The Renaissance was a time of rebirth of learning. The Renaissance was about 300 years long ranging from about 1300 to 1600.
The Renaissance started in the Italian cities and spread to France and the German States, Holland and England. There were many artists during this time period. One excellent and well-known artist is Miguel de Cervantes.Miguel de Cervantes was born in Alcala de Henares which is near Madrid in 1547.
The date of his birth is not known for sure but people believe he was born on September 29. He was baptized on October 9. Miguel grew up with 6 other siblings. He was the fourth born.
His father, Rodrigo, was a poor surgeon. His family was on the go most of the time and moved from town to town. No one is sure of Miguel’s child education, but he did not go to a university near his hometown. In 1568, many of Miguel’s poems were published in Madrid.
In 1569, Cervantes went to Rome and became a gentleman-in-waiting for Cardinal Acquaviva. About a year later, he joined s Spanish military regiment in Naples. He fought in the Battle of Lepanto. During that battle, he lost the use of his left hand.
In 1575, Cervantes and one of his brothers were captured by Barbary pirates. During his imprisonment, the pirates sent them to Algeria and sold them as slaves. They were held there for ransom. In 1580, he family and friends paid the ransom to free Cervantes’ brother.
They did not have enough money to free Cervantes. After he tried to escape and got caught, they released him because of his bravery for taking all the blame. Cervantes could not find a job so he decided to become a writer. During 1582 and 1585, he wrote and produced many poems and plays.
One of his greatest works of literature is La Galatea. Cervantes was unable to survive of the money he was making so he took some government jobs. Cervantes was imprisoned because of his tax-collecting activities. While in prison, he thought of an idea for a story.
The idea was for a knight-errant described in tales of a medieval chivalry. He came out with the first part in 1605 called El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. This, Don Quixote, is Cervantes most well-known work of literature throughout history. Cervantes received very little money for this.
In 1615, he published the second part of Don Quixote. In 1617, Cervantes finished the novel Persiles y Sigismunda. 4 days later de died. One year later the novel was published.
Cervantes greatest and most well-known work is probably Don Quixote. It was published in 2 parts. It is the story of a poor man that lived in La Mancha. He was a knight errant that rode on his horse named Rocinante(Rosinante).
His squire was named Sancho Panza, a peasant from his village. Don Quixote imagined many things and was very impractical. The first part of the book was published in 1605 and the second part was published in 1615. The first part was translated into English in 1612 and the second part in 1620.
This is a very important part of Renaissance history because it spread the new idea of writing in an impractical, idealistic, and exaggerated way.Cervantes is well-known throughout the world because of his book Don Quixote. He influenced many people during the Renaissance because of his difficult life and his wonderful skills and talents of writing.
