Pascual de Gayangos y Arce

Pascual de Gayangos y Arce (June 21, 1809 – October 4, 1897) was a Spanish scholar and orientalist.

Life Born in Seville, Gayangos was the son of Brigadier José de Gayangos, intendente of Zacatecas, in New Spain (Mexico). After completing his primary education in Madrid, at the age of thirteen, he was sent to school at Pont-le-Voy near Blois. There, he began the study of Arabic in the École spéciale des Langues orientales of Paris under Silvestre de Sacy.

Gayangos visited Britain, where he married Frances, daughter of Henry Revell, in 1828. He entered in politics in 1881, when he was made director of public instruction. He resigned on being elected senator for the district of Huelva.

His latter years were spent in cataloguing the Spanish manuscripts in the British Museum; he had previously continued Gustav Adolf Bergenroth's catalogue of the manuscripts relating to the negotiations between England and Spain in the Simancas archives. His best-known original work is his lengthy introduction on Spanish romances of chivalry in volume 40 (Libros de caballerías, vol. 1, 1857) of Adolfo Rivadeneyra's Biblioteca de autores españoles. This was the first survey of Spanish chivalric romances.

Gayangos died in London.