This study analyses the contents of two Egerton manuscripts. These manuscripts are part of the correspondence of 1598 between Mariana and García de Loaysa. This study interprets the texts of these documents as recording some of the Jesuit’s recommendations concerning the episcopal governance of his friend. Together, the texts offer several points of resemblance with Mariana’s ideas about civil government. They also reveal various intellectual concerns and the depth of his personal relations.

The contents of two Egerton manuscripts are analyzed in this paper. One, dating from 1598, is part of the correspondence between Mariana and García de Loaysa. In it, Mariana recommends someone for his friend’s government, refers to some issues of ecclesiastical policy, to his future publications and also expresses his gratitude for a personal favour. The second manuscript, dating from 1599, contains an epitaph written by Mariana after the death of García de Loaysa, which includes biographical details and feelings of (...) a family and personal nature. It amounts to a portrait which is strikingly different from other far more negative ones that history has bequeathed us. (shrink)