detectae, ac palam traductae (Some arts of Holy Inquisition). Heidelberg, 1567.
- La Biblia que es los Sacros libros del Vieio y Nuevo Testamento ... Transladada en Espanol (The Bible which is the Holy Books of the Old and New Testament ... Translated into Spanish). Basel, 1569.
- Evangelium Ioannis (Gospel of John). Frankfurt am Main, 1573.
- Expositio primae partis capitis quarti Matthaei (Explanation of the first part of Matthew chapter four). Frankfurt am Main, 1573.
- Confessio in articulo de coena (Confession on the article of the Supper). Antwerp, 1579.
- Catechismus (Catechism). Antwerp, around 1580.
- Estatutos para la sociedad de ayuda a los pobres y perseguidos (Statutes for the society of aid to the poor and persecuted), in Frankfurt.
