FERNANDO DE ROJAS: BIOGRAPHY, WORKS - LITERATURE - 2025

Fernando de Rojas (1470-1541) was a writer of Spanish origin, whose only known work is La Celestina, a famous literary work produced in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. There are not many precise data about his life, however historians have endeavored to make known to those interested some aspects of his existence.

Although La Celestina presents dialogues, in many cases Fernando de Rojas is not recognized as a playwright in essence, because his work lacks several important elements of a dramatic nature.

Portrait of Fernando de Rojas. Source: See page for author, via Wikimedia Commons

The universal fame of Rojas is given by the period of time in which his main work took place, between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This aspect made the narrative and description of environments and characters shrewdly different from what was known at that time.

On the other hand, it is known that Fernando was also known as a prominent jurist, specifically in the city of Talavera de la Reina. The evidence about this data is preserved by direct descendants, as is found in the Municipal Archive of the aforementioned city.

Biography

Fernando de Rojas was born in Spain, specifically in La Puebla de Montalbán-Toledo. The birth years are 1470 and 1473, the data is not precise. As mentioned above, he was a writer, as well as a prominent jurist.

He came from a family of well-off Jews, who had been persecuted by the so-called inquisition, an organization created by the Catholic Church to prosecute those who thought differently when it came to religion.

Opposed to the above is the fact that some scholars and professors, such as Nicasio Salvador Miguel of the Complutense University of Madrid, claim that he was the son of the nobleman Garci García Ponce de Rojas and Catalina de Rojas.

Under this statement, Rojas was not persecuted by the inquisition, and being integrated into society and Christianity allowed him to serve as mayor. Otherwise, that is: having been a Jew, he would not have been able to hold this and the other public offices.

He studied law at the University of Salamanca, obtaining a Bachelor of Laws degree. Of the almost nine years that he had to spend at university to graduate, three of them had to be devoted to the Faculty of Arts, and he had to approach the classics of Latin origin and Greek philosophy.

Bust of La Celestina. Source: By Iniziar, via Wikimedia Commons

From the study and reading of the great classics of his time, he must have been inspired to write his famous work. The date of his death is obtained from his will, which is in the hands of his grandson Hernando de Rojas, and which reveals that he died in 1541, in the city of Talavera de la Reina.

Lawyer, mayor and husband

After finishing university, Fernando de Rojas moved to Talavera de la Reina, he was 25 years old. The change of environment allowed him to take his first steps as a recent Bachelor of Laws. Another cause of his move was the fact that in Puebla he had to pay taxes by order of the authority.

While in Talavera, Rojas began to practice as a lawyer and gain recognition from those who made use of his services. In the hands of their descendants are the records of minutes, receipts, sentences and other documentation.

His performance as a lawyer allowed him to hold various public service positions. It is in the year 1538 when he becomes the Mayor of a town in Talavera de la Reina, which in turn belonged to the Archdiocese of Toledo. Researchers agree with his good performance as a municipal councilor.

In the same city of Toledo he married Leonor Álvarez de Montalbán, daughter of Álvaro de Montalbán, who in 1525 was accused as a Jew. With Leonor he had four children, three girls and a boy.

As with most of her life, little is known of Rojas' married and family life. It is hardly known that of the children he had, the oldest followed in his footsteps, also practicing as a lawyer and jurist.

Death and legacy of Rojas

Fernando de Rojas died in the city of Talavera, in his native Spain, in the year 1514, between April 3 and 8.

He never made any reference to his dramatic work La Celestina. It is said that she lived a life characterized by the uncertainty of those who are persecuted by a system that wants to silence thoughts, ideas and beliefs.

His work as a lawyer and the clean performance in the many public positions he held, including that of mayor, gave him the notoriety of flawless. According to the provisions of his will (in the possession of family members) his work allowed him to leave a large estate.

It is known that after his death and the declaration of his belongings, many lawyers and critics have dedicated themselves to studying his extensive library. His wife inherited the books that have nothing to do with religion; while to her son she left the law books.

After his death, no manuscript of La Celestina appeared in the compilation of his library, even though at the time of his death there were approximately 32 reproductions of the work.

It is because of the aforementioned that the authorship of La Celestina has sometimes been debated. Some scholars of this work affirm that it could have been written by the poet Juan de Mena or the writer Rodrigo de Cota, to whom the first act of the story is specifically awarded.

An indelible legacy

The truth of all this is that, even after his death, Fernando de Rojas continues to be a topic of conversation. One because little is known about his life, and two because his only known work was not disclosed by himself, and its authorship remains in doubt.

At present there are several institutes and organizations that bear the name of this writer. One of the most important in Spain is the La Celestina Museum, created in 2003, in Fernando's hometown, to honor both him and his work.

Work

As has been mentioned throughout the development of this work, the lawyer and writer Fernando de Rojas is only known for the dramatic work La Celestina. It dates from the 16th century, and is also known as the Comedia de Calisto y Melibea, and later with the Tragedia de Calisto y Melibea.

Comedy by Calisto and Melibea. Source: By Fernando de Rojas: Comedia de Calisto y Melibea, Burgos 1499, BNE, via Wikimedia Commons

The first known edition of the comedy attributed to Rojas is that of the year 1499, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. It is considered the most complete reference of what would later be the height of the birth of the theater and the modern novel.

The play is written in dialogues. It is also characterized by being linked to love. It was made for easy compression. Its characters are highly detailed, as is the environment where it takes place, which is the university. It also stands out in its writing for the use of citations.

The manuscript has been so transcendental that it has been considered a subgenre of humanistic comedy, whose main purpose is reading and not representation, that is, not created to be acted out or dramatized. It stands out because it also deals with current content issues and with abundant expressive resources.

The characters of La Celestina

The dialogues in this work are between the following characters:

Celestina

Although the play focuses on the love affair between Calisto and Melibea, Celestina is the most attractive character. It is characterized by being pleasant and at the same time extravagant, full of both vitality and greed. She is moved by greed and satisfies her sexual appetite.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing is that he knows exactly the psychology of each of the characters. At the same time, he feels that his main objective is to spread the enjoyment of sexual relations.

Although in his youth he has offered sexual services, later he is dedicated to making love dates. In addition, he gives up his house for the prostitutes to carry out their trade. She is intelligent, manipulative, and excels at sorcery.

Callisto

Cynical and selfish, this is Callisto. His main objective is to satisfy his carnal desires at any cost, regardless of who he takes first. He disregards all the recommendations of his servant regarding the dangers that he runs because of his behavior.

In the first scene of La Celestina, he is rejected by Melibea, hence he begins to personify crazy and obsessive love. Later his needs change, and he wants to achieve at all costs to have the love of the aforementioned lady.

Melibea

She is a passionate woman, whose attitude of rejection towards Callisto becomes a determined and determined love. Her decisions are made from "what will they say" or the so-called social conscience, which was instilled in her since she was a child. He becomes the victim of a sorcery by Celestina.

Although he loves Callisto, his feeling is more real, less crazy and if you like less obsessive. The death of her lover disturbs her emotionally, morally and socially, to the point that she decides to take her own life.

Lucrecia

She is Melibea's maid, and although she shows disgust for Callisto, she actually hides her love for him. She feels deep envy for her employer every time her lover serenades her. She allows herself to be manipulated by Celestina; and deep down she feels guilty for the death of the lovers.

Parmeno

He is the most dismal character in the play, he is mistreated by the other characters. Through his mother Claudina he meets Celestina and begins to advise his friend Callisto about the dangers to which he is exposed.

He puts aside his principles and fidelity to his master by falling in love with one of Celestina's apprentices.

Sempronio

He is greedy and selfish, he loses all respect and esteem for his masters. His character is a portrait of the way in which the bonds between masters and servants were broken in medieval times. He has affairs with one of Celestina's prostitutes, and takes advantage of Calisto to continue maintaining his vices.

The prostitutes Elicia and Areúsa

They are envious and spiteful characters, and in the depths of their being they hate men, and through their “professions” they materialize their revenge towards them.

Elicia doesn't care about anything, just your satisfaction; while the other is more aware of things. They want to avenge the death of their lovers.

Melibea's parents

Alisa, the mother, does not have a close relationship with her daughter, in a certain sense she feels rejection towards her. While father Pleberio, although he loves his only daughter, does not dedicate much time to her, and after her death his life is devastated. The end of the work is a cry for the misfortune of its existence.

Work proposal

La Celestina proposes three proposals or intentions through its dialogues. The first of them is directed, according to the author, to expose the corruption from the betrayal and disloyalty of the servants towards their masters, in order to obtain what they want in their lives.

Second, it warns about the madness of love, specifically the one that was given secretly, because the lovers already had an arranged marriage. In medieval times it was called "courtly love." He was referring to being careful with the love he idealized, and which made him lose his sanity.

Finally Fernando de Rojas exposes human miseries through the constant struggle between what is thought, felt, said and done. In addition, the transitory change between the Middle Ages and The Renaissance is developed through characteristics such as:

The birth of commerce, the demand of masters that their masters pay him to work or be at their service. According to this, La Celestina arises in a definitive and crucial social context for history, leaving traces to this day.

Structure of La Celestina

La Celestina, or simply Celestina, is divided into two parts preceded by a prologue that describes the meeting between Calisto and Melibea. The first part refers to the first night of love; the participation of Celestina and the servants, and at the same time the death of the three.

The second part of the story deals with the theme of revenge; the second night of love between the loving protagonists. It also includes the death of Calisto, the suicide of Melibea and the pain that Pleberio suffers from the physical disappearance of his daughter.

Adaptations of La Celestina in the arts

Definitely that La Celestina has played a crucial role in the history of theater, film and television; of musicals, dance and painting. There are innumerable adaptations that have been made of this work, among which are mentioned:

In painting, nothing more and nothing less than Picasso made in 1904 a painting where “La Alcahueta” appears, the other name that was given to Celestina. Regarding the cinema, Carlo Lizzani makes a version of this work. In music, in 2008 a flamenco version was performed, while in 1999 the Spanish singer-songwriter Javier Krahe premiered the song Body of Melibea.

La Celestina, the only work written by Fernando de Rojas, which was enough for him to be recognized in the world of letters, and which is becoming more and more valid every day.