Miguel de Cervantes

Legacy: the Artists Behind the Legends

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish writer active during the later 16th and early 17th centuries, a man widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language. His novel and masterpiece Don Quixote is oftentimes considered the first modern novel – it is a Western classic of literature, and amongst one of the best pieces of fiction ever written. But hell, let’s be honest here: it took Cervantes quite some time to find his voice in the literary world. He was a famed soldier in the Spanish Navy, fighting bravely for his country until he was captured by pirates and forced into a life of slavery. Upon his ransom and rescue, Cervantes held odd government jobs, and he found himself in jail on a number of occasions due to his inability to adequately perform those jobs. There were a few vain attempts to break into the blossoming theater scene in Spain, a pastoral novel he held dear to his heart, and of course, some poorly written poetry, yet it wasn’t until Don Quixote that Cervantes truly put himself on the map. From that point onward, Cervantes was a known and respected man. So are we ready to dive into episode 8 and hear all about this mystery man, a man whose appearance to this day we have no confirmed portrait or description of? Well. Here we fucking go.