Sebastian Francisco de Medrano (Madrid, 1590 – 1653) was the president and founder of the Poetic Academy of Madrid (also known as the Medrano Academy), located on Leganitos street in Madrid. He was a poet, playwright of the Baroque period, chief chaplain and chief almoner, Priest at San Pedro el Real, Protonotary Apostolic of the Pope, Apostolic Judge, treasurer for Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, III Duke of Feria, and commissioner of the Inquisition, official censor of comedies. Medrano's Academy was famous for hosting key figures in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Baroque literature, some of the greatest to attend his academy are Lope de Vega, Luis de Góngora, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Francisco de Quevedo and many others.
Background
Sebastian Francisco de Medrano belonged to the powerful and academic Medrano family, one of the most widespread families of legal and military professionals serving the monarchy during the 17th and 18th centuries. He should not be confused with the slightly earlier Sevillian poet Francisco de Medrano. He is related to Pedro Velaz de Medrano, Garcia de Medrano, Tomas Fernandez de Medrano and Juan de Espinosa Medrano, the most prominent figure of the Literary Baroque of Peru and one of the most important intellectuals from Colonial Spanish America. Juan de Espinosa Medrano is the author of the most famous literary apologetic discourse in the Americas: the Apologético en favor de Don Luis de Góngora (1662).
Sebastian was also a relative of Luisa de Medrano, the first female Professor in Spain (and potentially all of Europe) at the University of Salamanca. The Medrano family 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.
Career
Don Sebastian Francisco de Medrano was the founder and president of the Poetic Academy of Madrid (Medrano Academy), doctor, Protonotary of His Holiness, Apostolic Judge, commissioner of the Inquisition; official censor of comedies, Priest and Chief Almoner of the San Pedro el Real in Madrid, and treasurer for Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, III Duke of Feria. On June 29, 1622, he joined the priestly congregation of San Pedro el Real in Madrid, eventually becoming its Secretary and Chief Chaplain.
Alonso de Castillo Solórzano himself confirms this in the introductory to the Favors of the Muses, "Epistle to the reader: Medrano was a teenager when he founded the Academy. He had been born in Madrid, into an illustrious family at the end of the 16th century; He was a priest and commissioner of the Inquisition, acting as the official censor of comedies. He was also chaplain and treasurer of the Duke of Feria; Since 1622 he belonged to the priestly congregation of San Pedro, which made up the natural priests of Madrid, becoming secretary and chief chaplain of this institution".
Like most poets of the time, Sebastian Francisco de Medrano participated in the poetic jousts in honour of the beatification of San Isidro and was awarded in the 1622 poetic contest organized by Lope de Vega in honor of San Ignacio de Loyola and San Francisco Javier. There is news of Medrano's activity as a qualifier for a censorship located in the handwritten comedy by Luis Belmonte Bermúdez, called "Casarse sin speaking," which was previously approved by Juan Navarro de Espinosa and later corrected by Medrano.
During this time, the Catholic Church and the Spanish monarchy had a strong influence on culture and the arts. As commissioner of the Inquisition; official censor of comedies, Sebastian Francisco de Medrano was responsible for reviewing and approving or censoring plays and other works of literature, including comedies, to ensure they adhered to religious and moral standards. Medrano's multifaceted roles as a poet, playwright, priest, chief chaplain, Apostolic Judge, Protonotary of the Pope and regulator of literary and artistic content granted him significant power and influence within both the cultural and religious spheres of his time. His ability to navigate and shape these intersecting worlds was a testament to his prominence and impact on literature and culture during the Spanish Golden Age in the 17th century.