República Mista
República Mista is the title of a seven-volume legal-political treatise from the Spanish Golden Age by Tomás Fernández de Medrano, a Navarrese-Castilian nobleman, lord and divisero of Valdeosera, secretary of the holy chapters and assemblies of Castile, knight of the Order of St. John, philosopher, jurist, magistrate, theologian, royal counselor, and secretary of state and war to the Dukes of Savoy. While only the initial part was published, volume one was brought to light by Medrano's son Juan Fernández de Medrano y Sandoval, and published by Juan Flamenco in Madrid on the royal press in 1602 by decree of King Philip III. Composed in early modern Spanish and Latin, República Mista codified a doctrine of governance grounded in a mixed republic combining monarchy, aristocracy, and timocracy. The first volume is structured around the foundational precepts of religion, obedience, and justice.
Situated within the mirrors for princes tradition, República Mista codifies the moral and juridical responsibilities of rulers, magistrates, and subjects, and is noted for its formal treatment of delegated authority in early modern political thought. Fray Juan de Salazar's 1617 treatise explicitly cited the doctrine codified by Medrano in the República Mista to define the Spanish monarchy as guided by virtue and reason, yet bound by divine and natural law.
Without naming him, the República Mista aligns with the anti-Machiavellian tradition by rejecting the view that religion functions only as a political instrument. For Medrano, religion is the foundation of moral order and the precondition for legitimate governance.
Overview and structure
Tomás Fernández de Medrano's codified doctrine, as outlined in the first treatise of República Mista, emphasizes a system of mixed republic explicitly opposed to absolutism, integrating monarchy, aristocracy, and timocracy into a single moral and legal order grounded in religious devotion. He teaches that each form of rule embodies particular virtues as well as inherent vices, but when combined within a mixed republic, their strengths serve to limit one another's weaknesses. This mixed model, he maintains, offers the most effective system for securing justice, stability, and the common good.His República Mista was a written seven-part series, with each volume addressing three key precepts drawn from the seven most flourishing republics in history. Only the first volume was published, devoted to the Roman precepts of religion, obedience, and justice, rooted in ancient philosophy and applied to governance within the Spanish Empire.
The work is structured as a dialogue between King Ptolemy and ambassadors of the classical republics, each presenting three precepts of their polity. In its prologue, Medrano sets out this political doctrine in a style reminiscent of earlier Spanish literature influenced by Arabic traditions, combining narrative with philosophical reflection.
Tomás, who permitted his son Juan to bring the work to publication, explicitly stated he wrote seven treatises, publishing only the first, and included his original intent at the outset of the treatise:
I present only the first of seven treatises I have written, each addressing three points. This one focuses on the primary precepts of religion, obedience, and justice, to see how it is received. If it is well-received, the others will follow, collectively titled Mixed Republic. Since these matters concern everyone, I dedicate this to all, so that each may take what best suits their purpose.
In the first and only printed volume, Tomás Fernández de Medrano illustrates three Roman precepts through scriptural references, historical examples, and contemporary models of leadership. From classical antiquity, he draws on thinkers such as Cicero, Tacitus, Plato, and Aristotle, whose reflections on governance, virtue, and justice underpin much of his analysis.
Exemplary rulers including Lycurgus, Numa Pompilius, and Alexander the Great are invoked as models of wise and ethical leadership, while figures like Codrus and Aristides are cited for their self-sacrifice and devotion to justice. Medrano also praises leaders of his own era, such as Pope Sixtus V, Pope Pius V, and Pope Gregory XIII, for their clemency, piety, and commitment to social order. He incorporates mythological references as well, using Deucalion to symbolize political renewal, Atlas to represent endurance and structure, and Bacchus as an emblem of communal joy and harmony.
Codifying a Universal Doctrine
Although composed in the early seventeenth century, the first volume of the República Mista codified a doctrine of natural precepts already present in earlier traditions across various civilizations. Drawing from classical, biblical, philosophical, legal, and royal sources, Tomás Fernández de Medrano codified these doctrines and natural precepts through the scholastic method, historically upheld in Spanish administrative practice and in the historical vocation of the Medrano family. The treatise united these inherited doctrines and precepts into a coherent system of lawful prosperity, grounded in virtue, service, delegated authority, and bound by natural and divine law. Together, the family generationally shaped dynastic, legal, educational, and cultural structures across the centuries.Authorship
Miguel Herrero García, in his introduction to Fray Juan de Salazar's book, declares:
Don Juan Fernández de Medrano y Sandoval, of the house of the Lords of Valdeosera, is credited as the author of this book, published in Madrid in 1602 under the title República Mista. However, despite what the cover states, we conclude that the book was written by his father, Tomás Fernández de Medrano.
The Spanish bibliographer Nicolás Antonio, knight of Santiago, unequivocally attributes the authorship of the Mixed Republic to Tomás Fernández de Medrano. This father-son collaboration is echoed in the Orazion Consotoria dedicated to Lord Carlo Emanuel, Duke of Savoy, with Tomás as the author and his son Juan responsible for its publication. Similarly, the funeral oration honoring the virtues of King Philip II is also credited to Tomás Fernández de Medrano.
According to the royal printing license issued by Philip III of Spain, Juan Fernández de Medrano y Sandoval discovered "a book titled A Treatise on Three Precepts by Which the Romans Were Better Governed" among the papers of his father, Tomás Fernández de Medrano.
Miguel Herrero García asserts that the royal printing license "leaves no room for doubt" regarding Tomás Fernández de Medrano's authorship. He states that this was not simply a harmless literary device of the time, citing several points: Medrano was alive when the license was granted, the book contains multiple first-person accounts of events in Italy, it simultaneously functions as a preserver of the oration by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, under whom Medrano served as advisor and secretary of state and war.
Author
In his preface, Tomás Fernández de Medrano used a chivalric and theatrical metaphor to explain why he initially wrote República Mista anonymously:
Let no one inquire about the identity of this adventurer, who has dared to step into the public arena with a masked face, fearing the risk of gaining no honor. For that reason, I ask earnestly not to be commanded to reveal myself, for I come from the confines of a prison where I find myself, and I am running this course with these three lances. And if, due to their strength, I cannot break them, I humbly ask the judges to observe where the blows land. I promise they will all strike above the belt, and with such skill that no one will be harmed, offended, or dismounted from their horse. My intentions are truly good.
Born in Entrena, La Rioja, Tomás Fernández de Medrano of the influential House of Medrano held numerous civic, noble, and ecclesiastical titles. He served as Mayor, Chief Magistrate, Divisero, and Lord of Valdeosera, as well as a Knight of the Order of Saint John and Patron of the Convent of San Juan de Acre in Salinas de Añana. Medrano advised the monarchs of Spain and held high office abroad, including Secretary of State and War to Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and to Princess Catalina Micaela of Spain, daughter of Philip II.
From 1579 to 1581, he served as secretary to Prince Giovanni Andrea Doria, and later spent eight years in Rome under Enrique de Guzmán, 2nd Count of Olivares. He was appointed Secretary of the Holy Chapters and Assemblies of Castile, maintaining a continued role in both religious and political governance.
Summary by Philip III of Spain
According to the royal decree of King Philip III of Spain in 1601:
Tomás Fernández de Medrano writes first, concerning the importance of kings and princes being religious in order to be more obedient to their subjects; the second, regarding the obedience owed to them by their subjects and the reverence with which they should speak of them and their ministers, councils, and magistrates; and the third, on the Ambassador's role among the Romans, where he discusses why it is important to reward the good and punish the bad.