Enrique Gil Robles (1849–1908) was a Spanish law scholar and a Carlist theorist. In popular public discourse he is known mostly as father of José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones. In scholarly debate he is recognized principally as one of key ideologues of Traditionalism; some authors view him also as major representative of a theory of law known as Iusnaturalismo.
Family and youth
Enrique's paternal ancestors were a family of modest hidalgos from Leon. His grandfather, Juan Gil, settled in the town of Villafranca del Bierzo, serving as administrator of real estates belonging to Marqués de Villafranca and those owned by the local Catholic Church.Raquel Pérez Valle, Biografía. D. Enrique Gil y Carrasco, part 1: Su nacimiento, [in:] Ricardo Gullón (ed.), Cisne Sin Lago. Vida y obra de Enrique Gil y Carrasco, Madrid 1951, p. 6, available here Though a conservative, during Trienio Liberal (1821–1823) Gil was particularly active enlarging Villafranca's holdings by massive purchases of former Church property, put on sale during the first wave of desamortización. Following the death of marqués, audit of his possessions performed by state officials revealed that there were 20,114 reales missing.Pérez Valle 1951, p. 6 Though there were many doubts lingering, Gil left in disgrace and settled in Ponferrada.Pérez Valle 1951, pp. 6-7
Juan's oldest son, Enrique Gil y Carrasco, served in the cristino army during the First Carlist WarRaquel Pérez Valle, Biografía. D. Enrique Gil y Carrasco, part 3: Su juventud, [in:] Ricardo Gullón (ed.), Cisne Sin Lago. Vida y obra de Enrique Gil y Carrasco, Madrid 1951, p. 7, available here and later became one of the best known Spanish authors of Romanticism. Before moving on diplomatic mission to Prussia he worked as local tax collector; since the job was inheritable, it was taken over by Juan's younger son and the future father of Enrique, Eugenio Gil y Carrasco (1819–?). Eugenio also demonstrated some knack for letters; following premature death of his brother he edited his works and published some himself. They were intended to preserve the memory of his late sibling, though Eugenio published also poems, few dedicated to his son.Eugenio Gil, Un ensueño - biografia, [in:] (ed.), G. Laverde, Obras de Enrique Gil, Madrid 1855, especially a poem A mi hijo, p. XXXIII, available online here He married María Robles Burruezo,Felipe Alfonso Rojas Quintana, Enrique Gil y Robles: la respuesta de un pensadór católico a la crisis del 98, [in:] Hispania Sacra 53 (2001), p. 214 a native of Málaga.Sebastián Martín, Gil y Robles, Enrique (1849-1908) entry, [in:] Diccionario de catedráticos españoles de derecho (1847-1943) 2014, available here The couple settled in Salamanca, where Eugenio continued as "administrador de rentas reales".Martín 2014
There is very little information available on the childhood years of the young Enrique, except that he was very early orphaned by his mother.Rojas 2001, p. 214 He obtained bachillerato in Filosofía y Letras in Instituto de Segunda Enseñanza of Salamanca in 1864,Martín 2014 studied law at the Salamanca University but graduated in derecho civil y canónico in Universidad Central in 1868.in Madrid, Martín 2014 Upon the 1870 foundation of Instituto de Segunda Enseñanza in Ponferrada he was employed as "profesor interino" and commenced teaching historia universal, historia de España and retórica y poética, in the early 1870s assuming also the chair of psicología, lógica y ética.Martín 2014 Simultaneously he was pursuing doctoral research in Madrid; he defended the PhD thesis in 1872.Martín 2014; some sources claim the correct date is 1874, see Rojas 2001, p. 214. One of the assessors, Francisco Giner de los Ríos, was so impressed by the young scholar he visited Gil later the same day, offering him protection and friendship. Gil rejected the former and accepted the latter, which was maintained– despite sharp ideological differences – until the death of Robles, Revista católica de cuestiones sociales 163 (1908) p. 470, available here Already a doctor, in 1875 he became full titular professor of the Ponferrada Instituto.Martín 2014
As a 45-year-old Enrique Gil Robles married Petra Quiñones Armesto,José María Gil Robles, [in:] Vida. Biografías anecdóticas 3 (1936), p. 3, available here originating from Ponferrada.Rojas 2001, p. 214 The couple had 3 children, born between 1894 and 1898; the oldest son died few days after birth. The second and the youngest son, José María, as leader of CEDA became one of the best known politicians of the Second Spanish Republic; acknowledging nationwide renown of his father, he adopted the name of José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones.and not José María Gil Quiñones, as would have been usual according to the Spanish naming customs; detailed discussion of José María changing the surname in José María Gil Robles, [in:] Vida. Biografías anecdóticas 3 (1936), p. 7 His son and Enrique's grandson, José María Gil-Robles y Gil-Delgado, following the Spanish transition to democracy became one of the country leading politicians; active in Alianza Popular and Partido Popular, in 1997-1999 he was president of the European Parliament.Excmo. Sr. Dr. D. José María Gil-Robles Gil-Delgado, [in:] Real Academia de Ciencias Económicas y Financieras website, available here
Academic
In 1874 Gil apparently intended to take part in contest for chairs of elementos de derecho publico y administrativo español, to be held by universities in Oviedo, Valencia and Granada. Though admitted, for reasons which are not clear he did not attend the hearings.Martín 2014 In July 1875 he did, however, participate in the contest for chairing cátedra de derecho político y administrativo in his native University of Salamanca, and emerged successful,Martín 2014; some sources claim in 1873, see Rojas 2001, p. 214 in 1876 nominated catedrático numerario.Martín 2014 He will occupy this post for the next 32 years, failing to show up at university premises only 4 days before death.Revista católica de cuestiones sociales 163 (1908) p. 470 The only difference in his assignment was that at some point the cátedra was split in two, and Gil continued as chair of derecho político.Martín 2014
A number of times Gil attempted to move away from Salamanca. In 1881 he was unsuccessful when applying for the same chair in Barcelona. The appeal was turned down by the ministry, but his victorious contender resigned and Gil was appointed in due course. However, shortly afterwards Gil resigned as well, quoting "unforeseen circumstances", and resumed his Salamanca duties.as the contest took place during the summer holiday period, Gil's career in Salamanca has not been interrupted, Martín 2014 In 1882-1883 he fielded his candidature for derecho publico at Universidad Central in Madrid; the attempt was unsuccessful following some repeated changes of the admission procedure, which might be interpreted as aimed against Gil.Martín 2014 In 1883-1886 he applied to enter the contest for cátedra de historia del derecho at Central, but was not admitted on legal grounds; similarly, he was rejected in 1885 for literatura jurídica and in 1886 for derecho canónico, always at Central. In 1891 he resumed his attempt for historia in Madrid, again to no avail. In 1901 Gil presented his bid for chair of Estudios Superiores de Derecho penal y de Antropología criminal, again in the capital, and was again unsuccessful.it was a newly created chair within the faculty of law, Martín 2014
Gil was building his academic position over time. In the early 1880s he had to suffer aggression from liberal circles both in the city and at the Salamanca university;José María Hernández Díaz, Maestros y escuelas en la Salamanca contemporánea, Salamanca 2001, ISBN SBN 8495327031, esp. the sub-chapter Agresión a Gil Robles por un "cate" en la Universidad (1884) as late as in the mid-1880s he was referred to as "almost unknown" in the world of Spanish law scholars."casi desconocido", Adolfo Posada, Fragmentos de mis memorias, Oviedo 1983, , p. 268 Gradually gaining recognition, throughout his career Gil was a number of times acting as judge in numerous contests for academic chairs across Spain and took part in national juridical congresses.e.g. in 1881 in Granada, 1886 and 1888 in Barcelona or 1902 in Seville, Martín 2014, also El Día 25.08.86, available here or El Día 18.08.88, available here He was also popular among students, who appreciated his clear style combined with courtesy and benevolence.his peculiarity was the obsession to know each student personally; for picturesque description of his lectures see Rojas 2001, pp. 216-217 Temporarily rising to dean of the law faculty,at unspecified time and as decano interino, temporary dean, Rojas 2001, p. 218 in the early 1890s Gil, along Mariano Arés Sanz, was already among the most prestigious Salamanca scholars;Posada 1983, p. 270 indeed by the end of the decade together with other neo-Thomists he dominated the Salamanca intellectual realm and was largely responsible for conservative reputation of the university.Luis Enrique Rodríguez-San Pedro Bezares, Historia de la Universidad de Salamanca, vol. 1, Trayectoria histórica e instituciones vinculadas, Salamanca 2002, , p. 254 At the turn of the centuries it was rather the newcomers with pro-socialist leaning, like Miguel de Unamuno, who had to struggle against overwhelmingly conservative ambience.Unamuno wrote: "esta Salamanca era por entonces, cuando yo llegué acá, uno de los más activos focos – acaso el más activo – de las luchas intestinas de la derecha antiliberal", quoted after Ana Chaguaceda Toledano, Miguel de Unamuno. Estudios sobre su obra, Vol. 2, Salamanca 2005, , p. 74 Largely aided by arrival of Pedro Dorado Montero, they gained ground in the 1900s,Posada 1983, p. 270 though Gil Robles until his death remained an iconic Salamanca figure.Jean-Claude Rabaté, 1900 en Salamanca. Guerra y paz en la Salamanca del joven Unamuno, Salamanca 1997, , p. 15
Works
Enrique Gil Robles was not a prolific writer; his written heritage is one major work, few booklets, a couple of articles in specialized reviews and a handful of manuscripts. He is known to have contributed to a number of periodicals, but exact scope of this activity is unclear; none of the scholarly studies consulted refers to him as "periodista".Gil is known to have contributed to La Información - see La Epoca 27.07.08, available here, to La Región - see José Andrés Gallego, La política religiosa en España, Madrid 1975, p. 41, to La Tradición - see Rabaté 1997, p. 170, and to La Tesis, Carlos Manuel Sánchez Pérez, Manuel Sánchez Asensio (1860-1919) a través de los periódicos que fundó y dirigió, [in:] Documentación de las Ciencias de la Información 30 (2007), p. 152 His works fall into 3 categories: theory of state, theory of law and pedagogy. Though he started writing in the early 1870s, his best known works were written and published between 1891 and 1902.