Miguel de Cervantes

Who is Miguel de Cervantes?

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the foremost figures of world literature. Born in Alcalá de Henares, he led an adventurous early life: he served as a soldier and was wounded at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, losing the use of his left hand, and was later held captive for five years in Algiers after being taken by Barbary pirates. His masterpiece, 'Don Quixote de la Mancha', published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, is often called the first modern novel and a founding work of Western fiction. It follows an aging gentleman who, driven mad by chivalric romances, sets out as a knight-errant with his loyal squire Sancho Panza. Cervantes also wrote the 'Novelas ejemplares' and numerous plays and poems, though he struggled financially for much of his life. He died in Madrid in 1616.

Sources: Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote de la Mancha, Part I (1605) and Part II (1615) · Miguel de Cervantes, Novelas ejemplares (1613)