First part of the Galatea (Biblioteca Nacional de España) [333]

Following his period of captivity in Algiers, Cervantes arrived at the court in 1580 with one idea in mind: to achieve a merced (favour) – that is a post of official in the bureaucratic labyrinth of the court of Philip II. From the outset he had set his sights on one of the vacant posts in the Americas, as he wrote to the secretary Antonio de Eraso in 1582. In this handwritten letter he confesses that his pastoral romance, the Galatea – which came out only three years later – is at a very advanced stage.
The first copies of the Galatea, this special book on shepherds and the first work Miguel de Cervantes published, came on sale on 13 March 1585 (the date of the “appraisal” establishing the selling price of the book). In addition to the songs and love stories between various characters, Book VI included what is known as the “Song of Caliope”, a compilation and praise in verse of a hundred poets. It paints a veritable portrait of the literary scene, in which Cervantes was keen to triumph.

Scan digital page 333