Four Centuries of Cervantes

O N SUNDAY, October 9, 1547, just four hundred years ago, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was baptized in the parish church of Santa Maria in Alcala de Henares. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but the conferring on him of the name Miguel suggests that it may have been Michaelmas, September 29. It is part of the routine of our civilization that the centenaries of the births of great writers should be celebrated with appropriate ceremonial. The ghost of the author of Don Quixote is this year surrounded by clouds of incense arising from all the corners of the Spanishspeaking world, and even from non-Spanish countries. It is appropriate that California should provide its contribution. As the smoke circles up, it seems to form a series of question marks. How did this masterpiece Don Quixote come to be written? Why has it been read by more people and translated into more languages than any other book except the Bible? Is it still read? Can we derive any general principles from the history of this book

Art · Literature · Early Modern Spanish Literature · History