Which Spanish poet and theologian was imprisoned by the Inquisition in 1572?

Luis de León was the Spanish poet and theologian imprisoned by the Inquisition in 1572.

An Augustinian friar and professor at the University of Salamanca, Luis de León became entangled in a theological dispute over biblical translation and interpretation. He had translated the Song of Songs into Castilian, apparently without the required permission, and defended the value of consulting the original Hebrew text. Critics viewed these positions as potentially undermining the authority traditionally attached to the Latin Vulgate.

The Inquisition arrested him in Valladolid on 27 March 1572. He spent more than four years in inquisitorial confinement while the case proceeded, and he was released in December 1576 after being cleared of the principal charges. His imprisonment became one of the defining episodes of his life.

A famous later anecdote says he resumed his university lectures with “As we were saying yesterday.” That wording is difficult to verify literally, but it captures his reputation for returning calmly to academic life. He later held Salamanca’s chair of Sacred Scripture.