塞万提斯(1547～1616年)
Cervantes (Saavedra), Miguel de
西班牙小说家、剧作家、诗人，是西班牙文学史举足轻重的人物。在马德里求学後，他加入义大利步兵，在勒班陀战役中与土耳其人作战而被俘，与他的兄弟一起被卖到阿尔及尔当奴隶五年。回到西班牙後，长期的经济问题和纠结的事务引发法律争讼，曾被短期监禁。在单调的文职生涯中，他写下田园传奇《伽拉苔亚》（1585）和戏剧、诗歌、短篇小说，获得小小成功。钜着《唐吉诃德》（1605）立即为他带来功名（若未为他带来财富）。本书戏仿当时的骑士传奇故事，叙述一位痴呆的年迈骑士带着老马和务实的随从桑丘出门的滑稽冒险。被视为第一部小说，也是最伟大的小说之一，它影响了许多作家，也启发了其他体裁及媒体的无数创作。他也为舞台剧出版了一大套八部喜剧和八种幕间短剧（1615），还有传奇故事《贝雪莱斯和西吉斯蒙达历险记》（1617）。
English version：
1547～1616年
Cervantes (Saavedra), Miguel de
Spanish novelist, playwright, and poet, the most celebrated figure in Spanish literature. After studying in Madrid, he joined the Italian infantry, fought the Turks at Lepanto, and was captured with his brother and sold into slavery in Algiers for five years. Back in Spain, his chronic financial problems and tangled affairs led to brushes with the law and brief imprisonment. While in tedious civil-service employment, he wrote the pastoral romance La galatea (1585) and plays, poetry, and short stories, to small success. His great creation Don Quixote (1605, 1615), brought immediate success and literary eminence, if not riches. It parodies chivalric romances of the day with the comic adventures of a bemused elderly knight who sets out on his old horse, Rosinante, with his pragmatic squire, Sancho Panza. Considered the first and one of the greatest of all novels, it has influenced many writers and inspired numerous creations in other genres and media. He also published a large set of eight comedies and eight interludes for the stage (1615) and the romance The Labors of Persiles and Sigismunda (1617).