Riqueza y cultura económica en la España del siglo XVI.La predicación de Tomás de Villanueva en tiempos de Francisco de Vitoria
- López González, Clemente 1
- Ruiz Rodríguez, José Ignacio 2
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1
Universidad Francisco de Vitoria
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2
Universidad de Alcalá
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ISSN: 2340-4256
Year of publication: 2020
Issue: 15
Pages: 139-168
Type: Article
More publications in: Cauriensia: revista anual de Ciencias Eclesiásticas
Abstract
At the beginning of the 16th century, Spanish culture was undergoing a deep transformation. The transition from medieval to modern culture was running on par with the creation of the modern state and the spread of the capitalist economy, thanks to the wealth generated by the arrival of precious metals and trade with the Indies. Spanish society was torn between the traditional and the new. The codes of conduct and values inherited from the past were questioned when not replaced by new ones.In this context, one of the issues that reflect that changing world the most is the rise of a human group in the hitherto rigid social hierarchy. It was the group of people who were quickly getting rich, thanks to the economic change that was taking place. The wealth they accumulated was the lever driving them in their social ascent, making them at the same time a model for imitation of many others.However, the accumulation of profits also generated many misgivings and reject by the traditional morals defended and preached by the Catholic Church. In addition, the behavior and attitudes of that human group were not only objectionable for the morals of the time, but also, insofar as they could be contagious for the rest of society, they should be denounced and, as far as possible, redirected to values more consistent with the tradition of the Church.It is in this context that Tomás de Villanueva's preaching is framed against the moral dangers of wealth and against the attitudes and behavior of the rich. The knowledge of the contents of the preaching of one of the most excellent preachers of the sixteenth-century Spain, is revealed as a valuable approach to the economic culture of the time. Unlike theologians and academics, the preachers focused their efforts not on deepening the theoretical knowledge of the great themes but on persuading their faithful not to fall into behaviors and attitudes contrary to morals or, if they had already fallen, to change their lifestyle. For this reason, from reading the preserved texts of the preachers we can discover the mentality, beliefs and ideas of the people of the time.Santo Tomás de Villanueva, reveals to us in his sermons his great knowledge of the Church's thought about wealth as a result of his university education in Alcalá and, at the same time, his fidelity to the ecclesial teaching, updated in Spain by Francisco de Vitoria and the School of Salamanca. But, without a doubt, the most telling thing about the preaching of our saint is his keenness to capture the mentality and contradictions of the behavior of the rich and of those who, without being so, shared their greed and avarice and their ability to remove consciences and provoke behavior changes. Without a doubt, the bourgeoisie, of which these were its precursors, would consolidate its social ascent in later centuries. But that does not mean that in their cultural horizon the awareness of a social responsibility towards the most disadvantaged will not be included in one way or another. Something that Tomás de Villanueva and many other preachers never stopped proclaiming.
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