Antonio of Lebrixa

Antonio de Nebrija
Antonio de Nebrija Drawing from 1791
Native name	(Elio) Antonio de Lebrija
Born	Antonio Martínez de Cala 1441 (1441) Lebrija, Province of Seville
Died	July 5, 1522(1522-07-05) (aged 80–81) Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Pen name	Aelius Antonius Nebrissensis Antonio of Lebrixa Antonius Lebrixen Antonius Nebrissen
Occupation	Linguist, Biblical grammarian astronomer, poet, humanist
Language	Spanish
Nationality	Andalusian
Education	University of Salamanca Colegio de San Clemente University of Alcalá de Henares
Alma mater	Bologna University
Period	Spanish Renaissance
Subject	Castilian grammar
Notable works	Gramática de la lengua castellana, 1492
Years active	1473-1517
Relatives	Possibly Antonio de Lebrija (grandson)

Antonio de Nebrija (1441 – 5 July 1522), also known as Antonio de Lebrija, Elio Antonio de Lebrija, Antonius Nebrissensis, and Antonio of Lebrixa, was a Spanish Renaissance scholar. He was a teacher, historian, poet and astronomer, best known for writing a grammar of the Castilian language. His grammar is often credited as the first published grammar of a Romance language and set the standard for subsequent modern Spanish language grammars.

De Nebrija's given name was Antonio Martínez de Cala. In typical Renaissance humanist fashion, he latinized his name as Aelius Antonius Nebrissensis by taking Aelius from the Roman inscriptions of his native Lebrija, the Roman Nebrissa Veneria. He also signed his books as Antonius Lebrixen (1481) and Antonius Nebrissen (1501).

He was born in the former Nebrissa Veneria, known today as Lebrija, in the Province of Seville, almost bordering the Province of Cádiz. His father was Antonio de Cala e Hinojosa and his mother was Catalina de Xarava y Ojo, or Catalina de Jaraba y Ojo. Her father was of marrano origin and his mother was Jewish converted to Catholicism. He was the second of five children.

After studying at Salamanca, Nebrija resided for ten years in Italy, having received a scholarship from the diocese of Córdoba to study theology at the Colegio de San Clemente in Bologna. He completed his education at Bologna University. On his return to Spain (1473), he devoted himself to the advancement of classical learning among his fellow countrymen. After obtaining the professorship of poetry and grammar at Salamanca, he was transferred to the University of Alcalá de Henares.