The life of Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) was born in early October 1547 in Alcale de Henares. His parents were poor, but they gave him a good upbringing. Young Cervantes studied first in his hometown, then in Madrid and Salamanca, attracted the attention of teachers with curiosity and poetic talent. In the preface to "Journey to Parnassus" he says: "Since childhood I have loved the lovely art of beautiful poetry." Poverty made him seek his fortune abroad. Cardinal Aquaviva, who came to Madrid on behalf of the Pope, took him into his service. Through Catalonia and Provence, Cervantes went with Aquaviva to Rome, remained there for some time in his service, and then entered the Spanish army, which was supposed to sail from Italy to the war with the Turks. He fought bravely in the famous sea battle of Lepanto, lost his left hand there, which he often mentions with pride in his works. In his short story "Persiles and Sigismunda" he says that the best warriors are those people who move to the battlefield from the field of science: who from a scientist to a warrior has always been a brave soldier.
Before recovering from his wound, Cervantes lived in Messina, then again went under the command of Marcantonio Colonna to the war with the Turks and participated in the storming of Navarino. After that he served in the Spanish squadron, which sailed under the command Don Juan to Tunisia, then stayed a year in one of the detachments that were garrisoned in Sicily and Naples. In 1575 he went to Spain with a letter of introduction from Don Juan to the king. But the ship on which he sailed was captured by the corsairs and taken to Algeria. There, Cervantes spent five years in slavery to harsh masters. Several times he tried to flee with other Spaniards taken into slavery, showing in these attempts unshakable courage and high nobility. But they all ended unsuccessfully, and each time Cervantes's position grew worse; he was chained and taken for interrogation. The Muslim mob scolded and beat him; from interrogations they took him to prison. Memories of what was tested during the years of military service and slavery are quite often found in the works of Cervantes. "Persiles and Sigismund" reflects the impressions of his wanderings in Spain, Portugal, Italy; in Don Quixote, the episode in the novella about the captive depicts his life in slavery.
Portrait of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. 1600
Cervantes's mother, who was already a widow at that time, donated her small property to ransom her son, and he (in 1580) returned to his homeland. His comrades in slavery grieved, parting with him, because he was their adviser and comforter. Having neither money nor patrons, he found himself no other opportunity to live, except for entering the military service again. Cervantes was in the Spanish army, going to Lisbon, participated in an expedition that sailed to conquer the Azores; he will forever have a love for Portugal.
Returning to Spain, he chose poetry as his main occupation; Cervantes wrote from a young age - he even wrote in Algerian dungeons, but only now literary activity became his profession. Influenced by Montemayor and "Diana" by Gil Polo, he wrote the shepherd's novel "Galatea" and dedicated this "first fruit of his weak mind" to the son of the Colonna, under whose command he fought in the East. This work is rich in memories from the life of the author and insertions of poems in Spanish and Italian tastes; but it met with little success. In Don Quixote, when the barber reads the title of this book, the priest says: "Cervantes has been my friend for a long time, and I know that he is more skillful in enduring adversity than writing poetry." The novel remained unfinished; but he has a close relationship to the life of the author. Under the name of Galatea, it is believed that the girl whom Cervantes loved and whom he married shortly after (in 1584) is depicted. She was from a good family who lived in Esquivias (near Madrid) and was always a loving wife. But she did not have any dowry, because Cervantes and she suffered poverty.
He began to write for the theater, hoping to get a livelihood through this; wrote, as we know from him, 20 or 30 plays. But only two of them have come down to us; not even the comedy Lost, which he called his best drama in Journey to Parnassus, has survived. Those two plays that have come down to us were found and published only two hundred years after his death. One of them, "Life in Algeria" (El trato de Argel), is borrowed from the personal fate of the author; another depicting death of Numantia, imbued with patriotic feelings; both have good pathetic scenes, but on the whole neither one nor the other has artistic merit. Cervantes could not have been a rival to Lope de Vega.
Oppressed by poverty, he left for Seville, where he received a position with a small salary in the finance department. He strove for a position in America, but to no avail. Cervantes lived in Seville for ten years and we have little information about him over the years. Probably, he still suffered need, because the income from his position as the provisional commissioner of the Indian fleet was meager and unfaithful, and besides himself and his wife, he had to support his sister, who gave her small share of her father's inheritance to ransom him from African slavery. At this time he wrote several sonnets and other poems: perhaps then he wrote the short stories "The Spanish Woman in England" and "Rinconet and Cortadilla". But if so, he wrote very little in these ten years. But he, in all likelihood, made many observations on the characters of the people in Seville, the center of relations between Spain and America; adventurers came there from all over Western Europe, and one could hear enough of them about all kinds of adventures. At the same time, Cervantes studied Andalusian customs, the descriptions of which are found in his next works. Living with gay citizens of Seville, who loved jokes, probably contributed to the development of playfulness in his works. At the beginning of the 17th century, we find Cervantes living in Valladolid, where the court was then located. It seems he continued to need. The sources of his income were business assignments of private people and literary work. Once a night duel took place near his house, in which one of the courtiers who fought with each other was killed. Cervantes was interrogated at the trial in this case, and he spent some time under arrest as a suspect in some complicity or withholding information about the course of the quarrel.
The first part of "Don Quixote"
At this time, he began to write a great novel that gave immortality to his name. In 1605, the first part of Don Quixote was printed in Madrid, and the public liked it so much that in the same year several new editions of it were published in Madrid and some provincial cities. (See Cervantes' articles "Don Quixote" - summary and analysis, The Image of Don Quixote, The Image of Sancho Panza.) In the next five years, 11 more editions were published, and during Cervantes's lifetime there were translations into other Western languages. But despite the brilliant success of Don Quixote, Cervantes also spent the last ten years of his life in poverty, although fame brought him the patronage of Count Lemos and the Archbishop of Toledo. Lope de Vega, who was then the subject of admiration of the Spanish public, apparently looked with contempt at the poor Cervantes, although he did not stand on ceremony to make many borrowings from his dramatic works. Cervantes was probably offended by Lope de Vega's arrogance; but in his good nature and nobility, he never expressed dislike for him. Lope de Vega, for his part, was careful not to speak disrespectfully of him. When they mention one about the other, they always express kindly, albeit coldly.
Cervantes's "didactic novellas"
In 1613, Cervantes published his "Instructive Novels", the content of which, as he himself says, is borrowed from his own memoirs. They are less entertaining than The Decameron, but rich in beautiful descriptions of manners and nature; for the liveliness of these images, Cervantes is superior to all Spanish writers. The novella "Madrid Gypsy", the content of which served as the material for the libretto of Weber's famous opera Preziosa, depicts the life of nobles and common people with charming vividness. There are many songs inserted in this short story; "The magnanimous lover" reproduces the impressions of Cervantes' Algerian slavery; the action of this novel was transferred to Cyprus. "Rinconet and Cortadilla" is a series of paintings from the life of itinerant people in southern Spain. Such is the content of A Conversation of Two Dogs, a novella that represents a Spanish combination of fraudulent antics with zealous religious observance. "A Spanish Woman in England" - a story about a Spanish girl captured by the British during the capture and robbery of Cadiz by Admiral Howard and the Earl Essex... These novellas are just like The Jealous Extremaduran. The Power of Blood, The False Marriage, Lucentiat Vidriera, and all the other stories in Cervantes' collection perfectly portray the life of the people in Andalusia. They were the finest Spanish short stories and are still unmatched in Spanish literature.
Poems, dramas and sideshows by Cervantes
After a collection of short stories, Cervantes published "Journey to Parnassus" a satirical poem written by Terzins; its content is an assessment of the works of contemporary poets. Cervantes speaks of himself with cheerful humor and judges his works very correctly. Mercury, expressing a judgment about him, rightly mentions that the dignity of his dramas and short stories was not sufficiently appreciated by the public. Cervantes wanted to prove to her that in vain she remained indifferent to his previous plays, addicted exclusively to Lope de Vega; he has now published eight new dramas and eight interludes. Almost all dramas have three acts (Jornadas), each with many characters, including a jester or some other amusement. Especially good are "Life in Algeria", "The Brave Spaniard", "The Sultana", "The Happy Villain" (repenting of those bad deeds), "Labyrinth of Love", they have many fascinating scenes. Interludes are small, funny pieces that were played during intermissions. The best of them are "The Attentive Guard" and "The Jealous Old Man" (a remake of the novel "The Jealous Extremadurets"), "The Salamanca Cave"; but all the other sideshows are very fun and realistic. But for all the merits of his plays, Cervantes did not gain fame among his contemporaries as a playwright.
The second part of "Don Quixote"
In the preface to the collection of short stories, Cervantes says that he is publishing the second part of Don Quixote; but while he was writing it, a book came out entitled "The Second Part of Don Quixote, Knight of La Mancha." Its author disappeared under the pseudonym Alonso Fernando de Avellaneda. There are good passages in Avellaneda's book, but it is far below the merit of Cervantes's novel. In the preface, Avellaneda rudely mocks Cervantes, speaks with vulgar ridicule about his old age and poverty, even laughs at the wounds he received in the war with the infidels. The appearance of Avellaneda's book forced Cervantes to speed up the final finishing of the second part of his novel. He published it in 1615. Sancho Panza's comments on the book of Avellanda indicate that Cervantes resented this forgery. The second part of Don Quixote, written by a sick old man, is equal to the freshness and strength of the genius creativity of the first. The old man who wrote this story, in which there are so many jokes and gaiety, suffered from illness and poverty, felt the nearness of death.
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Monument at Plaza de España in Madrid, 1930
The meaning of "Don Quixote" in world literature
More than two and a half centuries have passed since the appearance of Don Quixote by Cervantes, and to this day it remains one of the favorite books of all civilized nations; there is hardly another novel that has received such strong and widespread popularity. Morals have completely changed since that time, and Don Quixote still retains the interest of living modernity. This is because under the form of a joke it contains a picture of the eternal passion of the human heart and eternal wisdom. To understand the form of this book, we must remember that chivalric ideas, long dead in other countries, were still alive in Spain during the time of Cervantes, that the conquests in the New World supported in the Spaniards a penchant for fantastic aspirations, that the Amadis novels were still a favorite reading of the Spaniards. that not only the Spaniards, but also other peoples still believed the tales of Eldorado and the source that gave eternal youth. The novels about Amadis and other heroes fighting giants and evil wizards were so popular in Spain that Kings Charles V and Philip II considered it necessary to ban these books. Castilian cortes(Parliament) in 1555 decided that the "Amadis" and similar "false books, which young men and women are engaged in, considering the absurdities told in them to be true, so that they speak and write in the style of these books" should be destroyed. Don Quixote was needed to stop this medieval fantasy. And indeed he stopped it. New novels in the style of the Amadis did not appear after him. The previous ones were still being reprinted, but that too soon ended.
"The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismunda" by Cervantes
Shortly after the second part of Don Quixote, Cervantes completed his novel, The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismunda. In the dedication of this book to Count Lemos, Cervantes says that he expects an imminent death, and the joking preface ends with the words: “Farewell jokes, farewell merry friends; I feel like I'm dying; and my only desire is to meet you happily in another life. " Four days after he wrote these words, he died, on April 23, 1616, at the age of 69. By the numeral of the day and month, it appears to be the same day that Shakespeare died; but the English were still holding on to the old style, and in Spain a new one had already been introduced. In the 17th century, the difference in styles was 10 days; so the English poet died ten days later than the Spanish.
"The Wanderings of Persiles and Sigismund" - a series of adventures taking place in different countries and at sea; geography and history in this novel is a mixture of fantasy and truth. The book was published after the death of the author (in 1517). “The wanderings of Persiles and Sigismund,” says the literary critic Rosencrantz, “are a series of stories about the amazing adventures of these persons. Persiles, second son of the King of Iceland; Sigismunda is the only daughter and heiress of the Queen of Friesland. She was betrothed to Persiles' brother Maximin, a rude man. He could not please the meek, noble beauty; she fell in love with Persiles. They run away, want to go to Rome, beg the pope to release Sigismund from the promise she made to her former groom. Persiles calls himself Periander, Sigismund - Avristele, so that the pursuit does not find them by their true names. They pass themselves off as brother and sister; their true names and relationships are revealed to the reader only at the end of the book. On the way to Rome, they endure all sorts of troubles, end up in different lands; more than once savages take them prisoner and want to devour; villains are trying to kill or poison. They are shipwrecked several times, many times fate separates them. But the kidnappers quarrel among themselves for the possession of them, fight and die. Finally, the lovers reach Rome and receive permission from the pope to marry. The fabulous geography and fantastic story that served as the setting for the adventures of Persiles and Sigismund gave rise to reproach Cervantes for writing a book similar to the knightly the Amadis novels, which he himself laughed at. But this is not fair. The fantastic setting in his novel is a secondary element. True content is depicting the feelings of the human heart, and it is true.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Spanish: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra). Born presumably on September 29, 1547 in Alcala de Henares - died on April 23, 1616 in Madrid. 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".
Miguel Cervantes was born into a family of impoverished nobles in the town of Alcala de Henares. His father, Hidalgo Rodrigo de Cervantes, was a modest physician, his mother, Doña Leonor de Cortina, was the daughter of a nobleman who had lost his fortune. Their family had seven children, Miguel became the fourth child. Very little is known about Cervantes' early life. The date of his birth is September 29, 1547 (the day of the Archangel Michael). This date is set approximately on the basis of the records of the church book and the then tradition of giving a child a name in honor of a saint whose holiday falls on his 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.
The reasons that prompted Cervantes to leave Castile remain unknown. Whether he was a student, or escaped justice, or escaped a royal arrest warrant for injuring Antonio de Sigura in a duel, this is another mystery of his life. In any case, 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 Marquise, 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.
Despite the fact that Cervantes was sick with a fever that day, he refused to stay in bed and asked to fight. According to eyewitnesses, he said: "I prefer, even being sick and in the heat, to fight, as befits a good soldier ... and not hide under the protection of the deck." 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. In his poem "Journey to Parnassus" he had to say that he "lost the capacity of his left hand for the glory of his right" (he thought about the success of the first part of Don Quixote). 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 for him to continue serving. 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.
The Duke de Sesse, presumably in 1575, gave Miguel letters of recommendation (lost by Miguel during his captivity) for the king and ministers, as he reported in his testimony of July 25, 1578. He also asked the king to provide mercy and help to the brave soldier.
In September 1575, Miguel Cervantes with his brother Rodrigo was 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. The attackers were resisted, as a result of which many members of the "Sun" team were killed, and the rest were captured and taken to Algeria. The letters of recommendation found at Cervantes' entailed an increase in the amount of the required ransom. 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.
Father Rodrigo de Cervantes, according to his petition of March 17, 1578, indicated that his son “was captured in the gallery Sun, under the command of Carrillo de Quesada,” and that he “received two shots from the arquebus in the chest, and was injured in his left hand, which he cannot use. " The father did not have the means to ransom Miguel due to the fact that he had previously ransomed from captivity another of his son, Rodrigo, who was also on that ship. Mateo de Santisteban, a witness to this petition, noted that he had known Miguel for eight years and met him when he was 22 or 23 years old, on the day of the Battle of Lepanto. He also testified that Miguel "was ill and had a fever on the day of the battle," and he was advised to stay in bed, but he decided to take part in the battle. For his distinction in battle, the captain presented him with four ducats over and above his usual pay.
The news (in the form of letters) about Miguel's stay in Algerian captivity was delivered by the soldier Gabriel de Castaneda, a resident of the Carriedo mountain valley from the village of Salazar. According to his information, Miguel was in captivity for about two years (that is, since 1575) with a Greek converted to Islam, Captain Arnautriomami.
In a petition from Miguel's mother in 1580, it was reported that she asked for "permission to export 2,000 ducats in the form of goods from the Kingdom of Valencia" to ransom her son.
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. On October 22, a monk from the Order of the Holy Trinity (Trinitarian) Juan Gil "Liberator of the Captives" compiled a report on the basis of this notarial deed confirming Cervantes's merits before the king.
After his release from captivity, Miguel served with his brother in Portugal, as well as with the Marquis de Santa Cruz.
By order of the king, Miguel made a trip to Oran in the 1580s.
In Seville, he was engaged in the affairs of the Spanish fleet on the orders of Antonio de Guevara.
On 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 Paz" , and all because he still has not been shown favors for his long (22 years) service to the Crown. On June 6, 1590, the President of the Council of the Indies left a note on the petition that the applicant "deserves to be given some kind of service, and he can be trusted."
On December 12, 1584, Miguel Cervantes married a nineteen-year-old native of Esquias, Catalina Palacios de Salazar, from whom he received a small dowry. He had one illegitimate daughter, Isabel de Cervantes.
The best biographer of Cervantes, Shal, characterized him as follows: “The poet, windy and dreamy, lacked worldly skill, and he did not benefit from either his military campaigns or from his works. It was a disinterested soul, incapable of gaining fame for itself or counting on success, alternately enchanted or indignant, irresistibly surrendering to all its impulses ... immersed in deep thought, then carefreely cheerful ... He emerges from the analysis of his life with honor, full of magnanimous and noble activity, an amazing and naive prophet, heroic in his misfortunes and kind in his genius. "
Miguel's literary career began quite late, when he was 38 years old. The first work, Galatea (1585), was followed by a large number of dramatic plays that enjoyed little success.
To get his own daily bread, the future author of Don Quixote enters the quartermaster service; he is instructed to purchase provisions for the "Invincible Armada". In the performance of these duties, he suffers great failures, even goes to trial and sits in prison for some time. 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 activities, while not printing 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 Dodgy Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" was published, which had tremendous success in Spain (in a few weeks the 1st 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 strengthened the hostile attitude towards him, expressed in ridicule, slander, and persecution.
From that time, until his death, Cervantes's literary activity did not stop: between 1604 and 1616, the second part of Don Quixote appeared, all the novellas, many dramatic works, the poem Journey to Parnassus, and the novel, published after the author's death, was written. Persiles and Sikhismunda ".
Almost on his deathbed, Cervantes did not stop working; a few days before his death, he was tonsured a monk. On April 23, 1616, life ended (he died of dropsy), which the bearer of it in his philosophical humor called "long imprudence" and, leaving which, he "carried a stone on his shoulders with an inscription that read the destruction of his hopes."
Cervantes died in Madrid, where he moved from Valladolid shortly before his death. The irony of fate pursued the great humorist behind the grave: his grave remained lost, since there was not even an inscription on his tomb (in one of the churches). The writer's remains were discovered and identified only in March 2015 in one of the crypts in the monastery de las Trinitarias. A monument to him was erected in Madrid only in 1835 (sculptor Antonio Sola); on the pedestal there are two inscriptions in Latin and Spanish: “Miguel de Cervantes Saavedre, king of Spanish poets, year M.D.CCC.XXXV”.
Cervantes' world significance rests mainly on his novel Don Quixote, a complete, comprehensive expression of his diverse genius. Conceived as a satire on the knightly novels that flooded all literature at that time, which the author definitely states in the Prologue, this work little by little, maybe 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 the reality of idealism and realistic practicality.
Both of these sides found themselves brilliantly manifested 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 - constitute, however, one person; only the fusion of these two essential aspects of the human spirit constitutes a harmonious whole. Don Quixote is ridiculous, his adventures depicted with a brilliant brush - if you do not ponder their inner meaning - cause irrepressible laughter; but in the thinking and feeling reader, it is soon replaced by another laugh, "laughter through tears," which is an essential and inalienable condition for every great humorous creation.
In Cervantes' novel, in the fate of his hero, it was the world irony that was reflected in a high ethical form. One of the best expressions of this irony is the beatings and all kinds of other insults to which the knight is subjected - with a certain anti-artistic character in their literary respect. Turgenev noted another very important moment in the novel - the death of his hero: at that moment all the great meaning of this person becomes available to everyone. When his former squire, wishing 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 was born on September 29, 1547 in a ruined noble family, in the Spanish town of Alcala de Henares. There is no reliable information about the writer's childhood and adolescence.
At the age of 23, Cervantes joined the Spanish Marine Regiment. During one of the battles, he was seriously wounded: a bullet piercing the forearm of a young soldier, permanently immobilized his left arm.
Having restored his health in the hospital, Miguel returned to work. He took part in sea expeditions and visited many overseas countries. During another voyage in 1575, he was captured by the Algerian pirates, who demanded a large ransom for him. Cervantes spent five years in captivity, making several attempts to escape. However, each time the fugitive was caught and severely punished.
The long-awaited release came with the Christian missionaries, and Miguel returned to the service.
Creation
Cervantes realized his true vocation at a fairly mature age. His first novel, Galatea, was written in 1585. Like several dramatic plays that followed, he was unsuccessful.
However, even in the most difficult times, when the money earned was barely enough to feed, Miguel did not stop writing, drawing inspiration from his wandering life.
The muse took pity on the persistent writer only in 1604, when he wrote the first part of his imperishable novel "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha". The book immediately aroused keen interest among readers not only in their native Spain, but also in other countries.
Unfortunately, the publication of the novel did not bring Cervantes the long-awaited financial stability, but he did not give up. Soon he published a sequel to the "heroic" exploits of the hidalgo, as well as several other works.
Personal life
Miguel's wife was the noblewoman Catalina Palacios de Salazar. According to the short biography of Cervantes, this marriage was childless, but the writer had one illegitimate daughter, whom he recognized - Isabella de Cervantes.
Death
- During his service in the Marine Corps, Cervantes established himself as a brave soldier. He took part in battles even during a strong fever, not wanting to let down his comrades and lie down on the deck of the ship.
- Unfortunately for Miguel, during his capture, a letter of recommendation was found in his possession, which is why the Algerian pirates decided that they had gotten an influential person. As a result, the ransom amount was increased several times, and the writer's widowed mother had to sell all her modest property in order to free her son from captivity.
- Cervantes's first fee was three silver spoons, which he received in a poetry competition.
- At the end of his life, Miguel de Cervantes completely revised his position in life, and literally a few days before his death he cut his hair as 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.
early years
Church where Cervantes was baptized, Alcala de Henares
Miguel Cervantes was born into a family of impoverished nobles in the town of Alcala de Henares. His father, Hidalgo Rodrigo de Cervantes, was a modest physician, his mother, Doña 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. The date of his birth is September 29, 1547 (the day of the Archangel Michael). This date is set approximately on the basis of the records of the church book and the then tradition of giving a child a name in honor of a saint whose holiday falls on his 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.
According to Abraham Chaim, president of the Sephardic community of Jerusalem, Cervantes's mother came from a family of baptized Jews. Cervantes's father was from the nobility, but in his hometown of Alcala de Henares, the home of his ancestors, which is located in the center of the Hudéria, i.e. the Jewish quarter. The house of Cervantes is located in the former Jewish part of the city.
Writer's activities in Italy
The reasons that prompted Cervantes to leave Castile remain unknown. Whether he was a student, or fled from justice, or escaped a royal arrest warrant for wounded Antonio de Sigura in a duel, is another mystery in his life. In any case, 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.
Military career and the Battle of Lepanto
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 on October 7 defeated the Ottoman flotilla at the Battle of Lepanto in the Gulf of Patras. Despite the fact that Cervantes was sick with a fever that day, he refused to stay in bed and asked to fight. According to eyewitnesses, he said: "I prefer, even being sick and in the heat, to fight, as befits a good soldier ... and not hide under the protection of the deck." 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. In his poem "Journey to Parnassus" he had to say that he "lost the capacity of his left hand for the glory of his right" (he thought about the success of the first part of Don Quixote). 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 for him to continue serving. 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.
The Duke de Sesse, presumably in 1575, gave Miguel letters of recommendation (lost by Miguel during his captivity) for the king and ministers, as he reported in his testimony of July 25, 1578. He also asked the king to provide mercy and help to the brave soldier.
In Algerian captivity
In September 1575, Miguel Cervantes with his brother Rodrigo was 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. The attackers were resisted, as a result of which many members of the "Sun" team were killed, and the rest were captured and taken to Algeria. The letters of recommendation found at Cervantes' entailed an increase in the amount of the required ransom. 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.
Father Rodrigo de Cervantes, according to his petition of March 17, 1578, indicated that his son “was captured in the gallery Sun, under the command of Carrillo de Quesada,” and that he “received two shots from the arquebus in the chest, and was injured in his left hand, which he cannot use. " The father did not have the means to ransom Miguel due to the fact that he had previously ransomed from captivity another of his son, Rodrigo, who was also on that ship. Mateo de Santisteban, a witness to this petition, noted that he had known Miguel for eight years and met him when he was 22 or 23 years old, on the day of the Battle of Lepanto. He also testified that Miguel "was ill and had a fever on the day of the battle," and he was advised to stay in bed, but he decided to take part in the battle. For his distinction in battle, the captain presented him with four ducats over and above his usual pay.
The news (in the form of letters) about Miguel's stay in Algerian captivity was delivered by the soldier Gabriel de Castaneda, a resident of the Carriedo mountain valley from the village of Salazar. According to his information, Miguel was in captivity for about two years (that is, since 1575) with a Greek converted to Islam, Captain Arnautriomami.
In a petition from Miguel's mother in 1580, it was reported that she asked for "permission to export 2,000 ducats in the form of goods from the Kingdom of Valencia" to ransom her son.
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. On October 22, a monk from the Order of the Holy Trinity (Trinitarian) Juan Gil "Liberator of the Captives" compiled a report on the basis of this notarial deed confirming Cervantes's merits before the king.
Service in Portugal
After his release from captivity, Miguel served with his brother in Portugal, as well as with the Marquis de Santa Cruz.
Trip to Oran
By order of the king, Miguel made a trip to Oran in the 1590s.
Service in Seville
In Seville, he was engaged in the affairs of the Spanish fleet on the orders of Antonio de Guevara.
Intention to go to America
On 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 "Revision 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 Paz" , and all because he still has not been shown favors for his long (22 years) service to the Crown. On June 6, 1590, the President of the Council of the Indies left a note on the petition that the applicant "deserves to be given some kind of service, and he can be trusted."
Cervantes about myself
In the prologue of the Instructive Novels in 1613, Miguel de Cervantes wrote:
Under the portrait, my friend could write: “The man you see here, with an oval face, brown hair, an open and large forehead, cheerful eyes and a humped, albeit regular nose; with a silver beard, which was still golden twenty years ago; long mustache, small mouth; with teeth that are not very rare, but also not thick, because he has only six of them, and, moreover, very unprepossessing and poorly spaced, because there is no correspondence between them; ordinary growth - neither big nor small; with a good complexion, rather light than dark; slightly stooped and heavy on his feet, he is the author of Galatea and Don Quixote of La Mancha, who, in imitation of Cesare Caporali of Perugia, composed Journey to Parnassus and other works that go from hand to hand distorted, and sometimes without the name of the author. His name is colloquially Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. He served as a soldier for several years and spent five and a half years in captivity, where he managed to learn to patiently endure misfortunes. In the naval battle of Lepanto, a shot from an arquebus caused his hand to be mutilated, and although this injury seems otherwise ugly, it is beautiful in his eyes, for he received it in one of the most famous battles that were known in the past centuries and which can happen in the future, fighting under the victorious banners of the son of the "Thunderstorm of Wars" - the blessed memory of Charles the Fifth. "
Miguel de Cervantes. Instructive novellas. Translated from Spanish by B. Krzhevsky. Moscow. Publishing house "Artistic Literature". 1983
Personal life
On December 12, 1584, Miguel Cervantes married a nineteen-year-old noblewoman of the city of Esquivias, Catalina Palacios de Salazar, from whom he inherited a small dowry. He had one illegitimate daughter, Isabel de Cervantes.
Character
The best of Cervantes's biographers, Shal, characterized him as follows: “The poet, windy and dreamy, lacked worldly skill, and he did not benefit from either his military campaigns or his works. It was an unselfish soul, incapable of gaining fame for itself or counting on success, alternately enchanted or indignant, irresistibly surrendering to all its impulses ... He was seen naively in love with everything beautiful, generous and noble, indulging in romantic dreams or love dreams, ardent on the battlefield, then immersed in deep thought, then carefreely cheerful ... He emerges from the analysis of his life with honor, full of generous and noble activity, an amazing and naive prophet, heroic in his misfortunes and kind in his genius. "
Literary activity
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.
To get his daily bread, the future author of Don Quixote enters the quartermaster service; he is instructed 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 activities, while not printing 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 Dodgy Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" was published, which had tremendous success in Spain (in a few weeks the 1st 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 strengthened the hostile attitude towards him, expressed in ridicule, slander, and persecution.
From that time, until his death, Cervantes's literary activity did not stop: between 1604 and 1616, the second part of Don Quixote appeared, all the novellas, many dramatic works, the poem Journey to Parnassus, and the novel, published after the author's death, was written. Persiles and Sikhismunda ".
Almost on his deathbed, Cervantes did not stop working; a few days before his death, he was tonsured a monk. On April 22, 1616, life ended (he died of dropsy), which the bearer himself in his philosophical humor called "long imprudence" and, leaving which, he "carried a stone on his shoulders with an inscription that read the destruction of his hopes." However, according to the customs of that time, the date of his burial was recorded as the date of his death - April 23 Because of this, it is sometimes said that the date of death of Cervantes coincides with the date of death of another great writer - William Shakespeare, in fact, Cervantes died 11 days earlier (since, at that time, the Gregorian calendar was in effect in Spain, and in England - the Julian calendar). April 23, 1616 is sometimes considered the end of the Renaissance.
Heritage
Cervantes died in Madrid, where he moved from Valladolid shortly before his death. The irony of fate pursued the great humorist behind the grave: his grave remained lost, since there was not even an inscription on his tomb (in one of the churches). The writer's remains were discovered and identified only in March 2015 in one of the crypts in the monastery de las Trinitarias. In June of the same year, they were reburied.
The monument to Cervantes was erected in Madrid only in 1835 (sculptor Antonio Sola); on the pedestal there are two inscriptions in Latin and Spanish: “Miguel de Cervantes Saavedre, king of Spanish poets, year M.D.CCC.XXXV”.
Cervantes' world significance rests mainly on his novel Don Quixote, a complete, comprehensive expression of his diverse genius. Conceived as a satire on the knightly novels that flooded all literature at that time, which the author definitely states in the Prologue, this work little by little, maybe 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 the reality of idealism and realistic practicality.
Both of these sides found themselves brilliantly manifested 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 - constitute, however, one person; only the fusion of these two essential aspects of the human spirit constitutes a harmonious whole. Don Quixote is ridiculous, his adventures depicted with a brilliant brush - if you do not ponder their inner meaning - cause irrepressible laughter; but in the thinking and feeling reader, it is soon replaced by another laugh, "laughter through tears," which is an essential and inalienable condition for every great humorous creation.
In Cervantes' novel, in the fate of his hero, it was the world irony that was reflected in a high ethical form. One of the best expressions of this irony is the beatings and all kinds of other insults to which the knight is subjected - with a certain anti-artistic character in their literary respect. Turgenev noted another very important moment in the novel - the death of his hero: at that moment all the great meaning of this person becomes available to everyone. When his former squire, wishing 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."
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Biography, life story of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Miguel de Cervantes Saaverda is a Spanish writer. Author of the famous novel "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha".
early years
Miguel was born in the Spanish city of Alcala de Henares on September 29, 1547. He became the fourth of seven children of Rodrigo de Cervantes, a physician, and Doña Leonor de Cortina, daughter of a ruined nobleman. On October 9, 1547, Miguel was baptized in the local church of Santa Maria la Mayor.
Miguel de Cervantes's youthful years are shrouded in mystery, there is no reliable information about his life. Some historians claim that the writer was educated at the University of Salamanca, while others believe that Miguel studied with the Jesuits in Seville or Cordoba.
At a young age, Miguel de Cervantes left for Italy (the reason for his move is unknown). In Rome, de Cervantes fell in love with ancient art, the Renaissance, architecture and poetry.
Military service. Difficult fate
In 1570, Miguel became a soldier in the Spanish Marine Corps located in Naples. In 1571, de Cervantes sailed on the ship "Marquis", which was part of the galley fleet of the Holy League. In October, the Marquis defeated the Ottoman Flotilla during the Battle of Patras Gulf. It is curious that on the day of the battle, Miguel was tormented by a fever, but the soldier, despite the fever and fatigue, was called into battle. Miguel fought bravely and was badly wounded. Three bullets pierced his body - two in the chest, one in the left forearm. The last bullet made de Cervantes' arm immobilized.
After the end of the battle, Miguel spent six months in the hospital. Then, from 1572 to 1575, he continued to serve in Naples, sometimes participating in expeditions. Visited Seville, Corfu, Navarino and so on. In September 1575, Miguel de Cervantes was captured by the Algerian corsairs. The Algerians asked for a large ransom for Cervantes, who had letters of recommendation from the duke for the king. Miguel spent 5 years in captivity. Four times he tried to escape, but each time the Algerians caught him and punished him severely.
CONTINUED BELOW
After the long-awaited release from captivity by Christian missionaries, Miguel de Cervantes served in Portugal, Oran and Seville. Then, for some time, Miguel worked as a purchaser of provisions for the military fleet "Invincible Armada" and a collector of arrears. In this field, de Cervantes failed - he naively entrusted a large sum of state money to one banker, and he, without thinking twice, went on the run with them. Because of this, in 1597, Miguel was imprisoned. It was a difficult time for the writer - yes, then he already found his vocation in literature and worked solely for the sake of buying his own food. Five years later, Cervantes, accused of financial abuse, was again taken into custody. Until the early 1600s, very little is known about the life of Miguel de Cervantes. In 1603, Miguel settled in Valladolid and began to engage in private business, giving him a small income. True, what kind of these cases were - history is silent.
Literature
Miguel de Cervantes' first novel, Galatea, written in 1585, was not successful with readers. The same fate befell a number of his dramatic plays. In difficult years (late 1590s - early 1600s), Miguel continues to write, taking creative inspiration from his own life - the life of a wanderer, rejected by society. In 1604, the first part of Cervantes' novel "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" was finally published. The public liked the book, not only Spanish, but also abroad. Unfortunately, despite the novel's warm reception, the writer's pocket was not replenished with coins. However, the commercial collapse did not prevent Miguel from publishing the second part of the novel, and with it several more works. And although all the creations of Miguel de Cervantes are interesting and fascinating, it was the novel "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" that made the author immortal in world literature.
Personal life
On December 12, 1584, Miguel de Cervantes Saaverda married Catalina Palacios de Salazar, a nineteen-year-old noblewoman from Esquias. According to the biographers of the writer, there were no children in this marriage. But Miguel had one illegitimate daughter - Isabel de Cervantes.
Death
On April 22, 1616, in Madrid, Miguel de Cervantes, the creator of the knight Don Quixote and his devoted squire Sancho Panza, died of dropsy. A few days before his death, Miguel was tonsured a monk.
The burial place of the writer was lost for many years. The remains of de Cervantes were discovered by archaeologists only in the spring of 2015 in a crypt at the monastery of de las Trinitarisas. The ceremonial reburial took place in June of the same year at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Madrid.