Luis Ponce de León

Luis de León, O.E.S.A. (Belmonte, Cuenca, 1527 – Madrigal de las Altas Torres, Castile, Spain, 23 August 1591), was a Spanish lyric poet, Augustinian friar, theologian and academic, active during the Spanish Golden Age.

Luis de León was born in Belmonte, in the Province of Cuenca, in 1527 or 1528. His parents were Lope de León and Inés de Varela. His father practiced law, and it was due to his profession that the family moved to Madrid in 1534, and later to Valladolid. Both of his parents had Jewish ancestry, so he would have been considered to be of converso lineage.

Luis obtained a very thorough and extensive education, and was devoted to the interpretation and translation of religious texts and ideas. He was proficient in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin.

He entered the University of Salamanca at the age of fourteen, in 1541, to study Canon Law under the care of his uncle Francisco. At some point between 1541 and 1543 (Thompson states that it was about 5-6 months after beginning his studies, while other authors often claim it was 1543), Luis abandoned his studies and instead entered the Order of the Hermits of St. Augustine. After a novitiate of uncertain duration he joined the Priory of San Pedro on 29 January 1544. The first record of León as a student of theology is in the matriculation book at the University of Salamanca for 1546-7.

...
Wikipedia