Calvete de Estrella, Juan Cristóbal

Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella (ca. 1510–1593) obtained the degree of Master of Arts at Salamanca as a disciple of Hernán Núñez, known as el Comendador Griego. Between 1533 and 1540, Calvete moved within the immediate circle of the imperial court, dedicating to Charles V the encomiastic oration Ad diuum Caesarem Carolum Q. De triumphali eius in Hispanias reditu gratulatiorius panegyricus. In 1541 he was appointed maestro de pajes to Prince Philip, and during this period he began acquiring books to supply the prince’s library, which would later pass to the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. In 1546 he set out with Prince Philip on a major journey through the non-Hispanic territories of the Empire, undertaken on the occasion of the prince’s official presentation as the future heir to his father’s crown. After a long period away from the court, in 1587 he was officially appointed Latin chronicler to His Majesty, a post he held until his death on 14 February 1593. Cf. M. A. Díaz Gito, Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella. La Vacaida (Alcañiz-Madrid, 2003), pp. XXI-XLVIII.

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