FRAY TORIBIO DE BENAVENTE: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - HISTORY - 2024

Fray Toribio de Benavente (1482-1569) was a religious of the Franciscan order who took part in the evangelization of America. Also known by the nickname of Motolinía (the poor man), he was one of the missionaries who arrived in Mexico in 1524 and who received the name of "The twelve apostles."

The friar not only developed his activity in Mexico, but also traveled to Guatemala and Nicaragua. He participated in the founding of several convents, occupying positions of responsibility in many others.

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Fray Toribio learned Nahuatl to be able to communicate with the indigenous people. He was an ardent defender of the rights of the natives, although always from a perspective of support to the conquerors. This led him to a bitter confrontation with Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, with whom he did not share the application of the New Laws.

The religious wrote a series of works that describe the ways of life of the original American inhabitants. Although much of his writings have been lost, those that have survived are a very important source for historians investigating the early years of the conquest.

Biography

The future friar was born in Benavente (Zamora) on a date that could not be specified. Various sources place it between 1482 and 1421. His name at birth was Toribio Paredes and it seems that his parents had some kind of relationship, possibly as workers, with the counts of his native town.

Toribio entered the Order of the Franciscans when he was 17 years old. It was then that he changed his surname, choosing the name of his town, Benavente.

Trip to Mexico

Two decades after Columbus arrived in America, the Spanish conquerors undertook the so-called Spiritual Conquest. It was about evangelizing the new world, converting the indigenous people to the Christian faith. The Franciscans chose twelve friars to go to the new continent. Among them was Fray Toribio.

The Twelve Apostles, as they were called, left the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda on January 25, 1524. In March, they reached what is now Puerto Rico and, later, they arrived at the island of Hispaniola.

Finally, after passing through Trinidad, on May 13 they arrived on Mexican shores, more specifically San Juan de Ulúa.

The friars set out on their way to Mexico City. During the journey they met indigenous Tlaxcalans, who were surprised to see the lamentable state in which the religious were. For this reason, they began to exclaim with pity the word "motolinía" (someone poor who suffers).

When Fray Toribio discovered the meaning, he decided to adopt it as a nickname and it is, in fact, how it is best known in Latin America. The friars arrived in Mexico City between June 17 and 18, 1524.

Mexico City

For the next three years, between 1524 and 1527, Motolinía held the position of guardian of the San Francisco convent in Mexico City itself.

There he learned Nahuatl and began to learn about the different indigenous cultures. In turn, he devoted himself to teaching various trades and trying to convert the natives who came to the place to Christianity.

Already during that first period of his stay in America, Fray Toribio was characterized by defending the indigenous people from the abuses to which they were subjected. Soon, this began to annoy the Spanish authorities in the colony.

In 1527, he made his first trip to Guatemala, during which he also visited Nicaragua. He was away for two years, later returning to Huejotzingo. The abuses of the authorities made him come out, again, in defense of the indigenous people.

In 1529, Fray Toribio had a very serious confrontation with Nuño de Guzmán, who headed the Royal Court. The reason was the intention of this to collect taxes from the natives, something to which Motolinia was against.

This earned him being accused of being a rebel and even promoting the independence of New Spain and trying to found an indigenous state led by the missionaries.

Between Guatemala and Mexico

Fray Toribio's second trip to Guatemala occurred in 1534, later returning to Yucatán. His next destination was Tlaxcala, where he held the position of guardian of the monastery during 1536 and 1539.

Again, in 1543, he made his way to Guatemala. He was in that country for two years, assuming the position of vice-commissioner of that province. Carlos V, king of Spain, offered to be bishop of Yucatán, but Motolinia did not accept the position.

On the other hand, when he returned to Mexico, he was willing to perform the functions of provincial vicar and, later, the provincial office of the Province of the Holy Gospel of Mexico.

Likewise, it played an important role in the construction of the Puebla convent and the Huaquechula and Tula temples, built on ancient indigenous religious buildings.

Confrontation with Bartolomé de las Casas

Motolinía not only had clashes with the Spanish authorities of the colony. He also argued bitterly with the Dominican missionaries, led by Fray Bartolomé de las Casas. Both orders disputed control over the new lands and, furthermore, did not agree on theological issues.

Part of the confrontation was given by their different ideas on how to educate the indigenous people. Motolinía was in favor of converting the natives and educating them to accept the ways and customs of the conquerors. For this reason, he accused de las Casas of not doing the same and of educating them in an anti-colonial way.

Fray Toribio wrote a letter to King Carlos V complaining about the Dominican. In it he affirmed that the way of relating to the natives of Fray Bartolomé was not correct, since "this is how he disturbs and destroys the government here."

Although both religious fought against the abuses of the colonists, Motolinía defended Cortés and opposed the serious denunciations that de las Casas made.

According to some experts, Fray Toribio was not against, for example, forced conversion, and preached the need for religion to be the guide to direct those territories.

Death

Despite the support for the conquest shown by Fray Toribio in his letter to Carlos V, his opposition to the payment of taxes by the natives, caused the authorities to persecute the friar.

As of 1555, there are few data on the life of the Franciscan. It is known that he held some important positions within the Order, but it is not clear what they were.

Fray Toribio de Benavente, Motolinía, died in August 1569, although some sources affirm that he did so in 1565. The legend states that he wanted to celebrate mass in the convent of San Francisco, approached the altar and, at the end of the rites, died.

Plays

Experts point out that Motolinía began to write his works between 1528 and 1530. Unfortunately, most of his original texts have not survived to this day. Only a few have survived the years.

The most remarkable thing about his work are the descriptions of the indigenous peoples of the area where he spent a good part of his life. He explained the past of these peoples, their political organization and their beliefs. In addition, he related how evangelization was, as well as what were the ideas of the colonizers.

All of the above means that it has become a first-hand source to learn about the first years of the Spanish conquest of Central America.

The most important titles of Fray Teodoro are Memoriales and La Historia de los Indios. In them he showed a high cultural training, showing that he had a lot of knowledge about philosophy and humanities issues.

To write his texts it was essential that he had learned the Nahuatl language and deciphered codices. This gave him the possibility of having the indigenous people explain their culture to him and of being able to read the written testimonies.

History of the Indians of New Spain

After years of work, Fray Toribio presented what is considered his masterpiece in 1541. At first it was called the Relation of the ancient rites, idolatries and sacrifices of the Indians of this New Spain, and of the wonderful conversion that God has wrought in them, but over time that long title has been shortened.

Although it is not ruled out that it was longer, today three parts of the work are known. In the first account his arrival as a missionary and describes what the Aztec religion was like.

The second talks about the conversion to Christianity, while the last explains the way of being of the natives, also providing interesting data on geography, nature and the most important cities of New Spain.

Memorials

It is assumed that Fray Toribio began to shape this text in 1528. Although it is called Memorials, in reality the true name of the work is not known.

The experts are not sure if it is a set of varied texts that the author was gathering to use in his History of the Indians or if he intended to publish them separately. In fact, both works have some paragraphs the same, as if one had been the copy of the other

Other works

Motolinía wrote other works, some only known by indirect references. Among them we can name Adventus duodecim Patrum, qui primi eas regions devenerunt, et de eorum rebus gestis, a title translated by Fray Juan de Torquemada as Coming of the first twelve Fathers, and what they did when they arrived here. No copy of it is kept.

On the other hand, he also wrote Doctrina christiana, Mexican lenguate, also disappeared. It is supposed to be a catechism addressed to the natives.

Other lost texts are The Way of the Spirit, the Mexican Calendar and De Moribus Indorum, in Spanish, De las customs de los Indios.

Apart from his letter to Carlos V and other pamphlets, the other important work of the author was The Life and Death of 3 Children of Tlaxcala, written in 1539. Apparently it was a commission from his Order to show that the natives were wrong in their beliefs and that it was essential that they convert to Catholicism.

References

1. Ezquerra, Ramón. Toribio de Benavente, «Motolinía». Retrieved from franciscanos.org
2. Search biographies. Motolinía Fray Toribio de Benavente. Retrieved from Buscabiografias.com
3. Aldao, María Inés. Fray Toribio Motolinía, the promoter of the faith. Recovered from webs.ucm.es
4. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Motolinía, Toribio De (C. 1487–1569). Retrieved from encyclopedia.com
5. Crivelli, C. Toribio de Benavente Motolinia. Retrieved from newadvent.org
6. Catholic Online. Toribio de Benavente Motolinia. Retrieved from catholic.org
7. Scheper Hughes, Jennifer. Biography of a Mexican Crucifix: Lived Religion and Local Faith from the Conquer to the Present. Recovered from books.google.es