Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Montalvan, Juan Perez de

MONTALVAN, (1602-1638), Spanish dramatist and writer of fiction, was the son of the king's bookseller, and was born at Madrid in 1602. At the early age of seventeen he became a licentiate in theology, and in 1626, after entering the priesthood, he received a notarial appointment in connexion with the Inquisition. His overtasked brain succumbed under the numerous literary labours he imposed on it, and he died when only thirty-six years old (25th June 1638).