Efemérides. V Centenario de la reglas de ortografía española

ANNIVERSARIES. QUINCENTENARY OF THE RULES OF SPANISH ORTHOGRAPHY

Antonio de Nebrija published his “Reglas de orthographia española” (Rules of Spanish Orthography) in 1517, following his “Introductiones latinae” (1481), “Lexicon latino-castellanum et castellano-latinum” (1492) and his famous “Gramática castellana” (1492). This year is its quincentenary.
To mark the occasion, Correos is issuing a stamp as part of its Anniversaries series to commemorate the appearance of this work that has had so much influence on the development of the Spanish language.
Antonio de Nebrija was one of the great humanists of the Renaissance. Born in Lebrija in 1444, he graduated from the University of Salamanca in Rhetoric and Grammar. He moved to Bologna where he studied a range of subjects that included theology, Latin, medicine, law and mathematics.
He returned to Spain intending to revolutionise how Latin was taught there and published his “Introductiones latinae”, which remained a basic text for students of Latin right up to the 19th century.
After he left the University of Salamanca, as a result of differences with his colleagues who prevented him from becoming the Professor of Grammar there, he joined the University of Alcalá de Henares. He published his “Gramática de la lengua castellana” and two Latin and Spanish dictionaries.
His Gramática was a forerunner, being the first grammar to consider Spanish a language worthy of study.
His famous work was followed, in 1571, by his “Reglas de orthographia española”.
Nebrija died in Alcalá de Henares on 5 July 1522.
The stamp that is being issued depicts the face of a sculpture of Nebrija on the main façade of the Madrid National Library, inserted in the Roman numeral V that represents the quincentenary being commemorated. Several superimposed letters appear in the stamp's background, recalling the art that this illustrious man raised to such heights.