Miguel de Cervantes | |
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Cervantes
(The well-known portrait, supposedly by Juan de Jáuregui. It has not been authenticated, and no authenticated visual image exists.) |
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Born | Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 29 September 1547 (assumed) Alcalá de Henares, Habsburg Spain |
Died | 22 April 1616 Madrid, Spain |
(aged 68)
Resting place | Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians, Madrid |
Occupation | Soldier, novelist, poet, playwright, accountant |
Language | Spanish |
Nationality | Spanish |
Period | 1st |
Genre | fiction |
Subject | spanish |
Notable works |
Don Quixote Entremeses Novelas ejemplares |
Spouse | Catalina de Salazar y Palacios |
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Signature |
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (/sərˈvɒnteɪz/ or /sərˈvæntiːz/;Spanish: [miˈɣel de θerˈβantes saˈβeðɾa]; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 23 April 1616), was a Spanish writer who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists.
His major work, Don Quixote, considered to be the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written. His influence on the Spanish language has been so great that the language is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). He has also been dubbed El príncipe de los ingenios ("The Prince of Wits").
In 1569, in forced exile from Castile, Cervantes moved to Rome, where he worked as chamber assistant of a cardinal. He then enlisted as a soldier in a Spanish Navy infantry regiment and continued his military life until 1575, when he was captured by Barbary pirates. After five years of captivity, he was released by his captors on payment of a ransom by his parents and the Trinitarians, a Catholic religious order, and he subsequently returned to his family in Madrid.