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Miguel de Cervantes

Type Figure Region Spain Time 1547–1616 Also known as Cervantes

The greatest Spanish writer of the Renaissance, who founded the modern novel tradition with Don Quixote.…

Timeline

  1. 1547–1569Alcalá de Henares · CastileBorn in Alcalá, he later moved with his family to Madrid and elsewhere, studying Latin and literature under humanists such as Juan López de Óviedo, and began publishing poetry around 1568, laying a humanist foundation for his later writing.
  2. 1569–1580Rome · Papal StatesHe went to Italy in 1569 to join the Spanish tercios, was wounded in the left arm at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, and was captured by Algerian corsairs while returning in 1575, spending five years imprisoned in North Africa—an experience that became important material for his later literary work.
  3. 1580–1616Madrid · CastileAfter being ransomed and returning home he earned a living in civil service while continuing to write poetry, drama, and short fiction; the first part of Don Quixote published in 1605 was a great success, the Novellas ejemplares appeared in 1613, and the second part followed in 1615, establishing his status as a classic of Western literature.

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