Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra - Biography, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Filmography (Read)

Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra - biography, date of birth, place of birth, filmography, clips, Writer.

September 29, 1547, Alcala de Henares, New Castile, Spain - April 23, 1616, Madrid, Spain - world famous Spanish writer.

He grew up in a family of impoverished nobles in the town of Alcala de Henares. His father, Hidalgo Rodrigo de Cervantes, was a modest physician, his mother, Dona Leonor de Cortina, was the daughter of a nobleman who had lost his fortune. Their family had seven children, Miguel was the fourth child. Very little is known about Cervantes' early life. His date of birth is approximately based on the records of the church book and the then tradition of giving the child a name in honor of the saint, whose holiday falls on the birthday. It is known for certain that Cervantes was baptized on October 9, 1547 in the church of Santa Maria la Mayor in 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.

Having left for Italy, he did what other young Spaniards did for their careers one way or another. Rome opened its church rituals and greatness to the young writer. In a city teeming with ancient ruins, Cervantes discovered ancient art, and also concentrated his attention on Renaissance art, architecture and poetry (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 to the revival of art. Thus, the enduring love for Italy that is visible in his later works was in a way a desire to return to the early Renaissance period.

By 1570, Cervantes was enlisted as a soldier in the Spanish Marine Regiment located in Naples. He stayed there for about a year before starting active service. In September 1571, Cervantes sailed aboard the Marquis, which was part of the Holy League galley fleet, which defeated the Ottoman flotilla on October 7 at the Battle of Lepanto in the Gulf of Patras. He fought bravely aboard the ship and received three gunshot wounds - two in the chest and one in the forearm. The last wound rendered his left arm mobile. Cervantes always remembered with pride his participation in this battle: he believed that he had taken part in an event that would determine the course of European history.

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 theft 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 thieves at that time were no longer chopped off their hands, since they were sent to galleys, where both hands were required.

After the Battle of Lepanto, Miguel Cervantes remained in the hospital for 6 months until his wounds healed enough to continue his service. From 1572 to 1575, he continued his service, being mainly in Naples. In addition, he participated in expeditions to Corfu and Navarino, witnessed the capture of Tunis and La Guletta by the Turks in 1574. In addition, Cervantes was in Portugal and also made service trips to Oran (1580s); served in Seville.

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 way to the Catalan coast, the galley was attacked by Algerian corsairs. In Algerian captivity, Cervantes spent 5 years (1575-1580), tried to escape four times and only miraculously was not executed. In captivity, he was often subjected to various tortures.

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.

Miguel was in captivity for about two years (that is, since 1575).

On October 10, 1580, a notarial deed was drawn up in Algeria in the presence of Miguel Cervantes and 11 witnesses in order to redeem him from captivity.

After his release from captivity, Miguel served with his brother in Portugal, as well as for the Marquis de Santa Cruz.

In Seville, Cervantes was for some time an agent for Antonio Guevara, the Royal Commissioner for the American Navy.

May 21, 1590 in Madrid, Miguel submits a petition to the Council of India for a vacancy in the American colonies, in particular in the “Audit Office of the New Kingdom of Granada or the Governorate of the Province of Sokonusco in Guatemala, or the Bookkeeper in the Galleys of Cartagena, or the Corregidor of the city of La ”, And all because he still has not been shown favors for his long (22 years) service to the Crown.

Miguel's literary career began quite late, when he was 38 years old. The first work, the pastoral novel Galatea (1585), was followed by a large number of dramatic plays that enjoyed little success.

In order to get his daily bread, the future author of Don Quixote enters the quartermaster service; he is assigned to purchase provisions for the "Invincible Armada", then appointed as a collector of arrears. In the performance of these duties, he suffers great setbacks. Having entrusted the state money to one banker who escaped with them, Cervantes was imprisoned in 1597 on charges of embezzlement. Five years later, he was destined to be imprisoned again on charges of financial abuse. His life in those years was a whole chain of severe hardships, hardships and calamities.

In the midst of all this, he does not stop his writing as long as he does not print anything. The wanderings prepare the material for his future work, serving as a vehicle for the study of Spanish life in its various manifestations.

From 1598 to 1603 there is almost no news of Cervantes' life. In 1603, he appears in Valladolid, where he is engaged in small private affairs that give him meager earnings, and in 1604 the first part of the novel "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" was published, which had tremendous success in Spain (the first edition and 4 others in the same year) and abroad (translations into many languages). However, she did not improve the material position of the author, but only intensified the hostile attitude towards him, expressed in ridicule, slander, and persecution.

Since then, until his death, Cervantes's literary activity did not stop.

Almost on his deathbed Cervantes never stopped working; a few days before his death, he was tonsured a monk.

For a long time, no one knew the exact burial place of the outstanding Spanish writer. Only in 2015, archaeologists managed to find his remains, which were solemnly reburied in Madrid's Holy Trinity Cathedral.

All Information About: Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra - Biography, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Filmography.
Author: Jane Watson