Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra is a world-famous writer, from whose pen came the stories of the "heroic" exploits of Don Quixote and the wanderings of Persiles and Sichismunda. All his works succinctly combine realism and romance, lyricism and comic.
The beginning of life
The biography of Cervantes began on September 29, 1547. His parents were not particularly wealthy. His father's name was Rodrigo de Cervantes, he was a surgeon doctor. The name of the mother is Leonor de Cortinas.
Young Miguel first received his education in his hometown of Alcalá de Henares, then, due to numerous relocations, he studied at schools in several other cities, such as Madrid and Salamanca. In 1569, he became an accidental participant in a street fight and was persecuted by the authorities. Because of this, Cervantes was forced to flee the country. First he went to Italy, where for several years he was a member of the retinue of Cardinal Aquaviva. It is known that after some time he enlisted in the army. Among other fighters, he took part in a fierce naval battle near Lepanto (10/7/1571). Cervantes survived, but was seriously wounded in the forearm, as a result of which the left arm remained immobilized for life. Having recovered from his wounds, he repeatedly visited other sea expeditions, including being a participant in the assault on Navarin.
Captivity
It is known for certain that in 1575 Cervantes left Italy and went to Spain. The commander of the Spanish army in Italy, Juan of Austria, handed the valiant fighter a letter of recommendation with which the future writer hoped to get a good place in the ranks of the Spanish army. But this was not destined to happen. Algerian pirates attacked the galley on which Cervantes sailed. The entire crew and passengers were captured. Among the unfortunate was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. He was in harsh conditions of slavery for five years. Together with other prisoners, he made more than one attempt to escape, but each time they ended unsuccessfully. These five years left an indelible imprint on the writer's worldview. Mention of torment and torture is found more than once in his works. So, in the novel “Don Quixote” there is a short story that tells of a prisoner who was held in chains for a long time and was tormented by unbearable torture. In it, the writer illustrates his own life in slavery.
Exemption
Cervantes' mother, who had already been widowed by that time, had sold all her small property in order to redeem her son. In 1580, he returned to his hometown. Many of his comrades, who remained in captivity, lamented the fact that the adviser and comforter, who supported everyone in the most difficult moments, left them. It was his human qualities, the ability to persuade and comfort that made him the patron of unfortunate people who were in slavery.
First works
After spending several years in Madrid, Toledo and Eskivias, he managed to marry Catalina de Palacios (December 1584) and acquire an illegitimate daughter from Ana Franca de Rojas.
Cervantes had no means of subsistence, so there was no choice but to return to military service. During this period, the future Spanish writer was one of the participants in the campaign in Lisbon, participated in the military campaign to conquer the Azov Islands.
After leaving the service, he came to grips with poetry. And before that, being in Algerian captivity, he began to write poetry and compose plays, but now this occupation has become the meaning of his life. His first works were not successful. One of Cervantes' earliest works was the tragedy of Numansia and the comedy Algerian Morals. The novel Galatea, which was published in 1585, brought Miguel fame, but he did not become richer. The financial situation remained deplorable.
10 years in Seville
Under the yoke of poverty, Miguel Cervantes leaves for Seville. There he receives a position in the financial department. The appeal was small, but the writer hoped that in the near future he would get a position in America. However, this did not happen. After living in Seville for 10 years, he could not make a fortune. Firstly, being the provincial commissar of the Indian Navy, he received a meager salary. Secondly, some of it went to the maintenance of the sister, who gave her part of the inheritance in order to redeem her brother from Algerian captivity. The works of that time include the short stories “Spanish Woman in England”, “Rinconet and Cortadilla”, as well as single poems and sonnets. It should be noted that it was the cheerful character of the indigenous inhabitants of Seville that caused the appearance of a certain comic and playfulness in his works.
Birth of Don Quixote
Biography of Cervantes continued Valladolid, where he moved in the early XVII century. At this time there was the residence of the courtyard. Means of subsistence were still lacking. Miguel made money by fulfilling business assignments of private people and literary work. There is evidence that one day he became an involuntary witness to a duel near his house, during which one of the courtiers died. Cervantes was summoned to court, he was even arrested because he was suspected of complicity and withholding from the investigation information about the causes and course of the quarrel. He spent some time in prison while the proceedings were ongoing.
One of the memoirs contains information that it was under arrest, while in prison, that the Spanish writer intended to write a humorous piece about a man who “went crazy” from reading novels about knights, and went to perform knightly deeds to look like the heroes of his favorite books .
Initially, the work was conceived as a short story. When Cervantes, who was released from arrest, began work on his main creation, new thoughts appeared on the development of the plot, which he put into practice. So Don Quixote became a novel.
Edition of the main novel
In the middle of 1604, having finished work on the book, Cervantes begins to bother about publishing it. For this, he contacted the bookseller Robles, who became the first publisher of the great creation. "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" was printed at the end of 1604.
The circulation was small and sold almost immediately. And in the spring months of 1605, the second edition was released, which was a stunning success. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza became one of the most beloved characters of the entire Spanish people, and they were also found in other countries, as the novel was translated and published in other languages. These heroes became participants in carnival processions in all
Spanish cities.Last decade of life
The year 1606 is marked for the writer by moving to Madrid. Despite the overwhelming success of Don Quixote, Cervantes continued to be in need. Under his guardianship were his wife, sister and illegitimate daughter Isabel, who, after the death of her mother, began to live with her father.
Many works of Cervantes were written during this period. This and most of the stories that are included in the collection "Edifying Novels" (1613) and the poetic literary satire "Journey to Parnassus" (1614). Also in the last decade of his life, he composed many new ones and reworked several old plays. They are collected in the book "Eight Comedies and Eight Interludes." The "journeys of Persiles and Sikhismunda" also began during this period.
The biography of Cervantes is not fully known. There are many dark spots in it. In particular, there is no information about when he began work on the second part of Don Quixote. Most likely, a writer A. Fernandez de Avellaned wrote the false “Don Quixote”, which continued the storyline of Cervantes’s novel, to create it. This fake contained a lot of rude obscene remarks addressed to the author and the characters of the book, presenting them in a bad light.
The real second part of the novel was published in 1615. And in 1637, both parts of an ingenious literary creation were first published under one cover.
Already at his death, the writer dictates a prologue to the novel The Wanderings of Persiles and Sikhismund, which was published after his death in 1617.
A few days before the passing of life, Cervantes was tonsured a monk. He died on April 23, 1616 in Madrid. The burial was carried out at the expense of the Franciscan Order. The exact burial place is unknown, but most researchers believe that he was buried in one of the Spanish monasteries. The monument to the great writer was erected in 1835 in Madrid.
The biography of Cervantes proves how selflessly a person’s desire to fulfill his vocation can be. Despite the fact that literary work never brought him much income, this great writer continued to create all his life. As a result, his works became part of the cultural heritage of those distant centuries. And now, after so much time, his novels, short stories and plays are relevant and popular.