#cardinal cisneros

It was told in a biography of the cardinal that in the early years he “appears to have been a high-spirited young man, ending up behind bars on one occasion for playing his guitar late at night and disturbing the peace of his neighbours.”

Complutensian Polyglot Bible

With the rise of the printing press in the 1450s, the Bible could be distributed much more efficiently. At great personal expense, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros acquired many manuscripts and invited the top religious scholars of the day to work on the ambitious task of compiling a massive and complete polyglot "to revive the languishing study of the Sacred Scriptures." The  scholars met in the city of Alcalá de Henares, a city near Madrid, at Complutense University. Work on the project began in 1502 under the direction of Diego López de Zúñiga, and continued there for fifteen years.

The New Testament was completed and printed in 1514, but its publication was delayed while work on the Old Testament continued, so they could be published together as a complete work. The Complutensian Old Testament was completed in 1517, but it was not until 1520 —after receiving authorization from Rome— that the book was distributed. Cardinal Cisneros died in July 1517, five months after the Polyglot's completion, and never saw its  publication. Henry VIII of England was one of the first monarchs to own a Complutensian Polyglot Bible.