XYSTUS
731
XYSTUS
1512, at the same time pronouncing the Synod of
Pisa and Milan to be null and void. Xim^nez sup-
aorted the pope throughout this affair, and his
ittitude doubtless went far towards preserving the
inity of the Church in Spain. He also took an
ictive part in procuring the pubhcation of the Bull
convening the council.
Ferdinand died in 1.516, having nominated Xiraenez
the regency pending the arrival of Charles V from Flanders. Adrian, dean of Louvain, also claimed he appointment on the authority of a document jreviously signed by Charles. The jurists who were
- onsvdted decided in favour of Ximonez, but he
nagnanimously proposed that he and Adrian should let jointly until further instructions should be re- ■eived from Charles. Sus]iecting that the cardinal vould be more acceptaVjle to the Spanish people than
1 foreigner hke Adrian, Charles confirmed Xira(5nez n the regency, whilst Adrian was consoled with the Bishopric of Tortona and the post of Grand In- juisitor of Aragon. The important position of ■egent gave full scope to the cardinal's powers of idministration and his solicitude for the peace and iecurity of the kingdom. Jealousy and intrigues imongst the grandees, detrimental to order in the It ate, caused him to transfer the seat of government rom Guadalupe to Madrid, as being more central, md his choice of a capital was confirmed by subse- luent sovereigns. Whilst acting as regent he greatly mproved the condition of botli army and na\'j', and le forced several rebellious cities and indi\nduals to icknowledge his authority as Charles's representa- ive. He initiated a new system of taxation and )rought about various other internal reforms. His liplomacy successfully prevented a proposed aUiance )etween France and Portugal which would have been letrimcntal to Castile, and when Jean d'Albret, the •xiled king of Navarre, endeavoured to recover his ost kingdom, Ximc^nez joined forces with Francis I if France and defeated him. Both as regent during he absence of Charles and pre\-iously as guardian )f Queen Juana, his wisdom and rectitude as well as lis strength of character did much towards main- aining the integrity of the Spanish Throne. He ook a prominent part in the efforts made for the piritual welfare of the Spanish possessions in America
and organized a band of missioners for the evangeliza-
tion of the New World. Columbus had proved
himself unfit to govern the newly-acquired territory
by treating the conquered Indians as slaves, and this
method of action called forth the severest condemna-
tion from Xinienez. After he became regent further
information of slavery reached Spain, and he took
strong measures to repress it. He drew up a code of
instructions for the well-being of the natives and
used every effort to shield them from oppression and
convert them to the Christian Faith.
Broken healtli and advancing age at length ne- cessitated his retirement from public hfe, and his end is said to have been hastened by the ingratitude of Charles V for his many services' to Spain. He was eighty-one when he died, and he was buried with great honours at Alcala. Efforts were subsequently made for his canonization, but without result, though he has been honoured as a saint in many parts of Spain. The greater part of his wealth he "left to his beloved University of Alcahl. His character, which has been much misunderstood, was remarkalile for its great versatiUty. He was as much a soldier as a priest, as is sho\\Ti by the share he took in the con- quest of Oran. In his pubhc hfe he was sternly conscientious, and fearless of the consequences to himself, in the performance of what he thought to be his duty, whilst in private he carried his austerities and mortifications so far as to endanger his health. In morals he was above reproach and most exact in all the obser\-ances of his religious state.
(See also AlcalX, University of; Polyglot Bibles.)
The earliest lives of Ximonez, on which almost all others have been based, are those of Gomez (Alcalll, 1S69), Robles (Toledo, 1604). and QuiNT.txiLLA (Palermo, 163.3). Of the later ones the following deser\'e mention: Fl^chier. Hisl. du Cardinal Ximenez (Paris, 1700); Barrett, Life of Cardinal Ximenez (London, 1813); Hefele, Der Cardinal Ximenez (Tubingen, 1844), tr. Dalton (London, 1885). Further information may be found in: Wad- ding, Annales minorum. XV (Rome, 1736); Idem, Script, ord. min. (Rome, 1806); James, Lives of Eminent Foreign Statesmen, I (London, 1832); Robertson, Life of Charles F (Ixindon, 1856); Prescott, History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella (London, 1840), but in reading the last-mentioned two, allowance must be made for their Protestant prejudices.
G. Ctprian Alston.
Xystus. See Sixtus.
