Fernando de las Infantas

Fernando de las Infantas (1534ca. 1610) was a Spanish nobleman, composer and theologian. Life Infantas was born in Córdoba in 1534, a descendant of Juan Fernández de Córdoba who had conveyed the two daughters, infantas (hence the surname), of Pedro I of Castile to safety after the Battle of Montiel in 1369. The family was still notable in Córdoba at the time of Fernando’s birth and he enjoyed a privileged education, and later a patrimonio, or stipend, remitted to him in Rome from his family in Spain. From 1572–1597 Infantas resided in Rome, voluntarily giving his services to a hospital for the poor. In 1577 Infantas came into conflict with Pope Gregory XIII and the composers Palestrina and Annibale Zoilo over the reversal of reforms in Gregorian chant, at one point causing his sponsor Philip II of Spain to instruct the Spanish ambassador in Spain to intercede with the Pope. In 1584 Infantas took holy orders and served a small church on Rome’s outskirts. He had returned to Spain by 1608 and presumably died around 1610. Theological controversies From 1584 until his death, Infantas was constantly involved in theological debate. In later life he was embroiled in the regalist and Molini