Historical Figures Codexery

Miguel de Cervantes

Spanish writer, author of Don Quixote, first modern novel.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish writer considered the greatest in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists.[1] Many well-known authors have labeled Don Quixote the "best book of all time".[2] The two-part novel Don Quixote, which many top authors selected as the best book ever written in a 2002 survey of 100 writers, is what Miguel de Cervantes is most famous for creating.[2][3][4]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Born
29 September 1547
Birthplace
Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Died
22 April 1616
Place of death
Madrid, Spain
Resting place
Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians, Madrid
Occupation
  • Poet
  • playwright
  • novelist
  • soldier
  • tax collector
  • accountant
Language
Early Modern Spanish

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

His father was frequently in debt and moved constantly, and the family lived in Córdoba until 1556.[5] In 1569, an arrest warrant was issued for Cervantes for wounding Antonio de Sigura in a duel, which is now accepted as the likely reason he left Madrid.[6] He served in the Holy League fleet and fought at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, where he received three wounds, one rendering his left arm useless.[7][5] This wound earned him the nickname "El manco de Lepanto"[5]

In 1575, Cervantes and his brother were captured by Ottoman corsairs and taken to Algiers as slaves.[8] Cervantes died on 22 April 1616 and was buried in the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians in Madrid.[9][10] The Trinitarians paid for Cervantes' release in 1580 after he had spent close to five years as a captive and attempted to flee on four occasions; he then went back to Madrid.[11]

What the cited sources add

A 2003 Guardian article reports that Don Quixote was voted the best book of all time in a survey of around 100 of the world's best authors, gaining 50% more votes than any other book.[3] The BBC News account of a similar poll states that a panel of 100 authors listed Don Quixote among the "best and most central works in world literature"[4] The Folger Shakespeare Library notes that Spanish is referred to as "la lengua de Cervantes" due to the inventiveness and orality of his writing.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Miguel de Cervantes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; de Riquer Morera, "Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra", Real Academia de la Historia (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Miguel de Cervantes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chrisafis, "Don Quixote is the world's best book say the world's top authors", The Guardian, 21 July 2003; "Don Quixote gets authors' votes", BBC News, 7 May 2002 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Chrisafis, "Don Quixote is the world's best book say the world's top authors", The Guardian, 21 July 2003. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  4. "Don Quixote gets authors' votes", BBC News, 7 May 2002. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk
  5. Wikipedia, "Miguel de Cervantes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McCrory 2006, p. 112 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Miguel de Cervantes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McCrory 2006, p. 112; Lokos 2016, p. 116 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Miguel de Cervantes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Davis 1999, p. 199 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Miguel de Cervantes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fitzmaurice-Kelly 1892, p. 33; McCrory 2006, p. 112; Eren, "The Heritage of a Sailor", June 2006, p. 59–64; Bayrak, "Türkiye Tarihi Yerler Kılavuzu", İnkılâp Kitabevi, 1994, p. 326–327; Sumner-Boyd, "Strolling Through Istanbul: A Guide to the City", SEV Matbaacılık, 1994, p. 450–451; Vielva Diego, "Cervantes in Istanbul, history or fiction?", September 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Miguel de Cervantes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Swanton, "Shakespeare and Cervantes: 400 Years Later", Folger Shakespeare Library, 4 February 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Miguel de Cervantes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Miguel de Cervantes Biography – life, family, children, name, story, death, history, wife, son, book", Notablebiographies.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Miguel de Cervantes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Glete 2001, p. 84; Parker Parker 2009, p. ? (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Swanton, "Shakespeare and Cervantes: 400 Years Later", Folger Shakespeare Library, 4 February 2016. facts only, no text reused. folger.edu

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Miguel de Cervantes (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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