Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/614

 ESPENCE

542

ESPOTTSALS

tiones operum", was published at Brussels in 1768, and contains numerous biographical details.

Du P\c DE Bellegarde. Vie de Van Espen (Brassels, 1767); Ladrext. Van Espen (Paris, 1860); de BAVAT.Van Espen, juTisconsuUe et canonists Beige in Belgique Judiciaire (Brussels, 1846), IV, 1463; Verhoevex, Van Espen in Revue Cathohque (Louvain. 1846-47), IV, 497; de Ram in Bakhcisex, Acta Zegeri Bemardi Van Espen circa missionem Hollandicam (Mech- Un, 1827).

A. Van Hove.

Espence (Espenc.eus), Cl.\ude d', a French theo- logian, b. in 1511 at Chalons-sur-Marne; d. 5 Oct., 1571, at Paris. He entered the College de Navarre in 1536, and four years later was made rector of the University of Paris, even before receiving the doctor- ate, which was conferred on him in 15-12. He was then called to the court of Cardinal de Lorraine. Some propositions in his Lenten sermons of 1543 were referred to the Sorbonne, and d'Espence was asked to explain or retract them. Hewas one of the theologians called to the consultation held at Melun in 1544 in relation to the Council of Trent. In 1547, ha™igbeen sent to the council itself, then transferred to Bologna, he returned to France almost immediately, as the council was again adjourned. He went to another consultation held at Orleans in 1560. At the Confer- ence of Poissy (1561) he argued against Beza in favour of tradition, the infallibility of the Church, the Sacra- ment of Order, etc. The same year an anonjTnous work was published on the veneration of images. This work was censured by the Sorbonne, and as d'Espence was believed to be its author, he was required to .subscribe to the sixteenth article of the faculty, which was directed against Protestants.

D'Espence's works, collected in one volume (Paris, 1619), are: "Traite contre I'erreur vieil et renouvele des Predestines" (Lyons, 1548); "Institution d'un prince chretien" (Lyons, 1548), dedicated to Henry II; "De clandestinis matrimoniis" (Paris, 1561), in which the parents' consent is held to be necessarj' for the validity of marriage; "Cinq sermons ou traites . . ." (Paris, 1562) ; " Libellus de privata et publica missa", which shows that in the primitive Church Mass was not celebrated unless some of the faithful were present; "De continentia" (Paris, 1565); "Coramen- tarius in epistolam priraam ad Timotheum" (Paris, 1561); "Comm. in posteriorem epist. ad Timotheum" (Paris, 1564); "Comm. in epist. ad Titum" (Paris, 1568). To these are added a few other works, treatises, discourses, sermons, conferences, and poems.

HiRTER \orm7iclator, I, 6; Dcpix, Nourelle Bibholhtque des auleurs icclesia-iliqiies (Paris, 1710), XVI, 104; SiMOX, Hlsf.cnV. fles. principa'tx commeniaires du N. T, (Rotterdam, 1693), 591; Kerker in Kirchenlex., IV, 906; Barthelemy, Etude biog. sur Claude d'Espence (Ch&lons-sur-Mame, 1853).

C. A. DUBRAY.

Espinel, Vicente, poet and novelist; b. at Ronda (Malaga), Spain, 1544; d. at Madrid, 1634. He studied at Salamanca and while still young went as a •soldier to Italy and Flanders. Returning to Ronda, he took Holy orders and was made chaplain of the hospital at that place. Later, he went to Madrid, where he lived with Lope de Vega whose friend and teacher he was, and died there in poverty, as we are told by Lope in his " Laurel de Apolo". In 1618 he published at Barcelona a romance descriptive of Spanish manners entitled "Relaciones de la Vida y Hechos del Escudero Marcos de Obregon". The work attracted attention at the time, and afterwards became famous because of several imitations and be- cause of the controversies which it caused. It has been thought that many of the adventures of the hero are to a great extent drawn from those in the life of Espinel himself. The work is admirably written, is filled with v.-ise maxims, and the language is pure and simple. Le Sage, the author of "Gil Bias de Santil- lana", has been accused of borrowing many incidents and characters from Espinel's work. As a poet, Es-

pinel also enjoyed some reputation. He translated Horace's "Art of Poetrj'", and published his own " Diversas Rimas" in Madrid in 1591. He was the in- ventor of the measure known at first as the "espinela" and later as the " decima ' ', because it has ten syllables. He was also noted for his musical taste. He added the fifth string to the national guitar. The " Marcos de Obregon" was translated into English by Algernon Langton (London, 1S16), into German by Tieck (Breslau, 1827), with a preface and notes, and into French by Vidal d'Audiguier (1816).

Tieck, Krilische Schriften (184S); Biblioteca de Aulores Es- paiioles (1848-86).

Ventur.a. Fuentes.

Espinosa, Alonso de, Spanish priest and historian of the sixteenth century. Little is known of his early life. He is first heard of towards the end of the six- teenth century in Guatemala where he had become a Dominican. It was while he was in Central America that he first heard of the miracles of Our Lady of Can- delaria. This was an image of the Virgin and Child that had been among the Guanches of Tenerife since long before their conversion to Christianity, and had been venerated not only by the Guanches, but later by their conquerors, the Spaniards. Inspired by the fame of this image, Espinosa soon found a member of the fraternity which had possession of it, and resolved to make researches and write a history of the image and its miracles. The result was his "Guanches of Tenerife " published at Seville in 1594. Although the author's main purpose was to record the history of Our Lady of Candelaria, the work is important as being on the whole the best account of the Guanches, a lost race which has left scarcely any remains, even of their lan- guage; and also, though less significant, because he gives a good account of the conquest and settlement of the Canary Islands by the Spaniards. He divides his work into four books, in the first of which he describes the Island of Tenerife, gives its early history, and an account of its inhabitants, their customs, food and dress, marriages, training for war, and mode of inter- ment. The second book gives a detailed history of the image, from its mysterious appearance, on the east coa.st of the island, to Espinosa 's own time. The third book is devoted to the invasion, conquest, and settle- ment of the island by the Spaniards. The fourth and last book contains an emuneration of various cures and other miracles performed by the image. A re- print of Espinosa's book appeared at .Santa Cruz in 1848, as one of the "Biblioteca Islena" series. A translation by Sir Clements Markham was published by the Hakliiyt 'Sj'ociety in London in 1907.

Ventur.\ Fuentes.

Espirito-Santo, Diocese of. See Spirito Santo.

Espousals, a contract of future marriage between a man ami a woman, who are thereby affianced. The ecclesiastical law governing this contract was amended by the pontifical decree " Ne Temere", on espousals and marriages, which was published 2 Aug., 1907, and took effect 19 April (Easter), 190S. For the old leg- islation see Betrothal; the present article will be confined to the new. Regarding espousals the decree enacts as follows: "Only those espousals are held to be valid and to beget canonical effects which are made in writing, signedby both parties, and either by the parish priest or the ordinary of the place, or at least by two witnesses. In case one or both of the parties be unable to write, this fact is to be noted in the docu- ment, and another witness is to add his signature to the contract as above, together with that of the parish priest or the ordinary of the place, or the two witnesses. Until Easter of 1908, there was no ■nTJtten document prescribed for espousals, except for Spain. Like other contracts, the promise of marriage was supposed to bind the parties making it according to prevailing law