Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes is one of the most recognized Spanish authors largely due to the success of
his novel Don Quijote de la Mancha, published in 1580. Cervantes however led a very difficult life;
it seems the writer fit the mold for the starving artist stereotype. Nonetheless, his passion for
theatre and literature drove the man to create a masterpiece that has withstood the test of time.
There is no official birth date on record for Cervantes but Michael, the name he was given, after St.
Michael, suggests September 29th, the feast of St. Michael the Archangel. It is noted that Cervantes
was christened on October 9th, 1547 and born in Alcala, a city near Madrid.
Cervantes´ childhood was somewhat nomadic and very unsettled. His father, Rodrigo de Cervantes
is recorded as being a barber-surgeon or pharmacist-surgeon. The family was constantly moving
around in search of towns in need of his services. And quite a large family it was, Cervantes was
the 4th of 7 children, Cervantes mother was named Leonor de Cortinas.
In terms of education, Cervantes had very little, or perhaps formal coursework was simply never
recorded. He was a student of the Spanish humanist Juan Lopez de Hoyos in Madrid, from 1568-
1569 only to go to Rome the next year under the watch of Guilio Acquavita. Acquavita was
ordained as a cardinal in 1570.
Cervantes, with may other Spanish men, next went to Rome to find a better life and seek
opportunity to fund his writing. Cervantes ended up joining the Spanish infantry in Naples instead.
It should be noted that throughout his military experiences Cervantes enjoyed his time and was
popular amongst the ranks.
In 1571 the headwaters of war met at Cyprus. In the Mediterranean, on the Gulf of Lepanto, the
Ottman Empire was moving to expand power and land control. Cervantes´s company was called to
fight. Cervantes fought honorably as many accounts have stated. However he also sustained a
wound to the chest, and a debilitating wound to the left hand that earned him the nickname Manco
de Lepanto (Maimed of Lepanto).
Shortly after the Gulf of Lepanto, Cervantes was on passage home when his vessel was captured by
pirates. Cervantes was taken to Algiers and kept in slavery for 5 years despite several failed
escape attempts.
In 1580 with the help of family and enormous sums of money gathered by the Trinitarian
monastery, Cervantes was released. It is speculated during his captivity Cervantes gathered
material and inspiration for his first works and Don Quijote characters. His first play, Los tratos de
Argel (The Treatment of Algiers) was based on his time held captive in Africa.
In 1584 Cervantes married Catalina de Salazary Palacios, the couple did not have any children
although Cervantes did have a daughter through an affair with an actress. Cervantes would leave
his wife and face unrelated financial difficulties that landed him in jail several times, once
suspected of murder (he was never tried).
In 1605, now in Madrid, the first installment of Don Quijote was released and was met with
immediate success. In 1615, the second and final installment was published and also had great
success; both pieces were translated into English, French, and Italian. Unfortunately Cervantes had
sold the rights to his work and although some of his financial burdens were eased he never
managed his money well enough to be a wealthy man. The silver lining for Cervantes could only
have been the literary recognition for his talent, the majority of which came after his death.
Cervantes also wrote dozens of plays and short stories though none as popular or as heralded as
Don Quijote. For example, 12 Novelas Ejemplares (12 Exemplay Novels) published in 1613. In
Ocho Comedias y Ocho Entremeses (Eight Comedies and Eight Interludes, 1615) Cervantes says
his farewell to his readers in the prologue as he knew death was approaching. His final novel, Los
trabajos de Persiles y Segismunda (The Exploits of Persiles and Segismunda) was published at the
end of his life in 1616.