Rodrigo Calderón, Count of Oliva
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Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...
Rodrigo Calderón, Conde de la Oliva de Plasencia, Marqués (Marquis
Marquis
Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...
) de Siete Iglesias (1580s – Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, October 21, 1621) was a favorite minister of the Duke of Lerma, while the latter was valido or valued minister of King Philip III of Spain
Philip III of Spain
Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...
. His dramatic fall from grace exemplifies the intricacies and instability of the ruling structures of 17th century Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
Spain.
Biography
He was born in Antwerp to Francisco Calderón, who had risen to nobility under Charles I of Spain. Later likely with the aid of his son, he became Comendador mayor of AragónAragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
.
In 1598, Don Rodrigo Calderón was secretary to Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma. With the ascent of Philip III, the Duke was named a Grandee of Spain, and acted as the first minister of Spain. The Duke, noted for his indolence, depended on men like Calderón, who was ambitious, hard-working, but of questionable scruples. Calderón was named Count of Oliva, Comendador of Ocaña
Ocaña
Ocaña may refer to:*Ocaña, Colombia, a city in Norte de Santander department*Ocaña, Spain, a town in the province of Toledo, site of:**Battle of Ocana, during the Peninsular War*Luis Ocana, a Spanish cyclistSee also:...
, and secretary of the Royal chamber. He also married Inés de Vargas.
Rodrigo Calderón was not without enemies. Two religious figures who were close to the queen Margaret of Austria, the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friar Juan de Santa María and Mariana de San José, prioress of the Monastery of la Encarnación in Madrid, used their influence to undermine Rodrigo Calderón. Finally in 1612, he was dismissed as secretary, but maintained his position with the Duke of Lerma who was in residence at St Paul's Cathedral, London throughout 1612.
The queen Margaret had already died during child labor in October of 1611. This led to accusations that she had been bewitched by Rodrigo Calderón. But he maintained his position, and in 1612, was named "Marqués de las Siete Iglesias" (Marquis of the Seven Churches) in 1614.
In 1618, the Duke of Lerma's son, Cristóbal de Sandoval, Duke of Uceda
Cristóbal de Sandoval, Duke of Uceda
Cristóbal Gómez de Sandoval-Rojas y de la Cerda, known as the duque de Uceda , but also titled second marquis of Cea, fifth marquis of Denia, and knight of the order of Santiago was the official minister of state, also known as the valido or valued one, for King Philip III of Spain...
, engineered his father's internal exile to Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
, and replaced him as the valido. The elder Duke was protected from prosecution by his appointment as a cardinal; however, Don Rodrigo was not so fortunate. He was arrested on January 7, 1621 and accused of witchcraft and murder. Specifically he had been suspected, and almost certainly involved, in the murder of Francisco de Juaras in 1614. Under torture, he admitted to involvement in this murder. With the death of Philip III in 1621, his execution order was signed. He was hanged in the Plaza Mayor of Madrid
Plaza Mayor of Madrid
The Plaza Mayor was built during the Habsburg period and is a central plaza in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is located only a few Spanish blocks away from another famous plaza, the Puerta del Sol. The Plaza Mayor is rectangular in shape, measuring 129 by 94 metres, and is surrounded by...
on October 21, 1621. The devotion of his wife helped materially to placate the hatred he had aroused. Bulwer-Lytton
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton PC , was an English politician, poet, playwright, and novelist. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling dime-novels which earned him a considerable fortune...
made Rodrigo Calderón the hero of his story Calderon the Courtier. To this day a show of inordinate pride is described in Spanish-speaking countries as "con más orgullo que Don Rodrigo en la horca" ("with more pride than Don Rodrigo on the scaffold").
Reference
- Feros, Kingship and Favoritism in the Spain of Philip III, 1598-1621 (Cambridge, 2000);
- Modesto de la Fuente, Historia General de España (Madrid, 1850–1867), vol. xv. pp. 452 et seq.;
- Quevedo, Obras (Madrid, 1794), vol. x. Grandes Anales de Quince Dias.
- A curious contemporary French pamphlet on him, Histoire admirable et declin pitoyable advenue en la personne d'un favorit de la Cour d'Espagne, is reprinted by M.E. Fournier in Varietés historiques (Paris, 1855), vol. i.
- Vargas-Zúñiga, Manuel, "Del sitial al cadalso"
- http://www.bhsc.uva.es:8080/BHSC/bhsc/bhsc/VerFicha.action?doc=048 Parte 18 en adelante