Miguel was born on September 29, 1547 in a ruined noble family, in the Spanish town of Alcala de Henares. There is no reliable information about the writer's childhood and youth.
At the age of 23, Cervantes joined the Spanish Marines. During one of the battles, he was seriously wounded: a bullet that pierced the forearm of a young soldier permanently immobilized his left arm.
Having restored his health in the hospital, Miguel returned to the service. He happened to participate in sea expeditions and visit many overseas countries. During the next voyage in 1575, he was captured by Algerian pirates, who demanded a large ransom for him. Cervantes spent five years in captivity, making several escape attempts. However, each time the fugitive was caught and severely punished.
The long-awaited release came along with Christian missionaries, and Miguel returned to the service.
Creation
Cervantes realized his true vocation at a fairly mature age. His first novel, Galatea, was written in 1585. Like several dramatic plays that followed, it was not a success.
However, even in the most difficult times, when the money earned was barely enough for food, Miguel did not stop composing, drawing inspiration from his wandering life.
Muse took pity on the persistent writer only in 1604, when he wrote the first part of his imperishable novel The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha. The book immediately aroused keen interest among readers not only in his native Spain, but also in other countries.
Unfortunately, the publication of the novel did not bring Cervantes the long-awaited financial stability, but he did not give up. Soon he published a continuation of the "heroic" exploits of the hidalgo, as well as several other works.
Personal life
Miguel's wife was the noblewoman Catalina Palacios de Salazar. According to a brief biography of Cervantes, this marriage turned out to be childless, but the writer had one illegitimate daughter, whom he recognized - Isabella de Cervantes.
Death
- During his time in the Marine Corps, Cervantes proved himself to be a brave soldier. He took part in the battles even during a severe fever, not wanting to let his comrades down and lie down on the deck of the ship.
- Unfortunately for Miguel, during his captivity, a letter of recommendation was found from him, because of which the Algerian pirates decided that they had come across an influential person. As a result, the amount of the ransom was increased several times, and the widowed mother of the writer had to sell all her modest property in order to rescue her son from captivity.
- Cervantes' first fee was three silver spoons, which he received in a poetry competition.
- At the end of his life path, Miguel de Cervantes completely revised his position in life, and just a few days before his death, he cut his hair as a monk.
- For a long time no one knew the exact burial place of the outstanding Spanish writer. Only in 2015, archaeologists managed to discover his remains, which were solemnly reburied in Madrid's Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.
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 reported 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 Cervantes' possession led to an increase in the ransom demanded. 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 shots from an arquebus 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 delivered 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
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, as the author definitively 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.”
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.
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.
- In honor of Cervantes, an Argentine destroyer of the Churruca type was named.
- A monument to Cervantes is erected in the Spanish city of Toledo.
- A monument to Cervantes is erected in the city of Seville.
- A monument to Cervantes was erected in the Greek city of Nafpaktos (formerly known as Lepanto).
- A street in the Sosenskoye settlement of the Novomoskovsk administrative district of Moscow is named after Cervantes.
Life of Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) was born in early October 1547 in Alcala de Henares. His parents were poor, but gave him a good upbringing. Young Cervantes studied first in his hometown, then in Madrid and Salamanca, attracted the attention of teachers with his curiosity and poetic talent. In the preface to Journey to Parnassus, he says: "From childhood I loved the sweet art of beautiful poetry." Poverty forced him to seek his fortune abroad. Cardinal Acquaviva, who came to Madrid on behalf of the pope, took him into his service. Through Catalonia and Provence, Cervantes went with Acquaviva to Rome, stayed there for some time in his service, and then entered the Spanish army, which was supposed to sail from Italy to the war with the Turks. He fought bravely in the famous sea Battle of Lepanto, lost his left hand there, which he often mentions with pride in his works. In his novel "Persiles and Sigismunda" he says that the best warriors are those people who go to the battlefield from the field of science: whoever became a warrior from a scientist has always been a brave soldier.
Before recovering from his wound, Cervantes lived in Messina, then again went under the command of Marcantonio Colonna to the war with the Turks and participated in the assault on Navarino. After that, he served in the Spanish squadron, which sailed under the command of Don Juan to Tunisia, then a year remained in one of the detachments that were garrisoned in Sicily and Naples. In 1575 he went to Spain with a letter of recommendation from don Juan to the king. But the ship on which he sailed was captured by corsairs and taken to Algiers. There Cervantes spent five years as a slave to harsh masters. Several times he, with other Spaniards taken as slaves, tried to escape, showing in these attempts unshakable courage and high nobility. But they all ended in failure, and each time the position of Cervantes became worse; he was put in chains and taken to interrogations. The Muslim mob scolded and beat him; from interrogations they took him to the dungeon. Memories of experiences experienced during the years of military service and slavery are quite common in the works of Cervantes. Persiles and Sigismund reflects the impressions of his wanderings in Spain, Portugal, Italy; in Don Quixote, the episode recounted in the short story about the prisoner depicts his life in slavery.
Portrait of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. 1600
Cervantes' mother, who was already a widow at that time, donated her small property to ransom her son, and he (in 1580) returned to his homeland. His comrades in slavery were sad when they parted from him, because he was their adviser and comforter. Having neither money nor patrons, he did not find himself any other way to live, except for entering military service again. Cervantes was in the Spanish army, who went to Lisbon, participated in an expedition that sailed to conquer the Azores; he always had a love for Portugal.
Returning to Spain, he chose poetry as his main occupation; Cervantes wrote from his youth, he even wrote in Algerian dungeons, but only now literary activity has become his profession. Under the influence of Montemayor and "Diana" Gil Polo, he wrote a shepherd's novel "Galatea" and dedicated this "first fruit of his feeble mind" to the son of the Column under whose command he fought in the East. This work is rich in reminiscences from the life of the author and inserts of poems in Spanish and Italian tastes; but it met with little success. In Don Quixote, when the barber reads the title of this book, the priest says: "Cervantes has been my friend for a long time, and I know that he is more skilled at enduring adversity than at writing poetry." The novel was left unfinished; but it has a close relation to the life of the author. Under the name of Galatea, it is believed that the girl whom Cervantes loved and whom he married soon after (in 1584) is depicted. She was from a good family who lived in Esquivias (near Madrid) and always remained a loving wife. But she had no dowry, so Cervantes and she endured poverty.
He began to write for the theater, hoping to receive a livelihood through this; wrote, as we know from him, 20 or 30 plays. But only two of them have come down to us; not even the comedy Lost, which he called his best drama in Journey to Parnassus, has survived. Those two plays that have come down to us were found and printed only two hundred years after his death. One of them, "Life in Algiers" (El trato de Argel), is borrowed from the personal life of the author; another depicting doom of Numantia, imbued with a patriotic feeling; both have good pathetic scenes, but on the whole neither has artistic merit. Cervantes could not be Lope de Vega's rival.
Oppressed by poverty, he left for Seville, where he received a position with a small salary in the financial department. He applied for a position in America, but to no avail. Cervantes lived in Seville for ten years, and we have little information about him over the years. He was probably still in need, because the income from his position as Provisional Commissioner of the Indian Navy was meager and unreliable, and besides himself and his wife, he had to support his sister, who gave her small share of her father's inheritance to ransom him from African slavery. At that time he wrote several sonnets and other poems: perhaps then he wrote the short stories "The Spanish Woman in England" and "Rinconet and Cortadilla". But if this is so, after all, he wrote very little in these ten years. But he, in all likelihood, made many observations on the characters of people in Seville, the center of relations between Spain and America; adventurers gathered there from all over Western Europe, and one could hear from them about many different adventures. At the same time, Cervantes studied Andalusian customs, the descriptions of which are found in his following works. Life with the cheerful citizens of Seville, who loved jokes, probably contributed to the development of jocularity in his works. At the beginning of the 17th century, we find Cervantes living in Valladolid, where the court was then seated. He seems to be in need. His sources of income were business errands for private individuals and literary work. Once, a night duel took place near his house, in which one of the courtiers who fought with each other was killed. Cervantes was interrogated at the trial in this case, and he spent some time under arrest, as suspected of some kind of complicity or withholding information about the course of the quarrel.
The first part of Don Quixote
At this time, he began to write a great novel, which gave immortality to his name. In 1605, the first part of Don Quixote was printed in Madrid, and the public liked it so much that in the same year several new editions of it appeared in Madrid and some provincial cities. (See articles Cervantes "Don Quixote" - summary and analysis, Image of Don Quixote, Image of Sancho Panza.) In the next five years, 11 more editions appeared, and during the life of Cervantes, translations into other Western languages \u200b\u200bappeared. But, despite the brilliant success of Don Quixote, Cervantes spent the last ten years of his life in poverty, although fame brought him the patronage of the Count of Lemos and the Archbishop of Toledo. Lope de Vega, who was then the object of admiration of the Spanish public, apparently looked with contempt on the poor Cervantes, although he did not stand on ceremony to make many borrowings from his dramatic works. Cervantes was probably offended by Lope de Vega's arrogance; but in his good nature and nobility never expressed hostility towards him. Lope de Vega, for his part, was careful not to speak disrespectfully of him. When they mention one another, they always express themselves kindly, although coldly.
"Instructive Novels" by Cervantes
In 1613, Cervantes published his Instructive Novels, the contents of which, as he himself says, are borrowed from his own memoirs. They are less fascinating than The Decameron, but rich in fine descriptions of manners and nature; in the liveliness of these images, Cervantes is superior to all Spanish writers. The short story "Gypsy of Madrid", the content of which served as material for the libretto of Weber's famous opera Preziosa, depicts the life of nobles and common people with charming liveliness. There are many songs inserted in this novella; "The Magnanimous Lover" reproduces the impressions of the Algerian slavery of Cervantes; the action of this novel has been transferred to Cyprus. "Rinconet and Cortadilla" - a series of paintings from the life of itinerant people in southern Spain. Such is the content of "A Conversation of Two Dogs," a short story that represents the Spanish combination of fraudulent tricks with the diligent performance of religious rites. "The Spanish Woman in England" is a story about a Spanish girl captured by the British during the capture and robbery of Cadiz by Admiral Howard and the Count Essex. These short stories are exactly the same as The Jealous Extremaduran. The Power of the Blood, The False Marriage, Vidrier's Lucentiat, and all the other stories in Cervantes's collection are excellent representations of the life of the people in Andalusia. They were the best Spanish novels and are still unparalleled in Spanish literature.
Poems, dramas and sideshows by Cervantes
After a collection of short stories, Cervantes published Journey to Parnassus, a satirical poem written by tercines; its content is an assessment of the works of contemporary poets. Cervantes speaks of himself with cheerful humor and judges his works very correctly. Mercury, who judges him, rightly mentions that the dignity of his dramas and novels was not sufficiently appreciated by the public. Cervantes wanted to prove to her that in vain she remained indifferent to his former plays, addicted exclusively to Lope de Vega; he has now published eight new dramas and eight interludes. Almost all dramas have three acts (Jornadas), in each there are many characters, among them there is certainly a jester or some other amusing person. Particularly good are "Life in Algiers", "The Brave Spaniard", "Sultana", "Happy Villain" (repentant of those bad deeds), "Labyrinth of Love", they have many fascinating scenes. Sideshows are small merry pieces played during intermissions. The best of them are "Attentive sentry" and "Jealous old man" (an adaptation of the short story "Jealous Extremadurian"), "Salamanca Cave"; but all other sideshows are very funny and realistic. But for all the merits of his plays, Cervantes did not gain fame among his contemporaries as a playwright.
Second part of Don Quixote
In the preface to the collection of short stories, Cervantes says that he is publishing the second part of Don Quixote; but while he was writing it, a book appeared under the title The Second Part of Don Quixote, Knight of La Mancha. Its author disappeared under the pseudonym Alonso Fernando de Avellaneda. There are good passages in Avellaneda's book, but it is far inferior in merit to Cervantes' novel. In the preface, Avellaneda rudely mocks Cervantes, speaks with vulgar mockery about his old age and poverty, even laughs at the wounds he received in the war with the infidels. The appearance of Avellaneda's book forced Cervantes to hasten the finishing of the second part of his novel. He published it in 1615. The remarks made by Sancho Panza about the book of Avelland indicate that Cervantes was indignant at this forgery. Written by a sick old man, the second part of Don Quixote equals the freshness and strength of the brilliant creativity of the first. The old man who wrote this story, in which there are so many jokes and gaiety, suffered from illness and poverty, felt the closeness of death.
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Monument in Plaza de España in Madrid, 1930
The meaning of "Don Quixote" in world literature
More than two and a half centuries have passed since the appearance of Don Quixote by Cervantes, and to this day it remains one of the favorite books of all civilized nations; there is hardly any other novel that has received such a strong and wide popularity. Morals have completely changed since that time, and Don Quixote still retains the interest of living modernity. This is because, under the form of a joke, it contains a picture of the eternal passions of the human heart and eternal wisdom. In order to understand the form of this book, we must remember that chivalric ideas, long dead in other countries, were still alive in Cervantes' Spain, that conquests in the New World kept the Spaniards inclined towards fantastic aspirations, that the Amadis novels were still the favorite reading of the Spaniards. that not only the Spaniards, but also other peoples still believed the tales of Eldorado and the source that gives eternal youth. Novels of Amadis and other heroes fighting giants and evil wizards were so beloved in Spain that Kings Charles V and Philip II felt it necessary to ban these books. Castilian Cortes(Parliament) in 1555 decided that the "Amadis" and similar "false books, which young men and women deal with, considering the absurdities told in them to be true, so that they speak and write in the style of these books" should be destroyed. Don Quixote was needed to stop this medieval fantasy. And indeed he stopped it. New novels in the style of Amadis did not appear after him. The former ones were still being reprinted, but this too soon ended.
"The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismund" by Cervantes
Shortly after the second part of Don Quixote, Cervantes finished his novel The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismund. In the dedication of this book to Count Lemos, Cervantes says that he expects an imminent death, and the playful preface ends with the words: “Fare the jokes, farewell the merry friends; I feel like I'm dying; and my only desire is to see you happily in another life.” Four days after he wrote these words, he died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 69. By the digit of the date and month, this seems to be the same day that Shakespeare died; but the English then still held to the old style, and in Spain a new one had already been introduced. In the 17th century, the style difference was 10 days; so the English poet died ten days later than the Spanish.
"Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismund" - a series of adventures taking place in different countries and at sea; geography and history in this novel is a mixture of fantasy and truth. The book was published after the death of the author (in 1517). “The wanderings of Persiles and Sigismund,” says the literary critic Rosencrantz, “a series of stories about the amazing adventures of these individuals. Persiles, second son of the king of Iceland; Sigismund is the only daughter and heiress of the Queen of Friesland. She was betrothed to Persiles' brother Maximinus, a rude man. He could not please a meek, noble beauty; she fell in love with Persiles. They run away, they want to go to Rome, to beg the pope to release Sigismund from the promise she made to her former fiancé. Persiles calls himself Periander, Sigismund - Avristela, so that the chase would not find them by their true names. They pretend to be brother and sister; their true names and relationships are only revealed to the reader at the end of the book. On the way to Rome, they suffer all sorts of troubles, fall into different lands; more than once they are taken prisoner by savages and want to devour them; villains try to kill or poison. They are shipwrecked several times, many times fate separates them. But the kidnappers quarrel among themselves for possession of them, fight and die. Finally, the lovers reach Rome and receive permission from the pope to marry. The fabulous geography and fantastic history that served as the setting for the adventures of Persiles and Sigismund gave reason to reproach Cervantes for having written a book similar to knightly novels about Amadis which he laughed at. But it's not fair. The fantastic setting in his novel is a secondary element. The true content consists in depicting the feelings of the human heart, and it is true.
All the previous development of the Spanish literature of the Renaissance prepared the appearance of a great writer, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. His work represents the pinnacle of the Spanish literary Olympus of the "golden age". It expresses humanistic ideas with the greatest force. On the other hand, this work most fully reflects the crisis that the writer's homeland experienced at the end of the 16th century, as well as the contradictory consciousness of the progressive people of that time. Cervantes became the most profound realist known to the literature of the Renaissance.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born in 1547 in the small provincial town of Alcala de Henares in the family of a poor doctor. Although the lack of money prevented him from getting a good education, Cervantes still graduated from the university. When Miguel was 21 years old, he entered the service of Cardinal Acquava, the papal ambassador to Spain. When the cardinal decided to return to his homeland in Italy, the young Cervantes left with him. After the death of the cardinal, Cervantes enters the Spanish army as a soldier, and then into the navy. He fights bravely, and in one of the battles he receives a severe injury to his left hand. At the age of 28, Cervantes, upon returning to Spain, becomes a prisoner of the Algerian corsairs. He spends 5 long and difficult years in slavery in Algeria, and not for a minute does the thought of freedom leave him. Repeatedly, Miguel plotted to escape, but all attempts were unsuccessful, until, finally, he was ransomed from captivity. During his absence in Spain, the Cervantes family went bankrupt, and his military merits were long forgotten. In order to somehow earn some money, he writes plays for the theater, as well as poems that he gives to some noble persons for a fee. Soon Cervantes marries. The insecurity of literary earnings forced him to become a grain collector for the army, and then accept the position of a collector of arrears. In 1597, Cervantes, having entrusted government money to a banker who escaped with it, goes to prison on charges of embezzlement. And after 5 years, he again goes to prison on charges of monetary abuse. Cervantes spent the last years of his life in great need. Meanwhile, it was during this period of his life that the heyday of his literary activity falls. In 1605, the first part of the novel was published, which brought world fame to its author - "", which he conceived during his second prison term. In 1615, the second part of the novel was published, and shortly before that, a collection of his plays was published, and in 1613, Edifying Novels were published. Even on his deathbed, Cervantes did not stop working. A few days before his death, he took monastic vows. The greatest Spanish writer died on April 23, 1616. The last work of the great Spanish writer was the novel Persiles and Sichismund, which was published after his death.
Life Miguel de Cervantes was typical for a sensitive and talented hidalgo - ardent hobbies, failures, disappointments, a continuous struggle with the need, inertia and vulgarity of the world around. Creativity Cervantes went the same long way of searching. He writes to order, develops "fashionable" genres, seeks to have his say in literature, to introduce content and moral issues into the dominant literary style. But all these attempts were unsuccessful. Only in the declining years of his life, Cervantes creates his own style and his own genres, with which he talentedly expresses his finally matured thoughts.
The world significance of Miguel de Cervantes as a great Spanish writer is based mainly on his novel Don Quixote. The work, conceived as a satire on chivalric novels fashionable at that time (which the author himself speaks about in the Prologue), has become a kind of psychological analysis of human nature, both sides of our mental activity - noble idealism and realistic practicality. And both of these sides manifested themselves in the immortal images of the heroes of the novel - the knight and his squire. In their opposite, they constitute one person. The idealist Don Quixote and the realist Sancho Panzo form a harmonious whole. The author sympathizes with the poor idealistic knight, as he undoubtedly was. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ingeniously captured the main trends and problems of his time. But it was only in the 18th century and especially in the 19th century that it was truly understood and able to exert a real influence on European literature, when a higher form of realism became possible. Cervantes had a great influence on the work of G. Fielding, W. Scott, D. Dickens and N. Gogol.
Takova biography the great Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
Miguel de Cervantes is a famous Spanish writer of the 16th century. The most popular is his novel The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, which had a tremendous impact on the development of all world literature.
Miguel de Cervantes: biography. early years
The future writer came from an impoverished noble family that lived in Alcala de Henares. My father was a simple doctor, his name was Hidalgo Rodrigo. Mother, Leonora de Cortina, was the daughter of a nobleman who squandered all his fortune. In addition to Miguel, the family had six children, the writer himself was born the fourth.
The official date of birth of Cervantes is September 29, 1547. Since there is very little information about this period of his life, the day was calculated according to the church calendar - there was a tradition to give children names in honor of saints, whose holiday coincided with the time of the birth of the child. And on September 29, the day of the Archangel Michael was celebrated. The Spanish version of the name is Miguel.
There are several assumptions about the education of Cervantes. Some historians are sure that he graduated from the University of Salamanca. Others say that the writer was trained by the Jesuits in Seville or Cordoba. Both versions have the right to exist, since no evidence has been preserved.
It is known for certain that Cervantes left his native city and moved to Madrid. But the reasons for this act are unclear. Perhaps he decided to pursue his career, as he could not succeed in his homeland.
Military career
The biography of Cervantes is quite variable, since the writer lived a very long time, and before he gained fame, no one was interested in his life and did not document the events.
Cervantes settled in Madrid. It was in this city that the young man was noticed by Cardinal Acquaviva, who invited Miguel to go to his service. The future writer agreed, and soon ended up in Rome, where he stayed for several years. Then he left the church service and joined the Spanish army, sent to war with the Turks.
Cervantes took part in the battle of Lepanto, where he fought bravely and lost his arm. He always spoke of his injury with pride. Later, the author wrote that the best warriors are those who come to the battlefield from the training room. In his opinion, no one fights so bravely as pundits.
The injury did not lead to his resignation. As soon as the wounds healed, Cervantes again went to fight. He came under the command of Marcantonius Colonna and took part in the assault on Navarino. Then he served in the Spanish squadron and in the garrisons of Naples and Sicily.
In 1575, the writer decides to return to Spain. But on the way, his ship is captured by pirates. And Cervantes ends up in Algeria, where he spends 5 years in slavery. During this time, he tried to escape several times and gained incredible respect from his fellow captives.
Liberation
The biography of Cervantes gives an idea of him as a courageous person who had many trials. Later, these moments will be reflected in his works - both the description of the war and slavery.
Miguel was saved from captivity by his mother, who, being a widow, gave all her fortune in order to ransom her son from captivity. And in 1580 the future writer returned to his homeland. But his financial situation worsened. He had no savings, no parental capital. This forced Cervantes to return to military service. He took part in a campaign to Lisbon, then went along with the expedition to conquer the Azov Islands. He never gave up and it was impossible to break him.
First work
The biography of Cervantes is full of trials and dangers. Despite an active lifestyle, he managed to find time for writing even in the dungeons of Algeria. But he took up this professionally only after the end of his military career and his return to Spain.
His first work was the shepherd's novel "Galatea", dedicated to the son of the Column. The work included inserts from the life of the author and various poems in Italian and Spanish tastes. However, the book was not a great success.
It is believed that under the name of Galatea, the beloved of the writer, whom he married in 1584, was hiding. She was of high birth, but was a dowry. Therefore, the couple lived in poverty for a long time.
Literary career
Miguel Cervantes wrote a lot for the theater. A brief biography of the writer reports that there were about 20-30 plays in total. Unfortunately, only two of them have survived. Even the comedy Lost, which Cervantes himself called his best play, was lost.
But writing could not feed his family, and life in Madrid was not cheap. The plight forced the writer to move his family to Seville. Here he managed to get a position in the financial department. But the pay was extremely low. Cervantes lived in Seville for 10 years, but very little is known about this period. It is clear that he continued to be in great need of money, since he also supported his sister, who gave her part of the inheritance in order to ransom her brother from captivity. During this time he wrote several poems and sonnets.
Final years and death
For some time, the biography of Cervantes Saavedra is interrupted. Several years are hidden from researchers. Again he appears on the scene in 1603 in Valladolid. Here the writer performs small assignments, which make up his entire income. In 1604, the first part of Don Quixote appears, which brought its author a dizzying success. However, this did not improve the financial situation, but it helped Cervantes to be convinced of his literary talent. From that time until his death, he began to write actively.
He continued to work even on his deathbed, and shortly before his death he decides to take the veil as a monk. Cervantes died from dropsy, which tormented him for a long time. It happened on April 23, 1616 in Madrid, where the writer moved shortly before his death. For many years, his grave was lost, as there was no inscription on the tombstone. The remains of Cervantes were discovered only in 2015 in the crypt of the monastery de las Trinitarias.
"Don Quixote"
The biography of Cervantes is primarily the life story of the author of Don Quixote. This novel is recognized as one of the greatest literary creations in the history of mankind. The work received recognition during the life of the author. The name of Cervantes became known not only at home, but also in other European countries. The first part of the novel was published in 1605, and the second exactly 10 years later.
Not only did the book bring success to its author, but also ridicule and mockery. And shortly before the publication of the second part, the novel "The Second Part of Don Quixote" was published, which was written by a certain Alonso de Avellaneda. This book was noticeably inferior to the original and contained many rude allusions and mockery of Miguel himself.
Other works
We have outlined the biography of Cervantes. Let's talk briefly about his works. In 1613, the author's collection "Instructive Novels" was published, in which everyday stories were collected. Many compare this book in terms of fascination and subject matter to The Decameron.
The biography and work of Cervantes allow you to get an idea of the personality of the author. We can say that he was a brave, witty and talented person who was often unlucky in life.
