Life of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the father of the modern novel and innovative Spanish author, was also a distinguished soldier and Humanist. Born September 29, 1547 in Alcalá de Henares, Spain to apothecary-surgeon Rodrigo de Cervantes and Leonor de Cortinas, he grew up in Córdoba, Cabra and Seville. Much of his life is undocumented, so dates and events have been surmised by scholars. Cervantes studied under Lopez de Hoyos at the Estudio de la Villa in Madrid. Hoyos was fond of his student and commissioned him to write poems for inclusion in a volume commemorating the death of Elizabeth of Valiois. Cervantes studied Humanism, the Renaissance idea that scholars should use written text as a source of information to form arguments and build on the ideas the text contained. Cervantes adopted this concept, concsideed radical at that time, and was shrewd in couching ideas in such a way they could be interpreted as both criticism and compliment.

Alongside his literary career Miguel de Cervantes was a distinguished soldier serving in the Ottoman-Habsburg wars. He enlisted in 1570 and participated in the Holy League’s naval victory of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Fighting aboard the ship Marquesa he requested assignment in a particularly dangerous area. Over the course of the battle he received two harquebus wounds in the chest and a third in his left hand leaving it so badly maimed he never regained the use of it. After recovering from his wounds Cervantes participated in at least two more battles. Preparing to be promoted to captain he was granted permission to sail to Spain in search of commissions; he and his brother Rodrigo sailed from Naples in September 1575.

On September 26 their ship, the Sol, was attacked by three Turkish galle...

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... as Charles Dickens, Herman Melville and Mark Twain. The works of Cervantes have continued to inspire 20th century writers including James Joyce and Giannia Braschi. Don Quixote has captured the imagination of artists of many genres, being retold in opera, ballet, film, music and art. The first use of the word “quixotic” was recorded in 1718, over one hundred years after Cervantes’ death. Not only did he write the first modern novel and introduce short stories into Spanish literature, but he created a word defining an ideal: “to be hopeful or romantic in a way that is not practical.”

References:

"Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra." 2014. The Biography.com website. Apr 10 2014 http://www.biography.com/people/miguel-de-cervantes-9242997.

"Miguel de Cervantes, Saavedra." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.