Saint Isidore of Seville was born either in Seville or Carthagena, Spain. The last of the Western Latin Fathers Isidore was a theologian, encyclopedist, and historian.

He became Archbishop of Seville c. 600; his episcopate was notable for the Councils at Seville (618) and Toledo (633). A voluminous writer, his most influential work was the encyclopedia Etymologiae - a work which was for many centuries one of the most important reference books.

He also wrote works on linguistics, natural science, history, and biographies of 86 biblical persons. Pope Innocent XIII formally declared him a doctor of the church in 1722.