Confessionalization, government and privanza. Cardinal Diego de Espinosa (1565-1572)

Abstract

“Cuius regio, eius religio”. After the Diet of Augsburg in 1555 the different princes committed to the consolidation of their respective faiths in their realms. At the same time they aspired to the construction of a centralized and successful administrative regime that would help strengthen their monarchies. The change involved the religious, political and cultural structures as well as those related to the society. To carry out such a reform the monarchs sought the collaboration of renowned men to whom they entrusted the administration of their realms.

In Spain the Segovian Diego de Espinosa monopolized the favour of Phillip II between 1565 and 1572. The process of confessionalization or confession-building and governmental reform was coordinated by Espinosa himself, who in the span of a few years managed to hold a series of important positions in the Philippine Court: President of the Castilian Council and General Inquisitor.

In this paper the author seeks to analyse the personal, political and religious trajectory of Espinosa given that, during the time he enjoyed the favour of Phillip II, he successfully articulated a program of confessional reforms with a strong religious spirit but that sought, at the same time, to defend the institution of the monarchy. Espinosa’s case highlights the importance of the phenomenon of patronage in the early Modern Ages, that is one of the reasons why it is important to try and reconstruct those patronage networks.