Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra (1547-1616)

### Birthdate

Miguel de Cervantes' baptism occurred on October 9, 1547, at Alcala de Henares, Spain, so it is reasonable to assume he was born around that time. However, his birthdate is unknown.

### Family

Father - Rodrigo de Cervantes
Mother - Leonor de Cortinas

Siblings - Andrés, Andrea, Luisa, Rodrigo, Magdalena, and Juan.

Children - Isabel de Saavedra

### Hair Color

According to one source, his hair color was either blond or brown. However, other sources do not mention his hair color at all.

### Best Known For

his novel Don Quixote, which is considered a masterpiece of world literature

## About

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) was a Spanish writer, playwright, and poet, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his novel Don Quixote, which is considered a masterpiece of world literature. Cervantes was born on September 29, 1547, in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, and died on April 22, 1616, in Madrid, Spain. Cervantes' family was not wealthy, and they moved frequently from city to city. He was educated by monks and later became a soldier, serving in the Spanish army from 1569 to 1575. In 1571, he was wounded in the Battle of Lepanto, where he lost the use of his left hand. In 1575, while returning to Spain from Italy, Cervantes was captured by Barbary pirates and held as a slave for five years. He made several unsuccessful attempts to escape, and his family was unable to pay his ransom until 1580. Cervantes wrote many plays, poems, and novels throughout his life, but Don Quixote is his most famous work. It tells the story of a man who becomes so enamored with the romantic tales of knights and chivalry that he sets out on a quest to become a knight himself. The novel is a satire of the romanticized view of the Middle Ages and the chivalric code. Cervantes' other notable works include Novelas Ejemplares (Exemplary Novels), a collection of short stories, and Los Trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda (The Trials of Persiles and Sigismunda), a romance novel.

## Early Life and Education

Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra was born on September 29, 1547, in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. He was the fourth of seven children in a family whose origins were of the minor gentry, but which had come down in the world. His father, Rodrigo de Cervantes, was an itinerant and not-too-successful surgeon who set bones, performed bloodlettings, and attended lesser medical needs. The family moved from town to town, and little is known of Cervantes’s early education. It is supposed, based on a passage in one of the Exemplary Stories, that he studied for a time under the Jesuits, though not unlikely. Miguel was educated by monks as he and his family wandered from city to city.

## Career

Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra's career spanned various fields, including writing, poetry, and playwriting. He is best known for his novel Don Quixote, which is considered a masterpiece of world literature. Cervantes also wrote plays, and his collection of Novelas exemplares (1613; Exemplary Stories) is considered to be close to the level of Don Quixote. Cervantes' early life is not well documented, but he joined the army with his brother Rodrigo and participated in the battle of Lepanto where the Spanish established superiority of sea power against the Turks. After returning to Spain in 1580, Cervantes began writing for the theater, but only a few of his plays were successful. Despite his success as a writer, Cervantes valued his poetic work more highly than his prose and never considered Don Quixote his masterpiece.

## Personal Life

Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra had a life full of adventure. He was born in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, in 1547, to a family that wandered from city to city. Cervantes was educated by monks, and when he was twenty, he served in Rome in the retinue of the Cardinal Nuncio Acquaviva. He joined the army with his brother Rodrigo and participated in the battle of Lepanto, where he was wounded and captured by the Turks. During his captivity, he made several unsuccessful attempts to escape. After his release, he returned to Spain and married Catalina de Salazar y Palacios, with whom he had a daughter. Cervantes was an unsuccessful playwright until he wrote Don Quixote, which is considered his masterpiece.

## Filmography

“Don Quijote de Cine” is a compilation of five film adaptations of the classic Miguel de Cervantes novel, commemorating the 400th anniversary of Cervantes' death. Additionally, there is a book titled “Don Quixote in Film (2005-2015)” which explores how Cervantes' life and works were celebrated on film and television.

## Quotes

One of his most famous quotes is “The man who is prepared has his battle half fought”. Another well-known quote is “Too much sanity may be madness and, the maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be”.