Cervantes biography. Cervantes, Miguel - biography and works

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra(Spanish) Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ; presumably September 29, Alcala de Henares - April 22, Madrid) is a world famous Spanish writer. First of all, he is known as the author of one of the greatest works of world literature - the novel "Cunning hidalgo Don Quixote La Mancha".

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Biography

early years

Miguel Cervantes was born into a family of impoverished nobles, in the city of Alcala de Henares. His father, hidalgo Rodrigo de Cervantes, was a modest doctor, his mother, Doña Leonor de Cortina, the daughter of a nobleman who had lost his fortune. There were seven children in their family, Miguel was the fourth child [ ] . Very little is known about Cervantes' early life. The date of his birth is September 29, 1547 (the day of the Archangel Michael). This date was established approximately on the basis of the records of the church book and the tradition that existed then to give the child a name in honor of the saint, whose feast falls on his birthday. It is authentically known that Cervantes was baptized on October 9, 1547 in the church of Santa Maria la Mayor in the city of Alcala de Henares.

Some biographers claim that Cervantes studied at the University of Salamanca, but there is no convincing evidence for this version. There is also an unconfirmed version that he studied with the Jesuits in Cordoba or Seville.

According to Abraham Chaim, president of the Sephardic community in Jerusalem, Cervantes' mother came from a family of baptized Jews. Cervantes' father was from the nobility, but in his hometown of Alcala de Henares, the house of his ancestors, which is located in the center of the hooderia, that is, the Jewish quarter. The house of Cervantes is located in the former Jewish part of the city [ ] .

The activity of the writer in Italy

The reasons that motivated Cervantes to leave Castile remain unknown. Whether he was a student, or a fugitive from justice, or a royal arrest warrant for wounding Antonio de Siguru in a duel, is another mystery of his life. In any case, when he left for Italy, he did what other young Spaniards did in one way or another for their careers. Rome revealed its church rituals and grandeur to the young writer. In a city teeming with ancient ruins, Cervantes discovered ancient art, and also concentrated on Renaissance art, architecture and poetry (his knowledge of Italian literature can be traced in his works). He was able to find in the achievements of the ancient world a powerful impetus for the revival of art. Thus, the enduring love for Italy, which is visible in his later work, was a kind of desire to return to the early period of the Renaissance.

Military career and the Battle of Lepanto

There is another, unlikely, version of the loss of a hand. Due to the poverty of his parents, Cervantes received a meager education and, unable to find a livelihood, was forced to steal. Allegedly, it was for stealing that he was deprived of his hand, after which he had to leave for Italy. However, this version does not inspire confidence - if only because the hands of thieves at that time were no longer chopped off, as they were sent to the galleys, where both hands were required.

The Duke de Sesse, presumably in 1575, gave Miguel letters of recommendation (lost by Miguel during his capture) for the king and ministers, as he said in his certificate of July 25, 1578. He also asked the king to provide mercy and help to the brave soldier.

In Algerian captivity

In September 1575, Miguel Cervantes and his brother Rodrigo were returning from Naples to Barcelona aboard the galley "Sun" (la Galera del Sol). On the morning of September 26, on the approach to the Catalan coast, the galley was attacked by Algerian corsairs. The attackers were resisted, as a result of which many members of the Sun team were killed, and the rest were taken prisoner and taken to Algeria. :236 Letters of recommendation found in Miguel Cervantes led to an increase in the amount of the required ransom. In Algerian captivity, Cervantes spent 5 years (-), tried to escape four times and was only miraculously not executed. In captivity, he was often subjected to various torments.

Father Rodrigo de Cervantes, according to his petition of March 17, 1578, indicated that his son "was captured in a galley" Sun“, under the command of Carrillo de Quesada,” and that he “was wounded by two arquebus shots in the chest, and was injured in his left arm, which he cannot use.” The father did not have the funds to ransom Miguel due to the fact that he had previously ransomed his other son, Rodrigo, who was also on that ship, from captivity. A witness to this petition, Mateo de Santisteban, noted that he had known Miguel for eight years, and met him when he was 22 or 23 years old, on the day of the battle of Lepanto. He testified that Miguel " on the day of the battle he was sick and had a fever", and he was advised to stay in bed, but he decided to take part in the battle. For distinction in battle, the captain rewarded him with four ducats on top of his usual pay.

The news (in the form of letters) about Miguel's stay in Algerian captivity was brought by the soldier Gabriel de Castañeda, a resident of the Carriedo mountain valley from the village of Salazar. According to his information, Miguel was in captivity for about two years (that is, since 1575) with a Greek converted to Islam, captain Arnautriomas.

In the petition of Miguel's mother dated 1580, it was reported that she asked " give permission for the export of 2,000 ducats in the form of goods from the kingdom Valencia for the ransom of her son.

Service in Seville

In Seville, he handled the affairs of the Spanish fleet on the orders of Antonio de Guevara.

Intention to go to America

Miguel de Cervantes. Instructive novels. Translation from Spanish by B. Krzhevsky. Moscow. Publishing house "Fiction". 1983

Personal life

Almost on his deathbed, Cervantes did not stop working; a few days before his death, he took the vows as a monk. On April 22, 1616, life ended (he died of dropsy), which the carrier himself in his philosophical humor called “long indiscretion” and, leaving which, he “carried away a stone with an inscription on his shoulders, in which the destruction of his hopes was read.” However, according to the customs of that time, the date of his death was recorded as the date of his funeral - April 23. Because of this, it is sometimes said that the date of Cervantes' death coincides with the date of death of another great writer - William Shakespeare, in fact, Cervantes died 11 days earlier (since, at that time, the Gregorian calendar was in effect in Spain, and in England - Julian). April 23, 1616 is sometimes considered the end of the Renaissance.

Heritage

The monument to Cervantes was erected in Madrid only in 1835 (sculptor Antonio Sola); on the pedestal are two inscriptions in Latin and Spanish: "To Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, king of the Spanish poets, year M.D.CCC.XXXV".

The world significance of Cervantes rests mainly on his novel Don Quixote, a full, comprehensive expression of his diverse genius. Conceived as a satire on the chivalric novels that flooded all literature at that time, which the author definitely declares in the Prologue, this work little by little, perhaps even regardless of the will of the author, turned into a deep psychological analysis of human nature, two sides of mental activity - noble, but crushed by the reality of idealism and realistic practicality.

Both of these sides found a brilliant manifestation in the immortal types of the hero of the novel and his squire; in their sharp contrast, they - and this is the deep psychological truth - constitute, however, one person; only the fusion of these two essential aspects of the human spirit constitutes a harmonious whole. Don Quixote is ridiculous, his adventures depicted by a brilliant brush - if you do not think about their inner meaning - cause uncontrollable laughter; but it is soon replaced in the thinking and feeling reader by another kind of laughter, "laughter through tears," which is the essential and indispensable condition of every great humorous creation.

In the novel of Cervantes, in the fate of his hero, it was precisely the world irony that was reflected in a high ethical form. In beatings and all sorts of other insults to which the knight is subjected - despite their somewhat anti-artistic in literary terms - is one of the best expressions of this irony. Turgenev noted another very important moment in the novel - the death of his hero: at this moment, all the great significance of this person becomes available to everyone. When his former squire, wanting to console him, tells him that they will soon go on knightly adventures, “No,” the dying man answers, “all this has gone forever, and I ask everyone for forgiveness.”

Bibliography

"Galatea", 1585
"Destruction of Numancia"
"Algerian manners"
"Naval battle" (not preserved)
"The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha", 1605, 1615
"Instructive Novels", collection, 1613
"Journey to Parnassus", 1614
"Eight comedies and eight interludes, new, never presented on the stage", collection, 1615
"The Wanderings of Persiles and Sikhismund", 1617

Russian translations

The first Russian translator of Cervantes, according to the latest data, is N. I. Oznobishin, who translated the short story "Cornelia" in 1761. Then it was translated by M. Yu. Lermontov and V. A. Zhukovsky.

Memory

In honor of the heroine of Cervantes' short story "Gypsy Girl", the asteroid (529) Preciosa, discovered in 1904, was named (according to another version, it received the name from the title of the play by Pius Alexander Wolf, written in 1810).
The asteroids (571) Dulcinea (discovered in 1905) and (3552) Don Quixote (discovered in 1983) are named after the heroine and hero of the novel The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha.
In 1965, Salvador Dali made a series of "Five Immortal Spaniards" which included Cervantes, El Cid, El Greco, Velázquez and Don Quixote.
In 1966, a USSR postage stamp dedicated to Cervantes was issued.
In 1976, a crater named after Cervantes Cervantes on Mercury.
On September 18, 2005, in honor of Cervantes, the asteroid discovered on February 2, 1992 by E. V. Elst at the European Southern Observatory was named "79144 Cervantes".
The Plaza de España in Madrid is adorned with a sculptural composition, the central figure of which is Cervantes and his most famous heroes.
The monument to Miguel Cervantes was erected in Moscow in the Friendship Park.
Argentine is named after Cervantes

Born in 1547 in the provincial town of Alcala de Henares, thirty kilometers from Madrid, in the family of a surgeon.

The large family of the future writer lived in poverty, but was famous for the title of hidalgo. In the Cervantes family, Miguel was the fourth of seven children.

Even with such a title, the Cervantes family, led by Father Rodrigo, had to move from place to place in search of work.

There are unverified reports that he studied at the University of Salamanca. Cervantes left his native land and, having arrived in Italy, got acquainted with the art of ancient times, the Renaissance.

In Rome, he drew inspiration, studied the works of Italian writers, which left its mark on the later works of the author.

In 1570 he entered the Naples Marine Corps. It is also known that he participated in the Battle of Lepanto, where he lost his left arm. During this battle, the writer showed heroism and courage, which he was rightfully proud of.

In addition, during the service, the writer took part in campaigns to Corfu and Navarino. He was present at the surrender of Tunis and La Gleta to the Ottoman Empire. Returning home from service, Cervantes is captured by Algerian pirates, who sold him into slavery. The future writer made several unsuccessful attempts to escape and miraculously escaped execution. After spending five years in captivity, he was ransomed by missionaries.

Miguel de Cervantes started quite late. Upon returning home, he wrote his first work, Galatea, followed by many other dramatic plays. Unfortunately, his works were not in great demand, which forced him to look for other sources of income: either he took on the purchase of provisions for ships, or he worked as a collector of arrears.

The life of the future author was difficult, full of hardships and hardships. He had to go through a lot, however, Miguel constantly worked on the work of his whole life and in 1604 for the first time the first part of the immortal novel The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha was published. The work immediately made a splash, the book literally scattered from the shelves, translations were made into many languages. However, the financial situation of the author did not improve from this.

Cervantes continued to write actively, for 12 years, from 1604 to 1616. Numerous short stories, dramatic works, a continuation of the bestseller Don Quixote, as well as a novel published only after the death of the author of Persiles and Sichismund were born.

Miguel was tonsured a monk presumably in 1616, the same year the world-famous writer, who lived a difficult life, died. For a long time, the grave of the writer remained lost, due to the lack of an inscription on his tomb. It is impossible to overestimate the contribution of Cervantes to world literature, he became the founder of the personal epic.

The significance of Cervantes is based mainly on the novel Don Quixote. This work, known all over the world today, fully reveals his versatile genius. Here there is a deep analysis of the nature of people, from two angles: idealism and realism. In the fates of his heroes, complementing each other in the best possible way, all the salt of world irony is reflected. After leading his knight through real life, the author reveals a diverse panorama of Spanish society.

She was born thanks to the writer Miguel de Cervantes. Now the parody chivalric novel is a monument of world literature, but at one time the book did a disservice to its author - de Cervantes was persecuted for slander and even threatened with death.

Childhood and youth

Miguel de Cervantes was born on September 29, 1547 in the Spanish city of Alcala de Henares. Half a month later, on October 9, an entry appeared in the baptism register of the parish church of Santa Maria la Mayor:

“Miguel, son of Rodrigo de Cervantes and his wife Leonor, was baptized; his godfathers were Juan Pardo; the rite was conducted by the Reverend Bartolome Serrano.

Church where Miguel de Cervantes was baptized / Wikipedia

It is a mistake to assume that the boy received the famous name Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra at birth. In fact, Saavedra appeared already at a conscious age, presumably as a reference to the name of the Chilean commune, where the Cervantes family came from.

Father Rodrigo, a native of Galicia, worked as a barber, "opening the blood." On duty, he set bones, performed bloodletting, and dealt with "lesser medical needs." Miguel's mother, Leonor de Cortinas, is the daughter of a bankrupt nobleman who was sold in marriage in 1543.

Wikipedia

In addition to the future author of Don Quixote, 6 children were brought up in the Cervantes family: Andres (b. 1543), Andrea (b. 1544), Louise (b. 1546), Rodrigo (b. 1550) , Magdalena (b. 1554) and Juan. The latter is known only through the will of his father.

It is assumed that as a child, Miguel was often transported around the country, and then sent to the Imperial School in Madrid, a Jesuit educational institution for boys. As proof of this fact, laudatory reviews of the order of the Roman Catholic Church are given in the "Novel about a conversation between dogs" from "Instructive short stories". Another point of view - Miguel studied at the University of Salamanca. Both versions are called into question.

Real Academia de la Historia

At 22, de Cervantes unwittingly became a participant in a street fight, and a certain Antonio de Sigura suffered from his hand. It is said that the fear of arrest prompted Miguel to leave his native Spain. Italy has become a new home - a country friendly to talented ambitious young people.

In Rome, de Cervantes discovered the fine arts, architecture, poetry of the Renaissance. In his literary works, connoisseurs later saw references to Italian folklore, a parody of many national writers.

Military service

In 1570, de Cervantes was enrolled in the Infantería de Marina regiment of the Spanish marines, which was stationed in Naples (then the city was a Spanish territory). A year passed before the young man was called to fight. In September 1571, Miguel sailed for the Gulf of Patras, where on October 7 the Battle of Lepanto took place between the Holy League and the Ottoman Empire.

Documentary "There once was a poor knight... Miguel de Cervantes"

When the battle came, Miguel de Cervantes lay in a fever. Despite his state of health, the young man demanded to be allowed to fight, saying that he would rather die for his God and king than be sheltered by his companions in a cabin. The future writer received three gunshot wounds - two in the chest and one in the left arm, the last bullet actually made de Cervantes one-armed. In his first work, Galatea, referring to the imminent success of Don Quixote, he wrote:

"I lost the movement of my left hand for the glory of my right."

It took de Cervantes six months to recover, in 1572 he returned to duty again. Over the next 3 years, the man stayed mainly in Naples, occasionally making expeditions to the islands of Corfu and Navarino. Miguel witnessed the battle for La Goulette, the former capital of Tunisia, and the fall of this state.

In the autumn of 1575, de Cervantes sailed from Naples to Barcelona with letters of introduction for the King of Spain. In them, the regiment commander praised the merits of a soldier and offered to promote him in the service. Fate decreed otherwise: on the morning of September 26, the corsairs boarded de Cervantes' ship.

Wikipedia

The future writer and, according to some reports, his brother Rodrigo was taken to Algeria (then the center of the Ottoman Empire) and taken prisoner. The man remained in slavery until 1580, unsuccessfully tried to escape 4 times. In the end, the parents bought the freedom of their sons from the Ottomans for big money - letters of recommendation to the king increased the demand for the head of de Cervantes.

This fragment of the biography is repeatedly mentioned in the work of de Cervantes. It is believed that in the story of the prisoner from Don Quixote, the plays "Life in Algiers" and "Dungeons of Algiers" there are naturalistic scenes that a person who was not in slavery could not describe.

Career

Freed from captivity, de Cervantes lived with his parents in Madrid. By that time, he had already begun to write, but, like many authors of that time, he could not feed himself on fees. Creativity had to be combined with ordinary work.

Portrait of Miguel de Cervantes / Fernando Selma, Wikipedia

In Andalusia, Miguel worked as a purchasing agent for the Spanish fleet: he looked for favorable prices for grain, oil, and other products, and then delivered purchases to ships. Once he left the money intended for completing the next ship with a banker. He, being dishonest, spent everything. For this, the writer spent several months in prison. Presumably, the idea of "Don Quixote" was born in the conclusion.

Later, de Cervantes worked as a tax collector and accountant. In the last years of his life, from 1610 to 1616, the man lived on the royal pension, which allowed him to devote to literature around the clock.

Books

De Cervantes set foot on the literary path when he was 38 years old. The debut "Galatea" (1585) was written in the classic genre for his time - a pastoral novel. The work was left without the attention of high society, and the writer himself was not enthusiastic about the "empty" idea of the first attempt at writing.

In prison, de Cervantes, who naturally had a lively sense of humor, came up with the idea to compose a parody of the chivalric romances popular in the 16th century. The prisoner created the image of an elderly madcap who, after reading stories about heroes in armor, decided to go wandering the world in search of adventure.

The noble Don Quixote from the village of La Mancha is accompanied by his antipode Sancho Panza, a simple peasant who is used to looking at things pragmatically. It is important for him to receive the promised donkeys and the island, to fence off the owner from danger and to explain in a timely manner that windmills are not dragons.

The prototype of the mad romantic is the playwright, whose works surpassed the books of de Cervantes in popularity. At one time, the poet, tired of writing autobiographical love stories, went on a round-the-world trip on a ship, leaving his wife and children. We can say that Miguel not only created the greatest work of the Golden Age, but also laughed at the enemy to his heart's content.

The novel about the Knight of the Sad Image was published in two volumes: The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha in 1605, The Second Part of the Genius Knight Don Quixote of La Mancha in 1615. The continuation was rather a necessity: in 1614, a certain Avellanede, whose identity has not yet been revealed, allegedly published the second part of the novel Avellaneda's Don Quixote. The piece was directed against de Cervantes.

Wikipedia

Don Quixote is a great contribution to world culture. called de Cervantes' novel "the most sublime work of human thought". It was in Don Quixote that the quote “to judge pudding, you have to taste it” was born, meaning that everything is tested in practice.

De Cervantes believed that his novels should be to the Spaniards what the stories of Giovanni Boccaccio were to the Italians. For this, the writer created Edifying Novels (1613) - a collection of 12 stories. In the narrative, the writer acts as a humanist, endowing the heroes with the right to freedom and happiness. The characters get what they want through torment, but that makes the joy of victory only sweeter.

At the dawn of his life, de Cervantes composed the novel "The Wanderings of Persiles and Sichismunda", which was published after the death of the writer, in 1617. Probably, in this work the Spaniard tried to imitate the ancient Greek Heliodor.

Personal life

Not much is known about Miguel de Cervantes' personal life. On December 12, 1584, the 19-year-old noblewoman Catalina Palacios de Salazar became the wife of the 37-year-old writer. The dowry of the girl helped the couple to exist comfortably for some time. At the same time, de Cervantes had an illegitimate daughter, Isabel, with actress Ana de Rojas. As for the union with the young wife, it turned out to be short-lived and broke up in the late 1580s.

Death

68-year-old de Cervantes died in Madrid on April 22, 1616. According to modern doctors, the cause of death was type II diabetes caused by cirrhosis of the liver. These ailments explain the intense thirst that the writer complained about in the last years of his life.

According to the will, on April 23, de Cervantes was buried in the monastery of the Barefoot Trinitarians in the center of Madrid. In 1673, during the reconstruction of the holy place, the remains of the writer, as well as other people, were transferred to a safe place for storage, and then they could not be found - the tomb had no identification marks.

Wikipedia

In 2014, archaeologists discovered a crypt in which 10 people were buried. The initials MS were engraved on the inside of the lid of one of the coffins. Based on the portraits of the writer, three bullet wounds received at the Battle of Lepanto, and the fact that by the time of death the author of Don Quixote had only 6 teeth left, scientists concluded that they really were the remains of de Cervantes. On June 11, 2015, they were buried in the monastery under the tombstone "Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra".

Bibliography

1585 - "Galatea"
1605 - "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha"
1613 - "Instructive novels"
1614 - "Journey to Parnassus"
1615 - "The second part of the brilliant knight Don Quixote of La Mancha"
1615 - "Eight comedies and eight interludes, new, never presented on stage"
1617 - "The Wanderings of Persiles and Sikhismunda"

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Biography, life story of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Miguel de Cervantes Saaverda is a Spanish writer. Author of the famous novel The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha.

early years

Miguel was born in the Spanish city of Alcala de Henares on September 29, 1547. He became the fourth of seven children of Rodrigo de Cervantes, a doctor, and Doña Leonor de Cortina, the daughter of a ruined nobleman. On October 9, 1547, Miguel was baptized in the local church of Santa Maria la Mayor.

The youthful years of Miguel de Cervantes are shrouded in mystery, there is no reliable information about his life. Some historians claim that the writer was educated at the University of Salamanca, while others believe that Miguel studied with the Jesuits in Seville or Cordoba.

At a young age, Miguel de Cervantes left for Italy (the reason for his move is unknown). In Rome, de Cervantes fell in love with ancient art, the Renaissance, architecture and poetry.

Military service. hard fate

In 1570, Miguel became a soldier in the Spanish Marines stationed in Naples. In 1571, de Cervantes sailed on the Marquis, which was part of the galley fleet of the Holy League. In October, the Marquis defeated the Ottoman flotilla during the Battle of the Gulf of Patras. It is curious that on the day of the battle, Miguel was tormented by a fever, but the soldier, despite the fever and fatigue, was called into battle. Miguel fought bravely and was badly wounded. Three bullets pierced his body - two hit the chest, one - the left forearm. The last bullet rendered de Cervantes' arm motionless.

After the end of the battle, Miguel spent six months in the hospital. Then, from 1572 to 1575, he continued his service in Naples, sometimes participating in expeditions. I visited Seville, Corfu, Navarino and so on. In September 1575, Miguel de Cervantes was captured by the Algerian corsairs. The Algerians asked for a large ransom for Cervantes, who had letters of recommendation from the duke for the king with him. Miguel spent 5 years in captivity. Four times he tried to escape, but each time the Algerians caught him and severely punished him.

CONTINUED BELOW

After the long-awaited release from captivity by Christian missionaries, Miguel de Cervantes served in Portugal, Oran and Seville. Then, for some time, Miguel worked as a purchaser of provisions for the Invincible Armada navy and a collector of arrears. In this field, de Cervantes failed - he naively entrusted a large amount of state money to one banker, and he, without thinking twice, set off on the run with them. Because of this, in 1597 Miguel was imprisoned. It was a difficult time for the writer - yes, then he had already found his calling in literature and worked solely for the sake of buying food for himself. Five years later, Cervantes, accused of monetary abuse, was again taken into custody. Until the early 1600s, very little is known about the life of Miguel de Cervantes. In 1603, Miguel settled in Valladolid and began to engage in private affairs, giving him a small income. True, what kind of these cases were - history is silent.

Literature

Miguel de Cervantes' first novel, Galatea, written in 1585, was not a success with readers. The same fate befell a number of his dramatic plays. In difficult years (late 1590s - early 1600s), Miguel continues to write, taking creative inspiration from his own life - the life of a wanderer, rejected by society. In 1604, the first part of Cervantes' novel The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha was finally published. The book was liked by the public, not only in Spain, but abroad. Unfortunately, despite the warm reception of the novel, the writer's pocket did not replenish with coins. However, the commercial failure did not prevent Miguel from publishing the second part of the novel, and with it several more works. And although all the works of Miguel de Cervantes are interesting and fascinating, it was the novel "The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" that made the author immortal in world literature.

Personal life

On December 12, 1584, Miguel de Cervantes Saaverda married Catalina Palacios de Salazar, a nineteen-year-old noblewoman from Esquivias. According to the statement of the writer's biographers, there were no children in this marriage. But Miguel had one illegitimate daughter - Isabel de Cervantes.

Death

April 22, 1616 in Madrid, Miguel de Cervantes, creator of the knight Don Quixote and his devoted squire Sancho Panza, died of dropsy. A few days before his death, Miguel took monastic vows.

The burial place of the writer was lost for many years. The remains of de Cervantes were discovered by archaeologists only in the spring of 2015 in a crypt at the monastery de las Trinitarisas. The solemn reburial took place in June of the same year in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Madrid.

Spanish Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

world famous spanish writer

Miguel de Cervantes

short biography

The famous Spanish writer, author of Don Quixote, was born in 1547. It is known that he was baptized on October 9; perhaps the date of birth was September 29, St. Miguel. His family, noble but poor, lived in the town of Alcala de Henares. When Miguel grew up, his parents were close to ruin, so he entered the service of Giulio Acquaviva y Aragon, the ambassador of the Pope, worked for him as a housekeeper. Together they left Madrid for Rome in 1569.

Under Acquaviva, Cervantes stayed for about a year, and in the second half of 1570 he became a member of the Spanish army, a regiment stationed in Italy. This period of his biography took him 5 years and had a significant impact on his later life, since Cervantes had the opportunity to get to know Italy, its richest culture, and social order. The famous naval battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571 was also significant for Cervantes, because. he was wounded, as a result of which only his right arm remained active. He left the hospital in Messina only in the spring of 1572, but continued his military service.

In 1575, Miguel and his brother Rodrigo, also a soldier, were captured by pirates on a ship bound for Spain from Naples. They were sold into slavery and ended up in Algiers. To avoid heavy punishments and death, Cervantes was helped by the presence of letters of recommendation to the king. Four attempts to escape ended in failure, and only 5 years later, in 1580, Christian missionaries helped him gain freedom.

A life full of misadventures was replaced by the monotony of the civil service, the constant search for a livelihood. The beginning of literary activity also belongs to this period. Almost 40-year-old Cervantes wrote in 1585 the pastoral novel "Galatea" and about 30 plays, which did not make much impression on the public. The income from writing was too small, and the writer moved from Madrid to Seville, where he was hired to serve as a commissioner for food procurement. During the 6-year period of service, he had to be arrested three times: the negligence of documentation had such consequences.

In 1603, Cervantes retired, the next year he moved from Seville to Valladolid, which was the temporary capital of Spain. In 1606, Madrid was proclaimed the main city of the kingdom - Cervantes moved there, and the most successful period in terms of creativity is associated with this city in his biography. In 1605, the first part of Cervantes' greatest novel, The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, was published, which, being a parody of chivalric romances, became a real encyclopedia of the life of Spain in the 17th century, a literary work filled with the deepest philosophical and social content. The name of its protagonist has long become a household name. World fame came to Cervantes far from immediately; the author of Don Quixote was known more as a person with rich life experience who survived the Algerian captivity.

The second part of the novel was written only 10 years later, and in this interval a number of works are published that strengthen his literary fame: the second most important work is Edifying Novels (1613), a collection of 8 comedies and 8 interludes. At the end of the creative path, a love-adventure novel appeared under the name "The Wanderings of Persilius and Sikhismund". Despite his fame, Cervantes remained a poor man, he lived in the Madrid area for the low-income.

In 1609 he became a member of the Brotherhood of Servants of Holy Communion; his two sisters and wife took monastic vows. He did the same - became a monk - and Cervantes himself literally on the eve of death. On April 23, 1616, while in Madrid, the author of the “knight of the sad image” died of dropsy. An interesting detail: on the same day, the life of another famous writer, W. Shakespeare, ended. Bad luck haunted Cervantes even after his death: the absence of an inscription on his grave led to the fact that for a very long time the burial place remained unknown.