Antonio Enríquez Gómez

Antonio Enríquez Gómez (Cuenca 1601 - Seville 1663), Spanish dramatist, poet and novelist of Spanish-Jewish origin, was known in the early part of his career as Enríque Enríquez de Paz. Furthermore, certain of his works feature the alternate spelling Antonio Henrique Gómez.

Born into a family of Conversos at Cuenca, Gómez entered the Spanish Army, where he obtained a Captaincy. Captain Gómez was suspected of Crypto-Judaism, or being, "a Marrano", and fled to France about 1636. He adopted the name Antonio Enríquez Gómez, and became major-domo to King Louis XIII of France, to whom he dedicated ''Luis dado de Dios 4 Anna'' (Paris, 1645).

He returned to Spain in 1649 and lived first in Alcalá, then in Granada and, from 1651, in Seville, under the false name of Fernando de Zárate. The Spanish Inquisition had Gómez burned in effigy in Toledo on January 1, 1651, and in Seville on April 1660. On September 21, 1661 his true identity was discoverd and he was detained at his home in Seville by the Inquisition. He died there in his prison cell on March 19, 1663. Provided by Wikipedia