Enzinas, Francisco de (c. 1520-1570)

Spanish scholar, translator, and religious reformer. He produced the first translation of the New Testament into Spanish, which was published at Antwerp in 1543. His sympathy for Luther earned him the suspicion of the Catholic Church and of Emperor Charles V, and in 1546 he fled to England, where he became a professor of Greek at Cambridge. He later translated Latin and Greek classics.

Enzinas was born at Burgos and studied at Wittenberg, where he was influenced by Luther's teaching. This translation of the Bible incurred the displeasure of Charles V because it was based on the Greek text of Erasmus and because of Enzinas's marginalia, which expressed unorthodox opinions. He also printed in capitals the verses of ‘Romans iii’ which provided one of the main supports for those who endorsed justification by faith. Enzinas was therefore imprisoned in 1543 at Brussels but managed to escape to Antwerp two years later. After several years travelling, he settled in England, but had to leave when Mary Tudor came to power.

He even travelled as far as Constantinople, founding a Protestant colony there. His works included a history of religion in Spain and Spanish translations of Lucian (1550) and Plutarch (1551). He also wrote memoirs in Latin that remained in manuscript until the 19th century.