Ambrosio Morales

Ambrosio Morales

Spanish historian, b. at Cordova, 1513; d. in 1591. After his studies at the University of Salamanca and Alcalá, he took Holy orders. Soon he was elected to the chair of Belles-Lettres at Alcalá. In 1574 he was appointed chronicler of Castile and commissioned to continue Florián de Ocampo's "Crónica General de España". This he brought down, after ten years of labour on it, to the date of the union of Castile and Leon under Ferdinand I. His pupil Sandoval continued it down to 1079. While he exhibits more talent and a better training than his predecessor Ocampo, Morales still proves to be on the whole an old-time chronicler, and manifests little tendency to react upon his facts, correlate cause and effect, or philosophize in any way. His style is rather wearisome. See the "Crónica general de España, prosiguiendo adelante los cinco libros que el Maestro Florian Docampo, Coronista del Emperador D. Carlos V dexó escritos" (Alcalá, 1574, 3 vols., and see also the ed. of Madrid, 1791-2). Other writings of Morales are "De las antigüedades de las ciudades de España"; and the "Viaje por orden del Rey D. Felipe II etc."

Memorias de la Academia Española, VIII, 285 sqq.

J.D.M. FORD