Francisco de Medrano y Bazán

Don Francisco de Medrano y Bazán (Logroño, La Rioja, 4 March 1600 – Madrid, 16 November 1670) was a noble from the house of Medrano and prominent figure in the Empire of Spain during the reign of King Philip III of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Charles II of Spain. He was a rector and professor of the Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé in Salamanca, a Knight of the Order of Calatrava and held the lordship of Balondo. He became a judge in Seville, magistrate in Granada, alcalde of Casa y Corte, and prosecutor in the Royal Council of Castile. Known for his service in the military and judiciary, he eventually became a minister in the Royal Council of Castile until his death in 1670. Mateo de la Bastide dedicated his book to Medrano in 1662.

Family
The Most Excellent Francisco de Medrano y Bazán was born into the noble Medrano family from La Rioja. He was the son of Don Martín de Medrano y Bazán, a native of Logroño, regidor (municipal councillor) for the nobility in Logroño (1596 and 1605), and María de Egües y Eulate, a native of Dicastillo in Navarra, and originally from the Egües Palace. He was a contemporary relative of Don Sebastian Francisco de Medrano, founder and president of the Medrano Academy (Poetic Academy of Madrid). He is also related to Dona Francisca de Medrano y Bazan, wife of Don Francisco de Anguiano.

Lordship of Balondo
Francisco de Medrano y Bazán was the lord of the entail of Balondo, founded by his paternal great-grandfather Martín de Medrano, the keeper of Nalda Castle in La Rioja.

Knight of Calatrava and marriage
In 1664, Francisco de Medrano's admission to the Order of Calatrava was proven and approved, nearly twenty years after his marriage in Seville to María de Jalón y Baeza.

Legal disputes
In 1669, Don Francisco de Medrano y Bazan, a Knight of the Order of Calatrava and a member of His Majesty's Council in the Royal Court of Castile, in conjunction with his wife, Doña Mariana Ialon y Baeça, were involved in a legal dispute with the convents of Augustinian monks and Augustinian nuns in Lisbon. The case revolves around the restitution they are contesting concerning an annual payment of one hundred thousand ducats, authorized by the royal authority, on the estate of Medina Sidonia, which is part of the inheritance from Doña Elvira de Baeça, their mother.

Rector of San Bartolomé College in Salamanca (1634–1641)
Having graduated with a bachelor's degree in Canons, he entered the Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé in Salamanca on 18 September 1633, where he was later elected rector (1634–1641). He obtained a licentiate degree in Laws on 13 February 1638, and lectured on the Chair of Institutes.

Military and judicial career (1641–1668)
In 1641, he left his college to serve in the army in Catalonia, and two years later, he was appointed judge of the Audiencia de Grados of Seville to fill the vacancy left by the deceased Gonzalo de la Serna. The title was conferred on him in Madrid on 9 February 1643, and five years later, he was appointed as a magistrate of the Audiencia and Royal Chancery of Granada to fill the vacancy of Gregorio Antonio de Chaves y Mendoza (24 December 1648).

He was promoted to the position of alcalde (judge) of Casa y Corte on 29 May 1653, taking office the following month on 8 June 1653, and holding the position until he was granted the title of minister of the Council of Orders on 23 March 1664, filling the vacancy left by the promoted Juan Golfín. He took the oath and assumed office in Madrid five days later. He served in this role for four years before being promoted to the position of prosecutor of the Royal Council of Castile on 10 September 1668, where he began to discharge his duties almost immediately (13 September 1668).

Mateo de la Bastide's dedication to Francisco de Medrano (1662)
"Part sixteen of new and select plays by the best minds in Spain," was dedicated to Don Francisco de Medrano y Bazán in 1662 by Mateo de la Bastide and published in Madrid by Melchor Sanchez:

"''To Don Francisco de Medrano y Bazan, Of His Majesty's Council, and alcalde in His casa y corte; Having given to the press at my expense and translated into new light this book, a pastime for idleness, it seemed to me that I would not fulfill one of the many obligations that Your Excellency advises, unless I placed it under your protection, so that with this refuge and defense, it may have an immortal duration. Because the benefits I have received from Your Excellency are so numerous that I have never forgotten the memory of them, always desiring an opportunity to show greater gratitude, until it was given to me by the impression of this book, the offspring of one of the best intellects of Spain, even though from now on, it will be adopted by the generosity of Your Excellency, to whose hands it resorts; humble, because I send it to you; useful, because in this way, it gains greater applause; confident in Your Excellency's kindness, for whom he, nor I, require the cultivation of lies, disguised with the name of flattery, since we find ourselves free from such a base means. Trusting that Your Excellency's grace will not fail them, and I am secure, as I declare and choose as its auxiliary patron Your Excellency, who, to avoid recounting its merits, eloquence, wisdom, antiquity, and virtues; Motives for one who knows the adaptability and tireless effort involved in the administration of justice. Your Excellency, to whom future ages shall dedicate more statues, worthy of its integrity, may God keep you healthy and happy for many years, in the positions that your person seems to occupy and desires. A grateful servant, Mateo de la Bastide''".

Minister of the Royal Council of Castile and death (1669–1670)
Upon the recommendation of the Chamber of Castile (23 December 1669), he was promoted to the position of minister of the Royal Council of Castile. The title was conferred upon him the following year on 6 January 1670, and he served in this capacity from his inauguration on 10 January 1670, until his death.