Gonzalo de Illescas (historian) facts for kids

Gonzalo de Illescas (born 1521, died around 1574) was a famous Spanish historian and a religious leader called an abbot. He was born in a town called Dueñas in the Palencia province of Spain. Later, he became the abbot of a place called San Frontís de Zamora.

Gonzalo de Illescas went to school at the important University of Salamanca in Spain. He might have even earned a special degree in theology, which is the study of religious beliefs. He also traveled to Italy, visiting cities like Venice in 1550 and Rome in 1551.

Gonzalo's Big Book

Gonzalo de Illescas was known for writing a very important book called Historia pontifical y cathólica. This means "Pontifical and Catholic History." He wrote it in Spanish, and it was published many times.

What the Book Was About

His book told the stories of many important leaders and rulers. It covered the lives of the popes, starting from Saint Peter all the way to Pope Boniface VIII, who was pope around the year 1301.

But that's not all! The book also talked about the history of kings in Spain and Portugal. It included:

• The Visigothic Kings, who ruled parts of Spain a very long time ago.
• The Kings of Castile, who were powerful rulers in a big kingdom in Spain.
• The Kings of Portugal, who ruled the neighboring country of Portugal.

Gonzalo de Illescas also translated other books from Latin, which was a very important language for scholars back then.

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