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Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( or ;〔("Cervantes" ). ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.〕 ; 29 September 1547 (assumed)22 April 1616), often simply called Cervantes, was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His major work, ''Don Quixote'', considered to be the first modern European 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 was dubbed ''El Príncipe de los Ingenios'' ("The Prince of Wits"). In 1569 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. In 1585 Cervantes published a pastoral novel named ''La Galatea''. He worked as a purchasing agent for the Spanish Armada, and later as a tax collector. In 1597 discrepancies in his accounts for three years previous landed him in the Crown Jail of Seville. In 1605 he was in Valladolid when the immediate success of the first part of his ''Don Quixote'', published in Madrid, signalled his return to the literary world. In 1607 he settled in Madrid, where he lived and worked until his death. During the last nine years of his life, Cervantes solidified his reputation as a writer; he published the ''Novelas ejemplares'' (''Exemplary Novels'') in 1613, the ''Journey to Parnassus'' (''Viaje al Parnaso'') in 1614, and in 1615 the ''Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses'' and the second part of ''Don Quixote''. ==Birth and early life== It is assumed that Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares, a Castilian city about northeast from Madrid, probably on 29 September (the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel) 1547. The probable date of his birth was determined from records in the church register, given the tradition of naming a child after the feast day of his birth. He was baptized in Alcalá de Henares on 9 October 1547〔 at the parish church of ''Santa María la Mayor''. The register of baptisms records the following: Miguel at birth was not surnamed ''Cervantes Saavedra''. He adopted the "Saavedra" name as an adult. By Spanish naming conventions his second surname was that of his mother, Cortinas. Miguel's father, Rodrigo, was a barber-surgeon from Córdoba, who set bones, performed bloodlettings, and attended "lesser medical needs";〔Byron, William. ''Cervantes: A Biography'', Doubleday & Company: Garden City, NY, 1978, pp. 23–32.〕 at that time, it was common for barbers to do surgery, as well. His paternal grandfather, Juan de Cervantes, was an influential lawyer who held several administrative positions. His uncle was mayor of Cabra for many years. His mother, Leonor de Cortinas was a native of Arganda del Rey and the third daughter of a nobleman, who lost his fortune and had to sell his daughter into matrimony in 1543. This led to a very awkward marriage and several affairs by Rodrigo.〔Moorcock p 386〕 Leonor died on 19 October 1593. Little is known of Cervantes' early years. It seems he spent much of his childhood moving from town to town with his family. During this time, he met a young barmaid named Josefina Catalina de Parez. The couple fell madly in love and plotted to run away together. Her father discovered their plans and forbade Josefina from ever seeing Cervantes again, perhaps because of the young man's poor prospects of ever rising from poverty—Miguel's own father was embargoed for debt. The court records of the proceedings show a very poor household. While some of his biographers argue that he studied at the University of Salamanca, there is no solid evidence for supposing that he did so. There has been speculation also that Cervantes studied with the Jesuits in Córdoba or Seville. His siblings were Andrés (1543), Andrea (1544), Luisa (1546), Rodrigo (1550), Magdalena (1554) and Juan—known solely because he is mentioned in his father's will. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Miguel de Cervantes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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