How Cervantes's military biography ended. Cervantes, Miguel – biography and works. Captivity and release
Miguel de Cervantes's brief biography is presented in this article.
Miguel de Cervantes short biography
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra- famous Spanish writer, author of the novel “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha.”
Born presumably 29 September 1547 in a family of impoverished nobles, in the city 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, and worked for him as a housekeeper. Together they left Madrid for Rome in 1569.
Cervantes stayed under Acquaviva for about a year, and in the second half of 1570 he became a soldier in the Spanish army, a regiment stationed in Italy. This period of his biography took him 5 years and had a significant impact on later life, since Cervantes had the opportunity to become closely acquainted with Italy and its rich culture, social order. The famous naval battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571 became significant for Cervantes as well. he was wounded, as a result of which only his right hand 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 heading from Naples to Spain. They were sold into slavery and ended up in Algeria. The presence of letters of recommendation to the king helped Cervantes avoid heavy punishments and death. 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A life full of misadventures has been replaced by monotony civil service, constant search for a livelihood. The beginning of literary activity also dates back to this period. Almost 40-year-old Cervantes wrote in 1585 the pastoral novel Galatea and about 30 plays, which did not make much of an impression on the public. The income from writing was too small, and the writer moved from Madrid to Seville, where he took a job as a commissar for food supplies. During the 6-year period of service, he had to be arrested three times: such consequences were caused by negligence in record keeping.
In 1603, Cervantes retired and the following 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 creative period is associated with this city in his biography.
In 1605, the first part of Cervantes's greatest novel was published - "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha", which, being a parody of chivalric romances, became a real encyclopedia of life in Spain in the 17th century. But world fame did not come to Cervantes immediately.
The second part of the novel was written only 10 years later, and during this period a number of works were published that strengthened his fame as a writer: the second most important work is “Edifying Novels” (1613), a collection of “8 Comedies and 8 Interludes.” At the end of his creative path, a love adventure novel appeared called “The Wanderings of Persilius and Sikhismunda.” Despite his fame, Cervantes remained a poor man, living in a low-income area of Madrid.
In 1609 he became a member of the Confraternity of the Slaves of the Most Blessed Sacrament; his two sisters and wife took monastic vows. Cervantes himself did the same thing - he became a monk - literally on the eve of his death.
Personal life of Cervantes
On December 12, 1584, Miguel Cervantes married a nineteen-year-old noblewoman from the city of Esquivias, Catalina Palacios de Salazar, from whom he received a small dowry. He had one illegitimate daughter, Isabel de Cervantes.
Spain
Novelist, short story writer, playwright, poet, soldier
Novel, short story, tragedy, interlude
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra(Spanish) Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra; September 29, Alcala de Henares - April 23, 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 “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha”.
Cervantes family
Battle of Lepanto
There are several versions of his biography. The first, generally accepted version says that “at the height of the war between Spain and the Turks, he entered military service under the banner. In the Battle of Lepanta, he appeared everywhere in the most dangerous place and, fighting with truly poetic enthusiasm, received three wounds and lost his arm.” However, there is another, unlikely, version of his irreparable loss. Due to the poverty of his parents, Cervantes received a meager education and, unable to find a means of subsistence, was forced to steal. It was for theft that he was deprived of his hand, after which he had to leave for Italy. However, this version is not credible - if only because at that time thieves’ hands were no longer cut off, as they were sent to the galleys, where both hands were required.
The Duke of Sessé, presumably in 1575, gave Miguel letters of introduction (lost by Miguel during his capture) for His Majesty and the Ministers, as he reported in his certificate dated July 25, 1578. He asked the king to show mercy and help to the brave soldier.
Service in Seville
In Seville he was engaged in the affairs of the Fleet on the orders of Antonio de Guevara.
Intention to travel to America
Consequences
Monument to Miguel de Cervantes in Madrid (1835)
Cervantes's worldwide significance rests chiefly on his novel Don Quixote, a complete, comprehensive expression of his varied genius. Conceived as a satire on the knightly romances that flooded all literature at that time, which the author definitely states in the “Prologue,” this work little by little, perhaps even independently of the author’s will, turned into a deep psychological analysis of human nature, two sides of mental activity - noble, but crushed by reality, idealism and realistic practicality.
Both of these sides found brilliant manifestation in the immortal types of the hero of the novel and his squire; in their sharp opposition they - and this is the deep psychological truth - nevertheless constitute one person; only the fusion of these two essential aspects of the human spirit constitutes a harmonious whole. Don Quixote is funny, his adventures depicted with a brilliant brush - if you don’t think about their inner meaning - cause uncontrollable laughter; but it is soon replaced by a thinking and feeling reader with another laughter, “laughter through tears,” which is an essential and integral condition of any great humorous creation.
In Cervantes’s novel, in the fate of his hero, it was precisely world irony that was reflected in a high ethical form. In the beatings and all kinds of other insults to which the knight is subjected - although they are somewhat anti-artistic in a literary sense - lies one of the best expressions of this irony. Turgenev noted another very important point in the novel - the death of its hero: at this moment all the great significance of this person becomes accessible to everyone. When his former squire, wanting to console him, tells him that they will soon go on knightly adventures, “no,” the dying man replies, “all this is gone forever, and I ask everyone for forgiveness.”
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra(Spanish: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra; September 29, 1547, Alcala de Henares, Castile - April 23, 1616, Madrid) - world famous Spanish writer and soldier.
Born in Alcala de Henares (Province of Madrid). His father, hidalgo Rodrigo de Cervantes (the origin of Cervantes’s second surname, “Saavedra,” on the titles of his books, has not been established), was a modest surgeon, a nobleman by blood, his mother was Dona Leonor de Cortina; their large family constantly lived in poverty, which did not leave the future writer throughout his sorrowful life. Very little is known about the early stages of his life. Since the 1970s in Spain there is a widespread version about Jewish origin Cervantes' influence on his work was probably his mother, who came from a family of baptized Jews.
Cervantes's family often moved from city to city, so the future writer was not able to receive a systematic education. In 1566-1569, Miguel studied at the Madrid city school with the famous humanist grammarian Juan Lopez de Hoyos, a follower of Erasmus of Rotterdam.
Miguel made his debut in literature with four poems published in Madrid under the patronage of his teacher Lopez de Hoyos.
In 1569, after a street skirmish that ended with the injury of one of its participants, Cervantes fled to Italy, where he served in Rome in the retinue of Cardinal Acquaviva, and then enlisted as a soldier. On October 7, 1571, he took part in the naval battle of Lepanto and was wounded in the forearm (his left hand remained inactive for the rest of her life).
Miguel Cervantes participated in military campaigns in Italy (he was in Naples), Navarino (1572), Portugal, and also carried out service trips to Oran (1580s); served in Seville. He also took part in a number of sea expeditions, including to Tunisia. In 1575, having with him letter of recommendation(lost by Miguel during capture) from Juan of Austria, commander-in-chief of the Spanish army in Italy, sailed from Italy to Spain. The galley carrying Cervantes and his younger brother Rodrigo was attacked by Algerian pirates. He spent five years in captivity. He tried to escape four times, but failed each time, and was only miraculously not executed; in captivity he was subjected to various tortures. In the end he was ransomed from captivity by the monks of the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity and returned to Madrid.
In 1585, he married Catalina de Salazar and published a pastoral novel, La Galatea. At the same time, his plays began to be staged in Madrid theaters, the vast majority of which, unfortunately, have not survived to this day. Of Cervantes' early dramatic experiments, the tragedy "Numancia" and the "comedy" "Algerian Manners" have been preserved.
Two years later, he moved from the capital to Andalusia, where for ten years he first served as a supplier to the “Great Armada” and then as a tax collector. For financial shortfalls in 1597 (In 1597 he was imprisoned in a Seville prison for a period of seven months on charges of embezzlement of government money (the bank in which Cervantes kept the collected taxes burst) was imprisoned in a Seville prison, where he began writing a novel " The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote de La Mancha" ("Del ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de La Mancha").
In 1605 he was released, and in the same year the first part of Don Quixote was published, which immediately became incredibly popular.
In 1607, Cervantes arrived in Madrid, where he spent the last nine years of his life. In 1613 he published the collection “Edifying Stories” (“Novelas ejemplares”), and in 1615 the second part of “Don Quixote”. In 1614 - in the midst of Cervantes's work on it - a false continuation of the novel appeared, written by an anonymous person hiding under the pseudonym "Alonso Fernandez de Avellaneda". The Prologue to "The False Quixote" contained rude attacks personally against Cervantes, and its content demonstrated a complete lack of understanding by the author (or authors?) of the forgery of the full complexity of the original's plan. “The False Quixote” contains a number of episodes that plotally coincide with episodes from the second part of Cervantes’s novel. The dispute among researchers about the priority of Cervantes or the anonymous author cannot be resolved definitively. Most likely, Miguel Cervantes specifically included revised episodes from Avellaneda’s work in the second part of Don Quixote in order to once again demonstrate his ability to transform artistically unimportant texts into art (similar to his treatment of knightly epics).
“The second part of the cunning caballero Don Quixote of La Mancha” was published in 1615 in Madrid in the same printing house as the “Don Quixote” edition of 1605. For the first time, both parts of “Don Quixote” were published under the same cover in 1637.
Cervantes finished his last book, “The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismunda” (“Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda”), a love adventure novel in the style of the ancient novel “Ethiopica”, just three days before his death on April 23, 1616; This book was published by the writer's widow in 1617.
A few days before his death, he became a monk. His grave remained lost for a long time, since there was not even an inscription on his tomb (in one of the churches). A monument to him was erected in Madrid only in 1835; on the pedestal there is a Latin inscription: “To Michael Cervantes Saavedra, king of the Spanish poets.” A crater on Mercury is named after Cervantes.
According to the latest data, the first Russian translator of Cervantes is N. I. Oznobishin, who translated the short story “Cornelia” in 1761.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra(Spanish: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra; September 29, 1547, Alcala de Henares, Castile - April 23, 1616, Madrid) - world famous Spanish writer and soldier.
Born in Alcala de Henares (Province of Madrid). His father, hidalgo Rodrigo de Cervantes (the origin of Cervantes’s second surname, “Saavedra,” on the titles of his books, has not been established), was a modest surgeon, a nobleman by blood, his mother was Dona Leonor de Cortina; their large family constantly lived in poverty, which did not leave the future writer throughout his sorrowful life. Very little is known about the early stages of his life. Since the 1970s In Spain, there is a widespread version about the Jewish origin of Cervantes, which influenced his work; probably, his mother came from a family of baptized Jews.
Cervantes's family often moved from city to city, so the future writer was not able to receive a systematic education. In 1566-1569, Miguel studied at the Madrid city school with the famous humanist grammarian Juan Lopez de Hoyos, a follower of Erasmus of Rotterdam.
Miguel made his debut in literature with four poems published in Madrid under the patronage of his teacher Lopez de Hoyos.
In 1569, after a street skirmish that ended with the injury of one of its participants, Cervantes fled to Italy, where he served in Rome in the retinue of Cardinal Acquaviva, and then enlisted as a soldier. On October 7, 1571, he took part in the naval battle of Lepanto and was wounded in the forearm (his left hand remained inactive for the rest of his life).
Miguel Cervantes participated in military campaigns in Italy (he was in Naples), Navarino (1572), Portugal, and also carried out service trips to Oran (1580s); served in Seville. He also took part in a number of sea expeditions, including to Tunisia. In 1575, carrying a letter of recommendation (lost by Miguel during captivity) from Juan of Austria, commander-in-chief of the Spanish army in Italy, he sailed from Italy to Spain. The galley carrying Cervantes and his younger brother Rodrigo was attacked by Algerian pirates. He spent five years in captivity. He tried to escape four times, but failed each time, and was only miraculously not executed; in captivity he was subjected to various tortures. In the end he was ransomed from captivity by the monks of the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity and returned to Madrid.
In 1585, he married Catalina de Salazar and published a pastoral novel, La Galatea. At the same time, his plays began to be staged in Madrid theaters, the vast majority of which, unfortunately, have not survived to this day. Of Cervantes' early dramatic experiments, the tragedy "Numancia" and the "comedy" "Algerian Manners" have been preserved.
Two years later, he moved from the capital to Andalusia, where for ten years he first served as a supplier to the “Great Armada” and then as a tax collector. For financial shortfalls in 1597 (In 1597 he was imprisoned in a Seville prison for a period of seven months on charges of embezzlement of government money (the bank in which Cervantes kept the collected taxes burst) was imprisoned in a Seville prison, where he began writing a novel " The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote de La Mancha" ("Del ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de La Mancha").
In 1605 he was released, and in the same year the first part of Don Quixote was published, which immediately became incredibly popular.
In 1607, Cervantes arrived in Madrid, where he spent the last nine years of his life. In 1613 he published the collection “Edifying Stories” (“Novelas ejemplares”), and in 1615 the second part of “Don Quixote”. In 1614 - in the midst of Cervantes's work on it - a false continuation of the novel appeared, written by an anonymous person hiding under the pseudonym "Alonso Fernandez de Avellaneda". The Prologue to "The False Quixote" contained rude attacks personally against Cervantes, and its content demonstrated a complete lack of understanding by the author (or authors?) of the forgery of the full complexity of the original's plan. “The False Quixote” contains a number of episodes that plotally coincide with episodes from the second part of Cervantes’s novel. The dispute among researchers about the priority of Cervantes or the anonymous author cannot be resolved definitively. Most likely, Miguel Cervantes specifically included revised episodes from Avellaneda’s work in the second part of Don Quixote in order to once again demonstrate his ability to transform artistically unimportant texts into art (similar to his treatment of knightly epics).
“The second part of the cunning caballero Don Quixote of La Mancha” was published in 1615 in Madrid in the same printing house as the “Don Quixote” edition of 1605. For the first time, both parts of “Don Quixote” were published under the same cover in 1637.
Cervantes finished his last book, “The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismunda” (“Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda”), a love adventure novel in the style of the ancient novel “Ethiopica”, just three days before his death on April 23, 1616; This book was published by the writer's widow in 1617.
A few days before his death, he became a monk. His grave remained lost for a long time, since there was not even an inscription on his tomb (in one of the churches). A monument to him was erected in Madrid only in 1835; on the pedestal there is a Latin inscription: “To Michael Cervantes Saavedra, king of the Spanish poets.” A crater on Mercury is named after Cervantes.
According to the latest data, the first Russian translator of Cervantes is N. I. Oznobishin, who translated the short story “Cornelia” in 1761.
Miguel de Cervantes - famous writer Spain 16th century. The most popular is his novel “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha,” which had a tremendous influence 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. The father was a simple doctor, his name was Hidalgo Rodrigo. Mother, Leonora de Cortina, was the daughter of a nobleman who squandered his entire fortune. In addition to Miguel, there were six children in the family; 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 by church calendar- there was a tradition of giving 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 studied with the Jesuits in Seville or Cordoba. Both versions have a right to exist, since no evidence has survived.
It is known for certain that Cervantes left his hometown and moved to Madrid. But the reasons for this action are unclear. Perhaps he decided to pursue his career, since he would not be able to achieve success in his homeland.
Military career
The biography of Cervantes is quite variable, since the writer lived a very long time ago, and before he gained fame, no one was interested in his life or documented 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 found himself in Rome, where he stayed for several years. Then he left church service and joined the Spanish army going to war with the Turks.
Cervantes took part in the Battle of Lepanto, where he fought bravely and lost an arm. He always spoke about his injury with pride. The author later wrote that the best warriors are those who come to the battlefield from study room. In his opinion, no one fights as bravely as learned men.
The injury did not cause his resignation. As soon as the wounds healed, Cervantes went to war again. 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 prisoners.
Liberation
Cervantes' biography gives an idea of him as a courageous man who faced many trials. Later, his works will reflect these moments - both the description of the war and slavery.
Miguel was saved from captivity by his mother, who, being a widow, gave all her fortune to ransom her son from captivity. And in 1580, the future writer returned to his homeland. But his financial situation worsened. He had neither savings nor parental capital. This forced Cervantes to return to military service. He took part in the campaign to Lisbon, then went with the expedition to conquer the Azov Islands. He never gave up and it was impossible to break him.
First work
Cervantes' biography is full of trials and dangers. Despite his active lifestyle, he managed to find time to write even in the dungeons of Algeria. But he took up this professionally only after graduating military career and return to Spain.
His first work was the shepherd's novel Galatea, dedicated to the son of Colonna. The work included inserts from the author's life and various poems in Italian and Spanish tastes. However, the book was not a great success.
It is believed that the writer’s beloved, whom he married in 1584, was hiding under the name Galatea. She had a high birth, but was without a dowry. Therefore the spouses for a long time lived in poverty.
Literary career
Miguel Cervantes wrote a lot for the theater. short biography 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 support 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 salary 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 to ransom her brother from captivity. During this time he wrote several poems and sonnets.
Last years and death
The biography of Cervantes Saavedra is interrupted for some time. They remain hidden from researchers for several years. He appears on stage again in 1603 in Valladolid. Here the writer carries out small tasks, which make up his entire income. In 1604, the first part of Don Quixote appeared, which brought its author dizzying success. However, this did not improve his financial situation, but it helped Cervantes become convinced of his literary talent. From that time until his death, he began to actively write.
He continued to work even on his deathbed, and shortly before his death he decided to become a monk. Cervantes died from dropsy, which tormented him for a long time. This 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 entire history of mankind. The work received recognition during the author’s lifetime. The name of Cervantes became known not only in his homeland, but also in other European countries. The first part of the novel was published in 1605, and the second exactly 10 years later.
The book brought not only success to its author, but also ridicule and bullying. 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 ridicule of Miguel himself.
Other works
We have outlined the biography of Cervantes. Now let's briefly talk about his works. In 1613, the author’s collection “Edifying Stories” was published, which collected everyday stories. Many people compare this book in terms of its fascination and themes with The Decameron.
The biography and work of Cervantes allow us to get an idea of the author’s personality. We can say that he was a brave, witty and talented person who was often unlucky in life.