Don Quixote and Sancho Panza Heading Out on Their Adventures (1956) by Candido PortinariProjeto Portinari
Getting to know the real Miguel de Cervantes can sometimes feel as fruitful as charging at windmills. Like his famous character Don Quixote, we might find fact and fiction hard to distinguish. Scroll on to learn how little we really know about the master of Spanish literature...
Portrait of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra by Juan de Jáuregui y AguilarTeatro Real
1. His true appearance remains a mystery
The only information we have about his physical appearance comes from his own description in the prologue of his work Exemplary Novels. All existing paintings of Cervantes were based on these details, written when he was around 60 years old. So, we’ll probably never know what he really looked like.
2. He lived a life of poverty
Cervantes had a colourful upbringing. His father was sent to prison and his mother had to take out a loan to pay his bail, but it was still five years before they were reunited. Although Cervantes worked throughout his lifetime and published his masterpiece Don Quixote in 1605, 11 years before his death, he died in poverty having never been paid for its publication.
LIFE Photo Collection
3. Shakespeare was a fan
Shakespeare was a contemporary of Cervantes but also a huge admirer of his work. In fact, in 1613, he wrote a piece called The History of Cardenio, based on a character from Don Quixote.
Lit Cervantes Gon Quixote (Dore)LIFE Photo Collection
4. He was sent to prison. Twice!
As well as his father spending five years behind bars, Cervantes himself was sent to jail on two occasions. The first, for a short time in 1592, the second, in 1597 when he was 50 years old. Legend has it that it was during this second stint he was inspired to write Don Quixote.
Sancho Panza at the Hands of the Villagers (1956) by Candido PortinariProjeto Portinari
5. He wasn’t very popular
Cervantes worked as a tax collector for much of his life, and it was accusations of improperly appropriating funds that landed him in jail for the second time. At the time, being a tax collector made him pretty unpopular with his contemporaries and even the Catholic Church. He was excommunicated three times, as collecting taxes intended to pay for wars was deemed to be a sin.
El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha compuesto por Miguel de Ceruantes Saauedra (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes SaavedraTeatro Real
6. He was once captured by pirates
When a ship he was travelling on was captured by Turkish pirates, Cervantes’ relative fame ensured there was a high price on his head. It was probably this hefty ransom that kept him alive after numerous failed escape attempts – the punishment for which was usually torture followed by a swift execution. He was held captive in Algiers for five years before finally being released.
Lit Cervantes Don Quixote DoreLIFE Photo Collection
7. His final resting place remains unknown
After a long and colourful life, Cervantes died in 1616 (he was 68 when he died – a good age for the time). However, Cervantes’ life had one final plot twist. Despite being buried according to his wishes in the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians, his coffin was lost during renovation work in the 1670s, and his final resting place remained a mystery…
… until 2015, when a team of forensic experts believe they found his final resting place. Matching accounts of his injuries to the discovered remains, his identity was confirmed. So, perhaps this 400-year-old epic story is finally finished.
Miguel de Cervantes (2015/2015) by Pedro MorenoAcción Cultural Española, AC/E
Want to know more? Discover the Routes (and the roots) of Cervantes
