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Letter #5771

Ioannes DANTISCUS to [Alfonso] de VALDÉS
Valladolid, 1529-02-01

English register:

Dantiscus is replying to Valdés’ letter of January 16, sent to him with a whole packet of letters from his other friends [preserved letters from Johann Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach, Maximiliaan van Egmond-Buren, Juan Antonio Marliano, Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle]. He read it several times with great joy. He’s glad Valdés doesn’t attach importance to ceremony. He comments on the Lalemand affair that Valdés described to him. He thinks it would be very bad if the man avoided punishment. He encloses an epicedium and epitaph he has written for Lalemand, not that he wishes him death, but to fulfill his friends’ request. He promises to send Pasquillus and other [texts] when he leaves Spain, all of it is not ready for printing yet. He wants Valdés to send him his dialogue, of which rumors in Valladolid say it was written by the admiral [of Castile, Fadrique Enríquez de Velasco]. He also asks for Valdés’ Latin piece about the duel – he values it for its historical veracity and the final act featuring the emperor’s envoy to France. He wonders why the text hasn’t been printed yet even though everything has been described in detail in Spanish. He doesn’t know why the emperor needs to look through it or how he will do it, unless it is translated to him by the bishop of Osma [Juan García de Loaysa y Mendoza]. He cites an anecdote about the bishop of Osma and his lover, Maria de la Torre. At the time when the bishop of Osma was the general of the [Dominican] Order, his lover lived at a convent and enjoyed the reputation of a saint, but when she died it turned out she had 2 sons with the general. Being ironic, Dantiscus praises the bishop of Osma for his natural drive to father children and for the grand wedding he gave a [female] cousin of his who was married in Burgos. He thinks the stories about the bishop of Osma are excellent material for Pasquillus. Dantiscus is happy that the chancellor [Mercurino Gattinara] is back, but he would be more pleased if he had regained his health. He is writing to him briefly and asks Valdés to supplement the letter with any necessary comments himself, and to give his regards to the chancellor. He jokingly accuses Valdés of having aroused his ambition – he is returning the document granting him the title of eques auratus for correction; among other things, he wants to add some details about his birth, and especially to have it emphasized that the title comes from the Spanish court rather than the imperial one, because the Spanish title is valued more in his country. He gives Valdés free rein in editing the corrections. He asks Valdés to transfer any correspondence through the Welsers, who will cover all the costs, to Sarmatia he can send letters through the Fuggers as well, addressing them to their agent in Cracow, Georg Hegel. Dantiscus asks Valdés to issue a new document releasing him from service at the imperial court because when he was leaving Toledo on December 17 [1528] his previous document of release was already 3 months old. Dantiscus is worried that the servant he sent on January 7 to get his diplomatic passport from Bayonne hasn’t returned yet. He won’t leave Valladolid until he receives Valdés’ reply, unless it is Lent by then, in which case he will seek a place more abundant in fish. He repeats after his previous letter that he is getting childish, for nothing gives him pleasure but literary pastimes. Apart from this, every Sunday he listens to the devout and truly Christian sermons of a Benedictine, Alfonso de Virues. He doesn’t know him personally and asks Valdés if he knows anything about him. The news in Valladolid is mostly about the emperor’s planned journey with his court to Italy and the quartermasters having already been sent to Granada. He also received news from the court the day before that the bishop of Seville has imprisoned a pregnant hermaphrodite monk, a member of the chapter. Dantiscus thinks it is a story worth including in Pasquillus and asks Valdés for further details as well as other news, including any about Lalemand. He sends his regards to Giovanni Bartholomeo and Hieronymus Gattinara, A(ntonius) Longus, Valdés’ brother Diego, and also Marliano, whom Valdés is to remind about releasing Dantiscus of the duties of a guarantor towards his family (gentibus suis) in Valladolid. Valdés is to give his regards to Suares as many times as Lalemand will regret his deeds one day. Isis [Isabel Delgada] and the whole family wish Valdés all the best.




Manuscript sources:
1fair copy in Latin, autograph, RAH, Ms 9/6117, No. 33, f. 65-66
2register with excerpt in Latin, Polish, 20th-century, B. PAU-PAN, 8246 (TK 8), f. 52v (b.p.)
3register with excerpt in Polish, 20th-century, B. PAU-PAN, 8246 (TK 8), f. 53r (b.p.)

Auxiliary sources:
1copy in Latin, 16th-century, OS HHSA, LA Belgien, PA 21-4, f. 24r-v

Prints:
1CABALLERO 1875 p. 408-414 (in extenso; Spanish translation)
2DE VOCHT 1961 p. 44-45 (excerpt)
3VALDÉS 1996 Apéndice, No. IV, p. 575-579 (in extenso)
4CEID 2/3 (Letter No. 29) p. 196-205 (in extenso; English register; Polish register)
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