HERNANDO DE ACUÑA: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2025

Hernando de Acuña (1518-1580) was a 16th century Spanish military man and poet. His literary work was placed within the so-called Petrarchist poets, following the influence of the renowned Italian poet Petrarca, in terms of forms and themes.

As a military man he had an outstanding career, participating in various campaigns with Carlos V and Felipe II. His heroism made him stand out from the rest of the soldiers, gaining recognition from the kings and nobility of the time.

Book: Several poems composed by Don Hernando de Acuña. Source: By P. Madrigal (ed.), Via Wikimedia Commons

His poems have a marked tendency to enhance Greek mythology, the product of his children's readings carried out at home under the supervision of his parents and relatives.

Biography

Birth, family and childhood

It is known that he was born in Valladolid in 1518, under the name of Diego Hernando de Acuña y Zúñiga. He came from a family of nobles. His parents were Don Pedro de Acuña, second lord of Villaviudas, nicknamed “El Cabezudo”, and Doña Leonor de Zúñiga. He was the fifth child of the marriage.

His childhood and the early years of his education were spent at home, as was the custom among nobles. Since he was little he read the classic Greek and Latin writers, TVs like: Homer, Ovidio, Virgilio and Sophocles, to name a few. He also received comprehensive training in the various subjects of humanism.

Military career

He began his military career in 1536, participating in the war in Piedmont, Italy, along with one of his brothers. It was under the command of the Governor of Milan, Captain General Don Alfonso de Ávalos, Marquis del Vasto.

Poetic studies

During the years in Italy, in addition to leading a military life, he expanded his poetry readings and was in contact with his contemporaries. It is believed that there he read for the first time Orlando Innamorato ("Orlando in love"), by Matteo Boiardo. Hernando was in charge of translating and publishing this work years later.

Appointment as mayor and imprisonment

He was appointed warden of the castle of Cherasco, in Piedmont, in 1542. A year later he enlisted to fight in Nice together with Alfonso de Ávalos, in the attack of the French king Francisco I. He was arrested and spent four months in Narbonne jail.

In prison he composed a few sonnets entitled Sonnets in French prison under the pseudonym Silvano. These verses were dedicated to a lady named Silvia, and others to Galatea, signing them as "Damón". Both ladies have not been identified and it is not known whether they existed or are poetic creations of Acuña.

Freedom and appointment of governor

Once free, he obtained the post of governor of Quiraco, Piedmont. This appointment was maintained until the death of the Marquis del Vasto, in 1546. After this fact, he placed himself under the command of Emperor Charles V. In 1547 he participated in the Ingolstadt campaign, Germany, in which the Lombard troops were victorious.

Stay in Brussels

After the previous event, he moved to Brussels with the emperor, where he continued his literary production. He composed a songbook dedicated to Charles V and put into verses (double limericks) the emperor's translation of The Determined Knight, by Olivier de la Marche.

Diplomatic life and battle in Sicily

In the following years, at the service of Carlos V, he was in charge of various diplomatic missions. He was in Africa for a long time and then in Sicily, helping to drive out the invading Turks. That military movement was led by Juan de Vega.

Death of Charles V and rise of Philip II

In 1559, Carlos V passed away, leaving the throne to his son Felipe II. Acuña accompanied the latter to the battle of San Quentin, in which the army of the Spanish empire defeated the French.

After that victory he returned to Spain as part of the courtship of Felipe II. In the following years he continued his military life and was mainly entrusted with diplomatic tasks.

Residence in Granada

In 1560 his weddings were celebrated with his first cousin, Doña Juana de Zúñiga. And in 1569 he established his residence in Granada, a city where he had pending a lawsuit for the possession of the county of Buendía, in addition to certain orders from the emperor in relation to the Inquisition.

During the 1560s he wrote Adicion del Caballero determined and Memorial, works that portrayed his conflicts as a knight in the service of the Spanish crown over the years.

Since then, there is not much data on their activities. It is known that in 1570 he traveled to Perpignan, commissioned by the emperor, in order to hold a diplomatic meeting with the Duke of Francavilla, viceroy and captain general of the province of Catalonia.

Hernando's death

He died at his residence in Granada in 1580. Just before his death he was working on a compilation of his poetic works, a work that was completed by his widow, who in 1591 published several poems composed by Don Hernando de Acuña.

Plays

Hernando de Acuña bequeathed a vast work, composed of poems and mythological fables, love sonnets, madrigals, songs, eclogues with pastoral themes and epistles in triplets. The number of his compositions is believed to be around 118.

Poetic influence

His most obvious poetic influence is Petrarca, along with other classic Italian poets such as Bembo and Sannazaro. However, Acuña was also influenced by the poetry of his Spanish contemporaries such as Garcilaso de la Vega, who was also his personal friend.

Also among Hernando's literary idols are the poets Gutierre de Cetina and Juan Boscán. In the same way, the heritage of popular Spanish songs in Acuña's work cannot be denied.

Chivalric translations and poems

An important part of his work is the translations of chivalric epics and poems, to which Acuña allowed himself to adapt according to the historical circumstances of the moment, adding verses and making reference to Carlos V or Felipe II and their exploits of war. In this group we can count the translation of The Determined Knight, by Oliver de la Marche.

Bucolic and loving work

On the other hand there are his poems with a bucolic and loving theme. Among these are the songbooks and sonnets, which reflect the typical stages of pastoral love: effusiveness, fear of rejection, introspection and failure. The sonnets to Silvia and Galatea, written during their stay in Italy, can be cited here.

Poetic maturity

During his maturity he produced other types of poems with a more serious and pessimistic tone, in which the figure of the beloved is blurred, or they are compositions about the conflicts of the reigns of Carlos V and Felipe II. The most famous of these is Al Rey Nuestro Señor, who poetizes Charles V's ambition for a universal monarchy.

Finally, within the fables and poems with mythological themes, works such as: Fable of Narcissus and The contention of Ajax Telamonio and Ulysses on the weapons of Achiles can be mentioned.

References

1. Hernando de Acuña. (S. f.). (N / a): Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org
2. Hernando de Acuña. (S. f.). (N / a): Biographies and Lives, the online biographical encyclopedia. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com
3. Diego Hernando de Acuña. (S. f.). Cuba: Ecu Red. Recovered from: ecured.cu
4. Acuña, Hernando de (1518 - 1580). (S. f.). (N / a): The web of biographies. Recovered from: mcnbiografias.com
5. Hernando de Acuña and Zúñiga. (S. f.). Spain: Royal Academy of History. Recovered from: dbe.rah.es