Antonio López Ferreiro

Pseudonym: He used the pseudonym 'K' when he wrote the novels O Castelo de Pambre and O Niño de Pombas
Category: Canon at Compostela?s cathedral, historian, archaelogist and novelist.
Birth Date: 9th November 1837 († 20th March 1910)
Birth Place: Santiago (A Coruña)
 Curriculum

He studied Secondary Education in Santiago. Then he studied Latin and Philosophy at the Seminary and went on studying Theology, Hebrew and Canon Law at University. When he finished his studies he moved to Madrid and he registered at the School of Diplomatic Studies, where he transcribed Galician documents from the Public Record Office and studied Medieval Latin, Paleography, Geography, Numismatics, Medieval History, Bibliography and so on. In 1865, he took a degree as archivist and librarian. From 1871 onwards, he definitively established himself in Santiago, where he developed his research work. He was a member of the Spanish Academy of History, the Academy of Arts of Barcelona and the Archaeological Association of Barcelona. In 1905, he also became a member of the Galician Academy.

 Work & Activities

Apart from many articles and documents that were published in different newspapers and magazines such as El Porvenir, Revista Compostelana de Instrucción y Recreo, El Libredón, Boletín Oficial del Arzobispado, Galicia Católica, El Pensamiento Gallego, Galicia Diplomática and Galicia Histórica, we must stand out his important work as historian, novelist and archaeologist. As a historian he was especially important for having founded the magazine about Galician History titled Galicia Histórica (Historical Galicia) (1901-1903), where he wanted to publish historical studies, sources, bibliography and cronicles of Galicia. In this field he also published Estudio histórico crítico sobre el Priscilianismo (1878), Galicia en el último tercio del siglo XV (1883-1885), Fueros municipales de Santiago y su tierra (1895), Historia de la Santa A.M. Iglesia de Santiago de Compostela, La Historia de Compostela y su reprobación crítica por Masdeu (1866), Leyenda sobre la vida de San Pedro de Mezonzo (1872), El Sepulcro del apóstol Santiago (1872), Don Rodrigo de Luna (1884), El Pórtico de las Platerías (1884), Don Alfonso VII, rey de Galicia, y su ayo el conde de Traba (1884), El Pórtico de la Gloria (1886), Liber Tenencie de Horro e Memorial de Hacienda, rentas, pensiones de la antigua Tenencia del Hórreo, escrito en el año 1438 por el Canónigo Gonzalo Vázquez de Mandayo, Altar y Cripta del Apóstol (1891), Santiago y la crítica moderna (1901). As a novelist he wrote three novels in Galician language: A Tecedeira de Bonaval (1894), O Castelo de Pambre (1905), O Niño de Pombas (1905). With the publication of these novels, Antonio López Ferreiro was considered as the initiator of the historical-romantic novel written in Galician language. These novels are written in a traditional style, divided into chapters. They are narrated in the third person under the vision of an omniscient narrator. As an archaeologist, we must stand out his archaelogical researches in the cathedral. His most important book in this field is Lecciones de Arqueología Sagrada (1889). We must also mention his important work as president of the Archaelogist Section in the great Regional Exhibition, which was celebrated in Santiago in 1900.

 Other Interesting Aspects

The Galician Academy dedicated him ?O Día das Letras Galegas? (The Day of the Galcian Letters) in 1978.